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In the night sky, a massive bat signal was projected onto the clouds, bright and striking, visible across nearly half of Gotham.
"Haah.. it had to be done."
In Old Gotham, on the rooftop of an abandoned building not far from GCPD headquarters, Gordon stood against the cold night wind, his yellow trench coat fluttering in the high altitude.
Behind him, a towering searchlight, taller than a man, was already lit, its beam cutting straight into the sky.
This was the bat signal, a sight that inspired both hatred and fear in countless criminals throughout Gotham.
Gordon stood there in silence. He took out his pipe, intending to smoke to pass the time, but just as he was about to light it, he put it away again.
From experience, he knew that once the bat signal was lit, the friend he was waiting for would appear in the most unexpected way, nearly giving him a heart attack.
Several of his favorite pipes had been broken like that in the past.
Forget it. It's not like I absolutely need to smoke.
Batman will be here soon anyway. I wouldn't even get more than a few puffs in.
Yet Gordon soon realized something was off.
"It's been almost half an hour. Why hasn't Batman shown up yet? What happened the last time he was late…"
Just as Gordon was lost in thought, someone finally arrived.
"Sorry, Commissioner Gordon. I'm late."
Robin's voice sounded as he suddenly leapt out from the shadows.
"Robin? Just you? Where is he?"
Gordon looked past Robin but did not see the tall figure he had been expecting.
"I have some unfortunate news, Commissioner," Robin said gravely. "Batman is on a mission far from Gotham and won't be back for quite some time."
"I know why you lit the bat signal. I've already seen the Riddler's video. We'll have to handle this case ourselves."
"What? Batman left Gotham at a critical moment like this? Why now of all times?" Gordon frowned deeply.
"Uh, actually, he's been away for over three months. He didn't just leave recently," Robin corrected.
But that did nothing to ease Gordon's concern. His frown only deepened.
"Three months? What kind of mission keeps Batman occupied for that long? And it's still not over?"
"Please don't ask for the details, Commissioner," Robin said simply. "I don't know much either. You just need to know it's related to the other teams Batman works with."
"So it's them. Then I can understand why Batman is tied up. Compared to the crises those people deal with, even Gotham's lunatics almost seem normal."
Gordon nodded in realization and stopped asking about Batman.
"Robin, you've seen the Riddler's video, so you already know the riddle he left. Any leads?"
"A few," Robin replied, sharing his thoughts.
"The salesman of death hears the call of the waves. He shall be buried where three tilted crossroads overlap, while the vile killer smiles before his tombstone."
"In that passage, the so called three tilted crossroads can be interpreted as three Xs. When stacked together, they become XXX. The vile killer part is a red herring with no real meaning. The key lies in the word smile. The letter that most closely resembles the shape of a smile is V. The salesman's grave links the crossroads with the killer's smile, forming the sequence XXXV."
"In Roman numerals, XXXV equals thirty five."
Hearing this, Gordon nodded. Robin's reasoning was solid. In fact, he had arrived at a similar conclusion himself, since it was easy enough to imagine a tilted crossroads looking like an X.
What he had not considered was the deeper connection between the smile, the V, and the final Roman numeral.
As expected of Robin. He had solved in minutes what the entire GCPD had been struggling with for hours.
Gordon looked at him expectantly. As long as they knew where the Riddler had hidden Janice, they could launch the rescue tonight.
If they managed to rescue Janice on the very first night of the Riddler's three day deadline, the arrogant Riddler might still be at the scene. With a bit of luck, they could even capture him.
But after deducing the number thirty five, Robin fell silent.
He did not speak for a long time, only meeting Gordon's gaze in silence.
There was a complicated look in Robin's eyes, filled with frustration, self blame, and anxiety. It was hard to describe it with a single word, but one thing was certain. It was not an expression that put anyone at ease.
"So… what does thirty five mean?" Gordon asked carefully.
From Robin's expression, he already had a rough idea of the answer, but he still held onto a sliver of hope.
"And what about the 'salesman of death' and the 'waves' at the beginning?"
"I'm sorry, Commissioner Gordon. I haven't completely solved those parts yet," Robin replied, his tone tinged with agitation.
"I think thirty five might be pointing to coordinates, a house number, or something similar. But there are far too many places marked thirty five in all of Gotham. Even if we mobilized every available officer in the GCPD, we couldn't search them all within the Riddler's time limit."
"As for the line about the salesman of death hearing the waves, I first suspected it was hinting at places where suicides by jumping into the sea often happen. So I went to Carmine Cape, but I searched everywhere nearby that could be connected to the number thirty five and still found no sign of where the hostage is being held."
"Damn it. There are only two days left, and we're practically making no progress."
Robin unconsciously clenched his fist.
"Don't blame yourself too much, kid. You've already done very well." At that moment, Gordon placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Even if the riddle isn't completely solved, you can't say there's been no progress. You've at least uncovered a key clue. Time is tight, but you have to stay calm. Don't let anxiety get the better of you."
Robin took a deep breath and slowly relaxed his hand. "Thank you, Commissioner. I've calmed down."
"While Batman is away, I'll protect Gotham," he said firmly. "I promise you, I won't let the Riddler get his way."
"I believe you will, Robin," Gordon replied with a nod of approval, then shifted the topic.
"By the way, Kaitou Kid sent a reply to the Riddler a few hours ago. Have you seen it?"
Hearing that, Robin's gaze sharpened, and he nodded.
"Kaitou Kid wrote two lines in his message that were like a riddle, but the answer is pretty obvious. Even I understood it right away."
The two lines Gordon was referring to were: "When Nyx extinguishes the last torch, I shall come to take the hand of the Princess of Troy."
Nyx is the deity of night. The extinguishing of the last torch signifies the arrival of the deepest night, midnight. The "Princess of Troy" is even easier to understand. It refers to the hostage, Janice.
The Trojan War is the most famous conflict in Greek mythology.
Troy was destroyed in that war, and its princess became a prisoner, losing her freedom and suffering greatly. Her fate perfectly mirrors Janice's current situation.
So the overall meaning is clear....
Kaitou Kid intends to rescue the hostage from the Riddler at midnight!
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