Chapter 136: Provoked

"You need to stop focusing on the darkness behind you. The past is the past. Nothing can change what we've done."

- Walter White (Breaking Bad)

...

After some time, all the inspections were completed.

First, Lucius and Jim carefully inspected the Bat-Signal for a long time but found no signs of tampering.

Then, they used a specialized high-frequency vibrating molecular blade to cut through Promethium to remove the Bat-Signal's cover and cut it open.

The Atlantis Ocean Gem was indeed still inside.

After Bruce looked at the gem, it was confirmed that the ocean gemstone was real.

It must be said that promethium is incredibly strong, and even a tool capable of cutting at the molecular level took quite some time to open the Bat-Signal's glass.

Afterward, they had to use a new Bat-Signal's glass to place the Ocean Gem back inside and seal it again.

It was a tiresome and troublesome task, but it was necessary.

As for the cameras, Lucius's concerns unfortunately came true.

Those seven malfunctioning cameras had small timer electromagnetic explosion devices installed inside them, with a very small impact that could disable just one camera.

When the countdown on these devices reached zero, those cameras were shut down, and they didn't capture any footage of the Phantom Thief, making the Bat-Signal disappear after that.

Despite the regret, the fact remained that they missed crucial evidence to expose the Phantom Thief.

Jim returned to GCPD with a sense of frustration.

He needed to arrange personnel for Bruce's upcoming confrontation with the Phantom Thief in three days.

Even though Bruce always said he didn't want the police to protect the gem up close, it was clear that on the day of Phantom Thief's crime, a lot of people would gather at the Gotham City Stadium.

Even if it was just to maintain the order, they would need a lot of police there.

After all, Phantom Thief's situation was different from that of certain celebrities, and Gotham's situation was different from other cities.

When there were more people, the level of danger could skyrocket.

Therefore, Jim took charge of the entire audience section and the outside perimeter of Gotham City Stadium, while Bruce handled the football field where the Bat-Signal was located.

On the other hand, Bruce's mood wasn't as up and down as Jim's.

When Bruce lost the footage from seven cameras, he did lose an important key, but it also led him to another clue.

Back in the Batcave, Bruce sat down in front of the Batcomputer to start his night shift. He thought about many different possibilities that all needed to be checked one by one.

Shortly after, Dick pushed a very broken Batcycle into the Batcave while suited up as Robin.

His first words when returning were directed at Bruce, "How did it feel meeting Phantom Thief for the first time?"

"This is the third Batcycle you've destroyed this month."

Bruce replied without even looking at him.

"What's the big deal? It's not like you're short on motorcycles anyway... Don't look at me like that, and I didn't damage anyone else's vehicle or public property. I had no choice but to do it to save someone."

Dick shrugged off the accusation.

At first, Dick didn't seem to care, but after Bruce turned to look at him expressionlessly, he quickly changed his voice and explained how he had damaged the Batcycles.

He finished his explanation, and Bruce listened without comment.

There was no blame, no praise, not even a comment. Bruce simply turned back to continue working on the Batcomputer.

'It's still the same as always. I can never figure out what Bruce is thinking. Every time I think he's going to praise me, he ends up criticizing me, and every time I think I've messed up, he'll smile and say, 'Good job,''

Dick thought to himself with a hint of helplessness. But he was mostly immune to Bruce's "couldn't care less" attitude.

With a relaxed smile on his face, Dick walked over to Bruce's side and playfully said, "I heard something on my way back about the Gotham City Stadium. They said that the Phantom Thief stole the entire Bat-Signal right in front of all of you. I thought for sure you were going to chase after him and teach him a lesson."

Bruce didn't say anything and kept working as if he couldn't hear anything Dick said.

"Well, okay, I won't bother you. I'll go find Alfred and get something to eat. I'm starving tonight."

Dick said it with a bored expression on his face. He shook his head and muttered to himself as he turned to walk upstairs.

"There are a few grilled meat rolls in the dining room. Alfred kept them specially for you."

Bruce's voice suddenly came from behind Dick. When Dick turned around, Bruce hadn't moved at all, as if he wasn't the one to talk just now.

"Got it; I'll go eat them."

Dick replied with a slight smirk and turned to continue walking.

...

The next day, news about the rehearsal of The Phantom Thief last night swept through Gotham City like a storm.

Newspapers, TV news, online media, and social media—every single one of them made Phantom Thief the headline for today.

In fact, there had been rumors circulating since last night, but today they turned into an explosion of information.

There were rumors about the Phantom Thief's instant teleportation, his miracle of making the Batlight disappear and reappear, and his magnificent exit.

These stories went viral on all major platforms overnight.

One reporter or paparazzo even uploaded a video of Phantom Thief on YouTube, and it got more than two million views in a short time.

Meanwhile...

In the Diamond District, at the Iceberg Lounge

Penguin read the news for today with a smirk on his face.

"Phantom Thief Kid is in trouble."

Penguin said.

"Boss, What do you mean..."

Penguin's personal secretary, Ignatius, asked in confusion.

Since Ignatius's failed plan with the 'Stone of Misfortune', Penguin has been disappointed with him.

Penguin was afraid that Phantom Thief would use the 'Stone of Misfortune' to get revenge on him, so he had to go to Calculator to buy a talisman that could protect him from bad luck.

It's worth mentioning that the talisman, just like the 'Stone of Misfortune', was bought from Felix Faust.

Its effect was just enough to resist the curse of the 'Stone of Misfortune', and it cost over three million dollars.

As for whether there were any unknown commercial secrets behind it, Penguin said he didn't want to discuss it further.

Luckily, these past few days had been calm, and Phantom Thief hadn't come to find him.

The Penguin didn't want to keep fighting with the Phantom Thief either because it was dangerous.

But Penguin couldn't help but smile when he saw Bruce Wayne declare war on Phantom Thief and heard that Phantom Thief had stolen the Bat-Signal last night.

Facing Ignatius' puzzled question, Penguin simply said, "You don't understand what Bruce Wayne means to this city, and you don't understand what the Bat-Signal means to all criminals."

Penguin's lips curled into an obvious smirk.

"Phantom Thief dared to go against the Bat-Signal. His good days are about to end because his actions have provoked the wrong person."

...

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