"Clever people wouldn't really go around calling themselves clever."
- Itadori Yuuji (Jujutsu Kaisen)
...
"Do you really think so?"
Dick looked at Dean with a strange expression.
Dean looked nonchalant and said, "Of course, anyone who has seen Phantom Thief's performances will admire him. There's no magician in the world who wouldn't."
"Why do I remember you saying before that 'rivals are enemies' before and that the tricks Phantom Thief uses are just ordinary tricks that any beginner magician can do,"
Dick smirked with a hint of amusement.
"Ah? Uh... that was just me trying to save face back then. You really didn't think a beginner magician could reach Phantom Thief's level, did you?"
Seeing Dick's reaction, Dean scratched his head in embarrassment and chuckled awkwardly.
"I do know that regular magicians can't match Phantom Thief's level. It's just that your sudden praise for Phantom Thief caught me off guard."
Dick shrugged his shoulders.
"Anyway, we're not here to talk about that. You called me to help catch the Phantom Thief, so let's go inside quickly to the 'Hope Diamond' exhibition hall before it gets too crowded."
Dean looked at Dick seriously and said, "By the way, why didn't I see Barbara today?"
"Barbara had something urgent to take care of today, so she couldn't make it."
Dick explained.
"I see, that's a shame."
Dean said it somewhat regretfully.
Whether it was an illusion or not, in that instant, Dick thought he saw a flash of surprise in Dean's eyes.
However, that expression vanished quickly, and when Dean looked at Dick again, his gaze was so clear that Dick wondered if he really saw it.
"What are you thinking, Richard?"
Seeing Dick somewhat dazed, Dean asked.
"Oh, nothing much, just wondering what time Phantom Thief will appear today."
Dick snapped back to attention and smiled as if nothing had happened.
Dean nodded and walked ahead towards the exhibition hall where the 'Hope Diamond' had been relocated.
As Dick watched Dean's back, a deep light flashed in his eyes.
Thanks to Phantom Thief intentionally disguising himself as a worker, the police discovered the secret tools in the separate exhibition hall, which destroyed all of Catwoman's plans.
Although only a few people knew that Catwoman had planned the tools in the separate exhibition hall, most people believed that it was all Phantom Thief's work.
In any case, the separate exhibition hall could no longer be used. So, the 'Hope Diamond' was moved to a regular exhibition hall.
This situation happened too suddenly, and there wasn't enough time to create a new protective measures area.
They could only move the 'Hope Diamond' to a somewhat safe exhibition hall.
That is the east exhibition hall on the fifth floor of the Orpheus Jewelry Exhibition Hall Center, located on the edge of the building, with two windows on both sides and only one entrance.
The windows on both sides may look like glass, but they are actually made of high-resistant glass material that is fireproof, explosion-proof, cold-resistant, and heat-resistant.
It is impossible to break them unless heavy firepower weapons are used.
At the same time, the 'Hope Diamond' display is placed in the center of the exhibition hall.
The display is equipped with a high-precision gravity sensor device. Even if a few grams of pressure are applied to the 'Hope Diamond', it will trigger an alarm.
However, there is only one strange thing.
The 'Hope Diamond' was protected by safe glass, but Henry still insists on putting the 'Hope Diamond' in the box he brought, claiming that if he doesn't do so, bad luck will come.
He has been insisting on this attitude for several days now, and everyone couldn't convince him otherwise, so they had to continue using the previous container.
"Commissioner Gordon, were you serious about everything you just said?"
In the corridor at the entrance of the east exhibition hall, Kim looked at Jim with a shocked expression and asked
"Ever since we discovered the secret path and gas masks in the separate exhibition hall, Lily has mysteriously disappeared. No one has seen her, and there's no surveillance footage of her actions, only a few meaningless images of footage."
Jim nodded solemnly.
"Ms. Kim, I need you to tell me now, is there really an employee named 'Lily' in the Smithsonian Museum?"
Kim shook her head and said, "She was hired as a security expert from overseas after we announced the Gotham exhibition plan. To be honest, I don't know much about her either."
"Then 'Lily' is most likely a fake identity. I have enough reason to suspect that she was the thief who disguised herself as you to gather information from Henry. As for her real identity, she is likely the thief in Gotham named Selina Kyle, also known as Catwoman."
Jim introduced her to Kim.
"This is really scary."
Lily looked terrified.
"Lily has always acted so professionally. I never thought she would turn out to be a thief. If she really manages to steal the 'Hope Diamond', the consequences would be unimaginable!"
"But if you think about it the other way, the more skilled the thief, the more professional they are in protecting against theft. After all, no one understands the ins and outs of this field better than them."
At this moment, Dean came over without anyone noticing, with Dick following him.
"That makes sense."
Jim looked surprised at Dean for a moment, but in the next second, he turned serious.
"This isn't the place for you two to be. You can visit normally, but don't interfere with the police investigation!"
Dean and Dick turned around silently and walked towards the entrance of the exhibition hall in the corridor.
"Why didn't you say that when Kim was here? You had to talk in the corridor. If you're capable, block off the corridor so no one can pass, right? It's normal for people to overhear the conversation and want to join in, right?"
Dean complained in a low voice.
"You better keep quiet, If Commissioner Gordon gets angry, he might kick us out of the exhibition hall."
Dick patted his shoulder and reminded him.
"Don't worry, he can't hear us."
Dean patted his chest confidently, indicating that everything is fine.
"Hey! Look, Harvey is up ahead."
At this moment, Dick suddenly pointed to the entrance of the exhibition hall.
At the entrance, they saw their old friend Harvey Bullock leading a team of officers.
They conducted routine checks on everyone who came into the exhibition hall to make sure no one was wearing a disguised mask.
Seeing this scene, Dean's pupils shrank for a moment.
Dick quickly caught on to Dean's reaction, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"What's wrong, Dean? Are you afraid of getting your face pinched?"
Dick spoke lightly.
Dean stayed calm and jokingly replied, "Hmph, as if! I'm not a kid, who would be scared of something like that?"
Dean snorted softly and walked forward confidently to join the line. Dick followed closely behind him.
When it was Dean's turn to be checked, Dick immediately widened his eyes, closely watching Harvey's actions and Dean's reaction.
...
A/N: We didn't get 1,300 power stones, so if we reach 1,400 power stones today, I will release an additional chapter tomorrow.
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