Now that Charles and Brant were both missing, it forced everyone to suspect that Kaitō Kid had made a move on them.
Stanley was equally worried. He started calling everyone he could think of to track down Charles's whereabouts.
As for Brant, Kelly and Carl only cared about one thing—whether they'd still get paid.
Even though Kaitō Kid had escaped this time, they still believed they could finish the job.
They quickly called their contact, Bob.
"Brant's gone missing. What do we do?"
Bob's tone was flat.
"Missing?"
"You already took care of Kaitō Kid?"
Hardly any client ever tried to disappear without paying Bob. But it wasn't unheard of.
And those who did try to vanish? Not a single one got away with it.
They either completely vanished off the face of the earth—or paid back three times the amount.
So Bob wasn't worried about Brant trying to ghost him. After all, the man was the director of the British Museum.
What Bob cared more about now was whether Kaitō Kid had actually been caught—was the job done or not?
"No," Kelly replied. "We never found any trace of him. Actually, you could say that Kaitō Kid never even showed up at Swan Lake Castle at all."
"And now Brant and Charles are both missing. We're worried Kaitō Kid might have…"
Bob took a deep breath and paused for a moment.
"No worries. I'll try getting in touch with Brant."
"You two do what you're supposed to. You'll get paid—every cent."
"That's all we needed to hear."
That call was only about one thing—getting that confirmation.
Once they hung up, Kelly and Carl left the premises.
Stanley, still on the phone trying to reach Charles, didn't have time to deal with them.
Meanwhile, after Zhang Yang posted the photo of the Serpent Head, the internet went absolutely wild.
[Oh my god! It's one of the Dragon Nation's Twelve Bronze Zodiac! Kaitō Kid actually stole the Serpent Head!]
[What the hell! So that's where it's been this whole time? In Swan Lake Castle? No wonder it was never found. Charles really kept that hidden well!]
[Whoa! Kaitō Kid just hit the jackpot. Those Zodiac Heads are priceless—no market can even put a number on them!]
[What the fuck, Charles was secretly hoarding the Dragon Nation's Serpent Head? That's insane!]
[Fuck's sake! Such a priceless artifact, and Kaitō Kid stole it just like that. What a loss!]
Unlike other treasures, the Serpent Head carried profound historical and cultural significance.
Which was why this triggered such an uproar online. In Kaitō Kid's account inbox, Zhang Yang was bombarded with thousands of messages.
Some were full of admiration from fans. Others were insults. A bunch came from media outlets hoping to interview him for a show.
[Dude, you're a legend! Stealing the Serpent Head? Mad respect!]
[Dear Mr. Kaitō Kid, we're with the London Focus news team—may we have a moment of your time? We'd love to interview you!]
[Bitch. You're just a dirty thief.]
[Kaitō Kid, I love you! I'm your fan. Can I get your contact info?! Please?]
[Disgusting thief. The British Enforcement Bureau will definitely bring you to justice and throw you behind bars where you belong!]
Zhang Yang ignored all of it without a second thought.
But among the DMs were also messages from embassies around the world, including Britain's official accounts.
They were all offering generous terms—each one hoping to acquire the Serpent Head.
Some offered money.
Some offered him safe haven, full amnesty, and even new identities to live freely in their countries.
Although the Dragon Nation hadn't yet reached out officially, the fate of the Serpent Head was already sealed.
The system's return task was to bring the Serpent Head back to the Dragon Nation.
And the reward for the mission was pretty generous—you could pick any one of Kaitō Kid's skills.
Half an hour ago, Zhang Yang completed the heist and received the [Super Driving] skill as a reward!
From now on, Zhang Yang's driving skills would surpass those of professional racers.
And the vehicles he could handle weren't limited to just cars or motorcycles—even helicopters and yachts were fair game.
Zhang Yang carefully packed the Serpent Head into a secure case, threw on a casual outfit, and headed out the door.
The post featuring the Serpent Head had nearly 200,000 comments.
Over half of them were Dragon Nation netizens and British citizens locked in an all-out flame war.
[Fuck's sake, Kaitō Kid stole the Serpent Head—absolutely shameless!]
[Screw your imperialist crap. Back when your allied forces invaded, didn't you steal it from us first? And now you've got the audacity to cry about it?]
[Our Dragon Nation has over 5,000 years of history and culture. Two-thirds of the junk in the British Museum was stolen loot. You're the real shameless ones.]
[Oh really? So Kaitō Kid stole it and now you're all cheering for him?]
[You want us to support you instead? Who the hell are you? I climbed the firewall just to cheer for Kaitō Kid—and now I've got another reason: cussing out you thieves!]
[Brothers, let's insult them properly. Channel that ancient Dragon Nation grace—be classy as we roast them alive!]
The reveal of the Serpent Head had stirred up way too much heat.
Even the Enforcement Bureau had caught wind of it and immediately formed a task force to head for Swan Lake Castle.
By the time Charles and Brant woke up, the situation outside had already gone nuclear.
"Brant! Brant!"
"Wake up!"
Charles sat up from the floor and, when he glanced at the vault behind him, his memories snapped into place.
He shot to his feet, not even realizing that his custom-tailored suit had been stripped off him by Zhang Yang.
He was one pair of boxers away from flashing the whole world.
But Charles didn't care. He only cared about one thing—had anything been stolen from the vault?
He rushed over, frantically turning the mechanical dial on the safe.
Creak—
The moment the vault door opened, Charles felt like the sky was falling.
The vault was mostly intact. Most of the treasures were still there—except for one.
But that one just so happened to be the most important of them all.
"Charles… you…"
Brant had also woken up and now stood staring, dumbfounded, at Charles—who was wearing nothing but plaid boxers in front of the vault.
"You damn Kaitō Kid! Damn it!"
Charles stormed out of the bunker, ready to find Stanley.
Brant wanted to stop him, remind him he wasn't even wearing a shirt—but Charles had already marched off like a charging rhino. By the time Brant got to his feet, he was long gone.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Bureau had already arrived at Swan Lake Castle and had begun questioning Stanley about the entire incident.
Charles, still shirtless and wearing only his boxers, stomped into the main hall, seething.
"Stanley!"
Everyone—officers from the Bureau, Stanley, everyone in the hall—froze on the spot.
All eyes snapped to Charles.
They were staring with wide eyes and stunned expressions, as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing.
It wasn't until Charles noticed their strange stares that he finally looked down and realized—he wasn't wearing anything.
"Oh—shit! Fuck! Goddamn Kaitō Kid!"
At that moment, Charles completely lost it. Cursing nonstop, he stormed off to his bedroom to get dressed.
A few moments later, Brant also showed up in the hall, panicked.
When he saw the entire place full of Enforcement Bureau officers, his blood ran cold.
"Officer Fia, this is Mr. Brant."
Stanley turned to introduce him to one of the investigators.
"Mr. Brant, Officer Fia and the others are here to investigate the theft of the Serpent Head by Kaitō Kid."