"What! The Phantom Thief is eyeing my beloved gem?"
This familiar notice of theft instantly made the mayor think of the Phantom Thief, and his heart tightened.
He didn't even bother to look at the signature at the bottom of the notice.
It's Phantom Thief, a thief even Batman can't easily deal with!
'Is it possible for the mayor's residence to stop Phantom Thief with just its level of security?'
The mayor was thinking very hard, and sweat was running down his forehead.
There was no way he could avoid admitting this, but he had to.
A strong sense of crisis and despair crawled into the mayor's heart.
It wouldn't matter much if he was just a normal rich person because the Phantom Thief would return the stolen gem, so there would be no real economic loss.
That is until he realizes that he is the Mayor of Gotham, who is the city's most important official and somewhat represents the city's reputation.
There will be huge damage to the reputation of Gotham's government if the Phantom Thief can freely break in and steal valuable things from the mayor's mansion.
However, the city government's image in Gotham is already pretty bad...
It was the mayor's old butler Rogers' voice that suddenly cut through the hopelessness he was feeling about the future.
"No, sir, the Phantom Thief did not send this notice!"
'Huh?'
The mayor was taken aback by these words.
When he lowered his head to look, he found that the bottom notice was from Phantom Thief 'Black Crow,' not just Phantom Thief.
Moreover, the style of this announcement was slightly different. The card was black, and the text on it was white, opposite Phantom Thief's notice.
At the same time, there was a cartoon head similar to that of the Phantom Thief in the bottom right corner of his notice.
For some reason, this notice gave the impression not of a clumsy imitator of Phantom Thief but rather of an enemy constantly opposite him.
"Phantom Thief Black Crow? Who's that? I don't remember anyone in Gotham using that alias."
After muttering this unfamiliar alias twice, the mayor was certain that there was no one with this name in his memory.
When he became mayor of Gotham, he first learned about the city's criminals and figured out who needed his full attention and who was just a henchman.
This whole thing needs to be remembered.
For names like Phantom Thief Black Crow that he has never heard of, they are ninety percent likely to be newcomers just stepping onto the criminal path.
Therefore, the urgency in the mayor's mind disappeared in an instant.
"Since it's not a notice from Phantom Thief, there's nothing to worry about."
That's what the mayor thought, and his face quickly became calm again; there was a hint of sarcasm and disdain in it.
"Rogers, this so-called Phantom Thief Black Crow is probably just an imitator of Phantom Thief, not much different from that Phantom Thief that was often seen in Gotham a while ago."
"All because of your unnecessary panic, you scared me, which made me think something big happened at home. And all this fuss was just to show me this?"
The mayor waved the notice towards Rogers with a disapproving tone.
Rogers's panic on his face remained. He shook his head desperately and asked, "Sir, do you know how this notice was discovered?"
"Huh?"
The mayor looked at him strangely.
"How was it discovered? Isn't it just some servant finding the card in a familiar place by chance during work? That's how Phantom Thief's previous notice was found, and his imitators should follow the same habit."
"No, sir."
Unexpectedly, Rogers shook his head, then nodded, unsure whether he agreed or disagreed with the mayor's guess.
"This notice... was found inside the glass cabinet containing the 'Eye of the Sky'!"
Rogers spoke up.
"What did you say?"
The mayor couldn't believe his ears.
"Yes, you heard it right. I found this announcement when I was passing through the treasure room from the glass cabinet right in the middle where the 'Eye of the Sky' is stored."
"The card isn't stuck on the outside of the glass cabinet, but it was actually placed inside! And above the glass cabinet, there's a hole just big enough for an arm to reach in!"
Rogers spoke with a lingering fear on his face.
"In other words, this person unknowingly infiltrated, bypassed all our monitoring devices and security measures, and smoothly reached the location of the 'Eye of the Sky'."
"Wait a minute, Rogers; something doesn't add up..."
At this moment, the mayor stopped Rogers while looking unbelievably shocked.
"You're saying that the Phantom Thief Black Crow's notice was found inside the glass cabinet? Doesn't that mean he has already managed to steal the 'Eye of the Sky'? Why didn't he just take the gem instead of leaving a notice?"
"I... I don't know."
Rogers lowered his head.
"By the way, what time is it now?"
Suddenly, the mayor remembered the time mentioned in the notice and quickly checked his wristwatch.
"It's midnight and fifty-three minutes. There are still over two hours left until the specified time."
"Sir, should we inform the GCPD?"
Rogers asked.
"Do I even need to ask? Immediately contact Jim Gordon and send someone over! But don't rely on the GCPD; time might be too tight. We have to protect the 'Eye of the Sky' ourselves!"
At this moment, the mayor showed a touch of determination in his eyes while giving orders to Rogers.
"Rogers, gather all the security personnel here, and I won't allow anyone to steal the 'Eye of the Sky', not even Phantom Thief!"
After a while.
The mayor of Gotham City Hall, Rogers, and more than twenty tall and strong bodyguards went to the treasure room and gathered around the glass cabinet that held the 'Eye of the Sky'.
The glass cabinet indeed had a hole large enough for an arm to reach in, and right below that hole, a brilliant sapphire gem lay peacefully on a red cloth while shining brightly.
"Sir, it's well-known that the Phantom Thief is particularly skilled in disguise. If this Phantom Thief Black Crow has a similar skill set, there's a high chance he's currently hiding among us."
Rogers whispered to the mayor while keeping close.
"Yes, Rogers, you're right."
Suddenly, the mayor's eyes became very sharp after looking at Rogers calmly.
"Because you are the Phantom Thief Black Crow!"
As soon as he spoke, the more than twenty bodyguards in the room raised their guns at the same time and pointed them at Rogers.
The mayor walked to the glass cabinet containing the Eye of the Sky, and his gaze was cold. He extended his hands and lifted the top of the cabinet.
In the next moment, the top of the glass cabinet was lifted entirely and revealed not the gem but another airtight cover!
Strictly speaking, this was the real top of the glass cabinet.
The glass cover with the hole was just an illusion placed on top to create the appearance of an opening.
This phenomenon meant that Rogers lied about finding the announcement inside the glass cabinet.
In this current situation, the only person who would tell such a lie had one possible identity.
"How did you figure it out, Mayor?"
Seeing his identity exposed, Rogers didn't bother to pretend any longer.
Next, he made an unexpected move.
...
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