Thanks to Global Weekly's live broadcast, the entire world learned immediately that Kaitō Kid had completely infuriated Bruce.
As Eagle Nation's top agent, Bruce had quite the reputation around the world.
A lot of people were now genuinely worried about Kaitō Kid's safety. After all, everyone had witnessed live how Bruce had ordered the escort ship to launch a full military strike without hesitation.
[Bruce really went overboard—using air defense missiles and a fire control radar against a thief!]
[Oh my god! If Bruce runs into Kaitō Kid again, I can't even imagine what crazy move he'll pull next!]
[As long as they don't go nuclear, Kaitō Kid should be fine!]
[Kaitō Kid: Keep me out of your bragging, will you?]
[Bruce is just an agent. He doesn't have the authority to use nukes anyway!]
This escort mission to Britain had only been a cover to secretly deliver the Sword of King Goujian to the British royal family.
Now that the mission had failed—and with Bruce seething in anger—he decided to abort and return halfway.
Since Kaitō Kid had already stolen the Sword of King Goujian, there was no point in continuing to Britain.
Instead, turning back now meant Bruce could set up an early defense in case Kaitō Kid made another move tomorrow.
"Officer Bruce, did you know in advance that Kaitō Kid had boarded the escort ship?"
As always, Global Weekly's questions hit where it hurt most, making Bruce feel utterly humiliated.
Of course, he didn't know. If he had, he would've acted long ago.
But facing the world's attention, Bruce couldn't just admit it outright. He had to save a bit of face.
"That's still unclear for now. We'll need to conduct a full investigation after we dock."
"I have other matters to attend to. If there are no more urgent questions, I'll be taking my leave."
Without waiting to see if they had more to ask, Bruce turned and hurried off.
If he stayed any longer, he'd run out of excuses for sure!
[Bruce is totally flustered. He didn't even know Kaitō Kid was on board!]
[Global Weekly's reporters have no chill, putting Bruce on the spot like that!]
[Hahaha! Bruce is probably wishing he could throw them off the ship right now!]
[Bruce may be Eagle Nation's top agent, but I'm still rooting for Kaitō Kid. This is just Bruce's first loss—it won't be the last!]
[How many more times Bruce loses to Kaitō Kid depends entirely on how long he keeps trying to catch him!]
While Zhang Yang was still on the road, the system triggered a Return Mission.
Maybe because this mission had been so risky, the reward was still set at one hundred thousand points.
Since Bruce hadn't reached the shore yet, Zhang Yang didn't hesitate. He stepped on the gas and headed straight for the Dragon Nation Embassy.
"Once I complete this Return Mission, I'll have over two hundred thousand points. I can finally upgrade the monocle to the advanced level!"
Zhang Yang considered the monocle to be extremely useful, especially in tricky situations.
Given the current missions, there wasn't really a need to level up his other skills just yet.
Unless every mission ended up being as dangerous as this one on the escort ship, there was no point wasting points on skill upgrades that wouldn't increase the odds by much.
Not long after Zhang Yang left the coastal area, agents from the Enforcement Bureau and the FBI arrived and sealed off the entire site.
"Shit! He's already gone!"
Sente took one look at the armed helicopter sitting on the empty stretch of land and instantly knew the outcome.
The armed helicopter was nothing more than a tool Zhang Yang had used to get from the escort ship back to the coast. In the city, this thing was nowhere near as convenient as a regular car.
"This time even Bruce fell into Kaitō Kid's hands. That's terrifying."
Ivan shook his head in disbelief.
It was already bad enough that they couldn't catch Kaitō Kid, but Bruce was a big name in the FBI.
Sente, Ivan, and the others had all looked up to Bruce, treating him like an idol.
But in his very first face-off with Kaitō Kid, Bruce had been completely and utterly defeated.
Sente took a deep breath as he stared at the approaching escort ship on the sea.
"Ivan, don't say that!"
"Bruce just underestimated him. Next time, Kaitō Kid won't get this lucky again!"
Soon, the escort ship slowly docked.
Agents from the Enforcement Bureau and the FBI had already swept the surrounding coastal area. Now they were all gathered at the dock, waiting for Bruce's next orders.
As the ship docked, Bruce had no choice but to come out. A whole crowd of media reporters was already waiting for him on the shore.
But Global Weekly, being the closest, managed to intercept Bruce before he even got off the ship.
"Officer Bruce, will you immediately begin investigating how Kaitō Kid managed to board the escort ship?"
Bruce glanced at the armed helicopter sitting on the shore and gave a firm nod.
"That's right. We'll start the investigation immediately!"
"Now please disembark. Until we figure out how it happened, no one on this ship is allowed to leave!"
Bruce still had no idea how Kaitō Kid had boarded the ship. After all, every person had been thoroughly checked before boarding.
But now, there was mysteriously one extra person.
Bruce had done his homework on Kaitō Kid and knew he was a master of disguise.
That's why his first suspicion was that Zhang Yang had disguised himself as someone in the crew and slipped onboard with the rest of them.
[Hahaha! You can tell Bruce can't wait to kick the reporters off the ship!]
[Useless effort. They'll stay right there until they get the full story for their exclusive coverage!]
[Look at all those reporters crowding the dock. Poor Bruce must be sweating bullets by now!]
[If they can't even figure out how Kaitō Kid got on board, Bruce probably won't even dare set foot off the ship!]
[Oh my god! Even through the screen, I can feel Bruce's stress level going through the roof!]
The Global Weekly crew didn't leave as Bruce suggested. They stood to the side, staying out of the way while waiting for the investigation results.
After all, they had official clearance to board the ship for live coverage. This was a world-class headline, and there was no way they'd let any other media outlet steal the scoop.
Bruce had no choice but to put up with them. He grabbed the mic and called everyone to assemble on deck.
"Everyone, check your departments and confirm if anyone is missing!"
There couldn't be someone extra without someone else missing.
Bruce was dead certain about that. And sure enough, it didn't take long to get the answer he was expecting.
"Report! Randolph is missing!"
Bruce frowned and immediately ordered a full search of the ship.
[Hey, I remember seeing someone moving around freely on the livestream. Could that have been Randolph?]
[He's not Randolph. He's Kaitō Kid, no doubt about it!]
[Bruce really figured it out! He actually traced it back to the right person!]
[No need to search. Randolph already flew off in the armed helicopter!]