Chapter 73: Catwoman, Little Snake, and Jackie Chan
The time for school to start arrived quickly, and Kara now accompanied Robert to school every day. However, there wasn't much difference from before, apart from shorter food preparation times and the opportunity for some light training on the way.
The Demetrius quintet, upon discovering that Robert and Kara were coming to school together every day, seemed to hear the sound of their hearts breaking. They bravely bit back tears, huddling together for warmth and consoling each other amidst an aura of sadness.
"A snake charm in the museum? How did it end up there?" One day, Jackie Chan in the antique shop received a call from his friend, Chief Black of Section 13. He was the person responsible for Section 13 and also Jackie's partner in collecting the charms. "What? You want me to steal the snake charm? Are you joking, Black? I'm an archaeologist and adventurer, not a thief!"
"Yes, Jackie, you are not a thief, but the snake charm is not a normal exhibit either. I'll send you the detailed route map, hoping you can successfully retrieve it. This seems like the easiest operation so far..." Black said encouragingly.
"Why can't your people from Section 13 just take it? It's an official organization, right?" Jackie asked, somewhat helplessly.
"We are an official organization, but the museum is privately owned," Black replied with a hint of helplessness. "If we could intervene officially, I would have done it already. Have you ever seen an extraordinary event where official intervention was straightforward?"
"Alright, you have a point. Sometimes the officials are indeed useless…" Jackie reluctantly agreed, murmuring, "I'll try, but I can't guarantee success. By the way, how's your investigation on Valon and Hydra going?"
"I haven't figured it out yet, but are you sure you're right? All my information indicates that Hydra has been completely eradicated..." Black's voice held a note of doubt.
"I'm sure I'm not wrong!" Jackie said firmly.
"Okay, I believe you!" Black, hearing Jackie's conviction for the first time, chose to trust his old friend. "You handle the snake charm, and I'll continue investigating Hydra..."
"Uncle Jackie, Uncle Jackie, are you going on an adventure? Is Robert coming too? Can I come and watch?" Jade excitedly ran up to Jackie after he hung up the phone, looking forward to joining the adventure.
Jackie had not reported Robert's involvement to Black or Section 13. Although he didn't know if Robert cared about being exposed to official scrutiny, he chose to keep Robert's existence a secret.
However, hiding this from Jade's grandpa proved more difficult.
During the previous Ox Charm incident, Grandpa had instructed Jackie to return quickly after resolving the issue and bring a gift for Jade. Clearly, due to the emergence of Hydra, Jackie, in his rush, had completely forgotten this task.
In explaining the situation, Jackie mentioned Robert's performance, piquing Jade's interest. While she didn't believe someone could create a huge crater in the ground, she was curious to see what Robert, whom Jackie claimed was even stronger than her grandpa, looked like—despite Grandpa's refusal to admit Robert's superiority.
"Jade! I'm going to work, not to play!" Jackie glared at Jade who had run out and said sternly, "Also, stop eavesdropping on my conversations, whether I'm on the phone or talking to Grandpa! Now, go do your homework and sleep!"
"Hmph!" Jade huffed, crossing her arms and making a face at Jackie before storming off, but her darting eyes suggested she had other plans.
"If it's a fight, I would need to contact Robert, but now I'm going to steal... ahem, retrieve the snake charm from the museum. If Robert comes and demolishes the museum, how much would that cost?" Jackie, recalling the destructive power of Robert's fight with Diana, quickly shook his head, deciding not to call Robert this time.
That night, Jackie, dressed in a dark outfit and armed with Black's strategy, stealthily made his way to the museum rooftop and infiltrated the building. Unbeknownst to him, a small figure was quietly following him, skillfully keeping up even with Jackie's agile movements.
Also unknown to Jackie, the museum was busier than usual that night. Not only had he and Jade arrived, but two other figures clad in black had also made their way there.
From their physiques, it was apparent that both were female thieves. One, wearing a mask and cat-like accessories, was known as Selina Kyle, alias Catwoman, a legendary thief with world-class burglary skills. The other, known as Little Snake, was a well-known thief in the industry, recognized for her quick reflexes and agility.
Coincidentally, both thieves had their eyes on the same treasure in the museum, not the snake charm, but a large pink diamond known as the Pink Puma.
Upon seeing the Pink Puma diamond among the museum's exhibits, both were captivated, feeling that no woman could resist such a gem.
Thus, Little Snake and Catwoman separately made their way into the museum. For thieves of their caliber, the museum's security was a piece of cake. Little Snake managed to successfully steal the Pink Puma diamond...
"Jade! What are you doing here?" On the other side of the museum, Jackie carefully bypassed the security devices and had just retrieved the snake charm, putting it in a bag, when he suddenly spotted a small figure and exclaimed in surprise, then quickly covered his mouth and whispered, "Never mind, no time for that now. Come on, we need to leave!"
"Uncle Jackie, where's Robert?" Jade glanced around before running up to Jackie and asking in a low voice.
"When did I say he was coming?" Jackie glared at Jade, about to say more when he heard a noise.
"Crash!" Suddenly, the sound of an exhibit breaking echoed through the museum.
"What's going on? I didn't call Robert, did I?" Jackie instinctively looked toward the source of the noise and saw a figure in a tight outfit flying towards him. Unable to dodge in time, he pushed Jade out of the way and was knocked to the ground by the soft body, the bag with the snake charm falling to the ground.