Phantom Kid in the American Comic World
37. What Mathison Won't Accept

”In my opinion, Phantom Kid does not steal gems for money.”, Roxy said.

“Then for what? You think he stole from the rich to fund the poor?”

"You think the Phantom Kid wants to be Robin Hood?"

Eggsy asked, "Well, I admit she did dress like Robin and did help Pamela with Cat's Eye Emerald."

"But, it's his second gem, what about the first one, Adam's Star?"

Hearing his words, Roxy was silent for a moment, then started typing on the keyboard.

”After the Star of Adam was stolen, only one piece of information was found, namely that Wilson Fisk in New York bought it at an astronomical price of two hundred million dollars.”

”Regarding where he bought it from, it is still a mystery to everyone. No one knows how Phantom Kid sold it to him.”

Here we must praise the rules of the Penguin. The Iceberg Exchange's level of secrecy is so high that even the encryption of military transactions is not as good as its own.

This is why it is considered one of the largest black markets in the United States.

People will only suspect now that there is a secret deal between the Phantom Kid and Fisk but never doubt it.

Quietly and steadily, one can run transactions and make a lot of money, without assuming any responsibility.

If Penguin decides to do the transaction alone behind the buyer and seller, he can take advantage of some of the profits. If he does this, he will not only risk offending his client but could also cause Exchange exposure. If he were so stupid, he would not have achieved such success today.

Most of the time, criminals are often more credible than good people.

Not because they have good character, but because this leads to greater profits.

A good reputation and a bad reputation depend on who can provide the most benefits. These qualities are the ones who choose to maintain their reputation.

This is the wisdom of the Gotham mob bosses.

As for some who doubt that Penguin will take the initiative to exploit customer transactions, they actually suffer from low IQ levels.

Therefore, no matter how much effort Roxy put into keeping track of the transaction records, she could not find the slightest bit of information about the Iceberg Exchange.

"Two hundred million!"

Eggsy was surprised, "He sold it at such a high price, and you told me that he didn't do this for money?"

Let me ask you something: You suddenly get $200 million, what will you use for it?, asked Roxy.

“What else will I do? I will stop working and enjoy life!” 

   Eggsy said consciously.

"Then why did the Phantom Kid keep stealing the second gem?" Eggy freezes.

”Only half a month after Fisk bought Adam's Star, all Gotham orphanages, orphanages, and schools received anonymous donations one after another, totaling over 130 million dollars. With anonymous messages coming from different sources, from all over the world, he still managed to use the same ID name.”

“This shows that Phantom Kid is a highly skilled hacker. Even with my skills, I still failed to figure out where he was. I have to contact Merlin, he can only guarantee that the Phantom Kid is in Gotham.”

At this point, everything Roxy wanted to say had been said.

”Merlin hacking capabilities are already considered the best in the world. Even he couldn't find it. It scares me to say that not many people in the world can solve this case.”

In fact, Mathison herself isn't very good at this, but she has Barbara, her childhood friend, over ten years beside her. Breaking others' firewalls may be difficult, but hiding their IP addresses from being discovered by others is no big deal.

Mathison donated so much of the 170 million U. S. dollars she had exchanged from Penguin for the Star of Adam. After buying his villa, he left only 30 million US dollars in reserve.

   It was well thought out.

Gotham is a seaside city with many inland rivers. The temperature difference between day and night varies greatly. To meet the requirements of achieving gliding safely, one must be at least forty to fifty meters above the ground.

As the old saying goes, "You can't beat the cold in high places!"

Late at night, wearing a thin white costume in the sky, while facing the blowing cold wind, could freeze a person to death.

If you don't believe it, try it yourself!

The Phantom Kid really had a strong body, for that last time he swam for over an hour in the icy water, he was not even affected by it.

There is also a puzzle in the teaser letter, which spins the brain all day long. People won't know how many brain cells were killed so Kid could find the puzzle. But if this continued, Mathison's head would definitely be bald.

There was a lot of invisible pain that Mathison had to endure.

And all this for the sake of pretense that lasts for ten minutes or more to achieve outstanding performance.

This was truly a show that risked his life. Mathison knows that the level of danger that exists in the American comic book world is far above Conan's, they are incomparable. For example, no matter how upset officer Nakamori is, they will not shoot Kid, but officer Gordon will not hesitate to shoot provocative criminals.

Therefore, Mathison was very careful. He never revealed himself before causing a commotion. But very often the dolls do the job, they are quite attention-grabbing.

Equipment and props were the biggest problem for Mathison. His family was not the Kuroba family and no world-class magician could guarantee much wealth. Even the legacy left behind by his predecessor can only guarantee that Mathison will not starve to death and most of that money has been allocated to pay for his school fees.

If it wasn't for the fact that orphans received subsidies from the government, as well as a Wayne Charity Fund grant, Mathison wouldn't even be able to afford Kid costume cloth.

In order not to get caught, Kid adjusts his own costume. After all, even buying a piece of white cloth was somewhat suspicious.

It is worth mentioning that government subsidies were only given to Mathison with Gordon's help. Otherwise, he would only be a helpless and weak orphan…

Custom playing cards, poker guns, flashbangs, smoke bombs, gunpowder…

It would be nice to find a way to buy these contraband items, but the price should be doubled.

The most painful thing is the disguise of clothes. Any type of clothing for men, women, and children should be prepared. High-end suits ranging from tens of thousands of dollars per piece to low-end two-piece welfare clothing costing 9.9 US dollars should be ready for use. In addition, he should keep one or two pieces of each, in case of emergency …

He should also immediately go buy new clothes according to his actual situation, and this is usually not cheap.

The fortress was even more urgent. Hiding something at home is the most stupid thing to do. Thanks to Mathison's quick transfer, he moved everything in time. Otherwise, right now, Barbara will find him.

In conclusion, Mathison was really poor, otherwise she would not have sold the Star of Adam…

If not for the meaning of the warning he held, he would have completely underestimated this ugly big thing.

This reason was really tacky, not so pushy, and did not match the identity of the Phantom Kid. However, Mathison struggles to achieve this business.

If he did not do this, he would not get the system reward, would lose the only way to become stronger, and would have to give up his fate to others in this world.

This is what Mathison would definitely not accept!

But then again, Mathison's conscience suffered a little. This is why he left 30 million dollars to himself.

Time passes, the banquet will begin soon.

Mathison and Barbara just left.

On the way, Barbara tightly pulls Mathison's hand, as if she's afraid she'll suddenly disappear.

Mathison could only shake her head and laugh inwardly.

“Today is not the time to act. Why are you so nervous?”