Zhang Yang's original plan was to throw out a single smoke bomb to draw the attention of the guards and agents, then slip into the White House while they were distracted.
But Bruce and the others didn't fall for it, so Zhang Yang had no choice but to initiate Plan B—release more smoke bombs to disrupt their vision and judgment.
The crowd of fans and media reporters was quickly engulfed in the thick smoke, and emotions ran high.
Zhang Yang slipped away through the crowd. By now, nearly half of the guards and agents had already rushed into the smoke.
Bruce and Harrison's attention was completely focused on the smoke cloud at the White House entrance.
"Fuck! Where the hell did Kaitō Kid get these smoke bombs?"
Even Bruce, a professional agent, had to admit Zhang Yang's smoke bombs were extremely effective.
Not only did they release a large volume of smoke, but the smoke lingered for a long time and didn't disperse quickly.
Harrison, standing beside him, wasn't surprised in the slightest. At this point, unless Kaitō Kid dropped a nuclear bomb, nothing could really shock him anymore.
Harrison stared into the thick smoke with a complicated expression.
"Director Bruce, I've got a bad feeling about this."
More than ten guards and agents had been inside the smoke for several minutes, but there was still no trace of Kaitō Kid. Harrison couldn't shake the feeling that they had walked into a trap.
"If Kaitō Kid were really in the smoke, your people would've found him by now."
Zhang Yang had thrown several smoke bombs in a row, and the coverage area was wide.
But with dozens of guards and agents searching, if Kaitō Kid were really in there, they should've discovered something by now.
"What the hell? You're saying all these smoke bombs were just a ruse?"
Harrison nodded gravely, and then added a conclusion that surprised Bruce even more.
"Every move Kaitō Kid makes is to set up his next one."
"Right now, we've taken the bait and sent people into the smoke to search. If I'm right, he's probably already inside the White House."
Bruce's brows furrowed tight. He immediately contacted the surveillance room for an update.
The White House's surveillance system far outnumbered the guards and agents, covering nearly every inch of the building.
"No unusual activity detected for now, sir!"
Hearing that, Bruce secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Harrison, who was also wearing an earpiece, heard the same update from the surveillance room.
"Director Bruce, based on everything I know about Kaitō Kid, he wouldn't drop this many smoke bombs at the front gate for no reason."
"He's definitely setting something up."
"If we can't find him in the smoke, have everyone pull back and return to their original posts!"
Bruce trusted Harrison's judgment and instructed the guards and agents in the smoke to finish their sweep quickly and return to their zones within two minutes.
It wasn't blind trust. So far, every one of Harrison's assessments had been logical and spot-on.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yang had reached a corner at the back of the White House. Luckily, there was no crowd here. Everyone was gathered at the front entrance, caught up in the chaos.
With agile movements, Zhang Yang leapt onto the wall, landing directly in front of a surveillance camera mounted on the building's corner.
"This should be Camera Number 42."
Zhang Yang gave the lens a polite smile, then flicked a playing card from his hand.
The card spun through the air and cleanly severed both the power cable and data line to the camera.
Agents in the surveillance room immediately reported the incident to Bruce.
"Director Bruce, Kaitō Kid has been spotted—Camera Number 42 has just been disabled!"
Bruce looked up at the surveillance monitors on the wall—everything appeared normal.
"Camera 42? Where is that located? Where's Kaitō Kid now?"
Bruce's preparations still hadn't been thorough enough. He hadn't memorized the layout and camera numbers.
Following instructions from the surveillance room, Bruce led a team of guards and agents to the spot where Camera 42 had been disabled.
But Zhang Yang was long gone. There was no way he would've waited around.
When Harrison saw the red playing card embedded in the wall, his chest tightened with unease.
"Kaitō Kid has likely already made it inside the White House, Director Bruce. We'd better send a team in to search immediately!"
The palace section of the White House was right beside them.
During the mission briefing, the upper command had already stated clearly:
Unless absolutely necessary, entering the palace interior was to be avoided.
But now that Kaitō Kid had infiltrated the area, Bruce couldn't afford to follow that directive anymore.
"All units be advised—Kaitō Kid may already be inside the palace. All agents, except the standard White House guards, proceed inside and begin the search!"
At this point, Bruce and Harrison still had no idea what Kaitō Kid's real target inside the White House was.
Once Bruce gave the command, the patrolling agents immediately ran in the same direction.
The smoke outside hadn't fully cleared yet, but human figures could be seen through the haze.
People gathered at the White House gate began to panic.
"Oh my god! All those agents are moving together—did they spot Kaitō Kid?"
"These smoke bombs were just a cover so Kaitō Kid could slip into the White House. God bless, I hope he makes it out!"
"There are way more agents in the White House than I thought—this is intense!"
"Kaitō Kid is unbelievable. How did he get into the White House with such tight security?"
Just as Bruce and Harrison were about to enter the palace, an urgent shout came through their earpieces from the surveillance room.
"Director Bruce! Kaitō Kid is sabotaging the palace—he's at the main circuit box!"
Bruce gritted his teeth and cursed.
"Fuck!"
The lights in the White House palace instantly went dark.
A moment later, backup power kicked in and restored electricity.
"Surveillance room—what's Kaitō Kid's current location?"
Bruce didn't dare waste another second. If the backup system was also taken out, catching Kaitō Kid would be even harder.
But the response from the earpiece wasn't what he wanted.
"Director Bruce, after Kaitō Kid left the circuit box, he hasn't shown up on any surveillance feeds!"
At that moment, Zhang Yang was already wearing his monocle and heading toward the main line that powered the backup system.
As for surveillance, Zhang Yang had already implanted a virus that was now looping over the footage—just like he'd done back at the Imperial Palace.
Without disabling both power and surveillance, it would be hard for him to stay hidden and maneuver freely against the agents.
"The palace of Eagle Nation's White House only has a single backup line? These guys are too overconfident."
Meanwhile, Bruce and Harrison had already begun sweeping through the White House palace interior with their team—but Zhang Yang was no longer inside.
Harrison, however, quickly pieced together what Zhang Yang would do next.
"Director Bruce, where's the backup power system for the White House?"
"Kaitō Kid is trying to cripple the electrical system. He must be on his way to sabotage the backup power line now!"