The car trunks—they really had overlooked that.
If Zhang Yang hadn't tipped them off, Jeff and Daweika might have actually slipped away. And if that had happened, the internet would've roasted them alive.
Not catching Kaitō Kid was already embarrassing enough. He'd been outsmarting them for ages.
But Jeff and Daweika's whereabouts were handed to them by Kaitō Kid himself.
If they still failed to catch them, that would've been downright pathetic.
Thanks to Zhang Yang's tip, their task became much simpler. There were plenty of cars ready to leave, but Zhang Yang had clearly mentioned both the color and the type. All they had to do was check the trunks like good little agents.
Soon enough, Harrison found the first car.
Once the Enforcement Bureau agent popped the trunk, Harrison immediately raised his gun and pointed it inside.
"Jeff?"
Forget being reckless. Unless Jeff had a death wish, there was no way he'd resist with a gun aimed straight at his head.
"Don't move. Get out slowly."
"You make one wrong move, and I'll shoot."
Harrison was a seasoned agent. Sure, he'd failed to catch Kaitō Kid multiple times, but Jeff wasn't dumb enough to doubt Harrison's reflexes.
As Jeff crawled out of the trunk, he was immediately cuffed and restrained.
Not long after Jeff was taken away, Victor dragged Daweika out too.
Neither of them got away.
Seeing both fugitives captured, the chaotic crowd finally started to settle down.
"Take them away!" Victor ordered with a wave of his hand. Daweika was hauled into a vehicle in cuffs.
These two were just a bonus catch. Victor didn't feel even a little triumphant.
[Shit! Thank god they caught them—I was scared for real!]
[Damn, A-Class fugitives dared show up here, and the Bureau didn't even notice!]
[If Kaitō Kid hadn't said anything, who knows what they might've done!]
[The Bureau needs to seriously reflect on this. How could A-Class fugitives get into the Musée Guimet?!]
[They're caught now—can we go already?]
Victor ordered the Bureau agents to wrap it up. Catching Jeff and Daweika was better than leaving empty-handed.
With no more hold-ups, the crowd and vehicles cleared out fast. The scene emptied quickly.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yang's neon lights and music were still blasting.
Annoyed, Victor snapped, "Turn off the sound system!"
"And take down those damn lights, too. All of them!"
Victor was in a foul mood. This whole setup felt like a slap in the face.
"Director Bruce, Director Harrison, we've got hotel rooms ready for you both."
"Please go get some rest. I'll keep looking into Kaitō Kid. He couldn't have left without leaving a single clue."
Victor wasn't ready to give up. He believed that no matter how skilled someone was, a human would always leave a trace—some small, overlooked sign.
In theory, he was right.
But the problem was, those tiny clues were often impossible to detect.
Harrison and Bruce had already learned this the hard way—over and over again. If they didn't catch Kaitō Kid on the spot, they wouldn't just fail to arrest him. They wouldn't even find a trace afterward.
Not wanting to watch Victor waste his energy, Harrison gave a friendly reminder.
"Director Victor, Kaitō Kid is a master of disguise. He could be anyone in the city!"
"He might be driving any car, using any identity, showing up anywhere!"
"We could go back and interrogate Jeff and Daweika. Maybe they know something!"
Victor frowned when he heard that.
It wasn't that he doubted Harrison's view of Kaitō Kid's skills—he just didn't understand how interrogating two A-Class fugitives would lead to a breakthrough.
"Director Harrison, you think Kaitō Kid is working with them?"
"Hasn't he always operated alone?"
From what Victor knew, Kaitō Kid never had a partner. He always worked solo.
Harrison shook his head and clarified, "You're misunderstanding me, Director Victor."
"It just feels a bit too convenient for two A-Class fugitives and Kaitō Kid to be in the same place at the same time."
"Sure, it could be a coincidence. Maybe they have nothing to do with each other. But compared to blindly chasing traces of Kaitō Kid, I think questioning them might actually get us somewhere."
After hearing the explanation, Victor looked stunned. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
Zhang Yang, perched on the stone beam, watched the three men muttering below.
But he was too far away to catch what they were saying.
Soon he got bored. He flipped down from the beam and got ready to leave the museum.
The Enforcement Bureau agents had already pulled out. Zhang Yang slipped out through the locked back door, jumped into a black sedan, and sped away.
Not long after leaving the museum, Zhang Yang got his system reward.
[Ding]
[Mission complete: Successfully stole the Bronze Gilded Buddha Pagoda from the Musée Guimet!]
[Reward: 100,000 system points!]
Right after that, the system triggered a return mission.
And with it came the blue sapphire Zhang Yang had grabbed from the Ancient Civilization Exhibit.
[Ding]
[New mission: Return the Bronze Gilded Buddha Pagoda and the Ancient Civilization Sapphire to the Dragon Nation Embassy.]
[Reward: 80,000 system points!]
Zhang Yang drove toward the Dragon Nation Embassy. He hadn't paid much attention to the sapphire—it had been an accident.
He didn't expect the system to want him to return that too.
But when he arrived at the embassy in France, he spotted someone unexpected.
"That guy again?"
"What does he want this time?"
After a quick moment of thought, Zhang Yang didn't stop. He drove straight past.
He had already changed outfits. If he'd shown up in that iconic white tux, he would've been recognized instantly.
"He's already got my signature. Could the contest have started?"
Zhang Yang turned past the intersection, pulled over, and parked. Then he used the rearview mirror to keep an eye on Holmeska's car.
At this point, he had to stay alert at all times.
Holmeska had seemed polite when asking for his signature, but Zhang Yang didn't know what kind of person he really was.
He stayed in the car, deciding to wait it out.
At the very least, he needed to figure out why Holmeska was here. Was he really waiting for Zhang Yang?
As for the return mission, that could wait a little longer.
'The descendant of Sherlock Holmes really is something. He must've done his homework and figured out I'd return the stolen goods to the embassy after the heist!'
'Once the contest really begins, this guy's gonna be a pain to deal with!'