That said, everyone knew the truth—France just didn't have what it took.
Right now, the Eagle Nation was the world's top military power. You could call them shameless, but you couldn't call them weak.
Bruce's skill was undeniable, and Harrison was no slouch either.
As for France, even though they had their own Enforcement Bureau, their agents still couldn't compete with the combined power of the Eagle Nation and Britain.
Especially not with elites like Bruce and Harrison—France didn't have anyone that could compare.
The Director of the French Enforcement Bureau nearly cracked his molars when he saw Zhang Yang's calling card.
Their overall strength might not match up, but their response time and mobilization were top-notch.
From the moment Zhang Yang landed, the airport was crawling with Enforcement Bureau agents.
"A bunch of useless idiots! Kaitō Kid's post was clearly a provocation!"
"We sent that many people, and not one of them spotted Kaitō Kid!"
The Director slammed the documents on the desk and sent them flying at the agent standing in front of him.
The Eagle Nation, Britain, and the Island Nation had already fallen victim before—more than enough proof of Zhang Yang's capabilities.
France didn't dare take this lightly. They'd sent their best agents and had Victor lead the operation.
But it didn't go well. Not only did Zhang Yang slip right past them, he even had time to post a taunting message after the fact.
Victor had made plenty of preparations and had mentally prepared for the worst.
But losing without even realizing how? That was something he hadn't seen coming.
They hadn't found a single clue, and Zhang Yang walked straight out of the airport.
"Director, we followed the plan exactly!"
"But we didn't find anything unusual. One of those passengers has to be Kaitō Kid's real identity!"
To this day, no one in the world had uncovered Kaitō Kid's real face.
Victor's theory lit up the Director's eyes. Even if they couldn't catch him, if they could uncover his true identity, it would be enough for France to make global headlines.
After all, even the Eagle Nation hadn't pulled that off—and their CIA and FBI were supposed to be the best intel agencies on the planet.
"Victor, Bruce and Harrison will be arriving soon!"
"You've got three hours. If possible, I want you to uncover Kaitō Kid's real identity before they get here!"
"You still have three hours. Use any and all Enforcement Bureau resources as you see fit!"
The Director clearly didn't want to share the glory with Bruce and Harrison.
But they had underestimated the situation. After three full hours, Victor had nothing to show for it.
They'd burned through tons of manpower and intel gathering, but not a single lead had surfaced.
By the time Bruce and Harrison arrived at the Enforcement Bureau, Victor had no choice but to drop his current direction.
"Director Bruce, Director Harrison, pleasure to meet you both!"
Victor greeted them with a polite handshake.
But when the French Director mentioned assigning Victor as the lead in the mission to capture Kaitō Kid, Bruce's face instantly darkened.
"What the hell? Director Victor?"
"Who's currently stationed at the Musée Guimet?"
The calling card had already been sent. That meant Kaitō Kid was absolutely going to act tonight.
Bruce understood that much clearly. The sun was already setting. In less than an hour, night would fall.
"Director Victor, don't tell me you still haven't deployed anyone for security?"
Harrison was just as shocked.
If this was how the French Enforcement Bureau operated, then capturing Kaitō Kid was nothing but a pipe dream. It was never going to work.
Victor and the Director exchanged a guilty glance.
They really hadn't set up any surveillance at the Musée Guimet.
For the past few hours, Victor had been focused entirely on checking the passenger list, hoping to uncover Kaitō Kid's real identity.
As for the museum itself, it had been completely overlooked.
By now, Victor was starting to grasp the gravity of the situation.
This might have been his first time participating in an operation to catch Kaitō Kid, but the thief's reputation and accomplishments were already world-famous.
"Director Bruce, Director Harrison, I'll take a team to secure the museum right away!"
"You don't have to worry about the museum side of things—we've already made arrangements and have full authority over operations there!"
Victor tried to smooth things over with a convenient excuse.
Bruce and Harrison exchanged a helpless glance. At this point, there wasn't much more they could say, especially since they were guests on foreign soil.
The Musée Guimet wasn't like other national museums. It was originally one of France's old royal palaces.
The building itself was a palace. Inside, it held rare artifacts from countries all over the world, sorted into clearly defined collections.
These treasures had all been taken by France in past wars of invasion—looted through fire and blood.
Since this was France's first attempt to capture Kaitō Kid, the Enforcement Bureau had dispatched over one hundred agents, all under Victor's command.
Seeing just how seriously France was treating the matter, Bruce and Harrison finally breathed a little easier.
The late response was bad enough, but if they'd also been short on manpower, then there really wouldn't have been even a sliver of hope.
But the moment they laid eyes on the sprawling palace museum, Bruce and Harrison's heads started to ache.
Time was already tight, and the Musée Guimet was enormous.
"Harrison, do you have any ideas?"
Even though this was Victor's operation, Bruce had already lost any confidence in him the moment he showed up this late to set up the perimeter.
By now, fans had started gathering outside the Musée Guimet. Some of them had even arrived before Bruce and Harrison.
"Oh my god! So they really were waiting for Bruce and Harrison. They actually came all the way to France!"
"Damn, looks like they won't rest until they catch Kaitō Kid!"
"They're only showing up now? Do they even still have a shot?"
"This museum's gonna get robbed for a second time. Bruce and Harrison being here doesn't change that!"
"The Enforcement Bureau is way too late. Look at the time! They just got here to lock things down, and this place is huge!"
Victor really had come too late—and without any kind of plan.
When they arrived at the museum, everything was pure guesswork. It was just a blind lockdown with no strategy.
There were flaws everywhere. Bruce and Harrison saw them the second they stepped inside.
As seasoned agents who'd braved death traps and infiltrated all kinds of dangerous places—with or without backup—they could spot weak points instantly.
And right now, under Victor's command, the security setup at the Musée Guimet was riddled with holes.
Harrison shook his head in frustration.
"Bruce, I think tonight's operation is probably going to end in failure."
"This museum is just too big, and Victor has no coordinated plan. The current setup is basically useless against Kaitō Kid."