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Chapter 20: I Am the Real Jim Gordon
"Operation mostly smooth. Just... fingers are a bit sore."
Darren flexed his hands.
This was the aftereffect of dismantling the bullets from Gordon's team.
About half an hour ago, while still disguised as a waiter, he had approached the plainclothes officers one by one and swiped their ammo.
Thanks to the [Golden Finger] reward from the Goddess's Tear heist, his dexterity was enhanced enough to pull it off.
However, he hadn't fully adapted to the ability yet. Keeping his fingers in a state of high-speed flexibility caused fatigue. Even if they didn't cramp, soreness was inevitable.
"Now, everyone's attention is fixed on the podium. Phase One complete."
Darren glanced at Gordon and his men below, smiling smugly.
"Time for Phase Two."
Below, the officers verified each other's identities and confirmed Kid wasn't among them.
Although Gordon had checked the count, there was always the chance Kid had ambushed a member beforehand and taken their place. With a shapeshifting criminal, identity checks were mandatory.
"Calling all units. This is Commissioner Gordon. Phantom Thief Kid has been spotted in the banquet hall. All units converge here immediately!"
Suddenly, the radios of every GCPD officer in the manor crackled to life.
Except one.
The plainclothes officers looked at Gordon in surprise. His face was dark enough to drip ink.
"Sir, you..."
"Gone. My radio is gone."
Gordon patted himself down but found nothing.
Obviously, Kid had swiped it. If he could take bullets from everyone, taking a radio was trivial.
"Second time. The second time Kid stole my radio..."
Thinking of how Kid played him with the fake radio last time, Gordon trembled with rage, veins popping on his forehead.
"All units! I am the real Jim Gordon! That order was from Kid! Do not leave your posts!"
He snatched a radio from a subordinate, desperately trying to correct the situation.
As soon as he finished, another "Gordon's" voice rang out.
"Don't listen to him! He is Kid! His target, Ms. Samantha, is in the hall! That's why he's trying to stop you from coming here!"
Gordon nearly coughed up blood in rage.
The hateful part was that Kid's logic was sound. Gordon didn't know how to refute it immediately.
Just as Gordon prepared to enact a "Real vs. Fake Monkey King" drama with Kid—
"Eek!"
A scream erupted from the guest seating area.
"It's Phantom Thief Kid!"
Hearing this, Gordon's face changed instantly. He looked towards the source.
Sure enough, on the left side of the seating area, a white figure was moving toward Samantha, about to reach the target.
Seeing this, Gordon abandoned the radio argument and sprinted toward Kid.
"No! Sir, there's a Kid over there too!"
Halfway there, a subordinate shouted.
Confused, Gordon looked in the direction they pointed. To his shock, on the right side of the seating area—completely opposite to the first one—was another Phantom Thief Kid!
This Kid was also moving rapidly toward Samantha!
"What the hell is this?"
Gordon was stunned by the appearance of two Kids.
"Can Kid create clones? Or is it a gang?"
Regardless, the priority was stopping them from reaching Samantha!
He split his team in two, chasing both figures.
"Miss, get back."
Meanwhile, William stepped in front of Samantha, shielding her.
"These two Kids feel... strange?"
Samantha frowned, muttering to herself as she watched them approach.
The hall was dark, lit only by candles and a few flashlights. The white suits were visible, but the details were blurry. Feeling something was "strange" should be normal.
But the strangeness she felt wasn't visual.
If she had to describe it... the movements of those two Kids were... uncoordinated.
"OMG! There's a Kid over there too!"
Suddenly, another voice shouted about a third Kid.
No, not just a third.
A fourth, fifth, sixth... more and more Kids appeared.
"Ah! I see one here too!"
"Holy sh*t! Kid is less than two meters from me!"
"God! Kids are everywhere!"
In that instant, the main doors of the banquet hall burst open. Countless people rushed in.
It was the GCPD officers who had responded to the "Gordon" order.
Generally, when the environment changes suddenly, people instinctively look at the source. Like when someone walks into a house without knocking—few would ignore it.
Now, a huge crowd had barged in. Everyone in the hall turned to look.
It was a natural reaction.
Even the Kids scuttling around froze in place.
The only ones who didn't stop were the arriving officers.
Unlike Gordon's team, Kid hadn't stolen their ammo. They were fully armed.
They came to arrest Kid, and Kid was right in front of them, standing still!
Although the number of Kids was unexpected, it didn't matter. The police had more numbers.
In the dark environment, the all-white Kids were live targets.
No, they had stopped moving. They were sitting ducks!
So, the entering officers took the most natural course of action.
Bang bang bang bang bang!
Gunshots erupted instantly.
Dozens of Kids were hit without exception.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
Strangely, the sound of bullets hitting them didn't sound like flesh.
It sounded like... balloons popping?
"Wrong! These aren't real! Stop shooting!"
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