Chapter 189: Twist

"A friend to all is a friend to none."

- Aristotle 

...

"What the fuck! Can someone tell me what the heck is going on with this plot?"

The sudden twist shocked the media audience who were watching the virtual livestream.

"The Black Mask is aiming his gun at his own teammate? What is he trying to do?"

"What the hell! Bruce Wayne isn't real; he's a realistic dummy?"

"That person with the white skull mask isn't one of Black Mask's henchmen! Who is he? What's his purpose? Could he be an undercover GCPD agent? Does he know Bruce Wayne's real location?"

As people speculated about the true identity of the White Skull, a surprise suddenly happened.

"Hey! Hey! Why did the screen suddenly go black?"

The virtual livestream abruptly closed, and no matter how people tried to use their devices, they couldn't reopen it.

They were left with an unfinished livestream right at a critical moment, and it had automatically shut down!

"Come on! Whoever hacked and released that part of the livestream, hurry up and fix it! What happened in the end?"

The impatient audience frantically tapped on their phones while searching through search engines to find the complete recording of the livestream.

Of course, they wouldn't find anything.

After about ten seconds or so, the livestream resumed, and the scene with the Black Mask asking the White Skull with the gun remained.

"It... it's back?"

The audience watching the livestream wondered in surprise.

Is it just a reconnection?

No, that couldn't be it. Their home internet connections were fine.

Could it be that the hacker had a bad internet connection?

Yeah, that must be it!

On the other side, inside Robinson Park, Black Mask stared coldly at White Skull.

"Who are you really? What's your purpose in bringing me here? Why are you helping Bruce Wayne?"

"Who am I?"

In response to the Black Mask's questioning, the White Skull smiled lightly and spread his hands.

"Since you can tell that 'Bruce Wayne' is a fake and you've seen through my disguise, why don't you try to guess my identity, Mr. Sionis?"

"Hmph! A boring game."

Black Mask snorted and then continued.

"In Gotham, someone skilled at creating realistic dummies, proficient in disguise, and absolutely confident in their ability to infiltrate—I can think of one person."

"The Phantom Thief, I'm not mistaken, am I?"

Clap! Clap! Clap!

"I didn't expect the busy Mr. Sionis to have heard of my name. It's truly an honor."

The White Skull clapped his hands with a smile and then quickly reached out and pulled at his collar, transforming himself completely.

A figure dressed in a white suit with a white top hat appeared before Black Mask's eyes.

The sight of the figure caused a noise in the live stream.

The figure turned out to be the Phantom Thief!

Why would Phantom Thief disguise himself as White Skull and infiltrate the False Face Society?

What was his purpose in using Bruce Wayne's dummy to catch Black Mask's attention?

The Black Mask didn't have any valuable treasures, so why was the Phantom Thief after him?

The Phantom Thief had no reason to get involved with Black Mask! He was just a thief; why would he want to join in on this mess?

The Black Mask had nothing valuable left and lost his family's fortune. So, what could the Phantom Thief be after?

"I've heard that Phantom Thief's ability to change disguises instantly makes it impossible to detect any flaws. I used to think it was just an exaggeration, but today I see it's not."

Black Mask was pointing at the Phantom Thief with his gun.

"Tell me where Bruce Wayne is, and I might spare your life."

"Well, unfortunately, I can't tell you, Mr. Sionis, because I don't know either."

Phantom Thief was facing the gun, but he didn't seem to mind and shrugged.

"Phantom Thief, I don't recall ever crossing paths with you. Why are you helping that cunning little man, Bruce Wayne? How much did he pay you to be his scapegoat?"

[Scapegoat: a person who is blamed for something that someone else has done.]

Black Mask asked in confusion.

"Who said I'm helping Bruce Wayne? No one can hire the Phantom Thief to do something he doesn't want to. I'm just interested in your mask."

The Phantom Thief spoke casually.

"What did you say?"

This response surprised the Black Mask.

"In short, I want to steal your mask, Mr. Sionis."

The Phantom Thief calmly added.

"Normally, I would have sent you a notice letter in advance, but given the current situation in Gotham, it's not very suitable to distribute notice letters. So, I thought I'd personally inform you."

"Are you joking with me, Phantom Thief?"

Black Mask seemed amused.

"If you don't want to tell me Bruce Wayne's location, that's fine; I can find out on my own."

As he said this, Black Mask suddenly uttered somewhat cryptic words.

The Phantom Thief's mind raced.

He wondered if the Black Mask was trying to use mind-control abilities.

'What was going to happen?'

Suddenly, a faint red light emanated from the Black Mask's eyes as he stared intensely at the Phantom Thief while asking him in a sinister tone, "Tell me, where is Bruce Wayne?"

The Phantom Thief stood quietly facing the Black Mask.

'Is Black Mask using his power?'

Phantom Thief wondered himself. He felt no effects from the mind control that may have been triggered.

Why wasn't there any kind of alert?

"Hmm?"

Seeing that Phantom Thief was not affected, Black Mask's expression changed, and he couldn't believe it. He asked him in disbelief.

"This can't be! What have you done? Why didn't you obey my command?"

"Uh, calm down, Mr. Sionis. I haven't done anything. I really don't know where Bruce Wayne is."

The Phantom Thief raised his hands to show he hadn't done anything.

"Instead of asking me what I did just now, I think you should be careful about what's behind you."

Suddenly, the Phantom Thief hinted at something behind Black Mask.

"Do you think I'm like that Robin who you always toy with?"

Black Mask sneered.

"I will never let you out of my sight, and I won't move the gun away from you..."

"Since you don't know where Bruce Wayne is, you're of no value to me."

As he spoke, Black Mask was about to pull the trigger.

Boom!

Suddenly, a deafening explosion erupted from behind Black Mask.

...

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