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Chapter 19: Magic! That Must be Magic!
Everyone looked at Gordon, who had fallen to the ground. He was standing up!
WTF! Jim Gordon is a zombie!
"Commissioner, you... you're not dead." The officers stammered.
"For a moment, I thought I really died. Kid, that gun isn't real."
Gordon raised his right hand, revealing a playing card.
"The bullet that hit me was actually this."
"Heh, just a little joke. I hope I didn't scare you too much, Mr. Commissioner," Kid chuckled. "But... don't underestimate it just because it shoots cards. Used correctly, it packs quite a punch."
"Just like this!"
Kid raised his hand and fired a shot downwards.
"Ah!"
A card flew straight and hit the wrist of an officer crawling near the stage. The man yelped in pain.
He had been trying to sneak under the stage to pick up the scattered bullets while Kid was talking to the "resurrected" Gordon. He thought his movements were subtle and out of Kid's direct line of sight. He might have even flanked Kid for a pincer attack.
Unfortunately, Kid noticed and stopped him just as he reached for the first bullet.
"Sorry, no fire allowed here," Kid declared.
"So what if we have no bullets? Kid, you don't seem to realize the situation."
A particularly burly officer stepped forward, undeterred.
"We have over a dozen trained police officers here. You're alone. Do you really think that toy gun can beat us? Guys, you haven't forgotten CQC, have you?"
"Get him!"
He charged at Kid.
The others followed without hesitation, forming a semi-circle to block Kid's escape.
"Heh. I was waiting for that."
Kid grabbed his cape and whipped it forward. The white fabric instantly formed a screen between him and the police, blocking vision for both sides.
"Trying to use a rag to distract us and run?"
"Useless! There's only a wall behind you! We've blocked every exit!"
The officers ignored the trick and charged into the cape.
"Hm?"
The lead officer tore down the cape and froze.
"Gone? Why is there no one behind the cape! Where did Kid go?"
"Did anyone see him?" he asked his colleagues.
"No. Not even a shadow."
Everyone wore expressions of disbelief.
"Can Kid turn invisible? Or teleport?"
"I know! Kid must have disguised himself as one of us! Who remembers exactly how many plainclothes were assigned?" one officer hypothesized boldly.
Instantly, the group on stage turned on each other, eyes full of suspicion.
Below the stage, Gordon was equally shocked. He hadn't charged up, so he had a wider view.
Yet, let alone seeing the truth of Kid's disappearance, he hadn't seen anyone leave the stage.
After counting, Gordon confirmed the number of officers matched his deployment exactly. Kid wasn't hiding among them.
But then, how to explain this?
How did Kid vanish in plain sight?
Magic. Aside from magic, he couldn't think of any other possibility.
While the GCPD doubted reality, the guests were thoroughly entertained.
"Amazing! He grabbed the cape and just vanished! That beats every disappearing act I've ever seen! How did he do it?"
"Exactly! If it were a magic show, I'd suspect trapdoors or twins. But that podium can't fit mechanisms, and the GCPD aren't his shills. Kid must know magic!"
"And the most incredible part was the bullets! Over a dozen people, at least a hundred rounds—when did he steal them? And they didn't feel a thing!"
"Yeah. Finding the hidden officers in a crowd of hundreds, brushing past them unnoticed, stealing their spare mags, and unloading their guns... all without detection? It's a miracle!"
At this moment, high above everyone's heads, Kid was clinging carefully to the massive chandelier, avoiding any movement that might cause it to sway.
Fortunately, the Vanaver family was rich. The hall was built like a cathedral, high and wide, and the chandelier was exaggeratedly large. Otherwise, supporting his weight would have been an issue.
He was no longer in the white suit but wore dark night clothes, blending perfectly into the shadows.
The disappearance wasn't magic. He had simply changed clothes and grappled up to the chandelier under the cover of the cape.
With the darkness and the white cape as a distraction, no one without superhuman vision could spot him.
Hearing the audience's praise below, Darren felt a rush of satisfaction.
In his past life, he had performed for thousands, winning countless cheers. At first, it was fulfilling, but eventually, he got used to it.
But today, the shock from just a few hundred people gave him an unparalleled thrill.
Especially when he appeared on stage as Kid and felt every eye in the room focused on him.
He remembered the excitement he felt the first time he stood on stage in both his lives.
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