Chapter 15: Silenced for Good?

Half an hour later, Stanley and his team had combed through every corner of the castle—top to bottom—without missing a single spot, but came up completely empty-handed.

Kelly and Carl weren't familiar with the castle's layout, so after a round of searching on their own, they joined the elite guards to continue sweeping the place.

"Mr. Charles…"

Stanley returned to the grand hall.

"We didn't find Kaitō Kid."

At that moment, Charles was still staring at the photo Zhang Yang had posted. It was unmistakably a shot of the second-floor window of the castle.

And yet, Stanley's report was genuine. They really hadn't found anyone.

"Nothing?"

"Then where the hell did this photo come from?!"

"Keep looking! He has to be hiding somewhere!"

Charles was clearly furious. The constant anxiety of not knowing had him on edge.

"Yes, sir."

Stanley nodded grimly and led the team back upstairs for a second round.

But of course, Zhang Yang wasn't actually inside the castle.

So even if they searched the place a hundred times, they were never going to find him!

Outside the castle—

It had been over an hour since Zhang Yang posted the photo, and netizens were starting to get impatient. There hadn't been any new updates.

[F**k! Kaitō Kid's been inside the castle this long, and Charles and the rest still haven't made a move?!]

[Can't someone at least get to the scene and livestream it? I'll donate gifts like crazy!]

[No can do. The roads around Swan Lake Castle are private property. No way any outsiders are getting close.]

[I've never even been this anxious waiting for my girlfriend to come downstairs. Just give us something! I'd settle for Kaitō Kid getting caught! Just give us anything!]

[Is that it? I jumped the firewall to watch this, and all I get is one photo of a damn window?!]

[It's been over an hour—don't tell me Kaitō Kid's already been caught…]

Zhang Yang was still calmly sitting in his car, waiting for the sun to go down and night to fall.

Meanwhile, Stanley had already led his men through the castle four or five more times. They were about ready to rip up the floorboards to look underneath.

"Mr. Charles, still nothing!"

"I suspect Kaitō Kid was bluffing. He probably realized our security is too tight and gave up."

Charles's face darkened.

"Go! Count all the collectibles again. I want to know if anything's missing!"

Brant was also starting to get restless.

He'd brought in two professional killers, Kelly and Carl, but they hadn't even seen Kaitō Kid's face.

They were loaded with skill and nowhere to use it.

"Mr. Charles, based on what I know about Kaitō Kid, if he'd already stolen something, he'd have posted it online by now."

"I've been watching his page this whole time, and there's been no new updates. I think he hasn't made his move yet."

Brant had been robbed twice already, and those failures gave him a bit of insight.

Every time Zhang Yang succeeded, he'd post the stolen item online immediately afterward, flaunting it in public.

Charles had noticed that, too, when he was scrolling through Kaitō Kid's feed earlier.

"Then what was the point of posting that photo?"

"If he's already inside, why hasn't he done anything yet?"

Charles couldn't figure it out.

Of course, Brant couldn't either. If he understood, he wouldn't have been robbed twice.

But suddenly, he had an idea.

"Mr. Charles, Kaitō Kid is flashy and loves the spotlight. Why don't we start a livestream? Maybe that'll draw him out."

In order to protect his own secret, Brant was pulling out all the stops.

Only by getting Zhang Yang to reveal himself could Kelly and Carl take action. Right now, it was like playing a game of hide-and-seek.

Charles's expression turned cold. He wasn't really in the mood for livestreaming—he just wanted Kaitō Kid caught, and fast.

"Brant, are you sure provoking him with a livestream is really going to work?"

"Let's wait until Stanley finishes checking the collection first."

There were over 2,000 items in Swan Lake Castle. By the time Stanley came down to report, the sun had already set.

And Brant's guess was spot on—not a single item was missing.

As night fell, Zhang Yang stepped out of his car, ready to begin the operation.

Brant looked tense. The longer Zhang Yang didn't show up, the more uneasy he felt.

Just as they were at a complete loss, a radio sitting on the table crackled to life.

"Attention, Kaitō Kid has been spotted."

"He's on the southwest corner of the castle wall!"

Everyone in the hall instantly perked up.

The elite guards stationed inside Swan Lake Castle moved in immediately.

The outer wall of the castle was over three meters tall.

So when Charles and Brant walked out of the castle, they immediately saw a white silhouette standing atop the wall.

The elite guards split into two groups—one inside the castle, the other running around the outside to intercept him.

Swan Lake Castle had many surveillance cameras as well.

Seeing this, Charles finally let out a breath of relief.

But Brant was growing frantic. He hadn't seen Kelly or Carl anywhere.

"Kaitō Kid's already shown up—where the hell are those two?!"

In just a blink, the inside and outside of the wall were crawling with elite security—at least fifty or sixty of them.

"Don't move!"

"Kaitō Kid, jump down now! Hands on your head, kneel on the ground!"

"You're surrounded—don't try anything stupid!"

The guards gripped their stun batons tightly, eyes locked on the figure on the wall.

Just as Brant and Charles started walking toward the wall—

Bang!

A sudden gunshot rang out through Swan Lake Castle.

"Sir, get down!"

Stanley immediately moved to shield Charles, and Brant was startled out of his skin.

But it didn't take long for him to realize why the shot had been fired—and a smile slowly crept across his face.

The elite guards were momentarily stunned too, scanning around with heightened vigilance.

But Brant's smile soon vanished.

Because the figure on the wall didn't fall—it just deflated like a balloon, slowly crumpling down.

"F**k! We've been played!"

By the time Brant realized it, it was already too late.

While everyone's attention had been focused on the wall, Zhang Yang had already scaled over the rear side and slipped into the castle.

He even took the collectible catalog from the table on his way in.

From the second-floor window, Zhang Yang watched coldly as the guards dragged down the collapsing dummy.

"Brant, so you really did want me dead, huh?"

That single gunshot had caught even Zhang Yang off guard.

Brant had truly intended to kill him—firing without hesitation.

"Looks like the secret of the Blue Planet really means a lot to him."

Zhang Yang narrowed his eyes in thought.

If Brant was willing to go this far, it could only mean one thing—he was holding something over him.

The logic wasn't hard to follow.

Brant snatched the radio from Stanley's hand.

"Kaitō Kid has already gotten inside! Go catch him!"

"That was just a dummy! What are you all standing around for? Get inside the castle and catch him!"

But no matter how much Brant shouted, the elite guards acted like they couldn't hear him at all.

At this point, all of Swan Lake Castle was under heavy signal interference.

That's because Zhang Yang had exchanged for a signal jammer from the system store earlier that afternoon.

And the moment he stepped into the castle, it had already been activated.

Inside the surveillance room, the staff were getting anxious too.

They could clearly see Kaitō Kid on the monitors, but none of their calls through the radio were getting through.

"You keep an eye on him. I'm going to alert the others!"