Chapter 227: A Performance without an Audience

“On the night of the day of Frigg, as the clock strikes zero, I will lead the pink lion away.

Sincerely, Phantom Kid”

In the curator’s office, Jackie Chan looked at Kid’s notice letter in shock.

Even an archaeologist, who travels around the world all the year round, could not possibly have not heard of Phantom Kid.

Especially since the archaeologist happened to have a special sheriff friend, Jackie Chan still had some information about Phantom Kid.

Jackie Chan didn’t have any special attitude towards this thief.

After all, he is not the kind of “scholar” who only likes to excavate golden and silver treasures, historical relics are what fascinates him the most.

What’s more, Kid returned the treasures he got almost every time and saved Gotham not very long ago. So, he doesn’t look like a bad guy.

Hence, Jackie Chan wasn’t worried that Phantom Kid would target those precious cultural relics.

Jackie Chan, who never thought that he would meet this legendary thief in his life, didn’t think that there would be such coincidences in life.

“Chan… Mr. Chan, Phantom Kid obviously wants to steal the Pink Lion Diamond. This is our most important treasure. It must not be stolen by Kid!”

The curator looked forward to Jackie Chan with a hopeful face.

“Mr. Curator, I’m just an archaeologist, not a secret agent. You should seek the assistance of the police immediately. I can help you contact Sheriff Black.”

Although the reason for which the curator is seeking help from a mere archaeologist is unknown, Jackie Chan is used to helping others.

At the same time, he also had secret considerations.

«Dad had just recently discovered that the Snake Talisman is in this museum, and Kid’s notice was sent here. Is it really a coincidence..?»

«The reports about Kid mentioned that he had always liked precious gems, and there are very few people in the world who know the existence of talismans, so it’s unlikely his goal.»

Jackie Chan breathed a sigh of relief.

Currently, Phantom Kid is not perceived in the same way he had first debuted. He has just stolen a nuclear bomb, what else can’t he steal?

The name, “Phantom Kid,” has brought tremendous pressure to gem collectors all over the world, fearing that one day, they will wake up to a teaser letter from Kid.

It would be really bad if Kid was actually eyeing talismans, not diamonds.

“No, we can’t notify the police!”

As soon as Jackie Chan’s words to notify Sheriff Black were spoken, the curator sharply opposed him.

“It’s impossible to stop Phantom Kid with the police alone. It is said that Phantom Kid is proficient in disguising. If we call the police, they would be only serving Kid’s disguise!”

“So far, the police have never defeated Kid once, which is the best proof.”

The curator’s response made Jackie Chan a bit confused. He didn’t expect the curator to distrust the police so much.

In fact, the curator’s mistrust of the police is not the reason why he is reluctant to call them.

«The case of Phantom Kid will definitely be dealt with by the New York Police Department. I am afraid that the museum will be severely investigated, so won’t my act of stealing and selling treasures be exposed…»

The curator thought to himself.

«There are too many museums in New York, MoMA, Guggenheim, Metropolitan Museum of Art… Compared to these big museums with rich collections, this small museum that I run has too little to offer…»

«Without a world-famous exhibition of treasures, the museum can attract very limited tourists, and its revenue is even more limited. Sooner or later, the museum will be forced to close.»

If it weren’t for the rare big pink diamond, the Pink Lion Diamond, which is their most important treasure, this museum wouldn’t have been able to operate for such a long time.

With the changes of the times, fewer and fewer people are still willing to visit museums. Many museums do not even charge tickets in order to maintain their popularity.

That’s why the curator is so polite to Jackie Chan. After all, there are too few people willing to donate cultural relics to his museum.

Rather, the museum’s business has been getting worse in recent years.

Not only here, but it is also said that even the large-scale natural history museum will usher in a big change because of an unknown event.

Therefore, the curator decided to do some shady stuff, secretly exchanging the collections in his museum for money, selling the real ones, and leaving the fakes in the museum.

The museum is not owned by the curator alone, and most of the collections are in the names of the major shareholders behind, so he does not feel bad about selling these collections.

But if the shareholders know about this, they would definitely kill him.

For this reason, the curator can’t let Jackie Chan call the police. If the police find any clues about his black transactions, they would definitely get him killed.

He didn’t even want to disclose the news of the notice letter. As for Kid, he might also send the notice directly to the police, so he could only bite the bullet and refuse the police’s assistance.

Of course, he couldn’t tell Jackie Chan these words, so he shifted the focus to police incompetence, that they couldn’t catch Phantom Kid, and made up an act as if he doesn’t trust them.

“Uh… Mr. Curator, since you don’t even trust the police, why did you stop me just now?”

Jackie Chan scratched his head and smiled dryly.

The curator was taken aback for a moment and looked at Jackie Chan strangely.

“Mr. Chan, this is not the right time for making jokes. Didn’t you come to me today to protect the Pink Lion Diamond? Well, I apologize for my rudeness and stupidity just now, Mr. Chan, please help me.”

Jackie Chan is still well-known in the archaeological world. It is said that he is very skilled. The curator does not know how good he is, but for the moment, he doesn’t have any other choice.

Moreover, he has known Jackie Chan for a long time, and he is not worried that Jackie Chan will be interested in the diamond.

“Ah? What? No, Mr. Curator, I’m here to protect the charm, not the Pink Lion, and I’m not talking about Kid, I’m talking about The Dark Hand…”

Jackie Chan was surprised when he heard the words, the misunderstanding was a bit big, and he hurriedly explained.

Unfortunately, the curator completely ignored Jackie Chan’s words and interrupted him directly.

“Mr. Chan, before you say anything, come with me!”

The old curator grabbed Jackie Chan’s wrist and walked him towards the door.

He came out of the office and went straight down the hallway.

“Turn left from the front and you’ll find the room where the Pink Lion Diamond is stored.”

While walking, the curator talked to Jackie Chan.

What they didn’t find was that a tourist not far behind the two was looking at their backs with a playful smile.

“How can he not accept the help of the police? A show without an audience is meaningless…”

“I originally thought that with my current reputation, merely sending a notice letter would cause some fear and save myself some trouble. I didn’t expect to go to the police station in the end, which is really troublesome.”

“But the attitude of the curator is a bit off. Even if he doesn’t trust the police, he didn’t have to overreact. I hope it won’t be a problem…”