In Dick’s mind, only one sentence was now echoing in absolute chaos:
Robin is actually in Blüdhaven?! Why?!
He tried to stay calm, racking his brain for any reasonable explanation—67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQVJeqSelx
Was it a mission? Emergency backup?67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMyBbGLIFxv
A covert operation arranged by Batman?67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0B6hxC8WhU
But none of these scenarios had anything to do with… a casual dinner date.
Claire didn’t bother checking his expression,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiv6lRBxRVy
nor did she turn to confirm if he was still following along.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqRE8cW218w
She simply raised her right hand, forming a circle with her thumb and index finger,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVDTuMLv6vO
then brought it to her lips—
FWEEEEEEEET—!
A loud, piercing whistle cut through the quiet evening.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1TxUgOMGai
Fortunately, there weren’t many people around.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ECOMSv4Az
The few passersby only glanced over before quickly averting their eyes.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuwh1Jd669o
This was Blüdhaven—minding your own business was the only way to survive.
But—Robin heard it.
He was just swinging across the rooftop on the opposite side of the street when the sound reached him.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqIEVMd4aQ
He turned immediately.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YZGdOCBm2
From where the whistle came, he spotted a familiar silhouette standing next to a woman he didn’t recognize.
He didn’t hesitate.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKtL5hUBHIN
His grappling line shot out again.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSDF2YQxVBA
He twisted mid-air, soared across the gap, and landed with precision—67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7PmlafWcg
as if he’d practiced that exact landing a hundred times.
And when he landed in front of Claire and Dick—67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjJVKhJ53N
there was a pause.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1N3Lp3ShfM
The three of them stood there, wrapped in a silence so heavy, it felt like someone had hit the pause button on reality.
Dick didn’t know what to say first.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeFyUAB196d
Robin didn’t know what to say first either.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ1n5OV6kWo
Claire simply stood there watching the two of them, curious to see if either would break the silence.
This wasn’t some random encounter.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1IPyNFZLQ0
This was Claire’s doing.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7be7es6zAN
She wanted to see exactly what kind of relationship this “informant” had with the Bat family.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhqY3mOZRGv
She needed a controlled experiment.
The three of them looked at one another—eye contact full of signals,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡukzbu1hzUw
but still not a single word.
Dick’s gaze shifted first.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxpEgi8LUCf
He quickly flashed a look at Robin, trying to convey:67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaD2vuAeoW0
“Why the hell are you here?”
Then he immediately followed up with a second, more urgent expression:67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34b01WcgIG
“I’m just plain ol’ Dick Grayson right now. Don’t blow my cover.”
Robin, on the other hand, eyed the pair with mild suspicion.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8XcYrMNSv
The girl was clearly dressed up.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwI45ICz7e
The guy looked relaxed but well put-together.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSvnyGOlJV
They were walking together down the street—
Wait… is this a date?67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsGNIfKrit3
Did I just interrupt a date?
But if it’s a date, why did the girl call him here?
Claire watched them continue their silent exchange,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbqH5Gg2CzB
and then shrugged—like she’d already seen through everything,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9k2O3i2fl2
and had no intention of letting this awkward silence drag on.
She stepped forward, her voice clear and calm, instantly snapping both men’s attention back to her.
“Do you two know each other?”
Both of them shook their heads at the same time.
Identical motions.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vT10PP9HF
So fake it was almost insulting.
Claire raised an eyebrow, giving them a subtle “you expect me to believe that?” smile.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtakF93kF5X
But her tone remained utterly composed:
“Is that so?”
Without waiting for their answer,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrSEkmmTrJp
she calmly lifted her hand and pointed to Dick:67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJibmkpdFQ
“This is Officer Dick Grayson.”
Then she pointed at Robin:67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpC1UZg0od
“This is Robin.”
Finally, she pointed at herself:67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9y9XgAbt8
“I’m Claire.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcDC4DsF4LC
Nice to meet you both.”
Her tone was pleasant, her smile faint,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡesD7cWe6Og
as if she were hosting the most polite and bizarre matchmaking event in Blüdhaven history.
67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQl4bENrHk
Three people—familiar yet unfamiliar—stood together on the streets of Blüdhaven.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1B2gTScOCJ
A cold wind blew past, lifting the corner of a newspaper by a trash can, sending it fluttering briefly before it dropped back down in the dark.
Claire’s introductions had ended like a sterile handoff in a lab—cold, but undeniably effective.
After introducing herself, she promptly announced,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ02Lz2KsPyl
“Alright, let’s go eat.”67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRRp0MnzFG
Then she turned around as if this gathering was nothing more than a dinner reservation she'd made in advance.
If Dick hadn’t been here—Robin swore—he definitely would’ve declined.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL0pja38QXp
Seriously.
Even if this woman was suspicious,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVhcjwTuUA
even if she somehow knew his name,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCuZkKwKuAu
he could’ve come up with a hundred reasons to walk away.
But the problem was—he had too many questions.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzEY3G8FVAc
And the source of those questions was standing right in front of him.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb1D7VbyIxv
His name: Dick Grayson.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhP9ztGF6mf
Current status: “normal police officer,”67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvRNxqad4XA
currently on a date with this mysterious woman.
Now he had to pretend not to know Dick…67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1tXwxFTUaZ
and join Dick’s date.
What the hell kind of scenario is this?
He glanced sideways at Dick, his expression crystal clear:67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGVKSVyXPWI
“Bro. What are you doing?”
Dick was already looking at him—his face pale as chalk.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSn24wen77
“I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
Walking beside Claire, Dick had completely lost his grasp on logic.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5TGnK3Z80
His brain felt like it had been stuffed with bagels—twelve of them—67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZgMD0Iaql
jammed in all at once, and not a single one swallowed.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXPhohUaHw
Too many questions, too many contradictions, too many puzzle pieces with no edges.
And now he had to pretend he didn’t know Robin.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENRp0gUeoZ
And the three of them were going to dinner.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7L3iHKskCP
Together.
What kind of bizarre combination is this?
If Batman found out, he might just blow up the kitchen in the Batcave.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ztRqyMoKx
Was this a leak in their intel network… or some kind of multiverse misalignment?
So—did Robin know Claire?67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡscCAR5K7p8
The thought suddenly popped into Dick’s head.
He deliberately let his arm fall to his side, slowed his pace slightly to trail behind a step,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvaP43nSypD
then subtly pointed a finger at Claire, silently asking,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXO8PiioHVM
“Do you know her?”
Robin shook his head.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLDmwKMdidt
Clean, crisp, and absolute.
Dick let out a small breath of relief.
Great. He doesn’t know her.
Which meant—now the questions became:67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkh7fYHWyf
How did she contact Robin?67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQvPtu8gXen
Why did she invite him to dinner?67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1YEYWdaPl
And why drag Dick into it too?
Even more absurd—67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9G5YvojWe
two out of the three people here knew each other,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBKbOVipiX
but had to pretend they didn’t,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNFmUJz7FP
all while being herded together by the third person…67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvL6pnl2WOK
for dinner.
The two brothers silently watched the woman walking steadily ahead of them—Claire.
One thought passed between them:67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSkaRIZo6q
This dinner... there are going to be questions.
67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfI7Ixe4rXq
然後按「加至主畫面」