"Sometimes we laugh by remembering the days we cried, and we cry by remembering the days we laugh."
- Unknown
...
"What! Cough, cough, cough!"
Suddenly, Robin directly inhaled the strong smoke that flowed out.
After that, a feeling that was both familiar and strange stung his eyes, nose, and entire face.
"This feeling... tear gas!"
Robin quickly reacted and stepped back after inhaling some tear gas.
At the same time, he swiftly retrieved a small syringe from his utility belt and injected it into his neck, angrily shouting, "Phantom Thief!"
The syringe contained a specially formulated antidote to cancel the effects of tear gas. In addition to the tear gas antidote, Robin also prepared a hypnotic gas antidote.
The Phantom Thief often used these non-lethal weapons either to create chaos in the crowds while in pursuit or to put the police to sleep.
Once or twice was good, but with repeated encounters, Robin naturally prepared in advance to counter these items.
"Don't yell so loudly! Who told you to touch that?"
The Phantom Thief just shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands wide.
"I've told you before, Robin, it's best for the audience not to touch a magician's things."
As the antidote took effect, the stinging sensation on Robin's face slowly decreased.
In about ten seconds, it would return to normal.
He didn't have to worry about exposure to tear gas during this time because the tear gas antidote's effects would last for a long time.
As Robin broke the lenses, more and more tear gas drifted out, quickly covering the center of the field.
Although tear gas didn't have much effect on Robin, the thick smoke still made it hard for him to see.
At the same time, the audience seats around them erupted into chaos.
"Did anyone see what just happened? How did a cloud of smoke suddenly appear?"
"I don't know; it looked like Robin threw a punch at the air, and then smoke started coming out, but I'm not really sure."
"Darm it, the smoke is getting thicker; I can't even see where Phantom Thief and Robin are!"
"I'm really curious; what on earth happened?"
Most of the audience struggled to understand the sudden change that happened in a very short time.
A girl sitting in the corner had a thoughtful expression in her eyes.
"Alright, it's getting late, and the performance has been successfully completed with Robin's help. Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to close the curtains on this stage."
At that moment, Phantom Thief's voice echoed throughout Gotham City Stadium, and everyone in the audience could hear it clearly.
"By the way, Mr. Wayne's ocean gemstone is very beautiful. It's the most beautiful gem I've ever seen. It looks like it could have come from Atlantis. Robin accidentally let some tear gas leak, so you can't see its brilliance with your own eyes."
"So, let's look forward to the next encounter, ladies and gentlemen."
"What are you joking about? Phantom Thief!"
Robin shouted fiercely as he gazed into the thick smoke in front of him.
He turned on the special environment mode on his mask and bravely went in to search for the Phantom Thief.
"The Bat-Signal is several tons heavy and can't be moved. The glider and Grappling Gun can't support that weight either. Since the moment I cracked the lenses, it has proved that the Bat-Signal is still in its original spot. What kind of completed performance is this?"
The Phantom Thief didn't respond to his question, and Robin couldn't find any trace of the Phantom Thief for a while.
Even when Robin returned to the Bat-Signal location, it was the same.
The Bat-Signal's inside was visible at this point due to the cracked lenses that had fallen off of it.
It was clear that the lenses contained the whole Bat-Signal.
"If you leave now, it means you're running away, Phantom Thief!"
Robin gritted his teeth.
What was he talking about, seeing the brilliance of the ocean gem with his own eyes?
The ocean gemstone was sealed inside the Bat-Signal, made of a promethium alloy.
How did Phantom Thief manage to take it out?
Even with tools made just for cutting promethium alloy, it would take a lot of time to cut some parts of the Bat-Signal.
It had been less than ten seconds since the tear gas had been let out.
Robin couldn't believe that Phantom Thief could have cut the promethium alloy and removed the gem from inside quickly.
After all, the only time Phantom Thief had the opportunity to tamper with the Bat-Signal was just now, when Robin had to step back due to accidentally inhaling tear gas.
Aside from those few seconds, it could be said that the Phantom Thief was always in Robin's line of sight.
Even the act of lifting the white cloth was Robin's doing; the Phantom Thief couldn't possibly have had time to steal the ocean gemstone.
"I know you're still around, Phantom Thief!"
In the thick smoke, Robin was standing near the Bat-Signal and shouting into the fog. He was constantly moving his vigilant gaze in preparation for any upcoming ambush.
But it turns out, there was no need.
Phantom Thief decided that he would not answer, show himself, or do anything, and he would completely ignore Robin.
Whether he found a hiding place or actually left, as he said, Robin couldn't just leave the Bat-Signal and randomly search for the Phantom Thief.
Phantom Thief would still be the one losing, even though it might not look great, as long as he ultimately protected the Bat-Signal and the ocean gem.
The field in the middle of Gotham City Stadium was very big, and even though the tear gas was very strong, it dissipated at an amazing rate.
After a short while, the thick smoke in front of Robin visibly dissipated.
The Phantom Thief had also vanished.
Meanwhile, the whole Bat Signal stood next to Robin.
Robin did a complete search of the area and found that Phantom Thief was no longer there, at least not in the area where the security cameras were in the middle of the field.
"This guy's escape method is still so mysterious. There's no glider in the sky and no figure on the ground. How on earth did he manage to escape?"
Robin shook his head.
The other theft methods could all be explained; with deep thought, anyone could find similar principles.
But this bizarre ability to suddenly appear and disappear had no logical explanation!
Oh well, never mind about that. Let the audience see that the Bat-Signal is actually still in place.
Robin began removing the special lenses from the Bat-Signal one by one, which was quite easy to do when there were cracks in the lenses.
"Hmm?"
After removing most of the lenses, Robin suddenly noticed that something was off about the Bat-Signal...
It seemed somewhat unusual.
First of all, the outer shell of the Bat-Signal didn't feel like metal when touched.
It felt more like plastic.
Then, when the Bat-Signal was turned on, instead of giving off light as it should, it was completely dark.
Also, the Bat-Signal seemed slightly larger than before...
Robin thought of a terrifying possibility.
Without hesitation, he reached out, grabbed the Bat-Signal in his hand, and lifted it up with ease.
In an instant, the Bat-Signal, which should have weighed several tons, was lifted by Robin as if it were incredibly lightweight.
"No, this weight is too light!"
Robin realized something was definitely wrong and immediately threw this so-called 'Bat-Signal' upwards and tossed it behind him.
After that, a much smaller flashlight appeared in front of his eyes.
Then it was still turned on.
When the light beam was followed, a cartoon of the Phantom Thief appeared in the night sky...
...
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