Gotham City. Liu A'dou was back.
He pulled open the rusted iron shutter of the old warehouse by the sea—a place no one had visited for a long time. A wave of musty air rushed out.
This time, his opponent seemed to be a real expert in computer systems. The way he hacked into the police surveillance network said it all. Liu A'dou knew that if he appeared in any public place now, the cops would swarm him instantly. The opponent was cunning—using the police to disrupt his movements.
But Liu A'dou didn't believe the enemy had him completely figured out. He still had bases in Gotham. It had been two years. Standing in the warehouse again stirred a sense of nostalgia.
When he came out next, no one would recognize him. He'd go to the World Trade Tower with a new face and conduct an on-site investigation.
Driving the car he'd prepared earlier, Liu A'dou went over the info he'd gathered on the Gotham World Trade Tower. It was the tallest building in Gotham, invested and built by Wayne Enterprises over three years. It had just been completed last month. Now, more than 60 companies operated inside.
Located in Gotham's new district, it was the most critical project in Wayne Enterprises' development zone. Standing 288 meters tall, it was fully integrated with a smart control system. Every part of the building, from top to bottom, was managed by a central computer.
Liu A'dou figured that's exactly why the enemy chose this building—because every door could be accessed and controlled via computer. Easier to hack and take over. The only thing he didn't know yet was what the attacker planned to do.
Boom!
While still thinking, another car slammed into his. The impact knocked his hands off the wheel. His car rolled, tumbling through the air. One thought flashed in his mind: someone ran a red light.
But the crash wasn't enough to kill him. He hadn't managed to activate his defenses in time, though, and the glass cut his forehead. Luckily, it only sliced through the mask he was wearing—no blood.
Boom!
What now? His body lurched violently again—another crash. A pile-up. More cars were crashing into his. He clearly saw his own car getting squashed between others, flattening like a pancake.
Snapping the seatbelt, Liu A'dou kicked open the twisted door and quickly jumped out before he got completely trapped.
Over a dozen cars had collided in the intersection. At first, he thought someone had just run the red light. But when he looked up at the traffic lights, he realized both directions showed green.
Which meant when he thought it was safe to cross, the car from the right side also thought the same. That's why they collided.
It was no accident. Someone did this on purpose. Liu A'dou instantly thought of the mysterious challenger.
But how did that guy know exactly where he was? Was it just a coincidence? No—it couldn't be.
Liu A'dou reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. His warehouse was secure. So was his car. The only likely leak was the phone.
His opponent was an insanely strong hacker. Cracking a phone was child's play.
He looked up at the traffic cameras above the intersection. That challenger was definitely watching him right now, like a god watching a monkey.
Even across this great distance, Liu A'dou and Neo seemed to connect through the screen—seeing each other anew.
"I already told you," Neo said. "You're going up against all of America. The only way to win is to show your real identity and real power. If you don't want to lose, let everyone see how pitiful and ignorant they really are. In this fake world, everything is an illusion."
Neo firmly believed that Kaitou Kid came from the real world and could take him there. Classic delusional thinking—he didn't believe in his own world's reality but was obsessed with chasing some so-called "real world."
He also thought Kaitou Kid was still hiding his full strength and the truth about being from another world. Now Neo wanted to force Kid to reveal all his power and admit, in front of everyone, that he came from the real world.
"This fake world has no value," Neo muttered. "Kid, wake up already."
On the screen, Kid tossed his phone and crushed it underfoot. But he knew it was useless. That challenger definitely had some god-like surveillance program, something like the "Eye of God," that could hijack all the city's electronics to keep him under constant watch.
Right now, Liu A'dou was completely exposed to the enemy's sight.
"Karma, huh," Liu A'dou sighed. He'd used this same tactic against bad guys before. Now it was his turn.
But was the guy really trying to kill him? Liu A'dou didn't think so. Based on their conversation, he could vaguely tell the challenger had misunderstood something. It seemed he'd just gotten unlucky and became the target.
Either way, now that he was exposed, it was impossible to tamper with the World Trade Tower unnoticed.
Plus, after escaping the police station, he was definitely still wanted. Time to leave. People around him were already starting to whisper and point.
He ducked into a nearby alley, yanked off the damaged mask, and thought, 'If the other guy is this strong, I'll have to use some extreme methods too. Fine, let's play.'
Revealing his real face, Liu A'dou stepped back into Neo's line of sight. But this time, he had to stay clear of the cops.
"Heh," Neo saw right through Liu A'dou's plan. "You want me to act again so you can spot a weakness," he said with a laugh. "It's not gonna be that simple."
He hacked into Gotham Police's radio system and started broadcasting. He would keep using the cops to pressure Kid until Kid had no choice but to show his real power in public.
Neo's goal was simple—make the true Kaitou Kid appear in front of the masses. Then everyone would feel betrayed, hate him for lying to them. At that point, Kid would finally realize this fake world was a joke.
And then Neo would step in and demand Kid take him to the real world. For that, he was ready to push Kid to the edge.
Liu A'dou quickly realized he'd been too careless. The guy had already used the police once—why hadn't he expected the same trick again?
Now all he could do was try to escape the full-scale manhunt from Gotham's police, constantly hiding and staying on the run.
'I underestimated him. But what is this guy trying to do anyway? He issued a challenge but keeps interfering. Does he just want to stop me from stealing something?'
Liu A'dou was getting more and more confused. But with chaos like this, Batman would definitely notice soon.
And Liu A'dou didn't want Batman involved.
Seems like the best move is to lay low before the heist even starts. What a hassle.
'What a mess. I'm being played and I don't even know who the enemy is.'
Liu A'dou finally understood what Batman had to deal with all the time.
Now, all he could do was act like Batman—wait silently in the shadows until the enemy slipped up.
So Liu A'dou disappeared into hiding.