Chapter 2: Solving the Puzzle

After careful consideration, Dean finally decided to copy the Phantom Thief Kid.

It's not that other legendary thieves weren't good, but Phantom Kid had a slight advantage when it came to producing amazement points for people.

Although he had made up his mind, Dean didn't know what to do.

After all, Gotham is a place known for its law-abiding citizens, where you could encounter someone on the street who might suddenly pull out a gun and start shooting randomly.

More importantly, let's not forget the world's greatest detective, Batman.

Without some real skills, Dean was worried he might get caught and end up in Blackgate Penitentiary right after starting his career.

Well, Dean doesn't have a serious mental illness, so he's not suitable for Arkham Asylum.

So, Dean spent many years training himself, honing the skills he received from the system—disguise, voice-changing, magic, and others—to a proficient level before he dared to send out his first notice letter.

That was a week ago, the one received by the Gotham Art Museum.

The result wasn't great. The museum didn't take the notice letter seriously at all, so Dean easily got a jewelry bracelet.

Except for a dozen security guards on patrol, no one saw Dean, and the number of amazement points he received was low.

However, this operation confirmed Dean's thought that he indeed needed to perform actions under the identity of a mysterious thief to receive amazement points.

Then he sent out the second notice letter and returned the bracelet as well.

In order to ensure that it can attract more viewers this time, Dean went the extra mile and sent notice letters to multiple major media outlets in Gotham.

He hoped that more reporters would come, helping him make a name for himself.

Of course, there's also the possibility that he might make a mistake.

"There are still five days until the notice day. I wonder how GCPD will handle me..."

Dean walked to the window and looked at the bright Batman symbol in the sky and silently pondering.

Five days flew by in the blink of an eye, and soon it was February 19th.

The Gotham Art Museum was filled with over a hundred guards spread out through the exhibition halls and corridors.

Half of them were GCPD officers, and the other half were security guards that the museum had hired.

They kept a close eye on the visitors entering the museum, trying to find someone suspected of being the mysterious Phantom Thief Kid.

"Jim, this kid called Phantom Thief Kid, is he really going to show up? We've been guarding the museum for five whole days, and we've had several shifts. GCPD doesn't have that many resources to waste."

At the entrance of the museum, two old detectives in trench coats were having a conversation.

One of them was Commissioner Gordon.

The detective speaking to him had a greasy cowboy hat on his head, a beard covering his face, and a beer belly.

Harvey Bullock, a veteran detective who had worked alongside Gordon for many years, was his partner when Gordon moved to Gotham.

"If you ask me, that guy might have been scared off by our setup," Harvey said.

"Don't let your guard down, Harvey. If I'm not mistaken, today is the day he'll make his move,"

Gordon warned seriously.

"Today? Are you so sure?"

Harvey lit a cigarette and took a deep puff. It seemed that Gordon's warning had no effect on him.

Gordon knew all too well what kind of person Harvey was; he didn't expect him to change his careless behavior.

He took out the Phantom Thief Kid's notice letter from his pocket.

"The last drop of water falls in the transparent bottle,

A newborn fish leaps out of the dried-up bottle,

The trapped angel weeps in sorrow,

When the flipped "L" appears on top of the tower,

Silver-white wings descend guided by moonlight,

Wiping away the tears of the angel.

Yours sincerely, Phantom Thief Kid."

Based on the contents above, Gordon gave his own idea.

"The transparent bottle likely refers to Aquarius, and the fish symbolizes Pisces. Combining the first two lines, it means the last day of Aquarius has passed, and the first day of Pisces has arrived."

"February 19th, that's today."

Harvey rubbed his chin and asked, "What about the trapped angel? What does it mean?"

"Harvey! You didn't listen during the case analysis meeting a few days ago, did you?"

Gordon stared and said, "One of the most valuable collections in the Gotham Art Museum is called 'Tears of an Angel'"

Tears of an Angel, the treasure control of the Gotham Art Museum, is an uncut natural ruby named for its tear-like shape and deep red color.

"Alright, alright, now we know that Phantom Thief Kid will make a move today, and the target is a precious ruby."

Harvey chuckled.

"So... what does the flipped L mean? On top of a tower? There is no tower-like building near the museum at all."

"I don't know, I still can't figure out the meaning of the last two lines."

Gordon shook his head, showing that he also had no clue.

"I really don't understand what the thief has in mind these days. He goes through all these twists and turns, revealing his plans to others before he acts, even returning what he stole. So why would he steal in the first place? What's the meaning behind all these things?"

Bullock exhaled a mouthful of smoke rings and said in astonishment.

"It's just like the Riddler back in the day, no, wait, the Riddler would never return what he stole. This guy is even crazier than the Riddler!"

"I've asked Robin for help. Maybe he can decipher the complete message."

Gordon looked into the distance.

"The kid who always follows Batman? Haven't seen him around here, but considering he's Batman's sidekick, it's not surprising that he was difficult to find."

Harvey spoke with a cigarette in his mouth.

"And we can't completely rely on others for our work."

Gordon turned back.

On the other side, On the rooftop of a tall building near the Gotham Art Museum, a young boy dressed in strange clothing was trying to solve Phantom Thief Kid's letter.

"February 19th, Gotham Art Museum, Tears of an Angel ruby... These clues should be correct, but what do 'flipped L' and 'tower,' refer to?"

Robin looked around the museum but didn't see any buildings that looked like towers.

"Maybe it's not a specific building, but a symbolic representation. What kind of tower would have an object that resembles an L shape? I can think of the hands of a clock on a clock tower."

His eyes squinted slightly as his thoughts became more active.

"L flipped over is ┓, which reaches to 21:30 on the clock! That's the most possible explanation."

"But what about the silver-white wings? Does Phantom Thief Kid actually have a pair of wings?"

Robin pondered, "It's not impossible, considering the craziness of this world."

"There is still an hour and a half before 9:30. I'm curious to see how this mysterious thief will 'descend guided by moonlight'..."

He didn't plan to enter the museum but sat on the rooftop and waited for Phantom Thief Kid to appear.

If Phantom Thief Kid truly intended to infiltrate through the sky, Robin would stop him from outside.

Even if the contents of the notice letter were a distraction and Phantom Thief Kid snuck in from the ground, Robin could still see the situation from the tall building.

At the same time, a patrolling security guard inside the museum quietly stretched out his hand to check the time, and there was a hint of excitement deep in his eyes.

"The stage is set, the countdown begins."

...

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