Victor froze at the sight in front of him.
"Oh shit!"
"Not a single item left?"
The vault was already cordoned off, with three Enforcement Bureau officers guarding the entrance. The scene was well protected.
Harrison immediately gave his first assessment.
"Director Victor, this definitely wasn't done by Kaitō Kid!"
"The one who robbed the vault is someone else. Maybe even a different group entirely!"
Until now, Kaitō Kid had never completely cleaned out any vault.
Even thieves have a code!
Kaitō Kid always sent out a warning letter first, and every time he only took one item.
He would never do something like this.
Victor knew that as well and nodded in agreement.
News of the National Bank's vault being robbed spread like wildfire.
Even though it was the middle of the night, it exploded online, with the heat rising fast.
"What's going on? Is France stacking up disasters on purpose?"
"WTF? Isn't the French National Bank supposed to be the number one bank? Even they got robbed?"
"Hahaha, looks like there's no safe place left in France. Eye-opener for sure!"
"Oh my god! I didn't realize the world around us was this dangerous. That's terrifying!"
"Whoever dared rob the bank vault isn't ordinary. Victor's got another big headache coming!"
While everyone online was speculating, Zhang Yang had just returned to his hotel and saw the news immediately.
"Victor's seriously out of luck. Pulling off a bank vault heist like that? Catching the thief won't be easy."
Zhang Yang shook his head in disbelief.
'When luck runs out, even your own fart can land on your heel.'
Still, he didn't think it had anything to do with him. People like Maket and Sherrson were obviously targeting him—Zhang Yang didn't deny that.
But the person who stole from the bank vault? He doubted it had any connection to himself.
Then again, a bold idea popped into his mind.
"Doing this now, of all times… feels like something's off."
Everyone around the world already knew Kaitō Kid was in France.
Robbing a bank at a moment like this? Zhang Yang had a bad feeling that someone might try to pin this on him.
"Once the news comes out tomorrow, I guess we'll know for sure."
He tossed his phone aside and went to wash up and get some rest.
Because Holmeska was still lurking at the Dragon Nation Embassy, Zhang Yang didn't take the risk of completing the system's return mission.
When it came to patience, Holmeska wasn't exactly a master.
Zhang Yang figured if he just waited out the night, the guy would probably leave by morning.
Meanwhile, back at the vault, Victor and Harrison had actually found something.
"Director Harrison, come take a look at this!"
Victor looked excited as he pulled out a card from one of the small safety deposit boxes.
It was a plain white card, with only a few black lines sketched across it—forming the outline of Kaitō Kid's face.
The moment Harrison saw it, his eyes widened. The shock on his face was obvious.
But he quickly pulled himself together and took the card to examine it closely.
It looked a lot like the warning letters he'd seen before. But his gut told him—this one definitely wasn't left by Kaitō Kid.
"No, Director Victor, this card probably wasn't left by Kaitō Kid!"
"Kaitō Kid has never completely looted a vault. You know that too. This card was most likely planted to frame him..."
Victor chuckled, holding the card between his fingers with a smug look.
"Of course I know that, Director Harrison!"
"But if we leak this to the public, Kaitō Kid will definitely get pissed!"
"And the real thief might lower their guard. Don't you think?"
Harrison's eyes lit up. This was the smartest thing he'd heard from Victor so far.
"You're right. It's worth a shot!"
"Kaitō Kid is bound to react. That'll give us a shot at catching him!"
Harrison was visibly excited. He thought Victor's idea was totally feasible.
"But how are we gonna find the real thief? All we've got is this card from the scene."
"The bank's power system went down. Who knows if the surveillance has anything useful!"
The vault robbery was just as serious as the Kaitō Kid case. Maybe even more—this could draw high-level attention from the top of the French government.
Still, Victor leaned more toward catching Kaitō Kid. The recognition would be far greater than solving just another bank heist.
Right after, Victor and Harrison walked out of the bank. In Victor's hand was the only "evidence" left at the scene—the white card.
Victor walked briskly to the police tape and held the card up to the live broadcast cameras.
"Based on our initial findings, the prime suspect is Kaitō Kid. This card was discovered inside the looted vault."
Those few words from Victor caused an instant uproar. The livestream chat went wild.
"WTF? Kaitō Kid's the thief? Are they serious?"
"Oh my god! That really looks like Kaitō Kid's card. His face is on it!"
"WTF, I'm not buying it. Kaitō Kid?"
"Victor got shit for brains or what? Two hours ago, Kaitō Kid was helping deliver Sherrson to the Enforcement Bureau, and now he's robbing a bank vault?"
"Totally ridiculous. Don't tell me there's a second Kaitō Kid?"
Reporters swarmed to the front, mics out.
"Director Victor, has it been confirmed that Kaitō Kid is the thief?"
"Will the Bureau launch a special operation targeting him?"
"Sir, are you saying Kaitō Kid lured Sherrson to the Bureau just two hours ago, then turned around and robbed a vault?"
"Director Victor, did the bank receive a warning letter from Kaitō Kid?"
Victor didn't answer any of the other questions.
He only wanted to release the info. That was enough.
"Sorry, we'll update you with any further developments. For now, we can't disclose more details."
After brushing off the reporters, Victor pulled Harrison away.
"Director Harrison, let's hope we can seize this chance and take down both Kaitō Kid and the real thief."
In Victor's mind, he was already picturing the medal being pinned to his chest. The excitement in his heart was real.
Those few words from Victor on the livestream triggered a firestorm online.
News outlets exploded with headlines.
"The bank never got a warning letter from Kaitō Kid, and the vault was still robbed?"
"Shit! Victor's full of crap. Kaitō Kid never moves without a warning. No way he just robbed a vault like that!"
"France's been thrown into chaos by Kaitō Kid. What a circus!"
"But that card did show up in the vault. There's gotta be some connection!"