Commissioner Gordon's face had turned completely ashen as one support request after another crackled through his radio.
Every patrol team seemed to be reporting the same thing.
"Kaito Kid sighted."
"Suspected Kaito Kid moving fast."
"Multiple white figures detected."
The number of "Kaito Kids" discovered so far had already exceeded twenty.
They were scattered across every corner of the eighteenth floor—corridors, balconies, lounges, emergency stairwells, and even maintenance passages.
Which were dummies?
Which were real people?
Were there even any real ones among them at all?
No one knew.
Gordon clenched his jaw.
"In less than thirty minutes…" he thought grimly,
"He cut the power, avoided surveillance, planted this many decoys, and activated them all at once?"
It was absurd.
There was no reasonable way so many dummies could have been hidden without a single officer, staff member, or guest noticing them beforehand.
Yet reality was right in front of him.
On the stage, Robin's expression was no better.
They were always chasing shadows.
Always reacting.
Always one step behind.
Since becoming Robin, he had faced many dangerous criminals in Gotham, but situations like this were rare. Only a handful of masterminds—Riddler, Two-Face, Penguin, even the Joker—had ever pushed the Bat-family into this kind of strategic chaos.
And now, Kaito Kid had joined that list.
They hadn't been wrong every time.
At one point, they had suspected Kaito Kid was hiding among the bidders.
And that suspicion…
Was correct.
At this very moment, Dean—disguised as an unremarkable guest—stood calmly within the crowd.
Outwardly, he appeared relaxed.
Internally, the situation was razor-thin.
All bidders were still inside the police defensive line. If Gordon suddenly had an epiphany—if he decided that all the Kaito Kids outside were fake, and that the real one must be hidden among the guests—
Then everything would change.
The GCPD would tighten the perimeter.
No gaps.
No movement.
Identity checks, one by one.
Dean would be trapped.
However, that choice came with a terrible risk.
If Gordon focused entirely on the crowd, he would have to abandon the pursuit of the Kaito Kids outside—and no one could guarantee that one of those figures wasn't real.
Police resources were limited.
No one could cover everything.
So the real question was simple.
Where was Kaito Kid's true body?
And more importantly—
Who dared to gamble on the answer?
Robin did.
"They're smoke bombs."
Robin stepped beside Gordon, his voice firm and controlled.
"Ignore the Kaito Kids running around outside. They're all smoke bombs."
Gordon turned sharply.
"No matter how ridiculous his methods look, don't forget his real goal," Robin continued.
"Pink Dream."
The words hit their mark.
Gordon immediately understood.
Without hesitation, he gestured to an officer.
"Bring Manager Cicero here. Now."
Cicero, who stood near the front of the crowd, was quickly escorted over.
The moment he saw Gordon approaching, panic surged through him.
"Why are they calling me?"
"Did the police find out?"
"The fake diamond… the deal with Penguin…"
Cold sweat soaked his back.
If the truth was exposed, Penguin wouldn't just punish him.
He would erase him—and his entire family.
Cicero's eyes darted around uncontrollably as Gordon stared him down.
That reaction alone set off alarms.
Without warning, Gordon grabbed Cicero's face and pulled hard.
"Ah—! Commissioner, what are you doing?!"
Cicero cried out as his cheeks were stretched painfully.
Gordon pulled left, then right.
Nothing came off.
No mask.
No disguise.
When Gordon released him, Cicero's face was already red and swollen.
"My apologies," Gordon said coldly.
"This is a necessary security measure."
His eyes never softened.
"I have one question. Answer honestly."
Cicero's fear only deepened.
Robin watched silently, studying every twitch of Cicero's expression.
This wasn't acting.
This fear was genuine.
Kaito Kid wouldn't react like this, Robin thought.
Then what was Cicero afraid of?
The rumor surfaced again in his mind.
The fake diamond.
But that alone didn't explain this level of terror.
The diamond hadn't been sold yet. In Gotham, fraud at an auction could easily be buried.
No—this went deeper.
"Where is Pink Dream?" Gordon demanded.
"For safety reasons, it must be handed over immediately."
Cicero's heart nearly stopped.
They really know… he thought.
Forcing a stiff smile, he tried to stall.
"Commissioner, Pink Dream hasn't been auctioned yet. It belongs to Mr. Grayle Tartard Ethan. I need his authorization before—"
Gordon's stare remained unblinking.
From within the crowd, Dean watched everything.
"Tch," he thought.
"They went straight for Cicero."
So much for subtlety.
If Gordon got the diamond now, the entire plan would collapse.
Dean sighed inwardly.
"Looks like I'll have to escalate."
His hands dropped naturally to his sides.
With a slight flick of his wrists, several ping-pong-ball-sized objects slid from his sleeves into his palms.
He moved smoothly through the crowd, careful not to draw attention, stopping short of the outermost edge.
Then—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The small spheres flew from his fingers.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Loud explosions echoed as thick white smoke erupted instantly, swallowing everyone nearby before expanding outward.
"Smoke bomb!" someone screamed.
"Kaito Kid is in the crowd!"
Dean raised his voice deliberately.
"Be careful! Anyone near you could be Kaito Kid!"
As panic spread, he pulled out a palm-sized device, pressed its switch, and tossed it forward.
The object hit the ground—
Then began to expand.
Rapidly.
In seconds, it inflated into a full-sized Kaito Kid dummy, standing proudly amid the smoke.
Screams erupted from every direction.
"I saw him! He's right there!"
"Officer, I swear that's Kaito Kid!"
The voices were frantic, emotional, convincing.
These weren't random civilians.
They were Gotham's elites.
The police couldn't ignore them.
The encirclement broke.
Officers rushed into the smoke, chasing shadows and decoys.
Gaps opened.
Confusion spread.
But Dean didn't run.
Instead, he leaned toward the people near him and spoke calmly.
"The police are chasing Kaito Kid," he said.
"We shouldn't stay here and get in the way. Let's move out first."
He didn't shout.
He didn't command.
He simply planted the idea.
And panic did the rest.
The smoke bomb wasn't meant to hide him.
It was meant to move everyone else.
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