Chapter 146: Thurston Three Principles

"I know we said goodbye, but I didn't know. It was forever."

-Violet Evergarden (Violet Evergarden)

...

After leaving the Iceberg Casino, Dean carefully checked multiple times to make sure no one was following him before heading straight home.

Before entering his house, he went through another round of checks.

Dean had to do this every time he left in his disguise and returned home, which was both a burden and exhausting. But there was no other choice. Dean chose this profession, so he had to be very cautious.

He had to do it, no matter how hard or tiring it was.

After all, every time he performed as the Phantom Thief on stage, the cheers and amazement from the audience were real.

A genuine expression of frustration could also be seen on the faces of the GCPD policemen, who were powerless to stop him.

Most importantly, the points he received after a successful operation were very real.

Thinking about all this filled Dean's heart with motivation.

His past experiences have taught him that hard work doesn't always lead to the expected rewards. But now that he was in this world, the system rewarded him for all of his efforts.

Moreover, his efforts not only received a guaranteed return but also returned more than what he had invested.

With this perspective, the troublesome work Dean usually did didn't seem as difficult as he had imagined.

Back at home, Dean entered his underground secret room.

'I took a risk by using that trick in front of Batman. Given the worst-case scenario, he might know the secret of that trick and even connect it with other information.'

That's what Dean thought.

'But... how could I possibly perform the same magic trick in front of Batman? It would be too audacious to challenge the Thurston Three Principles in front of him.'

The so-called Thurston Three Principles referred to the fundamental principles laid down by a magician named Howard Thurston many years ago, which all magicians had followed for nearly a century.

These principles were:

1. Never reveal the secret to a trick.

2. Practice to perfection

3. Do not repeat tricks in front of the same audience.

There were rumors in the Gotham magic community that Howard Thurston might have some blood ties to Dean's Thurston family.

However, since it had been a long time since Dean's parents had died young and he had no other relatives, it was impossible to verify.

Dean couldn't be sure if it was true or not.

In short, according to Thurston's Third Principle, Dean had already performed a magic trick in front of Batman, so he couldn't perform the same trick on the same person.

However, Dean announces that the last time was just a rehearsal, and this time he would steal the Bat-Signal and the gem in the same way.

He can't just embarrass himself, can he?

But Dean is not worried because there are many magic tricks with similar effects but completely different methods.

He only said that he would use the same method as before. The other methods that were not revealed are still his secrets.

Everything is going according to Dean's plan...

However, the magic trick that Dean plans to use in the actual showdown is quite unique.

It has to have the same effect as the last time, but Batman can't easily figure it out.

This is actually quite difficult.

He would need to plan carefully, and he might even have to buy some of the items from the system.

...

Time flew by, and soon it was the day of the Phantom Thief's crime.

When the night fell, Phantom Thief would once again perform his miraculous magic trick of making the Bat-Signal disappear!

Today, the Phantom Thief's criminal activities have become a major source of entertainment for the people of Gotham.

It's a wonderful magic show to watch, and there's no need to worry about personal safety.

They can also see the angry expressions of the wealthy people whose items were stolen.

Is there anything more perfect show in the world?

Compared to the Phantom Thief, all the other magicians Gotham had seen before were amateurs!

It's not because Phantom Thief has a better level of magic than them, but because the excitement of a large-scale crime is something that no magic show can match.

Only the Phantom Thief dares to do this kind of thing in the whole world, and he was the only one who could pull it off.

In today's society, which has already entered the internet age, how could Phantom Thief's fame be limited only to Gotham?

Last month, a young magician in Florida tried to imitate the Phantom Thief by sending a notice to the police station and museum, saying he would steal something.

However, he was arrested on the very same day.

Apart from Florida, there were a few enthusiastic fans of the Phantom Thief or professional magicians trying to imitate his acts in other states.

However, they all ended up behind bars.

Surprisingly, there are no real criminals imitating the Phantom Thief in Gotham, where he himself often appears.

The Phantom Thief imitators in Gotham usually stop at the cosplay stage, and it's unknown if it's because the real Phantom Thief is here.

In any case, Gotham City Stadium was bustling like never before. This stadium, which can hold up to thirty thousand people, was completely full.

Usually, this kind of situation would only happen during the football league, but now it was because of a criminal.

In the past, Phantom Thief's crimes couldn't make room for too many people to watch at once due to the location, so the maximum audience was only a few thousand.

But today was different.

Bruce Wayne is rich, so he rented the whole Gotham City Stadium for Phantom Thief's show. This increased Phantom Thief's audience several times.

On the other side,

Wayne Enterprises, the boardroom

More than twenty major shareholders of Wayne Enterprises gathered at a round table.

Bruce Wayne, as chairman, sat in the main seat with a calm and relaxed expression.

The rest of the board members all had serious and uncertain faces.

"So, gentlemen on the board, do you have any objections to my proposal?"

Bruce asked with a smile on his face.

No one said a word.

"Hmph, Bruce, you'll bankrupt the company sooner or later!"

After a long time, an older-looking shareholder stood up from his seat and snorted coldly.

"This proposal gives me hope of making a profit, so I have no objections. But if you continue to invest in projects that don't make enough money, I will oppose it no matter what!" he continued.

"Bruce, you think you're doing good deeds by fighting for the interests of the poor, regardless of cost. Do you know that over the years, some of the company's biggest residential development projects haven't even made money? Don't forget, the company needs to make a profit to survive!"

Bruce paid little attention to the old shareholder's words.

He simply smiled and replied, "The company's profit situation in recent years has been good. It's true that our profits are not as high as when you were in charge, but our profit margins have been steadily increasing every quarter."

"You have never received a lower dividend every year. I don't understand what you're worried about."

At this point, the smile on Bruce's face slowly disappeared, and he became serious.

...

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