Iselin's plan was simple—feminine charm, but not the ordinary kind.
She pulled her neckline down again, revealing her dazzling white chest, checked the recorder in the pocket of her long skirt, and grabbed her press pass in hand. Ready. Time to go.
Knock, door opened.
"I'm from the Lost Property Investigation Division, name's Iselin. I have a few questions," she quickly flashed her press pass in front of the cop's face, acting all sweet and delicate.
Sure enough, beauty was always the best trick. That young cop never took his eyes off Iselin's chest and didn't even notice she wasn't showing a police badge at all. "Come in."
Pantheon had already drunk a few cups of coffee and needed to pee, but when he saw the beauty, he held it in immediately.
"I'm from the Lost Property Division, got a few things to ask." Iselin kept a straight face.
"Go ahead." Pantheon was already sick of being questioned by the police, but this new officer was a beautiful woman, and beauties deserved special treatment.
Of course, none of them recognized Iselin from TV, because Gotham City Channel 3 had barely any viewers.
"Did you see the thief's face?"
"No. He had his back to the moonlight, so I couldn't see clearly. Plus, he wore a monocle over his right eye. But he was dressed all in white." Pantheon carefully described Kaitou Kid's look.
Iselin felt excited—a gentlemanly thief? That was definitely something people would notice. "His name is Kaitou Kid?"
"Maybe. That's what was written on the notice," Pantheon replied, then suddenly remembered, "But I think he said something like, 'No one came to watch the Moonlight Magician's show.' He called himself the Moonlight Magician. That guy was amazing. He moved so lightly, like he weighed nothing, like a white feather. He just appeared in the moonlight and disappeared just as fast."
Even now, thinking about it, Pantheon couldn't help but feel shocked.
"A notice?" Iselin asked, puzzled.
"Yeah, this morning—well, technically yesterday morning—the museum got a notice. Said he'd come at midnight to steal the Apollo gem." Pantheon explained everything in detail.
After hearing this, Iselin knew she couldn't stay long. If more cops showed up, she'd be in trouble. "This info's really helpful." With that, she left right away.
"Do we even have a Lost Property Division?" The two cops looked at each other after she left.
"Maybe? Who knows?" Typical. Cops who didn't even know what went on in their own station.
Iselin found Liu A'dou and quickly made their way back through the broken door, hearts pounding. "Let's go, Liu."
This was huge. Iselin couldn't wait to make her mark.
"No need to edit, send it straight to the station, or we'll miss the seven o'clock slot."
Liu A'dou moved fast. "No problem, I've already sent the video, but we still need the news script. Did you get anything good?"
"Of course. Big scoop. All recorded. We know now the card says Kaitou Kid, the thief wore a white suit and white top hat, called himself the 'Moonlight Magician.'" Iselin was thrilled. It felt like taking a hot shower, just pure satisfaction. As she wrote, she kept talking. "And Kaitou Kid's different from other criminals. Not only did he leave a card after the theft, he also sent a notice beforehand. It's straight-up mocking the cops. Our Channel 3 ratings are going to blow up. Liu, let's go."
The old broadcast van coughed out a cloud of black smoke as it sped onto the road.
7 AM, Gotham City Channel 3 News.
"Good morning, Gotham City." The handsome old guy, John, appeared on the TV screen, delivering a few light, unimportant news pieces before shifting topics. "Just last night, the Gotham City Museum was robbed. The Apollo gem, valued at eighty million US dollars, was stolen. The thief had actually sent a notice yesterday morning, declaring he would steal the gem at midnight, but no one took it seriously. The thief, calling himself 'Kaitou Kid,' successfully stole the Apollo gem at midnight. The Apollo gem was a precious artifact donated by the Wayne family when the Gotham Museum was founded fifty years ago. It was discovered in the New World during the fourteenth century. Now, here's an exclusive report from our Channel 3 reporter, Iselin."
The screen switched to footage from last night, showing Iselin.
As the video aired, the Channel 3 director started receiving calls from all the major TV stations wanting to rebroadcast the report. No problem—pay up, and they could have it. The Channel 3 director was practically floating with joy over his brilliant decision to hire Iselin. Young people really did bring fresh energy—only a month in, and she had delivered a massive news story, reminding him of his own glory days.
This Kaitou Kid might become the next big name in crime, and they had to cover it hard. Kaitou Kid's actions alone were full of news value—so flashy. Reporters loved flashy people. Being such a high-profile thief was news in itself. The director was already looking forward to Kaitou Kid's next heist.
When the footage of the display case and Pantheon's audio description of Kaitou Kid's appearance played, Channel 3's ratings instantly overtook Channel 1's. This was the first time since Channel 3 was founded. All twenty staff members were nearly in tears. After all these years, they had finally made it big.
"Congrats, Iselin, you did it," Liu A'dou said, congratulating his partner.
"It's our success. Without your camera work, none of this would've happened. Liu, you really are a pro." As she spoke, Iselin hugged Liu A'dou and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Maybe it was still the alcohol making her so bold, but Liu A'dou thought, after a night of cold wind, the booze should've worn off. Could this girl really like him? No way, he hadn't even tried to chase her, there was no reason. Maybe it was just that Gotham girls were all this open? Liu A'dou was confused.
Wayne Manor. Alfred, the old butler, stood straight in a neat black suit in front of the TV. "Sir, while you were busy yesterday, didn't it occur to you to keep an eye on the Wayne family's donated treasures?"
The tall, rich, and handsome hero pulled the cup closer, head still covered. "Bats don't like daylight."
"Master, you might want to watch the news. The Apollo gem that the Wayne family donated to the Gotham Museum has been stolen." With that, Alfred turned up the volume.
Batman had patrolled until the early morning and then returned to the Batcave, so he hadn't caught wind of the museum theft. Hearing the news now, he immediately sat up in bed. Something his family donated had been stolen? He couldn't just ignore that.
"Kaitou Kid?" A name he'd never heard before. Batman knew all the criminals in Gotham with any reputation—there was no one by that name.
"Maybe a rising star. You should know, there's never a shortage of ambitious people in this world," the old butler said, as witty as ever.
"Being ambitious to become a criminal is not a good thing." Bruce Wayne had become Batman to clean up Gotham's crime, and he didn't want to see a new criminal pop up every time he caught one. That wasn't what he set out to do.
"Then are you going to arrest him?"
"I need to get the Apollo gem back." Bruce got up, did a few push-ups on the carpet to wake himself up, then started getting ready. After washing up and eating the breakfast Alfred prepared, he headed to the Batcave.
The battle with Kaitou Kid had just begun.