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Chapter 49: The Luxury Cruise Ship, Star of Hope
"Hey, have you heard about that?"
"Heard about what?"
In the classroom, two boys were whispering.
"A few days ago, didn't Weathers Shipyard launch that luxury cruise ship claimed to be the number one in the country? I heard Director James wants to film his new movie Macragge on it and is negotiating with Weathers."
"Director James! I've watched almost all his movies. But Macragge is still far from release. What does where he films have to do with us?"
"You don't know, do you? I have inside information that Director James wants to show more authentic reactions of people walking into a luxury cruise ship for the first time, so he decided to recruit one hundred ordinary people as extras."
"Wait, hearing you say that, you aren't planning to go audition, are you?"
"Of course! Rumor has it the female lead is already set to be the superstar Elena, and she's going to wear that Star of Hope necklace. I don't want to give up the chance to see her with my own eyes. Maybe I'll even get a chance to kiss her hand."
"Hey, buddy, I feel like you're dreaming a bit too big. If this news is true, the people going to interview will probably crowd out all of Gotham. But there are only one hundred spots; how could it be our turn?"
"No harm in trying. Failing won't hurt, but if I pass, I hit the jackpot!"
"By the way, the Star of Hope you mentioned, is that the legendary Hope Diamond? The stone of bad luck even more terrifying than the Vanaver family's emerald! Leaving aside how they persuaded the Smithsonian Institution to lend the diamond, isn't Elena afraid of an accident wearing it?"
"Damn! I thought you were going to say something else. You don't actually believe those ghost stories about cursed stones, do you? Every three-year-old knows those are just lies made up by collectors to increase the diamond's fame."
"Just like the Vanaver cursed necklace. Samantha wore it close to her body all the time; did you ever hear of any accidents happening to her?"
The two chatted more and more excitedly, unaware that a tall dark shadow had arrived at their desk at some point, looking down at them.
"Gentlemen, if you don't like listening to my class, you can stand outside the classroom."
A voice full of authority interrupted the two boys' chat.
Next, a bloated middle-aged female teacher wearing leather shoes and sunglasses came into view.
"Uh... s-sorry, we won't do it again."
The teacher stared at them sternly for a long time, until their hearts were hairy and their backs were sweating.
"Hmph, I'll forgive you this time. If I see you talking in class again, I'll let you be the lecturers for this lesson!"
With a cold snort, the teacher turned back to the podium.
"Where were we just now..."
Meanwhile, in the back row by the window.
Darren looked like he was listening seriously, but his hand kept twirling his pen.
The two students who were caught chatting just now sat not far in front of him. Darren had heard the content of their conversation clearly.
"Luxury cruise ship, Star of Hope... sounds like a perfect stage. Just as I was wondering how to choose the next target."
More than half a month had passed since the end of the Two-Face incident. For some reason, Gotham had been unusually calm during this period, without any attention-grabbing events occurring.
Whether good or bad.
Darren had been selecting the next target. He had visited several large museums in Gotham and listed the most valuable treasures in their collections.
Originally, he planned that if he didn't find a suitable target in another ten days, he would just pick one from the list at random.
With Kid's current fame, even if he didn't deliberately chase high-traffic hot events, he could garner significant attention just by his own name.
What Darren didn't expect was that when he was eagerly hoping for big news, the whole world was calm, but when he lowered his expectations, he inadvertently heard interesting intelligence.
It could be called an unexpected joy.
"Hm? A famous director filming a new movie on a brand-new luxury cruise ship, the lead actress wearing a world-class diamond..."
In the seat to Darren's side, Tim also heard the whispers of the two classmates in front.
"Sounds like something that would attract Phantom Thief Kid, assuming this isn't made up. Mm, I'll ask Dad later if this is true."
Although Kid wouldn't necessarily steal a gem—after all, he took Two-Face's coin last time.
But based on previous contacts, Tim had gradually understood Kid's modus operandi.
Just as Catwoman said, the target of the theft itself wasn't important.
Kid stole those famous gems not because they were valuable, but because they were famous.
He needed attention, like a performer on stage, craving an audience filling the seats below.
So, what stage could be more perfect than a super luxury cruise ship gathering a great director, a female star, and a world-famous diamond all at once?
Time quickly reached the end of the school day.
On this day, Tim unprecedentedly didn't run out the school gate to change into his Robin uniform for patrol but went directly home.
"Tim, you're home early today."
Jack looked at his son's early return with surprise.
"Dad, I have something to ask you."
Tim didn't explain, asking straight to the point.
"Do you know about Director James filming a movie on a luxury cruise ship in Gotham?"
"Oh? Where did you hear about that? I remember no related news has leaked recently."
Jack wondered.
"Rumors among classmates."
"Alright. I originally planned to give you a surprise, but I didn't expect you to know in advance."
"Surprise?"
Tim was puzzled too.
"The rumors are correct. James is indeed filming a new movie in Gotham, and he plans to find some non-actors to film on the ship. The key point is—I used some connections to get a few special invitation spots. Father and son, we can both appear on camera in Macragge."
Jack smiled proudly.
"By the way, we can drag Darren along too."
"Since when did you have connections with Director James? I don't remember our family being involved in the film industry."
Tim looked his father up and down.
"I indeed don't have connections with James, but I have connections with Weathers Shipyard. An old classmate of mine is a board member of the shipyard. James wants to borrow their luxury cruise ship, so naturally, he has to agree to some additional conditions."
Jack explained.
"Besides us, many others got spots in advance, but most of them just want to join in the fun. Few are actually willing to show their faces on camera."
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