"No matter how much suffering you went through, you never wanted to let go of those memories."
-Haruki Murakami
...
Hearing the voice behind him, the man in the hood who had just stepped into the door turned around with a surprised expression on his face.
He saw a teenager wearing a red, green, and yellow suit staring at him with sharp eyes.
The distance between the two was less than three meters, and there was a door between them.
It was Robin who came.
The guy in the hoodie looked around as if he were looking for the so-called Phantom Thief.
Then he realized that, besides himself, there was basically no one else around.
He pointed at himself with a dazed expression and asked, "The Phantom Thief you called just now—isn't it me?"
"Don't play dumb. Even if you don't take off your disguise, I can smell you with just my nose, Phantom Thief!"
Robin folded his hands and snorted coldly.
The man's surprise immediately vanished when he realized that Robin had verified his identity, and a calm expression took its place.
He grabbed the collar of his hood and twitched lightly, and all the clothes on his body were pulled off as if they were connected together and revealed the real appearance of the Phantom Thief.
During the whole process, Robin stared at Phantom Thief intently, trying to figure out the secret of how he changed clothes so quickly.
As usual, he couldn't figure it out; it was like magic.
"Tsk tsk, I thought my disguise was perfect. How did you see through it?"
Phantom Thief asked and was stunned and looking at Robin.
"Did you think that I didn't learn one or two tricks when I fought with you these two times?"
Robin said it with a slight smirk.
"Although most people solve the notice letter as you appear at the Jungle Exhibition Hall, I know you are a guy who is very good at deceiving others with distractions. So, from the beginning, I didn't fully trust your notice."
"It turns out you did trick everyone in the end, showing up in the square and performing... a physics experiment in front of thousands of audience."
Robin looked at the Phantom Thief with a hint of disdain.
"But it was just a visual trick using strobe lights. How dare you say it's a miracle that makes the rain flow upwards? It's no wonder they say the essence of magic is deception."
"Can I take that as a compliment from you?"
The Phantom Thief tilted his head and asked.
As if!
Robin couldn't help but roll his eyes. The Phantom Thief's thought process was truly unique.
"Anyway, what do you mean to say that you never believed from the very beginning that I would not follow the plan on the notice letter, and you think I'm not trustworthy?"
The Phantom Thief spread his hands helplessly and spoke in an innocent tone.
"That doesn't explain how you saw through my disguise, and you didn't even show up to the square just now," he added.
"Who said I wasn't in the square?"
Robin suddenly interrupted.
"I was one of the audiences who watched your entire performance up close."
The Phantom Thief's pupils shrank.
How did he not notice Robin in the crowd?
That couldn't be possible!
With such bright colors as yellow, green, and red, he stood out from the crowd.
How could he have missed Robin if he was really in the square?
Am I blind? Or am I color-blind?
The Phantom Thief found himself doubting his own eyes.
"What's that look in your eyes? Do you think you can only disguise yourself?"
Robin's eyelids twitched, and he paused before continuing.
"I know you wouldn't do something without a purpose. When you appeared in the square, I guessed that your goal was to attract all the police officers from the museum, disrupting the pre-planned defenses of the GCPD..."
"No, maybe not all of them. You know very well that the personnel at the Cultural Exhibition Hall wouldn't move no matter what. So, your real target must be a hall that could safely lead you to where the necklace is located. The most likely ones are the Jungle Exhibition Hall and the Library Exhibition Hall, located on the east and west sides of the Cultural Exhibition Hall, respectively."
"Because of their first understanding of the notice letter, most people subconsciously considered the Jungle Exhibition Hall an important location."
"Therefore, when you flew a fake dummy with a jet-propelled rotor towards the Jungle Exhibition Hall, no one would suspect that it wasn't really you. They would naturally follow you, and that's when you could disguise yourself as an ordinary visitor and casually walk into the unguarded Library Exhibition Hall."
"Just now, I briefly looked around the Library Exhibition Hall. If I'm not mistaken, there seems to be a ventilation duct leading directly to the top floor above the corridor connecting the Library Exhibition Hall to the Cultural Exhibition Hall, which I guess is your route of action."
"In short,"
Robin summarized, "If someone goes alone to the Library Exhibition Hall at this moment, it's the Phantom Thief!"
"In the crowded square, you can easily blend into the crowd and escape, which is why I never showed up. Now, I have the opportunity to face you alone."
Clap, clap, clap!
The Phantom Thief clapped his hands and said it with a smile.
"Great explanation, I didn't expect you to discover even that ventilation duct. You are worthy of being the partner of the world's number one detective, should I start calling you the Great Detective from now on?"
"You're still able to laugh, Phantom Thief, but you have nowhere to run."
A victorious glint appeared in Robin's eyes.
"I have one more question. Batgirl mentioned to me earlier that you seem to like me a little, and I have similar feelings too."
The Phantom Thief suddenly spoke in a calm tone.
Robin was stunned.
What was this strange guy talking about?
Seeing Phantom Thief, he raised his head slightly and said softly, "Even if a thief falls for a detective, it's nothing, right?"
"What are you trying to say, Phantom Thief?"
Robin asked with a frown.
"What I'm trying to say is that three minutes is up."
The corner of Phantom Kid's mouth raised slightly, showing a half-smile expression.
As soon as Robin saw that expression, he had a bad feeling.
"Let me remind you, you haven't even entered the door yet."
As soon as the words fell, the Phantom Thief quickly raised his right hand, and the playing Card Gun was already in his hand at some point.
Bang!
Bang!
He fired two shots, and the two playing cards flew towards Robin.
After shooting, the Phantom Thief turned around and ran, not caring if the cards hit or not.
Robin quickly dodged the cards with a sidestep.
"Just give up, you can't escape..."
Robin began saying, but then he noticed that the automatic door of the Library Exhibition Hall was about to close!
He suddenly remembered that all the automatic doors in the Natural History Museum had a three-minute time limit before they closed if left open.
When Phantom Thief looked up just now, he was actually checking the countdown of the door closing.
Robin gritted his teeth angrily and ran to the door as fast as he could.
Unfortunately, dodging the playing cards slowed him down by a few seconds, and just as the automatic door closed, he collided with it.
"It's fine, he can only delay me for a few seconds..."
Robin took a deep breath and stepped back two steps to allow the sensor to sense him again and open the door.
However, at this moment, Robin's eyes suddenly went dark.
...
A/N: Give me power stones guys.
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