One of the other guards in the surveillance room glanced at the wall of monitors. Everything looked perfectly normal—nothing seemed out of place—so he shrugged it off.
"Inoshita, probably just a loose wire from the wind or something. It's already back to normal."
"Now hurry up and get back here—tell me more about your affair. Where did you guys go last night?"
Since Zhang Yang had already reconnected the cable after uploading the virus, Inoshita hadn't noticed anything.
The wired signal had been restored within just ten seconds, and there was no obvious trace left behind.
Inoshita returned to his chair, grinning shamelessly as he continued his story.
By now, the sun was setting and dusk had fallen. In about thirty minutes, it would be fully dark. Within an hour, night would completely take over.
That meant time was tight for Zhang Yang.
Not only did he have to be absolutely certain he could cut the Imperial Palace's power, he also needed to pinpoint the exact location of the Twelve Bronze Zodiac heads.
"I know where the two main power lines are... but where would they stash the Twelve Bronze Zodiac heads?"
The Imperial Palace wasn't huge—but it wasn't exactly small either.
And every single area had guards and agents on watch. Nothing stood out as particularly special.
Zhang Yang wandered around the palace until night fell, but he still couldn't confirm the artifact's location.
The moment darkness set in, the livestream chat went wild with excitement.
"Shit! Finally! It's dark—felt like it took forever!"
[Kaitō Kid should be showing up any minute now. I can't wait to see where he appears from this time!]
[I'm calling it—there's gonna be fireworks at the Imperial Palace tonight!]
[There's already a poll up on the forums: will Kaitō Kid succeed and escape within one hour?]
[Hahaha, one hour? They really don't take the Imperial Palace seriously at all!]
[With Kaitō Kid's level? Honestly, I think it's possible he wraps this up in under an hour!]
Even though it was the Island Nation's Imperial Palace, most people still believed Kaitō Kid wouldn't be caught.
Not only that, many felt he'd pull it off and vanish in under an hour.
This poll stung a lot of viewers from the Island Nation.
[Baka yarō! Which bastard started that poll?!]
[The Imperial Palace is locked down tighter than a vault. Kaitō Kid will be caught the second he steps inside!]
[Why so salty? It's just a poll—no need to rage.]
[I'm dying—those who bark the loudest are always the first to back down!]
[Baka! The Imperial Palace will make sure Kaitō Kid never comes out again!]
By now, it was completely dark outside. Zhang Yang kept walking and taking photos to avoid suspicion.
Camera slung around his neck, he returned to the courtyard where Nakajima Misaki was stationed.
"Director Nakajima, I need a few shots for tomorrow's article."
Nakajima gave a curt nod, his expression immediately turning serious and stern.
Zhang Yang symbolically snapped a few photos of Nakajima Misaki, Itō Chūji, and the others present.
Then, cradling his camera, he stepped out of the courtyard.
"If they've got heavy guards posted at every room, then I'll just use the same old trick again."
If Harrison were here, it might not work—but Nakajima Misaki and Itō Chūji didn't know his style.
Behind a small patch of greenery, Zhang Yang quickly changed into his night suit, preparing to take action.
This stealth suit didn't come from the Magical Wardrobe—it was a reinforced version he had exchanged from the point store.
As long as he was in low light or shadow, the suit would blend perfectly into the surroundings, making him nearly invisible.
He also wore specialized night-vision goggles that allowed him to see just as clearly at night as he could during the day.
Now, Zhang Yang was dressed entirely in black from head to toe, with no skin exposed at all.
"Great suit. Not just pitch black—its price is black-hearted too!"
A whopping twenty thousand points, gone just like that. And it only lasted one day.
Hidden in the shadows, Zhang Yang silently slipped past countless guards and patrolling agents.
Near the main power line, there was a stationed security team.
Each post in the Imperial Palace had three guards, but Zhang Yang didn't plan on getting too close.
Part of the wiring was exposed—not everything was sealed inside a power box.
He raised his hand and flicked out two playing cards, but the power line was thick copper and tough to cut through.
The two cards only dug in deep—they didn't sever the line completely.
Zhang Yang flicked out two more. Then another two.
Card after card, a barrage of nearly dozens slammed into the same spot until the cable was finally cut.
The Imperial Palace was plunged into darkness.
But just a second later, the backup line kicked in.
Barely a second had passed between total darkness and power restoration.
"Damn, that was fast."
Zhang Yang muttered to himself and immediately made his way to the next power box.
But the brief blackout had already raised the alert level for Nakajima Misaki and Itō Chūji.
"Everyone stay sharp—remain on high alert!"
"Logistics, find the cause of the power cut—hurry!"
Itō Chūji's gaze was ice-cold. He clenched his teeth and murmured under his breath.
"Kaitō Kid... you've finally shown yourself!"
Moments later, the walkie-talkie crackled with the logistics team's report.
"Director Nakajima, we've switched to backup power. The main line has been severed. We're en route to investigate."
The livestream chat instantly exploded.
[Oh my god! Is Kaitō Kid really here?!]
[Ohoho, cutting the power—that's always how his shows begin. Start the countdown!]
[Wait, doesn't the Imperial Palace use isolated power grids? That must mean Kaitō Kid's already inside!]
[They're running on backup now? Kaitō Kid took out their main power that easily? And they still dare to brag!]
[Baka... is it really him?!]
About five minutes later, the walkie-talkie buzzed again—this time with a nervous voice.
"Director Nakajima! We found Kaitō Kid's playing cards near the power box. He used them to sever the line!"
Nakajima's face darkened instantly.
"Baka! Reconnect it—right now! Immediately!"
But just as he gave the order, the entire Imperial Palace was thrown into pitch-black darkness again.
Before the logistics team could even begin repairs, Zhang Yang had already cut the backup circuit.
Nakajima roared into the radio in frustration.
"What's going on?! Why is the power completely out?!"
The frantic voice of the logistics officer came through the walkie-talkie.
"Director Nakajima, the backup circuit was also damaged..."
"The Imperial Palace uses a specialized wiring system. At minimum, it'll take ten minutes to restore power..."
Nakajima cursed under his breath.
"Surveillance room! Do you see anything suspicious?"
The Imperial Palace was nearly under full surveillance. Nakajima couldn't understand why there wasn't a single alert from the monitoring team.
"Reporting in, sir—nothing unusual on the feed so far!"
The surveillance room had its own independent backup power source, enough to run for two hours even during a full blackout.
But Zhang Yang had already tampered with the camera system.
Once the entire palace went dark, the sudden drop in lighting triggered a switch in the feed—looped footage was replaced with a new live recording, which was then set to repeat.