Ch. 47: Chapter 47: Consultant

“You believe I cannot pray with a single arm? A prayer comes from the heart.”

— Isaac Netero (Hunter x Hunter)…

At the Natural History Museum, after Barbara hung up the call with Dick, she went straight to where Commissioner Gordon was.

The surveillance control center is on the top floor of the Cultural Exhibition Hall.

A few guards at the entrance stopped her when she arrived at the control room.

“Sorry, Ms. Gordon, but no one is allowed to go in without an order from the Commissioner.”

One of the guards said.

Barbara wasn‘t surprised. She wasn’t security personnel, so she shouldn't be walking around here in the first place.

The fact that she wasn‘t immediately driven away was already because she is the Commissioner’s daughter.

“I have something very important to discuss with my dad face-to-face. Can you please go in and inform him? My dad usually turns off his phone when he‘s working, so I can’t reach him.”

Barbara smiled and requested the guards.

“It‘s really something very important, and it’s related to the Phantom Thief's notice.”

As soon as the guards heard the words “Phantom Thief,” their expressions changed, and they exchanged glances.

“If it‘s Commissioner Gordon’s daughter, she‘s probably not here to play jokes. Besides, we’re not directly letting her in, and we are just passing on a message, so it's not against the orders.”

The Phantom Thief is being discussed more and more in Gotham, and many people have said they have figured it out.

But their explanations often seemed off and didn't make any logical sense.

Over time, whenever the guards heard someone say they had deciphered the Phantom Thief's notice, they would usually just drive them away.

But now, the person saying this was Barbara Gordon, the daughter of their direct superior.

They couldn't ignore her and just send her away, could they?

One of the guards opened the door and went into the control room to inform Jim.

After a while, Jim ran out of the room and asked as he walked.

“Barbara, are you saying that you deciphered the notice? If I find out that you‘re joking and obstructing official duties, then I won’t let you go to that late-night karate class anymore.”

“Dad, think about it carefully. When have I ever lied to you while you were at work?”

Barbara frowned and said it with her hands on her hips.

“Then quickly tell me what information you solved. If you‘re right, I won’t complain about you constantly changing your computer anymore.”

Seeing his daughter's confidence, Jim immediately asked and even promised a reward.

He didn‘t doubt Barbara’s ability to decipher the notice. As a father, Jim knew very well how smart his daughter was.

In fact, when Barbara was in college, she didn't pursue library management as her major.

Instead, she majored in things like criminal investigation, psychology, cryptology, and computer science.

At first, Barbara wanted to follow her father's path and become a police officer.

The reason she ended up as a librarian in the library was only because Jim was strongly against the idea of Barbara becoming a police officer and was extremely determined in his decision.

He even used his connections to have the police academy reject Barbara's application, saying her height did not meet the standards.

In anger, Barbara switched to studying library management and eventually got her doctorate.

For a long time afterwards, father and daughter remained in a state of the cold war…

In short, Jim had trust in Barbara's personal abilities.

Unfortunately, Commissioner Gordon didn't know that his daughter had found another way to continue this path.

Barbara didn't disappoint Jim and explained the deciphering process of the notice.

“If 20 multiplied by 3 equals 4,

Then I will visit at a nonexistent time,

When Mars has passed its tenth day and night,

Following the guidance of Caesar,

I shall come to claim the blood-stained egg.”

“The meaning of the first line is to lead us to Roman numerals; as there is no zero in Roman numerals, it can be assumed that a non-existent time is equal to midnight at 00:00 o'clock. In the third line, Mars refers to March, and passing its tenth day is March 11. In the Ancient Rome Exhibition Hall, there is a Caesar statue pointing towards the direction of the Jungle Exhibition Hall, which is the guidance of Caesar.”

After a pause, Barbara continued, “In short, Phantom Thief will appear at midnight on March 10, which is equal to March 11, at the Jungle Exhibition Hall, where he will start there and steal Mrs. Chandler‘s Dragon’s Egg Ruby Necklace.”

When Barbara spoke in one breath, the officers around her were surprised for a while, and it took them a while to get back to normal.

“Wow, Ms. Gordon's explanation makes a lot of sense!”

“It‘s not just sense, I think that’s exactly what Phantom Thief's notice means!”

“No wonder she‘s the Commissioner’s daughter, we‘ve been trying to decipher it for days and couldn’t get any clues, and she solved it all at once.”

The officers praised Barbara with admiration.

Ignoring the flattery from his subordinates, Jim went through Barbara's explanation in his mind and found no loopholes before smiling with joy.

With the exact timing of Phantom Thief‘s actions, GCPD could set up targeted security measures and wouldn’t have to maintain high-level security for fifteen straight days.

This can not only save a lot of police resources but also prevent the cops from being too tired and always maintaining a high level of mental strength and mobility.

“I have a request, I hope you can agree, Dad.”

At this time, Barbara's expression suddenly changed, and she revealed the real purpose of her trip.

“I want to join in on the capture of the Phantom Thief as a temporary consultant or detective.”

“What? No, it‘s too dangerous, I can’t allow it!”

Gordon immediately rejected Barbara's proposal.

“Dad, you just saw my value, I can help you guys. You never agreed with me being a cop anyway. I just want to help, why do you have to refuse me?”

Barbara persisted.

Of course, she didn't actually want to become a temporary consultant for GCPD. It was just an easier way to accomplish what she had planned in her mind.

“Phantom Thief has never killed anyone and has never intentionally harmed others. What kind of danger could I possibly face?”

Gordon was still hesitant, but Barbara played her last card.

“If you don‘t let me join your operation, I’ll come to the museum that day on my own, and you won't be able to stop me from entering.”

“Okay, you got me, but it‘s only for this one time. You can’t leave my sight and cannot interfere with the work of others!”

With no other choice, Jim agreed to the plan and set some ground rules.

With that, Barbara managed to infiltrate the GCPD security team, and despite Jim's restrictions, she was satisfied with the result.

Meanwhile, at Gotham Academy, Dean felt like someone was watching him from behind.

He knew it was Dick who had begun to suspect his true identity.

From that moment on, Dean had to be even more careful about every move he made.