With tens of billions of viewers watching live, Landon led Zhang Yang to the fourth floor.
As the elevator doors opened, the collection inside the glass chamber came into view.
The corners of Zhang Yang's mouth curved into a slight smile. With Landon leading the way, there was no need for him to personally deal with the three security systems in the hallway.
[Oh no! What is Landon doing? Is he really hypnotized?]
[Kaitō Kid is terrifying! He actually managed to hypnotize this many people at once, and now Landon is even showing him the way!]
[This is beyond ridiculous. This is downright scary!]
[Baka yarō! Kaitō Kid must have used some kind of hallucinogen, like he did at Sakura Shrine!]
[You uneducated fool! Do you think drugs and hypnosis are the same thing?]
Even if Sente and the others' reactions weren't enough to prove anything, Landon personally leading the way could only be explained by hypnosis.
Among the tens of billions of live viewers, there were naturally professional hypnotists as well.
[Landon is definitely hypnotized. I swear on my career—this is deep hypnosis!]
[Kaitō Kid just keeps getting more unbelievable. I can't believe he's actually mastered such powerful hypnosis!]
[Poor Nakajima Sansha. He fought so hard to get through the door, and in the end, he didn't even get to say a word before passing out!]
[Hahaha! No matter where or when, he's absolutely useless!]
[Landon has so many treasures, and Kaitō Kid is only taking one. Truly, there's honor among thieves!]
Landon opened the mechanical lock and led Zhang Yang into the hallway.
He stopped in front of the laser security grid and pressed his ID card to the reader.
All the viewers in the live stream were completely stunned, speechless.
[Oh my god! What level of hypnosis does it take to make Landon obey so perfectly?]
[If Landon weren't showing the way, breaking through this security system would have taken serious effort!]
[Hahaha! Maybe Kaitō Kid could pull it off, but if it were anyone else, they'd have no chance!]
[Landon put real effort into designing his vault, but too bad he's up against Kaitō Kid. Good thing he doesn't seem to care much, otherwise, he'd be losing his mind!]
[Landon is a Kaitō Kid fan. I bet he's not going to lose it!]
Landon led Zhang Yang into the vault and stopped in front of the display case containing the Yongle Encyclopedia.
On top of the glass case was the notice card Zhang Yang had sent earlier, with a pen placed on top of it.
"What's this? Does he want me to leave a signature?"
Zhang Yang glanced at Landon, then snapped his fingers again, sending him off to sleep.
He picked up the pen and prepared to leave his signature on the notice card.
[Oh my god! Is Kaitō Kid really going to sign the notice card?]
[Landon is definitely Kaitō Kid's biggest fan. Trading the three volumes of the Yongle Encyclopedia for just a signature!]
[I'm a Kaitō Kid fan too, but I can't compare to Landon's dedication!]
[Damn, this is a global broadcast! Media outlets all over the world are airing this. Is Kaitō Kid really this confident in showing off his hypnotic skills?]
[With how famous Kaitō Kid is now, nothing he does is really surprising anymore!]
After leaving his signature on the notice card, Zhang Yang took the three volumes of the Yongle Encyclopedia from the display case and placed the signed notice card inside.
"That makes us even."
Zhang Yang whispered to himself, then turned and left swiftly.
As for Sente, Landon, and the others who had been hypnotized, they would wake up in about an hour.
[Damn, Kaitō Kid really meant it when he said he'd only take what he came for. He didn't even glance at that massive pigeon-egg-sized diamond next to it!]
[This is next-level. Does anyone really think Kaitō Kid steals for money?]
[With hypnotic skills like that, if he wanted money, he could become the world's greatest hypnotist!]
[As a professional hypnotist myself, I still have no idea when he implanted the suggestion into Landon. Could it have been during that firework display at the start?]
[No way… can fireworks actually deliver a hypnotic suggestion?]
The viewers in the live stream started debating fiercely. Since the only thing Zhang Yang did before snapping his fingers was set off that firework display, hypnotists around the world unanimously agreed that the hypnotic suggestion must have been hidden in the fireworks.
Hypnosis could use all sorts of mediums—sounds, swinging pendulums, spinning clocks, even optical illusions.
But no one had ever heard of fireworks being used to hypnotize people, let alone to trigger such deep hypnosis on so many people at once.
[Oh my god! Kaitō Kid hypnotized everyone at the same time… using fireworks?]
[How crazy is this? Fireworks were invented in the Dragon Nation, and now Kaitō Kid has taken them to the next level—hypnosis fireworks!]
[And they were all staring up at the fireworks. It actually makes sense now!]
[With Kaitō Kid's abilities, and he chooses to just be a phantom thief? If I were him, I'd make the world see me as a superhero!]
Zhang Yang calmly walked out of Landon's villa, his white figure vanishing from the live feed.
The only thing left on screen now was a pile of people unconscious on the floor—Sente, Nakajima Sansha, and the others. Landon was still slumped in the fourth-floor vault.
[Ding!]
[Challenge Complete: Steal the Yongle Encyclopedia!]
[Reward: Fifty thousand points!]
As Zhang Yang headed back, the system notification echoed in his mind.
This operation had cost him one hundred and twenty thousand points for the hypnosis fireworks, but the task reward was only fifty thousand.
"I still lost points in the end!"
Zhang Yang chuckled bitterly to himself.
[Ding!]
[New Mission: Return the three volumes of the Yongle Encyclopedia to the Dragon Nation Embassy!]
[Reward: Forty thousand points!]
Zhang Yang couldn't help but grin. Even though he was still down by thirty thousand points, it was something.
Every bit counts. He turned the car around and headed straight for the Dragon Nation Embassy.
Not long after Zhang Yang left, a man in a black trench coat with a thick beard appeared at Landon's villa.
Seeing Sente and the others collapsed on the floor, his expression tightened into a deep frown.
"What the hell? They're really all hypnotized?"
The viewers immediately noticed the man's arrival.
[Who is this guy? Where did he come from?]
[He doesn't look like an ordinary person… Could he be another top agent sent by the Eagle Nation?]
[Kaitō Kid's already gone, what's the point of showing up now?]
[Wait a minute… why does he look so familiar?]
[Oh my god! That's Bruce, the Federation's Top Agent!]
Bruce hadn't been officially assigned to the case. He just happened to be nearby and had tuned into the broadcast. Curious, he decided to swing by.
He crouched beside the unconscious Sente and tried to wake them up, but it was useless.
"Shit! Looks like they'll need Kaitō Kid's trigger to snap out of this."
He muttered to himself before standing up and heading deeper into the villa.