"Boss, where are we going today?" Hans was driving, but he still didn't know the destination.
"I'll guide you. What's the rush? This is going to be the biggest of big news," Iselin said. "Turn right at the next intersection."
"Oh!" Hans was puzzled. Who on earth had called the boss earlier? Could it have been DA Harvey Dent? No, that didn't make sense. She knew the DA personally—she wouldn't be this excited over his call.
So what kind of huge news was it?
The road grew more and more remote until they were completely out in the suburbs, with nothing around.
"Boss, are you sure? Any farther and it's just wilderness. Not a soul in sight—did we take the wrong way?" Hans asked.
"Stop here. This is the place."
Hans looked around at the empty surroundings, baffled as to what she was up to.
"What are you standing there for? Get the camera ready," Iselin ordered sharply.
"Oh." Hans still didn't get it—what was there to film out here? Suddenly, the area lit up. Hans glanced up in confusion and saw a strange-looking craft hovering overhead.
What in the world was that? He'd never seen such an odd ship before. An oval-shaped thing without wings—how did it even fly?
Whoosh—Archimedes descended smoothly into the clearing.
Hans stared through the camera in a daze, filming as he wondered who would be flying something this bizarre. Even Batman's Batplane wasn't this… unscientific.
The hatch opened, and out stepped Kaitou Kid.
"Long time no see, Iselin," Kid said with a note of nostalgia.
"Long time no see, Kid." Iselin kept her composure, holding to her professional reporter's poise, showing no excitement. "Thank you for agreeing to this interview."
Whoa, wait a second—Hans was stunned. Since when had the boss and Kid been on such familiar terms?
"Come aboard. I'll take you to the interview location."
Iselin blinked, surprised. She hadn't expected that. She thought the interview would be right here.
"Relax, come in. This time, let me show you the real Kaitou Kid." For his fans, Kid was going all in. He couldn't let those who supported him down. This time, he was going to reveal his Antarctic base, doing his best to present the true Kaitou Kid.
Takeoff—full speed ahead!
Hans, being a guy, couldn't help but be fascinated by the ship. He kept looking around, though there wasn't much inside worth filming. What he really wanted was to see where Kid was taking them.
Iselin, on the other hand, stayed quiet, calmly sitting in her seat as she organized her list of questions. Right now, their relationship was strictly reporter and interviewee; any friendship would have to wait. She hadn't forgotten Liu A'dou, but she had already begun a completely new chapter in her life.
Kid had upgraded Archimedes, making it much faster. The oval hull pushed forward at an impossible speed, breaking the sound barrier like a rocket.
Heading straight south, it would only take two hours to reach their destination. The base itself had also been renovated—Kid had cleared out some space to make a hangar. He even had a stealth fighter jet there. Though he'd never actually used it in battle, he certainly wasn't planning on returning it.
The ceiling hatch slid open, and Archimedes descended vertically into the hangar—this was Kaitou Kid's personal hangar.
Judging from the icy surroundings, they might already be in Antarctica, though Hans couldn't be sure. The base was built on the edge of a glacier, with the ocean just beyond. One thing was certain—this definitely wasn't anywhere in the United States.
Iselin looked around curiously, wondering how Kid had managed to build a base in such a remote place.
Thud! Hans hit the ground, clutching his forehead and rolling in pain—he'd just walked straight into something invisible.
"Forgot to mention—there's a stealth fighter here. You okay?" Kid helped Hans to his feet, chuckling.
"I'm fine, just a bump," Hans waved it off, though curiosity got the better of him. He reached out to touch the spot and felt something cold and solid, even though nothing was visible. There really was an invisible fighter jet!
"This is magi-tech, a gift from someone," Kid explained. "Follow me—once we're out of the hangar, you'll be fine."
Hans stuck to the very back, inching forward carefully to avoid crashing into anything else. Finally, they made it out.
Next to the hangar was Kid's greenhouse, filled with flowers—mostly roses of various colors.
"What's this?" Iselin had no idea Liu A'dou had a hobby for growing roses.
"These are for magic tricks, like this." Kid flipped his hands, producing a few roses out of nowhere, then flipped them again, making them vanish. Tricks like this came so naturally to him, he didn't even need to prepare.
"You actually grow your own flowers for magic tricks?!" Both visitors were genuinely surprised—they were seeing a side of Kaitou Kid they'd never imagined.
"A lot of my magic props are self-made," Kid said with a grin. "Come on, I'll show you more of Kaitou's secrets."
They walked into a grand hall. Hans felt like he'd stepped into a Kaitou Kid museum—everything was white, and almost everything in sight was connected to him.
This self-indulgent décor had once annoyed Ada, but to outsiders, it was awe-inspiring. Here, they could get a complete picture of who Kid was, how he planned his heists, and how he designed his illusions.
The displays were dazzling, but Hans's eyes were eventually drawn to two walls—one covered in chaotic gemstone information, the other holding just a single framed letter.
He started with the gemstone wall, raising his camera to record. Iselin, meanwhile, began asking questions. Looking over the gem profiles, she asked in a curious tone, "Are these all your targets?"
"They're potential targets," Kid replied. "But for anyone watching this interview who owns one of these gems—relax. If I ever do plan to steal it, I'll give you advance notice. No need to panic—stay calm."
That didn't sound like a thief at all—it was downright arrogant.
Hans recognized quite a few of them as priceless treasures housed in museums. Kid's research was meticulous. The wall listed not only each gem's owner, location, and methods of authentication, but also historical anecdotes tied to them. Clearly, Kid wasn't just stealing for money. He valued the gems for their intrinsic worth and the history they carried.
Now Hans understood why Kid was so popular. He turned his camera toward the other wall, which bore only one frame—inside was a single letter.
He zoomed in and read the contents.
"Watchmen"? Hans wasn't the only one confused—Iselin also studied the letter, puzzled. That bit of history had long been buried; no one knew about it anymore.
But the writing carried an unmistakable sense of age and weight. It was penned by someone calling himself Rorschach. The Watchmen seemed to have been a team of heroes, but perhaps because they weren't accepted by the public, they had chosen to retire. Between the lines, it even hinted that they had once prevented a nuclear war.
And in the letter's final words, Rorschach entrusted the future to Kaitou Kid: "Please watch over a beautiful future for us."
Since there was no date mentioned, Iselin assumed this had happened not long ago. Regardless, everything Kaitou Kid had done since proved he had honored that request—he had already become a hero.