Chapter 6: The Farewell Gift

At the moment when Phantom Thief Kid showed the pocket watch, the power in the museum was suddenly restored.

On each floor, in every exhibition hall, all the lights brightened, and the once-dark surroundings were instantly filled with light.

The spotlight that was shining on Phantom Thief Kid had already been turned off.

When people's eyes adapted to the darkness and suddenly entered a bright environment, there would be a short moment of bad vision.

In other words, at the moment when the lights in the museum were restored, everyone in the building lost sight of Phantom Thief Kid.

Even Robin, who was trained, was soon blinded by the sudden change.

"Goodbye, Wonder Boy."

At that moment, Phantom Thief Kid's voice drifted into Robin's ears.

As soon as the voice faded, Robin's vision immediately returned.

He immediately turned his head towards Phantom Kid and then heard a loud thud. Suddenly, a cloud of smoke enveloped him in front of him.

Strangely, this cloud of smoke only lasted a very short time before dissipating.

Maybe a second or two, or even less than a second?

Basically, when Robin saw the smoke engulfing the Phantom Thief Kid, the smoke was already showing signs of dissipating.

Robin didn't know what Phantom Thief Kid planned for using this kind of smoke bomb that would dissipate quickly.

The two are in the center of the exhibition hall, not too far from any of the four walls.

It was almost impossible for Phantom Thief Kid to escape before the smoke cleared.

The museum's entrance was behind Phantom Thief Kid, and there were more than a dozen security guards there.

Although they had just been knocked out of their weapons, they would have enough time to get their guns now.

Not to mention the other security personnel from other floors were also rushing over here.

Robin didn't believe that Phantom Thief Kid's skills could take down so many people in such a short time.

If Phantom Kid didn't go through the main entrance but planned to go around and jump out the window from the opposite side, he would run with Gordon and the GCPD.

Even if these two reasons were put aside, Robin had the most simple and direct evidence.

That is, he hadn't heard any footsteps and hadn't seen anyone appear from the smoke.

In other words, in theory, Phantom Thief Kid should be hiding within the range of the smoke.

But is that really the case?

Robin didn't think so.

It doesn't make any sense to throw a smoke bomb that would quickly dissipate in no time and then stay in the same spot.

It couldn't disturb the opponent or help him escape. Why would Phantom Thief Kid go through all this trouble?

There must be a dummy in it!

Just like the dummy that appeared in the sky above the museum earlier, which was used to draw everyone's attention.

Sure enough, when the smoke cleared, Phantom Thief Kid, who was supposed to be inside the smoke, disappeared without a trace.

"Great, one problem solved, but a new problem popped up—where did that guy go?"

Robin squinted his eyes and looked around.

Within a radius of ten meters, there was no wall for the Phantom Thief Kid to hide behind except for various transparent glass cases.

Just then, he suddenly heard a strange noise coming from above his head.

Clang, clang, clang!

He immediately looked up and saw that the ceiling above him was actually a ventilation duct.

A ventilation duct?

Could it be that Phantom Thief Kid took the opportunity to climb into the ventilation shaft just now?

That was definitely not possible!

The ventilation ducts in the museum were small, and there was no way a person could crawl inside.

The shutters of the ventilation duct were still in perfect condition, with no signs of being removed.

It's not just Robin's side, there are a total of six ventilation ducts in the exhibition hall, and each vent makes a similar sound.

"Hey, did you hear that strange noise?"

One sharp visitor near a ventilation duct was the first to hear the sound and asked his friend.

"What sound...wait, it sounds like there's something making a noise..."

"I heard it too, it's coming from the ventilation duct!"

More and more people noticed the unusual movement above them.

"Listen, the sound is getting closer, it's like something is about to come out of the ventilation duct!"

A visitor pointed to the ventilation duct on the ceiling and shouted loudly.

The fear of the unknown and curiosity drove the citizens of Gotham to look up at the ventilation ducts.

Of course, no one dared to stand directly below the ducts, what if something dangerous came out?

Robin did the same.

He took several steps back, keeping a close eye on the increasingly loud noise from the ventilation duct.

At that moment, Dean, who was hiding somewhere, smiled slightly, stretched out his right hand, and snapped his fingers.

Snap!

With a crisp sound, the disturbance inside the ventilation duct finally burst out.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

It was a flood of white cards with texts and the image of the Phantom Thief Kid flying out of the gaps between the gaps of each ventilation duct.

The number of these cards was astonishing, continuously pouring out from the ventilation system, covering the entire exhibition hall like rain.

Immediately afterwards, a scent of flowers began to fill the air.

Along with the white overflow pouring from the ventilation ducts, many small red objects also floated out.

These objects were lighter than the cards and dropped more slowly.

"Ah! They're flower petals, rose petals!"

Among the crowd, several young and beautiful girls caught a few of them and were surprised to find that they were rose petals.

The petals, mixed with the cards, filled every corner of the scene.

Soon, Phantom Thief Kid's cards were all finished, but the petals continued to fall.

Endless red petals slowly drifted down, filling the entire space with a captivating scent.

On the other hand, Robin was not interested in the petals. He picked up one of the tightly scattered cards that had fallen to the ground.

The card had the same design as Kid's last announcement but with different content.

"I would like to dedicate this flower rain to the audience of my first performance, Thank you for the fateful encounter that made you and me intertwined, I will present more exciting performances in the future, please look forward to it.

Sincerely, Phantom Thief Kid"

After reading the contents of the card, Robin fell silent for a moment. He silently picked up another card with the same content.

Each card contained a message from the Phantom Thief Kid.

"A future performance, huh? This is a hint that there will be another crime..."

Robin crumpled the card into a ball, his eyes filled with a competitive expression.

"At first, I thought he was just a small thief, but I didn't expect him to be quite capable. I was careless this time, but I'll catch you next time!"

Robin looked deeply at the chaotic scene, filled with petals and cards raining down.

He had no intention of staying here any longer.

He shot a Grapple Gun towards the ceiling above the glass window, jumping high into the air within the exhibition hall.

Just as he swung out of the window, his figure disappeared into the night.

...

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