"quartz" becomes "fziga," "flame" becomes "oznv," "ocean" becomes "xvzm," and "breeze" becomes "ivvav."
No matter how those letters were rearranged or combined, they could not form any complete piece of information.
Tim stared at the screen in front of him, rubbing his temples.
"Then there's the 'nineteenth day and night.' I don't think it's as simple as the action taking place nineteen days later."
He paused briefly, then continued.
"If we apply the Atbash cipher to that as well, the nineteenth letter is S, and its corresponding cipher letter is H."
Tim exhaled slowly.
"And then… nothing. I can't think of any further meaning for either S or H. Urgh..."
He leaned back in his chair, letting out a quiet groan.
"Damn that Kaitou Kid. His heist notices feel like they're getting harder and harder to decipher. I really hope he doesn't turn into a second Riddler."
Barbara watched him for a moment without speaking.
Then she crossed her arms, leaned back in her wheelchair, and tilted her head slightly as she thought.
"Tim, do you think it's possible we've fallen into a trap?"
Her tone was calm, but there was a faint seriousness beneath it.
"What kind of trap?"
Tim asked, looking back toward her.
"Any kind." Barbara replied after a short pause. "My interpretation of the notice is more or less the same as yours, but I keep feeling like something is off. I just can't pinpoint it yet."
She tapped the armrest lightly with her fingers, her gaze fixed on the screen.
"It's like the puzzle is deliberately incomplete. Almost as if he expects us to reach a dead end."
Tim considered her words.
After a moment, he shook his head.
"Don't push yourself too hard, Barbara. If you can't figure it out right now, let it go. You need to rest."
His voice softened slightly as he spoke.
Barbara looked at him, then laughed quietly.
"Ha. Anyone can say that, but have you had any proper rest yourself?" She gave him a sideways glance. "You've been glued to that screen for hours."
"That's different."
Tim replied automatically, though he knew the argument was weak.
"Besides, I've got far more experience with all-nighters than you."
Barbara continued, her tone light but edged with something deeper.
"You might not believe it, but working through the night is much easier now than it used to be."
Her expression grew distant.
"Back then, Dick and I were Batman's only support. Night after night, it was gangs, assassins, robbers, corrupt officials. They just kept multiplying like cancer."
She let out a soft breath.
"Sleep was practically the most expensive luxury in the world."
For a brief moment, the Batcave was quiet.
"Back then, every night felt like the one that would leave us dropping dead the next day. Well now, I can't even..."
Tim did not respond immediately.
He understood that era well enough from records, reports, and his own limited experiences.
Still, hearing it directly carried a different weight.
…
"Mr. James? Mr. James? Are you listening?"
Inside the Gotham City Police Department, the renowned director James suddenly snapped back to reality.
He blinked, then looked at Gordon sitting across from him.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Commissioner Gordon."
James adjusted his posture slightly.
"I've been busy dealing with the cruise ship loan from Withers these past few days and haven't had much rest. I just lost focus for a moment."
He gave a polite, apologetic smile.
"Sorry, where were we?"
Gordon studied him for a few seconds before repeating what he had just said.
"We were discussing the possibility of canceling your filming plans in Gotham."
Gordon's tone was firm, but not aggressive.
"If you're concerned that abruptly changing the original plan would cause losses, you could also move the production to Metropolis. It's very close to Gotham and much safer."
James listened carefully.
Then he shook his head.
"Thank you very much for your concern, but… I don't intend to cancel the filming plans at the moment."
His answer was polite, but decisive.
Any other city would have been one thing.
But Metropolis?
If James had not personally witnessed Superman fighting a skull-headed monster once, a battle where the creature's lasers sliced straight through an entire building, he might have believed Gordon's claim that Metropolis was safe.
One had to know that at least half of the large-scale destruction effects in modern Hollywood films were created using real footage from Metropolis as reference material.
Some particularly lazy productions even cut that footage directly into their movies as special effects.
"Please listen to me, Mr. James."
Gordon leaned forward slightly.
"Kaitou Kid has already issued a notice, and the location where that notice was found was on the very cruise ship you plan to use."
His gaze was serious.
"Do you understand what that means?"
James did not answer immediately.
"It means he has already breached the security perimeter around the cruise ship once."
Gordon continued.
"And yet not a single trace was left anywhere in or around the entire shipyard."
He paused deliberately.
"It may be inappropriate for me, as a police officer, to say this, but I still hope you understand that Kaitou Kid is no ordinary thief."
"Hmm.." James nodded slowly.
"I've looked into some of Kaitou Kid's past exploits."
He spoke calmly.
"It's said that he never keeps the things he steals for himself, so I think that even if he really does steal the diamond, there shouldn't be any substantial harm."
He wore an almost casual expression.
"To be honest, I'm quite interested in Kaitou Kid's miraculous magic tricks. If I had the chance, I'd really like to hire him as a stunt performer."
Gordon's expression hardened instantly.
"You must not think that way."
His voice grew sharper.
"Kaitou Kid indeed has no precedent of keeping stolen items, but he doesn't always return them to their original owners."
He locked eyes with James.
"Believe me, he's very likely to toss the diamond into a passing trash can."
James's smile faltered slightly.
"Mr. James, the Hope Star was borrowed from the Smithsonian Institution, wasn't it?"
Gordon pressed on.
"If it's stolen, regardless of whether it's eventually recovered, it would likely deal a severe blow to your reputation."
At those words, James's eyelid twitched unconsciously.
For the first time since the conversation began, a trace of hesitation appeared on his face.
Even so, he still shook his head with an easy smile.
____
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