"You have to understand that our boss is a cautious man. He sent me here for one reason only,"
Ignatius said, shaking the cigarette in his hand and staring at Manager Joey with a knowing look.
Joey wasn't stupid and immediately understood.
He sat up straight and assured Ignatius, "I have made all the arrangements. The appraisal certificates are all perfect and from the highest-standard authoritative institutions. There are no flaws at all with simple appraisal methods. Those rich people who are sitting on their hands will not doubt the authenticity of the diamond."
If outsiders were to hear Joey's words, they would be shocked. The rumor circulated that the world's largest pink diamond was a fake, and the person who did this is the Executive Manager of Gotham International Hotel.
After all, the Gotham International Hotel had always had an excellent reputation, and many auction events happened there.
Joey, as the Executive Manager, has hosted countless auctions without any issues.
Who would have thought that Joey, a respected person, would work with the Penguin behind the scenes to set up such a fake diamond?
"Is that so? Then why are there rumors spreading in Gotham recently about the diamonds being fake at the auction? There are even people saying that the seller behind this diamond is our boss..."
Ignatius's eyes narrowed, his gaze sending a chilling sensation towards Manager Joey.
"The only ones who know about this diamond are us and the puppet responsible for the shipping company. I think you need to provide me with an explanation," Ignatius said.
"I don't know anything about the rumors!" Joey replied.
As soon as he spoke, Joey became panicked and stood up.
"I swear I haven't revealed anything to anyone else."
"No need to panic. The boss still trusts you. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here talking to you.
Ignatius waved his hand to signal Joey to sit back down.
Upon hearing this, Joey finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"But he did send me here to remind you that with the quality of this diamond, the starting bid is at least thirty million dollars. This is not a small amount, and the boss takes it very seriously and won't let any make mistakes."
Ignatius's expression turned serious.
"And there's one more thing, the most important thing was that there must never be any connection between the diamond and the boss in public."
"Understood. I know the rules!"
Joey nodded repeatedly.
"Great. After the job is done, you'll get your share. Let's have a pleasant cooperation."
Ignatius said this with a smile as he shook hands with Joey.
They didn't know that, at this moment, there was an uninvited guest hiding above them.
"Wow, I just heard some incredible news."
Dean whispered while peeking down below from a hole in the ventilation duct.
"It seems that the pink diamond at the auction truly belongs to Penguin, and from the conversation between those two, it seems like it's a high-quality replica."
Dean's eyes sparkled with a new plan forming in his mind.
At this time, Ignatius and Joey finished their conversation, stood up, followed by their subordinate, and walked towards the door.
Dean seized the opportunity and quickly flipped his fingers and a card instantly appeared from between them.
He found the right angle, and when everyone in the room had their backs to him, he flicked the card downward.
The card flew out of the hole with astonishing speed and landed on the ground before bouncing back at an incredible angle, landing perfectly on the coffee table in front of the sofa.
"Hmm! Did you guys hear something?"
Ignatius quickly picked up on the sound of the card hitting the ground and bouncing. He immediately pulled out his gun and turned to glance at the room.
Then he saw a strange white card on the coffee table.
The rest of the group was a half-step slower, but they also pulled out their guns.
It was clear that the subordinates accompanying Ignatius had much better training compared to ordinary street thugs.
As they turned around with their guns drawn, they all spread out, forming a semi-circle to cover the whole room.
Only Joey still hadn't learned the situation.
"What's going on?"
"Shh!"
Ignatius put his finger to his lips, signaling Joey to be silent.
Instead of looking at the card on the coffee table immediately, Ignatius pointed to his men.
Then, under Joey's pained gaze, Ignatius and his subordinate raided the luxuriously decorated Presidential Suite, causing countless damages to high-end furniture.
After a while, the search stopped, and no one else was found inside the suite.
At this point, Ignatius finally shifted his gaze to the card.
Picking it up and taking a look, his pupils shrank.
...
On the rooftop of Gotham International Hotel, Dean climbed out of a ventilation duct covered in dust and rust.
"Cough, cough, I need to take eight showers when I get back."
Dean muttered as he coughed and tried to get rid of all the dust he had inhaled.
Crawling through a ventilation duct was no easy task. It was dirty and small, and crawling in them is a dangerous thing to do.
After several deep breaths, Dean finally made it to the rooftop and gazed at the city traffic below.
"It's time for the name of Phantom Thief Kid to spread throughout Gotham."
With a slight smile on his face, He reached up and grabbed the collar, and pulled it down, quickly changing into a white suit in the blink of an eye.
The pure white cloak fluttered slightly in the night wind, and a tall top hat appeared on his head.
That's right, He looked just like the Phantom Thief Kid.
Dean observed the passing cars and people on the streets below. Suddenly, he jumped off the rooftop.
In freefall, Dean remained calm. He activated a gear, and his cloak transformed from soft fabric into a triangular glider.
Following the wind, Dean gracefully glided above the road.
"Look up in the sky, is that a person?"
Someone shouted as a white figure appeared against the dark night sky, easily catching the attention of people.
"I've seen him in the newspaper. I think he's called Phantom Thief Kid."
"Wait, look carefully. Is something falling from the sky behind Phantom Thief Kid?"
At this time, someone suddenly pointed at the sky behind Phantom Kid and screamed.
Phantom Kid's gliding speed was fast as he flew over the heads of the crowd, and the falling objects followed.
They were white cards, each with words written on them and a cartoon image of Phantom Thief Kid in the bottom right corner.
Some people caught the cards as they fell from the sky, while others picked them up from the ground.
And what was written on the cards was none other than a message from Phantom Kid.
"A grand and luxurious banquet of nobles,
where no one remembers the tragedy of Troy,
when Kronos returns to the origin,
Hermes will appear before the eyes of all,
revealing the final deception.
Sincerely, Phantom Thief Kid."
...
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