Even though everyone already knew the outcome—Kaitō Kid had won—they still cared about what exactly he took from the CIA, and whether Bruce had discovered his presence.
[There wasn't even a single gunshot the entire time. Bruce must've been completely defeated without even seeing Kaitō Kid's shadow!]
[Oh my god! Kaitō Kid is terrifying. The CIA has so many agents, yet not one of them noticed him sneaking in!]
[Tsk tsk tsk, so this is the so-called number one agent of Eagle Nation? Looks pretty average to me!]
[Shit! Did Bruce really fail to notice Kaitō Kid entering the CIA at all?]
[Unbelievable. He's Bruce! The one man thought most likely to catch Kaitō Kid!]
Honestly, people around the world had pinned high hopes on Bruce. After all, he carried the title of Eagle Nation's top agent.
If even he couldn't capture Kaitō Kid, then there might truly be no one else who could.
"Why hasn't Bruce come out yet?"
"With all those media reporters outside, would he even dare show his face?"
"It's a shame. Bruce's reputation as the number one agent might not survive this. Kaitō Kid escaped twice under his watch!"
"What exactly was in the CIA? When Kaitō Kid made his move, he even triggered the building's alarm!"
Everyone was buzzing about it, waiting for Bruce to come forward and give a proper explanation.
In this CIA mission, Kaitō Kid had made a clean escape—and not only that, he even broke into the database and took the Qing Nang Shu.
This left the top brass of Eagle Nation furious.
To them, the Qing Nang Shu was vital to understanding and mastering traditional medicine from the Dragon Nation. They firmly believed that if they could fully decode its contents, they could completely take control of the medical knowledge behind it.
From there, they'd hold sway over the global healthcare system.
That kind of plan would be even more effective than waging war. But now, it was obvious their plan was falling apart.
After being chewed out by his superiors, the CIA director quickly pushed all the blame onto Bruce.
"I've already cooperated with Director Bruce to the best of my ability. The CIA database getting hacked was because he failed to anticipate it, which gave Kaitō Kid the opening!"
"Yes, I'll decode the virus drive as soon as possible to ensure there's no risk of data leakage!"
"Yes, I understand. Yes, sir!"
Once he hung up the call, the director let out a long sigh of relief.
But when he looked back down at the virus drive on the desk, that breath he had just let out was sucked right back in.
If the CIA's data got leaked, he'd be held accountable too—and when that happened, he'd be in serious trouble.
This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. There had been cases in the past where Eagle Nation's secret plans got leaked and ended up reported by news outlets around the world.
The result wasn't just the failure of their plans. The blow to Eagle Nation's global reputation was huge.
If this time, the data was leaked because of Kaitō Kid and it spread worldwide, the consequences would be even worse!
"Shit! Damn that Kaitō Kid!"
"I hope the virus drive didn't access any of the database content. Please, don't let the secret plans have been exposed!"
Now, all the CIA could do was hope that no data had been leaked.
As for the stolen Qing Nang Shu and Kaitō Kid's clean getaway—they could just dump all of that on Bruce. That was his responsibility to deal with anyway.
At that moment, Bruce had just stepped out of the CIA building with his team.
The crowd and reporters immediately surged forward in a frenzy.
"Director Bruce, may I ask—what exactly did Kaitō Kid steal from the CIA during this operation?"
"Why didn't you open fire on Kaitō Kid? Did you not notice him at all from start to finish?"
"Director Bruce, what was the deal with the CIA alarm system going off?"
"This is the second time Kaitō Kid has escaped from under your nose. Do you have anything to say about that?"
Bruce's face darkened as he glanced at the live camera, then shoved through the crowd without saying a word.
His subordinates, fully aware that he didn't want to deal with reporters, quickly stepped in to block the crowd and stopped them from following.
Only after Bruce drove off did the rest of the team follow behind in their own cars.
Once back at FBI Headquarters, Bruce couldn't avoid being held accountable.
"Bruce, how could you let Kaitō Kid escape again this time?"
"Do you have any idea how furious our superiors are? I've been getting chewed out nonstop!"
"If the CIA data gets leaked, do you know what kind of consequences we're facing?!"
Facing his superior's fist slamming on the desk and a barrage of angry shouting, Bruce responded with a grim expression.
"Kaitō Kid had the upper hand the entire time. Every move we made was within his expectations!"
"I just don't know enough about him!"
Bruce's knowledge of Kaitō Kid was limited to livestream replays and media coverage.
He had only encountered Kaitō Kid face-to-face twice.
But those two encounters were enough to make Bruce realize that Kaitō Kid was far more terrifying than the reports made him out to be.
Meticulous planning and flawless execution—Kaitō Kid's tactics always caught Bruce completely off guard.
"Fuck!"
"You don't know him well enough? That's the excuse you're giving me?"
"You expect me to use that as an explanation when I'm being grilled by the top brass?"
Bruce's superior was fuming. Naturally, he needed a clear answer from Bruce—or at least a justification he could pass on.
But saying "I don't understand Kaitō Kid" clearly wasn't going to cut it.
"I need someone to help me!"
Bruce's eyes were sharp. He knew exactly what kind of situation he was facing now.
"Only someone who completely understands Kaitō Kid can help me capture him!"
His superior froze.
"Who?"
To this day, Kaitō Kid had never failed a single heist.
Bruce was recognized as Eagle Nation's top agent. Even his superior couldn't imagine who Bruce might be referring to.
Bruce spoke the name in a low, firm tone.
"Harrison."
He'd already noticed something unique about Harrison while reviewing the past livestreams and reports.
From Harrison's initial confidence to his eventual defeat and resignation.
Most people saw it as a sign that Harrison had lost his confidence and didn't have what it took.
But Bruce thought differently—Harrison had understood the gap between them. It was precisely because he truly understood Kaitō Kid that he realized just how hopeless it was.
That was what made Harrison, once Britain's top agent, step down in quiet defeat.
"You're sure?"
"Harrison has lost to Kaitō Kid more than once. And he's already resigned from the agency!"
Bruce's superior never expected that the person he was talking about would be Kaitō Kid's former opponent—British agent Harrison.
But Bruce was unwavering. He nodded without hesitation.
"Yes. Harrison is the one!"
"He understands Kaitō Kid better than anyone else. He can even predict Kaitō Kid's next move. His thinking can keep up with Kaitō Kid's. That's exactly what I need!"