The noisy crowd suddenly quieted down—because a louder sound made them fall silent.
The unveiling ceremony had begun. Eight security personnel escorted a safe to the center of the Boundless Exhibition. A sculpture of three dolphins leaping from the sea would cradle the dazzling gemstone.
The three lifelike dolphins each leaped from a different direction, meeting midair, their snouts touching. The point where they connected was the pedestal for the gem.
The sturdy safe was set beside the base. Then, the squad leader of the security team carefully took out the sparkling jewel. The moment Deep Sea Blue was lifted from the safe, the entire space around it lit up.
Countless camera lenses zoomed in to capture the breathtaking gemstone. In the security captain's white-gloved hands, the gem glided slowly toward the pedestal, and all the cameras followed. None of them noticed the almost imperceptible disturbance to the gem.
On the rooftop, both the police and Spider-Man tensed up. Now that the jewel was on display, it became an irresistible temptation—trouble could break out at any moment.
After placing the gemstone into the notch between the three dolphins with 120% care, the security captain finally exhaled in relief. This thing was worth a fortune. If his hands had slipped and chipped it, he wouldn't have been able to pay it back in ten lifetimes. But now, the riskiest part was done. He then gave the signal to raise the protective glass dome. Though it was called a "boundless exhibition," that didn't mean they were just going to leave it out in the open. Protection was still essential. "Boundless" only meant that anyone passing by could see it—not touch it.
Ms. Roberts took the stage to give her speech. She hadn't expected this many people to show up, but it worked in her favor—she could use the opportunity to spread her environmental message. "Welcome, everyone. I know that many of you are here today because of Kaitou Kid, but that's not a problem. Even though he's threatened to steal Deep Sea Blue, I'm not here to blame him. I just want to say—this gem belongs to all of humanity. Just like the ocean, it doesn't belong to any organization or country. It belongs to each and every one of us. And we must do our part to protect the sea…"
She was truly a dedicated environmentalist. She pivoted straight into a talk about marine conservation. She spoke of how marine life was disappearing, of how serious oil spills had become in certain places, of how pitiful the overhunted fish were. It was all heartfelt—and she wasn't wrong. "So I hope that through this Boundless Exhibition, we all realize that the ocean is not some distant thing. We must protect it now, without delay. This Boundless Exhibition will run for one week. Thank you all."
Her passionate environmental plea almost made Liu A'dou feel bad about making a move. But his skin was thick. In the end, he steeled his heart.
This gemstone was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. Deep Sea Blue was shaped like a goose egg—this was the largest jewel Liu A'dou had ever laid eyes on. Its entire body was deep blue. Up close, it looked as if seawater flowed within it; from afar, it resembled a mermaid's tear—enchanting, full of life.
No wonder people said that in the world of comics, the wealthiest hero wasn't Iron Man or Batman—but Aquaman. Because the treasures of the seven seas were all his. There were definitely many more gems like Deep Sea Blue hidden in the oceans.
The plainclothes police in the front row kept a tight watch. But even dressed down, they couldn't fool Liu A'dou's eyes. Everyone around was staring at the gemstone—no one was paying attention to their surroundings. But the bulges under the officers' clothes clearly gave away the weapons they carried.
Liu A'dou blended right in with the crowd, standing among the officers, holding up a camcorder like any ordinary tourist. But he kept shifting position, pressing closer to the cops while pretending to film.
Even those farther away weren't left out. Ms. Roberts, wealthy as she was, had rented out all the surrounding digital billboards. So everyone in the back could still see the once-in-a-century gem through the displays.
Mary Jane was relieved. With this, she would be able to see Kaitou Kid in person. Seeing him live was completely different from watching on a computer screen.
Now that the gem had been revealed, how far could Kaitou Kid be? Police Commissioner Stonberg and Spider-Man stood at the edge of the building, waiting for Kid's appearance.
"Kaitou Kid, please show up already," Commissioner Stonberg said, scanning the area with binoculars. He couldn't contain his excitement; it seemed certain that Kid would be caught the moment he appeared. "Keep your eyes wide open, look both above and below, and don't let any suspicious person slip by."
"Yes, sir."
Spider-Man was also intently searching, hoping to be the one to spot Kaitou Kid first.
But time passed, minute by minute, and before long, it was already eight o'clock. The sky had fully darkened. Many of the spectators were beginning to feel exhausted. Only the true fans of Kaitou Kid knew that the real show would start when the moon rose.
After all, Kaitou Kid was the Moonlight Magician.
Mary Jane looked up at the moon, which slowly moved across the sky. It was directly above the square now, its crescent shape resembling the mischievous smile of a fool, watching over everything. The wind blew in from the surrounding streets, carrying the chill of early spring, causing her to shiver involuntarily.
"Kaitou Kid!" Suddenly, someone yelled out. The crowd seemed to boil over, and everyone looked up to see a small white dot circling the moon.
Then they saw the white dot growing larger and closer.
"It's falling!" Of course, it wasn't Kaitou Kid falling, but cards—pure white cards, falling as densely as snowflakes, almost landing around the display case. The cameras that had been focused on the gemstone were almost completely obscured.
"Look at the sky!" Commissioner Stonberg shouted. Everyone looked up, but there was no sign of Kaitou Kid. All that could be seen were the cards falling endlessly.
"How is this possible?" Just a moment ago, he was clearly there. Why had he disappeared?
The screens above also showed the cards falling like snow, completely blocking the view. It was as if a leaf had obstructed their vision. The cards fell for nearly half a minute, and when they finally stopped, the display case was completely buried in a sea of white cards. There were so many that it seemed as though a gust of night wind had blown Kaitou Kid's entire stash of warning letters to the crowd. It was completely unexpected.
What was even more shocking was that although Kaitou Kid had been in the sky moments before, he had now vanished.
"Kaitou Kid—"
"What?!!" Commissioner Stonberg immediately lowered his head, no longer needing binoculars because Kaitou Kid had already appeared on all the electronic display screens. Multiple cameras, multiple angles—every screen showed a different image of Kid, looking so handsome it was almost unbelievable.
"When?!!" Stonberg could hardly believe his eyes. Kaitou Kid had indeed appeared like a ghost, making it impossible to defend against him. Just moments ago, he had been scattering cards from the sky, and in an instant, he had appeared standing on the exhibition stage. How was that possible? "All officers on site, begin the capture!" Fortunately, the commissioner only took a brief moment to recover from his shock before immediately issuing the arrest order.
The plainclothes officers around them quickly drew their weapons, only to find that all their weapons had malfunctioned. Of course, Liu A'dou had been moving through the crowd earlier, not for fun.
Now that Kaitou Kid had finally appeared before everyone, countless fans screamed, "Kid—"
Spider-Man stood there, stunned, staring at Kid in disbelief. He didn't even notice how Kid had gotten up there. But looking at Kid's demeanor, it didn't feel like he was a thief at all. He seemed more like a gentleman attending a ball—immaculate and unhurried. Spider-Man, too, felt restless inside. As a young man, he couldn't help but be drawn to Kid's style. "So cool!"