[Claim Reward?]
There was no need to ask. Darren clicked "Yes" immediately.
Instantly, a warm sensation flowed through his hands. It came quickly and left just as fast.
Darren tentatively clenched his fists. He felt an unprecedented smoothness, as if he could control every knuckle with absolute ease.
With a flick of two fingers on his right hand, a bright red rose appeared out of thin air. His left hand moved slightly, producing a coin that rolled rapidly between his fingers.
These two small tricks weren't difficult—Darren had learned them long ago—but never had they felt this effortless.
Darren looked delighted. He tossed the rose from his right hand, conjured another, tossed it, and conjured again. His movements accelerated until the roses were replaced by playing cards, flying from his hands like a machine gun.
Simultaneously, he multitasked, the coin in his left hand rolling faster and faster until it became a blur. Yet no matter how much he increased the speed, he felt no strain.
A magician's hands were already more dexterous than the average person's; the [Golden Finger] widened that gap into a chasm.
Card manipulation and coin rolling soon bored him. He decided to test his hand speed in the most direct way.
Darren extended his middle finger and willed it to vibrate.
At first, perhaps due to lack of adaptation, it only shook a dozen times a second. But with each passing second, the speed multiplied.
Under Darren's full control, his finger soon became like an electric toothbrush, vibrating at a frequency far beyond what the naked eye could track.
He dipped his finger into a cup of water, instantly churning up a violent splash that soaked the table.
And Darren felt he still had energy to spare.
With the blessing of the [Golden Finger], he was confident he could swipe anything from anyone right to their face without being detected. At least, not immediately.
"The operation went smoothly, but mostly because I relied on the information advantage—no one knew Kid could mimic voices and disguise himself. That's why getting the Goddess's Tear was so simple. Next time won't be so easy..."
After claiming the reward, Darren looked at the Goddess's Tear sitting on the table. He began to review the operation.
A gem worth over ten million dollars was sitting there like trash, without even a velvet box.
"And this thing... I need to figure out what to do with it..."
The next day.
Darren got up very early.
He didn't like waking up early, but today he had no choice. Even though he had become Phantom Thief Kid, some things were unavoidable.
Like going to school.
It made sense. What else could a seventeen-year-old do but go to school?
Fortunately, compared to the high school life Darren experienced in his past life, school in Gotham didn't come with much academic pressure. Occasionally, there was even the excitement of a stray bullet. Campus life here was colorful.
As soon as he walked into the classroom, Darren saw his classmates discussing the latest gossip with fervor.
"Hey, did you hear?"
"I heard. You heard too?"
"Of course. Even he heard it, how could I not?"
"So everyone heard?"
"Obviously! Who doesn't know Phantom Thief Kid now?"
Darren listened for a while before realizing they were talking about him.
Since last night, news of Phantom Thief Kid had spread throughout the city. Opening any news app resulted in a dozen unique headlines.
Shocking! Priceless Gem Stolen, Thief Calls Himself Phantom Thief Kid!
Jim Gordon Leads Team to Catch Thief, Ends Up Played Like a Fiddle?
Wanted Order 1412 Issued: GCPD Promises to Bring Kid to Justice.
Incompetent GCPD Can't Handle a Thief? I Have a Plan: Call Batman!
Unlike ordinary thieves, Kid never shied away from existence. He dressed elegantly, spoke gracefully, appeared miraculously in full view, and vanished just as magically.
High-resolution photos of Kid were everywhere. His handsome image made many young women swoon, vowing to go to the scene next time to see if he looked as good in real life as he did online.
Moreover, despite such a high-profile crime, there were zero casualties! No explosions, no gunfights, no blood!
Combined with his style of sending advance notices, Kid's popularity skyrocketed. It was only natural for high schoolers to discuss him excitedly.
Darren walked to his seat in the back corner by the window, not actively joining the conversation.
"Hey, Darren. You're a bit late today."
As he sat down, a greeting came from beside him.
"What are you saying, Tim? Do I have a habit of arriving early?"
Darren turned to look at the boy with black hair and blue eyes sitting next to him.
Tim Drake. Darren's classmate and friend. They had known each other since they were young.
It dated back to when his father was still alive. Jack Drake, the CEO of Drake Enterprises and Tim's father, had once invited Darren's father, Phil Green, to perform magic at a banquet. Young Darren had tagged along as an assistant.
Tim, also young, admired Darren's performance, and they became friends.
Not long after, Darren's father died in an accident. The Drake family had helped significantly with the funeral and inheritance matters. Because of this, after Darren made a name for himself in the magic circle, he often performed for free at Drake Enterprises' business banquets.
In the eyes of their classmates, Tim was a lively, approachable rich kid with no airs.
But Darren knew Tim's identity was far from simple.
He was Batman's partner—the third Robin!
And he wasn't just an ordinary Robin. He was a Robin with parents! A Robin who wore pants! 5
Do you know how rare it is to join the Bat-Family with both parents alive in Gotham?
Oh, Tim's biological mother was dead, but his dad, Jack, had found a stepmother a few years later. Surprisingly, she treated Tim well and hadn't birthed a younger brother to start a succession war.
So, it still counted as having both parents, right?
Although the sky had been dark when he stole the Goddess's Tear, it was technically daytime. The total eclipse lasted less than ten minutes. So Darren hadn't been worried about running into Tim or Batman during yesterday's operation.
But future operations were uncertain. Darren wasn't sure if the theft of the Goddess's Tear would attract the Bat-Family's attention.
"Tim, do you know about Phantom Thief Kid?"
He asked Tim naturally. Since the whole class was discussing it, the question wasn't strange.