After conducting a full search, they confirmed there was no sign of Randolph on the escort ship. Bruce now had no more doubts.
That guy who had patted him on the shoulder earlier, warning about Global Weekly's reporters moving around onboard—that "Randolph" had been Kaitō Kid in disguise!
"Shit! Damn that Kaitō Kid! His disguise skills are insane!"
Bruce had finally experienced for himself just how terrifying the disguise technique that people kept talking about online really was.
Even with Kaitō Kid standing right in front of him, Bruce hadn't noticed a thing.
Bruce had done his research on Kaitō Kid's methods, but having never seen them with his own eyes, he had clearly underestimated just how dangerous Kaitō Kid really was.
Meanwhile, the real Randolph was sitting at home watching the livestream, completely panicking. He had no idea what to do.
"What the hell? Wasn't it Officer Bruce who told me to stay home?"
He finally realized he had been tricked by Kaitō Kid. But now he was too scared to call and explain.
It wasn't until Bruce received the crew roster and decided to call Randolph himself that Randolph, watching the broadcast, finally dared to answer.
"Officer Bruce… this is Randolph…"
A moment ago, Randolph had been lounging on his couch eating chips and drinking soda. But now, he knew this was way bigger than he had thought.
He had been the one tricked, giving Kaitō Kid the opening to infiltrate the escort ship and sabotage Bruce's secret mission.
"Randolph, where are you?"
Randolph answered honestly.
"Officer Bruce, I'm at home… Please give me a chance to explain. Actually, I was—"
But Bruce didn't let him finish. He cut him off coldly, clearly fed up.
This wasn't something that could be smoothed over with a few words on the phone. Bruce was furious, and with all the reporters still waiting at the dock, someone had to take responsibility for the failure.
With the entire world watching, and with the title of Eagle Nation's top agent hanging over his head, Bruce couldn't afford to take the blame himself. Eagle Nation couldn't afford it either.
But Randolph could. Both professionally and personally, he had to be the one to take the fall.
"Randolph, I'll be at your house with my team in thirty minutes."
"When we meet, you'll have all the time you want to explain. I expect a very good explanation."
With that, Bruce hung up.
[Welp, here comes the scapegoat!]
[This mission must've been super important. There was obviously a pre-approved crew list, so why is Randolph sitting at home now?]
[Oh my god! Randolph's next job might be in a diner kitchen instead of on an escort ship!]
[Hahaha! If I ever visit Eagle Nation, I'm definitely checking out Randolph's cooking!]
[Looks like it's Randolph's turn to sweat bullets now!]
With the cause identified, Bruce lifted the lockdown on the crew and ordered everyone to pack up and disembark.
Only then did he dare face the Global Weekly reporters again.
As soon as he was done with the crew, a microphone was shoved right into his face.
"Officer Bruce, have you identified the cause of the breach?"
"Earlier, we heard you mention Randolph on the phone. Did Kaitō Kid manage to board the escort ship by impersonating him?"
Bruce took a deep breath and nodded.
"That's right. So far, that seems to be the case. We'll confirm everything once we meet with Randolph in person."
"He was officially listed as part of the crew, and his ID checked out."
"But as it turns out, the real Randolph was at home the whole time."
"So the one who boarded the escort ship pretending to be him was very likely Kaitō Kid!"
Randolph sat at home, watching Bruce answer the livestream interview. In that moment, it felt like the sky had fallen on him.
"Oh my god!"
"This is over… Damn that Kaitō Kid! He's gonna get me killed!"
Randolph shot up from the couch, scrambling to hide his game controller and all the snacks and fruit spread out on the table.
As soon as Bruce stepped off the escort ship, a swarm of reporters from other media outlets rushed in, bombarding him with sharp questions.
But Bruce wasn't in the mood to deal with any of them. With help from his team, he quickly got into a car and headed straight for Randolph's house.
[Oh my god! Poor Bruce… He doesn't even know what's going on and he's already getting screwed over by his own people!]
[Kaitō Kid's infiltration plan was insane! No one would've ever thought of that!]
[This is the classic "seek riches in danger" move. The riskier the spot, the safer it actually is!]
[Once they get their hands on Randolph, Bruce can finally shove the blame off his plate!]
The reporters were like a pack of hungry wolves, quickly jumping into their cars to tail Bruce.
Sente stood off to the side, breaking into a cold sweat just watching it all unfold.
"This is terrifying… If Bruce hadn't figured out the cause, his reputation would've been completely destroyed!"
Kaitō Kid had already been dominating the headlines for two straight days. The whole world was watching.
Now that Kaitō Kid had stolen the Sword of King Goujian right from under their noses on the escort ship, and with all these reporters piling on, Bruce couldn't avoid the spotlight even if he tried.
Even though he'd traced how Kaitō Kid had gotten on board, there was no stopping the massive wave of media coverage about to hit.
Ivan let out a helpless sigh.
"Kaitō Kid really is a nightmare to deal with. Let's hope Bruce can handle it."
With Bruce gone, their job was officially over.
They had only been sent here to block Kaitō Kid's escape.
Unfortunately, they'd arrived a step too late. Sente ordered his team to pack up and head back.
The rest of the pressure was all on Bruce now.
Sente was secretly glad they hadn't been part of the escort mission. If they had, they'd be just as famous now—for all the wrong reasons.
Just look at what happened to Nakajima Misaki. That was all the proof anyone needed.
Bruce pulled up outside Randolph's house, and within minutes, more than ten media reporters showed up as well.
Randolph had been watching the livestream the whole time. Now, he was already waiting at the door.
When he saw all the reporters get out of their cars and follow Bruce to his door, his legs nearly gave out from fear.
"Oh my god! This is the end!"
Bruce led the reporters straight to him, his face full of fury. The moment they came face-to-face, he started grilling Randolph.
"Randolph, you'd better have a damn good explanation for why you didn't show up for roll call. You were already on the official crew list. Why weren't you there?"
Even though Randolph had only been assigned as a chef, he was still part of the team.
This kind of mistake was something even a rookie wouldn't normally make.
Standing in front of dozens of livestream cameras, Randolph trembled as he tried to explain.
"Officer Bruce… I didn't go because I was tricked by Kaitō Kid!"
"The day before the mission, around noon, he disguised himself as you and told me to stay home. He said I was being watched by enemy agents."
"He also took my ID and credentials. I didn't think much of it at the time, so I handed them over. Who knew he'd use them to get on board!"