A sound made by a foot on the grass broke the peace of the stone pavilion.
The sound came from behind Barbara.
âMiss Gordon, I didnât expect anyone to guess my real escape route, youâre much better than the FBI and CIA.â
Phantom Kid stepped out of the woods facing Barbaraâs back.
Barbara didnât turn around, she ignored his words and asked in a clear cold voice.
âPhantom Kid⊠no, I should rather say Mathison Fang!â
At her words, he remained silent.
âWonât you say anything back to me, is this how you wanted things to go?â
Barbara suddenly turned back to look at Phantom Kid angrily.
âWhy are you doing all of this?â
âBefore asking me about the reason why Iâm doing all of this, Iâd like to remind you, Miss, that you⊠have the wrong person.â
Phantom Kid chuckled softly.
âIâm not the man you have in mind.â
Barbaraâs face flushed, then she reacted with shame and anger, âDonât you dare to play dumb on me, Mathison!â
âWasnât it the person you liked? Could my investigation be wrong?â
Kid raised his chin in a puzzled manner as if the âMathisonâ Barbara was talking about had nothing to do with him.
âI mean, you⊠arenât confessing to me in a different way, are you?â
Barbara narrowed her eyes at Phantom Kid.
âIf you had been bolder before maybe I would have said yes, but now, youâre a criminal⊠weâŠâ
At that, Barbaraâs eyes darkened.
âWhy do you think Iâm Mathison Fang?â
Phantom Kid asked suddenly.
âSince youâre going to play dumb to the end, Iâll say it plainly!â
Barbara gave Phantom Kid a stern look.
âThat day on the yacht in the Merchantâs River, I had actually woken up a long time before you came. Thatâs when you said âthanks to you this time, Barbaraâ right!â
âPerhaps you didnât realise that although you didnât use your own voice when you said it, you very naturally addressed me as Barbara, so you could only have been someone I knew well!â
âAnd you deliberately broke away from my hand when the Queen arrived, didnât you?â
âStop pretending, Mathison!â
âYou canât hide it from me even with a hat and glasses on!â
The expression on Phantom Kidâs face remained unchanged, but deep down, he realized that it was at that time that he was exposed.
âWell Barbara, since you want to see my true face so badly, Iâll just have toâŠâ
Phantom Kid sighed and reached up to remove his hat and glasses.
âYou said he was Mathison Fang! How is this possible?â
Just then a startled voice came from the woods next to them. The voice seemed to belong to some very old man.
Johnny rushed out through the bushes in front of her and saw the small secluded stone pavilion.
And, of course, heard the identification Barbara had just made.
Johnny couldnât believe such a thing, would even an heir of Kamar-Taj do something like stealing?
No, could it be that Mathison was not in fact the heir of Kamar-Taj, or that he had betrayed them?
In any case, Johnny, who was somehow convinced that Mathison was connected to Kamar-Taj, was speechless due to his shock.
By coincidence, Johnny had led the group in pursuit due west, but on the way to search, he⊠suddenly had a stomach ache.
Then after looking for a place to address his needs, Johnny found himself lost and then started wandering through the woods, only to end up in such a place crookedly.
Then, he heard the shocking words that Commissioner Gordonâs daughter uttered: the man he thought could never be Phantom Kid was actually Phantom Kid!
However, neither of the two people present paid any attention to him.
Barbara couldnât help but exclaim out loud when she saw the face that Phantom Kid revealed when he took off his hat and glasses.
Phantom Kid looked at her and smiled, saying, âSurprised, Barbara, canât I call you âBarbaraâ?â
âNo, I know very well that youâre good at disguising yourself. Youâre actually pretending to be Daisy, who is obviously doing research with Dr. Foster now, so how could she be Phantom Kid?â
After a brief moment of surprise, Barbara quickly calmed down.
âWell, Barbara, Iâm actually Phantom Kid.â
Laughing, Phantom Kid suddenly snatched down his cloak and his appearance changed once again.
This time it was Jim Gordon.
Even the chiefâs police uniform was on him.
âHahahaha, Miss Gordon, I must say you do have a keen eye for actually suspecting someone around you, but the truth is that by then I already knew you were awake and the reason I said that was to play a little joke on you.â
âIt seems to have caused you a great deal of distress and I am here to apologise, Miss Gordon.â
At the sight of Barbaraâs outrageous reaction, Phantom Kid let out a hearty laugh before bowing solemnly to Barbara.
âIâm sorry, Mr. Fang⊠Phantom Kid, even though I have no clue what is going around, but Iâd like you to raise your hands now.â
Johny felt ignored and at the same time more confused.
Originally Johnny was shocked that Phantom Kidâs real identity was Mathison, but now, because of the many disguises he has just pulled, Johnny had no idea who Phantom Kid really was.
Regardless, his pistol was pointed at Phantom Kid.
âAgent Johnny, after seeing this, can you still say such things?â
The unmistakably familiar voice came, and Johnnyâs eyes instantly widened.
Phantom Kid slowly turns around to face him, and that face has turned into that of the Queen!
No matter how mentally prepared he was, Johny still froze on the spot when he saw this face.
âSo, goodbye to you both!â
Taking advantage of this, Phantom Kid quickly ran away.
Barbara instantly rushed over to him.
âStop right there, Mathison, youâre going too far!â
âI told you Iâm not who you say I am!â
âWhoâs going to believe that!â
Johnyâs reflexes seemed to be delayed for a few seconds, and it took a moment for him to come back to their senses and rush after them as well.
Between the three, one after the other, there was a chase through the woods.
It was only a matter of time before Phantom Kid scampered between the trees and reached the road leading due west to the watchtower.
âMathison, you canât get away!â
Barbara sped up as fast as she could, trying to close the distance between herself and Phantom Kid.
âBarbara, what are you talking about? Why canât I get away?â
Suddenly, an unmistakably familiar voice came from Barbaraâs side, causing Barbara to freeze instantly in place and turn her head in disbelief.
All she saw was that on the path stretching from the direction of the central statue, Mathison was running towards her.
Turning her head again to look ahead, the back of Phantom Kid kept moving awayâŠ