After hanging up with his superior, Harrison took a deep breath and stepped out of the black van.
At that moment, a full sweep of the White House was underway. All kinds of detection devices were combing every corner of the premises.
Frowning, Harrison walked over to Bruce and reminded him that all of this was unnecessary.
"Director Bruce, Kaitō Kid only steals things. He doesn't do anything else. There's no need to be this tense."
As a fellow agent, Harrison fully understood why they were doing this, but he also believed that Kaitō Kid wouldn't have planted any surveillance or listening devices inside the White House.
At the very least, up until now, there was no solid evidence proving that Kaitō Kid was an operative for any foreign intelligence agency.
"Commander Harrison, I'm not doubting your judgment," Bruce said seriously, "but the White House hosts high-level meetings and involves a lot of classified information. We can't take any risks."
"If Kaitō Kid really planted a listening device, the consequences would be more than I could ever afford to bear."
Harrison nodded, responding in a low tone to show he understood.
"Also… Commander Harrison, I bear unavoidable responsibility for the failure of this operation."
"We lost the Jade Mountain of Yu the Great's Flood Control Map, carved personally by Qianlong. I should've trusted you and opened that office door."
It was only during the cleanup that Bruce finally learned Kaitō Kid had been hiding in that very office all along.
During the operation, Harrison had already suggested the possibility.
But Bruce had hesitated—and let himself get played by a smoke bomb and a rubber dummy.
"It's fine, Director Bruce. You've only seen a portion of what Kaitō Kid is capable of."
"We'll be better prepared for the next time."
Harrison's tone was firm, his eyes once again lit with determination.
Bruce and his men worked nonstop until the following morning before they finally completed the inspection of every nook and cranny in the White House.
"Fuck! Finally done…"
Bruce hadn't slept a wink all night. Failing to catch Kaitō Kid was bad enough—if there had also been any intel breaches, he would have gone down in history as a national disgrace.
Meanwhile, over at the hotel, Zhang Yang had just woken up.
He opened the curtains, letting the morning sunlight pour in as he stretched out comfortably.
Ding!
New Mission: Steal the Warring States–era Heshibi from the Pritt Villa and return it to the Dragon Nation Embassy!
Mission Reward: Earn 600 skill points!
Danger Warning: Pritt is one of the top bosses of California's Eighteenth Street gang in the Eagle Nation. He's a ruthless criminal with a violent record!
Hearing the system's notification, Zhang Yang raised an eyebrow.
Of all the missions he'd accepted so far, this was the first time the system had ever issued a danger warning.
"Is this guy's villa… more dangerous than the White House?"
He muttered under his breath, already suspicious.
After enjoying the hotel's room service breakfast, Zhang Yang put on his monocle and began digging up everything he could on this California Eighteenth Street gang boss.
At the same time, online chatter was still buzzing with endless discussion about last night's White House incident and Harrison's sudden reappearance.
[Last night, Bruce led an overnight sweep of the White House. The guy didn't even close his eyes once!]
[Kaitō Kid isn't interested in sensitive intel. If he were, the CIA would've been wiped out already.]
[Harrison and Bruce left together this morning. Does this mean Harrison's back on the task force?]
[Oh my god! If Harrison rejoins the chase, this is going to be even more exciting!]
[With Harrison advising Bruce, it's like giving wings to a tiger. I'm honestly worried for Kaitō Kid now!]
Harrison followed Bruce back to FBI headquarters for some rest. As for the debrief report, there wasn't much point.
Bruce only gave his superiors a brief summary of how the operation unfolded. As far as responsibility went, it wouldn't have made a difference who was in charge.
Besides, Harrison was certain that Kaitō Kid would issue a new calling card that afternoon.
So they had to rest quickly—once that new notice was out, they needed to be ready to act immediately.
"Commander Harrison, doesn't Kaitō Kid have any weaknesses?" Bruce asked.
Sitting on the couch, Harrison shook his head thoughtfully.
Weaknesses?
If Kaitō Kid had any, he would've discovered them by now.
"He always finds a way to surprise us. As for weaknesses—none that I've seen."
Bruce exhaled deeply and draped a blanket over Harrison.
"Get some rest. Let's hope in tonight's operation, we're the ones surprising the world for a change."
Harrison gave a faint smile and lay back with his eyes closed.
Truth was, he wasn't that tired. He had already gotten several hours of sleep the night before.
Bruce, on the other hand, collapsed into his chair and fell asleep the moment his eyes shut.
Meanwhile, Eagle Nation, Bruce, and the White House had all kept quiet, choosing not to respond to global media reports or online speculation.
And honestly, there wasn't much to say.
Even if they issued a statement, it wouldn't change anything.
Worse, it might just invite more mockery and ridicule.
[What's up with Eagle Nation? The White House got robbed and they're just… silent?]
[Who knows? Maybe they're like Island Nation, throwing every resource they've got into chasing Kaitō Kid!]
[WTF? You think our Eagle Nation would do something that dumb? We're way bigger than Island Nation!]
[Is Kaitō Kid really going to act again today?]
[Oh shit! He just hit the White House last night and he still has the guts to go again?!]
Every hardcore fan of Kaitō Kid already knew the routine when it came to his calling cards.
Unless there was something special going on, he would always drop a new one in the afternoon.
And tonight was no exception.
Even though he had just stolen from the White House, that didn't count as a "special" case.
After digging into the details of the California Eighteenth Street gang, Zhang Yang couldn't help but click his tongue in disbelief.
"No wonder there was a danger warning. These guys really are lunatics."
"They'll probably be even crazier than Bruce and his team. What a 'free' country this Eagle Nation is."
Zhang Yang closed the intelligence pages on the Eighteenth Street gang and Pritt.
While most of them didn't have professional training and were basically just armed thugs, the Know-It-All Assistant had flagged something else.
Pritt employed a private mercenary squad.
And among them were five elite bodyguards, the top of the line even among mercenaries.
These were hardened killers. If they spotted an intruder, they wouldn't hesitate—they'd shoot faster than Bruce could even aim.
Zhang Yang studied the location of Pritt's villa and memorized the estate's blueprints, laying the foundation for a flawless heist plan.
As the clock ticked past noon, netizens grew even more hyped to see where Kaitō Kid's new calling card would land.
Lying on the couch, Harrison kept his eyes closed, but he wasn't asleep. His mind was busy analyzing possible targets.
Bruce, on the other hand, was out cold. He had truly gone a full night without even blinking.