At the rate they were searching, it was nothing but a waste of manpower.
Zhang Yang made it all the way back to the hotel entrance without a single Island Nation officer stopping his car. They'd completely overlooked the real target.
That alone was enough proof that they were never going to catch Kaitō Kid.
Just as Zhang Yang was about to get out of the car, the system chimed in his mind.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations! Challenge task completed: Successfully stole the Twelve Bronze Zodiac Head from the Imperial Palace of the Island Nation!]
[Reward: 50,000 points!]
Immediately after, a return task was triggered.
[Ding!]
[Return task: Deliver the stolen Twelve Bronze Zodiac Head to the Dragon Nation Embassy.]
[Task reward: 50,000 system points!]
After risking so much to steal the Rabbit Head from the Imperial Palace, if the system hadn't increased the reward, it would've been downright stingy.
Before sending it to the Dragon Nation Embassy, Zhang Yang snapped a photo of the Rabbit Head—for his social feed.
Police cars were everywhere across the Island Nation now. The Dragon Nation Embassy was no exception.
But after careful observation, Zhang Yang realized they were just passing by—none were staking out the location.
"Didn't learn a damn thing. Serves you right to be working overtime!"
He muttered under his breath.
This wasn't Zhang Yang's first time returning something to the Dragon Nation Embassy. Even Britain had learned to station Enforcement Bureau agents nearby. But the Island Nation? Not a single precaution.
Zhang Yang drove up to the embassy gate and, right under the guard's nose, set down a cardboard box containing the Rabbit Head.
Before the guard could react, Zhang Yang slammed the gas and sped off.
The guard immediately radioed his captain.
"Captain, a car just dropped a box at the embassy gate. We suspect it could be dangerous. Please advise!"
A voice crackled through the radio, loud and urgent.
But the guard recognized it wasn't their captain—it was the embassy director.
"It's not dangerous! Hurry and bring that box to my office!"
"And be careful! Handle it gently—do not drop it!"
The guard didn't dare delay. He rushed out from the booth, scooped up the box, and sprinted into the embassy.
The Island Nation's news agency, still live on air, hadn't missed a single frame.
Meanwhile, Dragon Nation intelligence agents were still outside the Imperial Palace, prepared to support Kaitō Kid if needed.
But they hadn't even seen Kaitō Kid yet—meanwhile, the item he'd stolen had already arrived at the embassy.
The embassy director did his best to suppress his excitement as he opened the box.
When he saw that it really was one of the Twelve Bronze Zodiac Heads—and the final one, the Rabbit Head—he nearly jumped for joy.
"Fantastic! This is incredible!"
"The last one—Rabbit Head—is finally home!"
He immediately contacted the task force stationed outside the palace. The same team mentioned in the direct message Zhang Yang had received.
"Get back to the embassy, now! Kaitō Kid is already clear. I've got another critical mission for you!"
The agents quickly returned to the Dragon Nation Embassy.
Together with the embassy director, they personally escorted the Rabbit Head back to the homeland.
With the Island Nation still running wild trying to track down Kaitō Kid, this chaos was the perfect cover.
As long as they could get the Rabbit Head home, the full set of the Twelve Bronze Zodiac Heads would finally be reunited in the Dragon Nation.
After completing the handoff at the embassy, Zhang Yang returned directly to the hotel.
As for the countless patrols and police cars outside, he couldn't care less.
He posted the photo of the Rabbit Head on his social feed—along with a taunting caption.
"Were tonight's fireworks and magic show fun?"
Right after Zhang Yang posted the update, the comment section exploded.
[Absolutely brilliant—insanely stylish! It had to be you, bro!]
[Oh my god! Was the stolen item from the Imperial Palace actually one of the Twelve Bronze Zodiac Heads?!]
[Holy crap—it's another missing Bronze Zodiac Head?!]
[Oh shit! Another one? That's insane. How the hell did Kaitō Kid know the Imperial Palace had a Bronze Zodiac Head?!]
[My god… no wonder the Island Nation's going berserk. Kaitō Kid just swiped three of them!]
When Nakajima Misaki saw Zhang Yang's post, he was so furious he crushed his phone in his grip.
"Baka yarō!"
"Damn you, Kaitō Kid—I will catch you!"
He flung his broken phone onto the ground, then stormed off to the streets to lead the search himself.
Meanwhile, Sente reported the latest to the Eagle Nation.
The directive was clear: continue the pursuit of Kaitō Kid—and if the opportunity arose, seize the Bronze Zodiac Head.
Sente nodded grimly.
"Shit. Now they want us to snatch the Twelve Bronze Zodiac Head? Nakajima's gonna lose his mind!"
"What? They want us to steal the Zodiac Head now? That's insane!"
"We don't even know where Kaitō Kid is. The Island Nation's guards and agents are seriously pathetic. They just watched him escape!"
The five agents in the car kept complaining as they followed orders, trying to track down Kaitō Kid.
Tonight, countless people across the Island Nation wouldn't be getting any sleep. The streets were flooded with agents and patrol cars.
Add to that the rolling live coverage from the national news, and most civilians had simply given up going out. Instead, they stayed glued to the livestream.
[Nani?! The Imperial Palace really was robbed by Kaitō Kid? No wonder I got stopped for a random check on my way home!]
[Same here. Just went to the supermarket and got stopped on the street for no reason!]
[Sō ka sō ka... So it was Kaitō Kid who robbed the palace. Nakajima Misaki is a disgrace—he should commit seppuku and die with honor!]
[Shit! People in the Island Nation really are blunt, huh?]
[Hahaha! If they're committing seppuku over everything, how many people must die each year?!]
Outside the hotel, red and blue lights flashed as police patrols came and went.
Inside, Zhang Yang was lying comfortably in bed after a hot shower, sound asleep.
By the second half of the night, the massive nationwide search had turned up nothing—not even a trace of Kaitō Kid.
"Baka... Kaitō Kid must still be in the country. Otherwise, he'd have posted another taunt by now."
For once, Nakajima Misaki had a decent deduction.
Too bad no one knew what Kaitō Kid looked like. All they had was a vague image of a man in a white tux and top hat.
Throw on a different outfit and stroll down the street? He'd be just another face in the crowd.
"Director Nakajima… a lot of our personnel are complaining. They think… well, they think this entire manhunt is a complete waste of time."
Nakajima's face turned purple with rage.
But with the media present, he held it in.
"Stagger the shifts. Rotate the patrols!"
"Before sunrise, we must find Kaitō Kid—or at the very least, locate his whereabouts!"
Once daylight broke, whether Kaitō Kid would remain in the country was anyone's guess.
[Baka… Nakajima's totally lost it!]
[Hahaha! Even his own people are done with him!]
[Oh man… it's already the middle of the night. Looks like there's no catching Kaitō Kid tonight. I'm heading to bed.]
[Alright folks, show's over for the night. Let's call it.]