The agent passed out instantly when Zhang Yang pressed the pressure point on his neck.
Zhang Yang dragged him into a restroom stall, tied his hands and feet, and sealed his mouth with duct tape.
This guy's identity was the one Zhang Yang had used for inspection earlier, so there was no issue at all.
About three minutes later, Zhang Yang arrived at the first-floor lobby. All the agents were already gathered there.
Leo took a deep breath and began checking names one by one against the list on his tablet.
The assembly took three minutes, but the identity check lasted nearly ten.
There were forty-eight agents total. Every single one matched the list exactly.
"Looks fine," Leo muttered, leaning in toward Holmeska in a low voice.
"Kaitō Kid's not among them."
He'd checked all forty-eight thoroughly. There was no mistake.
Holmeska had watched the whole thing and hadn't missed anyone either.
Zhang Yang stood among the group, completely calm, with not the slightest trace of suspicion.
After thinking for a long while, Holmeska finally gave up. He shook his head helplessly.
"Director Leo, if Kaitō Kid really isn't here, then tonight's operation might be a bust."
"He could've slipped out of the museum before I even arrived."
The building was still in total darkness. And back when the Art & Literature Exhibit was filled with smoke, it would've been the perfect chance to escape.
This was Leo's first face-off with Kaitō Kid, and he really didn't want to admit defeat.
But the fact was, not a single trace of Kaitō Kid had been seen throughout the entire operation.
The mission had clearly failed. Whether Leo liked it or not, he had to accept it.
"I'm really sorry, Director Leo. I couldn't help much."
Holmeska had rushed to Country D with everything he had—but he was still a step too late.
Leo sighed and waved his hand, signaling everyone to pull back.
The BND agents and enforcers stationed at the roadblocks were there to catch Kaitō Kid if he was spotted trying to flee.
But now that he'd vanished without a trace from the museum, they couldn't possibly comb through such a huge area street by street.
And even if they did, it probably wouldn't lead to anything.
As Zhang Yang walked out of the museum with the others, the crowd outside exploded in chatter.
[Oh? Director Leo and his men just came out—does that mean they failed to catch him?]
[Holmeska's off to a rough start. First day in Country D and already a loss!]
[He showed up too late. Kaitō Kid is just insane. It looks like Leo didn't even catch a glimpse of him!]
[My god, how did Kaitō Kid escape? Are we sure Leo searched every inch?]
[Kaitō Kid never lets us down. Their failure was almost expected!]
Faced with the rising noise and wild speculation, Leo said nothing. His face dark as night, he ordered the BND agents to retreat, leaving the local enforcers to clear the crowd.
Leo and Holmeska got into a car and left first. After the rest of the agents began to pull back, Zhang Yang finally changed back into Kaitō Kid's outfit at a slow, deliberate pace.
With so many people from Country D involved tonight, there was no way Zhang Yang could just sneak off without saying a word.
That would've been a waste of their massive efforts to track him down. Since they were this enthusiastic, he figured he ought to return the favor.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all so much for your support!"
"Now, please don't blink!"
Zhang Yang stood atop the museum roof, raised his hand, and scattered something into the air.
Tiny flames burst out, lighting up the night sky, fluttering as they fell.
It looked like a giant fiery net coming down. The crowd panicked, gasping and scrambling to get away.
But in the very next second, the flickering flames suddenly vanished—turning into countless red flower petals, softly drifting down like rain.
[Oh my god! That was an incredible magic trick!]
[Hahaha! Director Leo had barely left when Kaitō Kid lit up the night with that amazing show!]
[Unbelievable—definitely the best magic I've ever seen!]
[Shit! My heart nearly jumped out of my chest. How did he launch that much fire all at once?!]
[So it was just flower petals? Scared me half to death!]
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the falling petals. Zhang Yang smirked slightly, opened his Silver-Winged Cape, and leapt from the rooftop, gliding swiftly through the night sky.
By the time people looked up again, the white figure atop the museum had already vanished.
Only a blanket of red petals remained, gently falling and filling the air with a faint floral fragrance.
[This is unreal! These petals actually smell like flowers—they're all fresh!]
[The fire didn't even burn the petals. Kaitō Kid's a genius magician!]
[No! He's not just a magician—he's the world's number one master thief!]
[If Director Leo sees this, he's going to blow a fuse!]
[Hahaha! Oh, don't worry. He's definitely going to see it. And real soon, too!]
The media's livestream hadn't even been shut off. The cameras had captured every second of Zhang Yang's dramatic rooftop reveal as Kaitō Kid.
Just like the viewers predicted, Leo and Holmeska saw the footage online before they even got back to BND headquarters.
Leo slammed his thigh in rage, his face twitching from fury.
"Fuck! That bastard Kaitō Kid actually showed up on the museum rooftop!"
"He did it on purpose! He's provoking me!"
Holmeska stared at the video. After watching the final magic trick, he looked completely defeated.
"Damn it… he was still inside the museum?!"
"Director Leo, didn't you say every inch was searched?"
Despite the failed operation, Leo was absolutely confident about that point.
"There's no mistake. We checked every single corner!"
"Shit! Then where the hell did he hide?!"
Leo knew for sure they had searched the whole building. What he couldn't figure out was why they hadn't found Kaitō Kid.
Holmeska fell silent in thought. Even Leo didn't realize that Holmeska himself was now doubting.
His earlier theory had technically been correct, but Zhang Yang had pulled a switcheroo—making the right guess lead to the wrong conclusion.
The comments under the livestream only made Leo even angrier, like they were trying to blow out his lungs.
[Hehe, Country D just met their match. Good luck, Director Leo!]
[Hahaha! Better wish him peace of mind. Don't let him end up like Victor—paralyzed with rage!]
[Leo probably won't sleep tonight. Kaitō Kid's magic was just too good!]
[Leo: What a presumptuous little bastard!]
[They rolled out the red carpet, and this was Kaitō Kid's thank-you gift. What more do they want? The magic was amazing!]
After climbing into his car, Zhang Yang immediately snapped a photo of the bronze axe. He wrapped it up carefully, ready to complete the return mission.
Back in France, Holmeska had twice waited outside the Dragon Nation Embassy.
Now that he was openly part of the capture team, there was a good chance he'd try that trick again.
Zhang Yang didn't want to waste time. So right after leaving the museum, he headed straight to the Dragon Nation Embassy to finish the return mission.