The Theft of the Eternal Clock Part 1

Liu Ruyan smiled as she looked at the image of her next target on her computer: the famous, ancient, and well-known “Eternal Clock.” An ancient relic, it was discovered by the Nazis when they unearthed a 30,000-year-old tomb dating back to 30,000 BC. Even the identity of the person who might have created and built the clock remained unknown.

Athena, gather all the information and confirm it if possible. “Let that watch be a Lupin relic, and then send the drone to deliver the message,” said Liu Ruyan with a mischievous smile as she looked at the wood carving like a sculpture and metal parts, which resembled the aforementioned device. Even though it was just an image, she could still sense the imposing, commanding aura of that watch.

Understood, and confirmed Ama Liu Ruyan -- A female voice spoke from inside her laptop, and a holographic image appeared—it was Athena, the AI (Artificial Intelligence) and companion that Liu Ruyan had created when she was young.

1 Hour Later

“Mistress, I have completed the task you assigned me, and the Red Eagle drone has delivered the message to the Bai family's auctioneer,” Athena said, before proceeding to show all the information she had gathered about the Eternal Clock to her mistress, Liu Ruyan, who simply smiled with satisfaction as she reviewed the information.

“Interesting. The Eternal Clock—or rather, the Lupin Clock a device capable of controlling and manipulating time and space. If the user so desires, it can even travel through time, stop it, rewind it, or restart it.” -- Liu Ruyan remarked, as she continued reading the information compiled by her AI companion (Athena) and pondered the advantages and disadvantages, as well as the danger of what would happen if that clock fell into the wrong hands, which would indeed be very dangerous.

*(There are many pros and cons, but I also realize that if I let this slip by, my reputation as the Phantom Thief and Supervillain would be on the line.)* -- That was what Liu Ruyan was thinking, as the image of that antique clock came to mind. In the end, she decided not to let this opportunity pass her by, but she also had to make sure everything went smoothly.

An artifact from Arsène Lupin’s collection—the fact that one of those pieces is here. It can only mean one thing: that it was true—that the Vault was destroyed," Liu Ruyan whispered, her voice serious yet amused, for she was right: her bosses had been careless, and someone brave—or foolish—enough had managed to infiltrate the Phantom Thieves organization to steal Arsène Lupin’s artifacts and relics.

MEANWHILE -- Fuxian City, Bai Family Residence

Bai Ninbing, the current heiress of the Bai family, was meeting with Detective Gu Tienchen and his partner/assistant Lu Qianwei. Since she did not trust her parents’ decision to display the [Eternal Clock] as party of the auction, and even her grandfather, like the other elders of the Bai family, They did not accept and was against that decision due to the recent appearance of the Phantom Thief/Supervillain Mistress Lady.

“So, can you help us with this, Detective Gu?” asked Bai Ninbing, looking seriously at the detective standing before her as he finished reading the information she had provided to him and his partner.

“Of course, we'll help you, Miss Bai.” But we must also ensure that everything goes smoothly, and for that we need the cooperation of your family’s guards,” replied Detective Gu, while his assistant, Lu Qianwei, handed Maria Bai—Bai Ninbing’s cousin—a sheet listing the names of those who would participate in the plan to prevent the Eternal Clock from being stolen by Mistress Lady.