Even if they made it into the estate, it wasn't guaranteed they could catch Kaitō Kid. Setting up a perimeter outside? That was basically just for show. Harrison could already see how this was going to end. He didn't hold out much hope for this operation.
Whether they caught Kaitō Kid from the outside, Harrison figured it was just a matter of luck.
Bruce felt the same. Only Victor was still fuming, hell-bent on catching Kaitō Kid.
"These people won't affect us that much, Director Harrison. Our capture plan isn't limited to just the estate entrance!"
Victor was only focused on catching Kaitō Kid and had completely overlooked the possibility that there might be other dangerous contestants in the crowd.
He had no idea why Zhang Yang provoked them into showing up at the estate. If Zhang Yang hadn't needed them to arrest someone, then it wouldn't have mattered whether they showed up or not.
Bruce and Harrison ignored Victor. They were focused on figuring out how to safely extract anyone from the massive crowd.
They had no leads on Maket and didn't know who might be hiding in the crowd.
After thinking for a while and still coming up blank, Bruce pulled out his phone and made a straightforward suggestion.
"Why don't we just message Kaitō Kid? He dragged us out here—doesn't that mean he wants us to catch someone for him?"
"Might as well just ask where the guy is. He'll probably tell us."
The entire road outside the estate was packed. Looking out, it was just a sea of people. Right now, they couldn't even get close to the main gate.
Harrison nodded reluctantly.
Soon after, Zhang Yang received a private message from Bruce.
"Kaitō Kid, who do you want us to catch this time? We already know about the dark web competition."
Sitting in his car, Zhang Yang smirked. 'Working with smart people really is a breeze.'
"Bruce's even learning how to respond first now."
But Zhang Yang only knew that Maket was in France. He hadn't confirmed whether the man was actually hiding in the crowd tonight.
That intelligence had only come from the Dragon Nation Embassy. And there was a chance someone else from the contest was here instead.
"Director Bruce, I trust your team. I'm sure you'll be able to spot whoever needs to be taken in from the crowd!"
After replying to the message, Zhang Yang opened the car door and stepped out, blending into the crowd.
He wasn't going to wander around the crowd searching for someone. There were more people here tonight than there were outside the museum.
After reading Zhang Yang's reply, Bruce completely lost it. He cursed out loud.
"Shit! That bastard Kaitō Kid brought us here to catch someone but won't even give us a clue!"
Harrison took a deep breath and turned to Victor, telling him to stick to the plan and start deploying agents.
Whether it was Kaitō Kid or someone else, they needed to arrest whoever they could find.
'Whoever shows up first, we catch them first.'
Victor didn't say much more to Bruce or Harrison. He stormed off with his team, furious.
Harrison looked at the crowd in front of the estate and muttered to Bruce, "Maybe he really doesn't know where the guy is."
"Kaitō Kid's too smart. He's dumped the hard part on us."
Bruce shot back without hesitation.
"Then why did he accept Subier's challenge?"
Not just Victor—Bruce himself couldn't figure that out.
Harrison calmly shook his head.
"No idea. But since Kaitō Kid agreed, there must be a reason."
"Bruce, let's stay sharp. If something happens in this crowd, we're the ones who'll be held responsible."
Kaitō Kid's skills were undeniable. This wouldn't be the first time they failed to catch him.
Over time, the higher-ups stopped expecting much from them.
So failing to catch Kaitō Kid wouldn't be a problem.
But if something happened to anyone in the crowd outside the estate—if even one person got hurt—they'd definitely be held responsible.
It was fine to fail without causing damage. But causing damage while failing? That was unacceptable.
As night slowly fell, the crowd grew more excited.
The arrival of night meant that Kaitō Kid would be showing up soon.
Bruce and Harrison stared at the charged-up crowd, already feeling the headache settle in.
Zhang Yang was mixed in with the people, but he hadn't spotted Maket yet.
"If Maket doesn't show up tonight, that'd be a real shame."
Bruce and Harrison were already here, but Maket still hadn't appeared.
Regardless, Zhang Yang was going to meet Subier inside the estate tonight either way.
So once it got dark, Zhang Yang quietly dropped a rubber dummy capsule.
Before this, he had already planted dozens of them among the crowd.
The first sighting of Kaitō Kid didn't come from where Zhang Yang was.
Instead, it came from within the crowd—Kaitō Kid appeared right in the middle of everyone!
Zhang Yang walked up to the estate wall, surrounded by the noisy buzz of voices.
"OK, time to start the show."
Through his monocle, Zhang Yang triggered the detonation of the first dummy capsule.
With a soft pop, white smoke shot up from the crowd, and a fake Kaitō Kid appeared.
Screams and shouts broke out immediately nearby.
[oh my god! Is that Kaitō Kid? No way!]
[WTF? How did he show up like that?]
[Oh shit! That scared me! Why is he here?]
[What's going on?]
[Is this some ninja trick? Some spicy-sky teleport move?]
The sudden commotion quickly pulled more attention in. The whole crowd was buzzing.
But there were just too many people packed in at the estate gate. Everyone was squeezing forward or standing on tiptoe, trying to see what was happening in the middle.
Zhang Yang stayed alert, listening carefully for movement from inside the estate.
As the crowd stirred, footsteps began heading toward the gate fast.
"Subier really did make thorough arrangements inside. Looks like he briefed everyone in advance."
It didn't take long for someone to realize the Kaitō Kid was fake.
After all, it wasn't moving and was way too close.
Unless you were a complete idiot, you'd figure it out.
[oh my god! It's just a fake Kaitō Kid?]
[WTF? When did he plant a dummy here?]
[That's insane. When did he even sneak that in?]
[This fake looks way too real! Where did he get it?]
[Why plant a dummy here of all places?]
The chatter only grew louder—but that was just the beginning. Dozens more dummies had yet to appear!
Subier was ranked first in that detective logic game. His IQ and reasoning skills had to be top-notch.
The more you followed conventional logic, the easier it was for him to predict you.
So the only way to mess with him was to act unpredictably.
Zhang Yang then triggered three more dummy capsules using his monocle.
Each one had been planted in a different location.
As three new puffs of white smoke rose into the air, the crowd exploded in noise again.
[Shit! There's one over there—wait, another one there too!]
[Oh my god! How many of these dummies did he leave behind?]
[WTF, why would Kaitō Kid plant so many dummies around us? Shouldn't they be inside the estate?]
[How can dummies that big just appear out of nowhere like that?]