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"…Just as I thought. There's no way Kaitou Kid would let himself be caught on surveillance."
Ten minutes later, Robin sat alone on the rooftop, the cold wind whipping his yellow-and-black cape.
Moments earlier, Oracle had sent him a message. She had checked every surveillance record within a one-kilometer radius of the Vanafor Family Estate, but none of them showed any trace of Kaitou Kid.
Robin was not surprised by the result.
After witnessing Kaitou Kid's magic-like performance with his own eyes, Robin's view of him had completely changed.
Kaitou Kid was definitely not an opponent to be underestimated.
Expecting to catch him with ordinary investigative methods was nothing more than wishful thinking.
"Kaitou Kid, this time I was completely played by you. But.. next time, I will definitely uncover your true face."
Recalling the arrogant words Kaitou Kid had spoken to him earlier, Robin clenched his fists in frustration.
...
"Hmm~ hm, hMMm~~~♫"
Meanwhile, several kilometers away by a river, Darren, still dressed in his phantom thief attire, landed on an open grassy field.
He took out the necklace, pinched the gemstone set into it between two fingers, and tilted his head slightly, lifting it toward the moon in the sky.
There was no real purpose behind the gesture. Darren did not need some mystical gem that changed under moonlight. It was simply a matter of ritual.
Just then, the system's notification sound echoed in his ear.
Congratulations to the host for completing the objective 'Steal the Vanafor Necklace.'
Completion Difficulty: Medium
Treasure Quality: Common
Style Index: Explosive!!
Comprehensive Evaluation: D+
Just like the last time he stole the Tear of the Goddess, the system first announced the mission evaluation.
Next came the automatic draw for a random reward.
Darren was looking forward to what he would get this time.
Although the Golden Finger from before was highly versatile and useful in many situations, it did not offer much improvement to his actual combat ability or survival chances.
He knew very well what kind of dangerous world he lived in. Relying solely on magic tricks, disguises, and clever gadgets to look impressive would never be enough to last long.
No matter how hard Darren tried to avoid direct confrontation, he would eventually have to face superheroes and supervillains alike.
It was only a matter of time.
So he hoped to draw an item or skill that could strengthen him as soon as possible.
Otherwise, when it really came time to stand against that group of "gods," his little tricks would not be worth mentioning at all.
To his surprise, the notification for receiving the reward did not sound right away.
"Hmm? What's going on? Is the system lagging?"
Just as Darren was feeling puzzled, a brand-new notification reached his ears.
Detected trace amounts of amber gold radiation on the Vanafor necklace. Prolonged exposure will cause the wearer's mind to descend into madness.
Option available: absorb the amber gold radiation to enhance the quality of this random reward. Do you wish to proceed?
The moment he heard this, Darren's expression changed.
He had just heard a term he should not have heard at this point in time.
Amber gold.
A mysterious metal infused with supernatural power.
It could grant living beings immortality, yet at the same time drove them into extreme madness.
This metal was controlled by the legendary Court of Owls and used to create their immortal assassins, the Talons.
And behind the Court of Owls lurked a hidden, terrifying evil god of multiversal scale.
"This necklace actually carries amber gold radiation. It wouldn't be like this unless it had been kept in an environment with a large amount of amber gold for many years."
Darren studied the necklace in his hand with a serious expression.
"In that case, the Vanafor Family must also be connected to the Court of Owls. Thinking about it, there are hardly any old families in Gotham that have nothing to do with the Court."
The long-standing legends about the curse on the Vanafor necklace now made sense. It had all been because of the amber gold.
No wonder Ms. Samantha had been willing to hand the necklace over to Kaitou Kid and had even warned him so bluntly.
Knowing the secrets of amber gold, the Vanafor Family's status within the Court of Owls was likely quite high.
"This is troublesome. It looks like I've unknowingly offended Gotham's real power behind the scenes…"
Just moments ago, Darren had been worrying about when he might clash directly with a supervillain. Now he was being told the conflict had already begun.
Could his luck get any worse?
Since things had come to this, all he could do was see what reward the system would give him.
"System, absorb the amber gold radiation from the necklace, then draw the reward."
Absorption beginning. Absorption complete.
Random reward draw beginning…
Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Silvercat Ring!
Silvercat Ring: Negates fall damage that would not result in instant death.
Review: As long as it doesn't kill you, just keep falling.
After the draw, the system notification fell silent once more.
With a flash of white light, a ring appeared on Darren's right index finger.
"Negates nonlethal fall damage… so what about lethal falls?"
Darren turned the Silvercat Ring on his finger and could not help complaining.
You could not say it was extremely useful, but you could not say it was completely useless either.
When gliding through the air or being forced onto a rooftop while escaping, as long as the height was not enough to kill him instantly on impact, even if he was left with only one breath afterward, he would be guaranteed to suffer no injuries.
In certain situations, its value was actually quite high.
At the very least, it counted as an improvement to his survival ability.
And the biggest benefit was that when Darren wanted to perform more daring up-and-down stunts in the future, he would not have to worry about whether his knees could handle it.
"The question now is, what should I do with this thing?"
Darren took one last look at the Vanafor emerald necklace, which had completely reverted to an ordinary piece of jewelry after the system absorbed the amber gold radiation.
Setting aside his phantom thief instincts for the moment, just knowing that it came from the Court of Owls meant it should be thrown as far away as possible.
"Return it to the Vanafor Family Estate? That doesn't sound wise. Now there might already be a bunch of Talons hiding there, waiting for me to walk into a trap. Hand it over to the GCPD? I gave them something last time. Going back again would feel a bit anticlimactic…"
"Tsk, forget it. I don't feel like overthinking this anymore. I'll just toss it somewhere. Whatever happens, happens."
After thinking it over, Darren made his decision.
He lifted the necklace high and hurled it toward the small river nearby. The necklace sank slowly into the water.
Darren was not worried that it would stay there forever. The river was shallow, the current was gentle, and people often came here to walk or fish.
And even if no one ended up finding it, he had plenty of ways to guide people here later for a little treasure hunt.
After getting rid of the necklace, Darren straightened his clothes and left the area without another glance.
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