If they couldn't even figure out how many people were involved, then incidents like tonight were bound to happen again.
Maket let out a cold laugh, his eyes sweeping across Harrison, Bruce, and Victor one by one.
"MI5 of Britain, FBI of the Eagle Nation, and the Enforcement Bureau of France."
"Three Directors—can't you investigate this yourselves?"
His mocking tone only made Victor and Bruce more furious. The dark web was like a parasitic worm crawling beneath the surface of the internet.
Getting to the bottom of it was no easier than tapping into a nation's classified communications.
Even though all of them wanted to capture Kaitō Kid and shut down the dark web's deadly game, the truth was, the higher-ups would never approve of such a costly and risky operation.
"Maket, if you cooperate, I might consider sending you to a better prison. Otherwise…"
"You're in for a whole lot of trouble in the days ahead."
Maket had already broken out of prison. On top of that, he'd hidden a ton of explosives and sabotaged their operation. His crimes stacked up one after another. There was no doubt he'd be spending the rest of his life behind bars.
He was now officially eating from the state's iron rice bowl.
And in France, there were maximum-security prisons reserved for violent offenders—every single one of them a monster in human skin.
Maket had gone so far as to press the detonator at the manor. Even if it killed him, he didn't want to share a cell with psychos like those.
Victor's threat made fear flash across Maket's face.
Any regular guy thrown in there wouldn't last a week. What went on inside those walls was beyond horrifying.
"Fuck! You think I'd know what you guys can't even find out?"
Maket really didn't know. His answer didn't surprise Harrison, Bruce, or Victor.
Jeff and Daweika were the same. They'd only received invitations. As for the actual details of the competition, they knew nothing.
They were all after the six hundred million dollars. That was it.
The authorities hadn't made anything about Maket public. At the height of the public outcry, disclosing it wouldn't do much good.
In fact, it might just make things worse—fanning the flames and increasing the backlash toward both Harrison and Victor.
They'd already seen how the public reacted when Jeff and Daweika were arrested.
But just because they weren't saying anything didn't mean the public wasn't hungry for answers.
[Is that it? What happened to Victor and Subier? Don't we deserve an explanation?]
[Shit! They kicked out all the media and fans like that—clearly they're hiding something!]
[They obviously failed and still won't admit it!]
[Oh my god! Subier challenged Kaitō Kid, lost the Angel's Tear, and still hasn't said a word!]
[This is sketchy—there's definitely something they don't want us to know!]
No matter what people said online, Victor and Subier acted like none of it existed. Neither released a statement or made any public response.
The news cycle and public outrage didn't quiet down just because they stayed silent. It kept snowballing into the next day.
[The Enforcement Bureau should release a statement. Tell us—was the dynamite near the manor found or not?]
[The manor's still locked down. No one's allowed near it. Looks like bomb disposal teams are still working.]
[Doesn't Subier care? They're searching for bombs right outside his property!]
[Damn it, Subier was so cocky when he announced the challenge. Now look at him—silent and ashamed!]
[I'm starting to think he bought his rank. He couldn't even catch a glimpse of Kaitō Kid!]
At that moment, Subier was just staring blankly at the secret door of his hidden room, still trying to figure out how Zhang Yang had found it.
Subier couldn't figure out how the hidden door had been opened.
Just then, he got a call from Victor.
He didn't want to answer it. At this point, he really didn't want to deal with any of this anymore.
Time could wash everything away.
But then he thought of Maket and the explosives. Annoyed, Subier finally picked up the call.
Victor's voice came through, sounding dead serious.
"Mr. Subier, Kaitō Kid has released a new notice. His next target is still you."
Subier's expression shifted. His face looked like a whole play was unfolding on it.
He hung up and rushed to check Kaitō Kid's social feed.
Sure enough, just like Victor said, there was a new post. A photo of a fresh notice.
"Mr. Subier, since someone disrupted our game last night, I'll be returning to your manor tonight to continue our challenge."
For Subier, it didn't matter much what he lost.
With his wealth, there was nothing he couldn't buy with enough money.
But pride and reputation couldn't be bought.
Now, the media reports and public opinion had dragged him straight into the center of the storm.
His prized spot at the top of the detective puzzle leaderboard was being questioned.
If Kaitō Kid stole from him again tonight, he might as well just quit the entire detective game for good.
"That bastard! He's still not done?"
Subier gritted his teeth and called Victor back.
Now wasn't the time to act tough. He'd made up his mind—he was going to let the Enforcement Bureau step in.
What made it worse was that Kaitō Kid had already discovered and opened his secret chamber. Subier didn't have a shred of confidence left.
"Director Victor, I saw the new post from Kaitō Kid."
"If the Enforcement Bureau plans to take action, I—"
Before he could finish, a white dove flew in through the window.
It was a handwritten notice from Zhang Yang.
Subier walked to the window, took the letter, and stared hard at the dove as it flew off.
"Director Victor, I just received Kaitō Kid's personal notice!"
"I want to cooperate with the Enforcement Bureau to bring Kaitō Kid to justice!"
That was exactly what Victor had called to hear.
Meanwhile, the comments under the post were already exploding with chatter.
[What the hell? Still Subier's manor? Is Kaitō Kid trying to humiliate him into surrendering?]
[Haha! Last night was just a warm-up. Tonight he's going for the kill!]
[Tsk tsk tsk, silence clearly solves nothing. Looks like he's about to suffer all over again!]
[Subier's probably losing his mind right now. No way he thought Kaitō Kid would come after him twice!]
[Last time Subier challenged him. Now it's Kaitō Kid's turn to issue the challenge!]
It wasn't that Zhang Yang wanted to keep picking on Subier.
The system had issued a new theft mission at noon.
The target: the Imperial Jade Seal of Empress Dowager Tianyuan from the Northern Zhou period of the Dragon Nation.
The seal was made of solid gold, weighed 802.56 grams, with the knob and body cast separately and joined by dovetail inlay—crafted with exquisite precision.
The mission reward? A whopping 150,000 points.
There was no way Zhang Yang would pass that up.
"Mr. Subier really has an eye for treasure. His whole collection is packed with rare gems!"