When they saw Zhang Yang just snap his fingers, and they all collapsed one after another, the shock in their hearts had already reached its peak.
"What the hell? When exactly did we get hypnotized?"
Even now, none of them had connected it to the fireworks.
Of course, under normal reasoning, no one would ever suspect the fireworks.
"Baka! I didn't feel anything at all!"
Nakajima Misaki clenched his teeth in frustration. This operation had failed way too cleanly. Kaitō Kid had been standing right in front of them, yet they had completely missed their chance.
But what happened next shocked them even more.
Landon appeared on screen, turning around and personally leading Kaitō Kid back into the mansion.
They watched with their own eyes as Landon took the lead, guiding Kaitō Kid all the way to the exhibition room on the fourth floor.
He even deactivated all the security measures one by one in an orderly manner.
It was exactly like the dream Landon remembered, so he just furrowed his brows, not really surprised anymore.
"Fuck! So we really were hypnotized!"
"But when did he do it?"
Sente and Nakajima Misaki copied the livestream recording to take it back for further analysis.
Early the next morning, the story exploded in the news worldwide.
"Kaitō Kid's Ultimate Hypnosis!"
"A Master Thief, Also a Top-Tier Hypnotist!"
"Kaitō Kid Strikes Again—Sente and the Agents All Fall Under Hypnosis!"
"Kaitō Kid's Hypnosis Breaks World Records—Professional Agents All Fall Victim!"
These headlines came with clips from the livestream as supporting footage, sparking a massive sensation across the world.
[What the hell? Just a snap of his fingers and everyone was hypnotized?]
[A master thief with hypnosis skills this insane? Is this real or fake?]
[I watched the entire livestream—Kaitō Kid really did hypnotize them all with just a snap!]
[Anyone who doesn't believe it clearly didn't watch last night's livestream, or they wouldn't be doubting it now!]
[Oh my god! This is so unbelievable! I actually want to experience Kaitō Kid's hypnosis for myself!]
This time, it wasn't just news headlines. Some media even invited professional hypnotists to host a special interview program.
They analyzed how Kaitō Kid's hypnosis worked, how difficult it would be to pull off, and gave their expert opinions.
Landon losing the original volumes of the Yongle Encyclopedia, and Kaitō Kid leaving his signed notice letter, were all completely overshadowed by the ridiculous hypnosis coverage.
[All just cheap attention-grabbing shows, talking about theories and nonsense. If they can actually explain how it works, I'll drink the entire Pacific Ocean!]
[Shit! What a trashy program. So boring!]
[Whoever manages to invite Kaitō Kid for an interview right now, the ratings would be off the charts!]
[Everyone knows some so-called "experts" are better off hauling bricks than running their mouths!]
[I heard someone wants to buy the signed notice letter from Landon for a crazy high price. Is that true?]
Because the hypnosis news was so overwhelmingly popular, every outlet was scrambling to cover it, pushing all other news out of the spotlight.
Right now, Landon was the only person in the world with Kaitō Kid's signature—right there on the notice letter.
Rarity makes value.
And with Kaitō Kid's fame at an all-time high, there were already people offering huge amounts of money to buy Landon's notice letter, and it wasn't just one or two people making offers.
[Oh my god! How much could Landon sell the notice letter for? Does anyone know the inside scoop?]
[I heard someone on the dark web offered one hundred million dollars. Not sure if it's real though!]
[What the hell? A signed notice letter selling for one hundred million dollars?]
[Come on, right now, only Landon has Kaitō Kid's signature on his notice letter. It's definitely going to skyrocket in value!]
[The world's got no shortage of rich people. Don't be surprised. When your dad buys you a GTR, you stop thinking a pair of thousand-dollar shoes are expensive!]
The online discussions were going wild, and Zhang Yang woke up to a storm of news hitting his face.
News outlets all over the world were scrambling to report on anything related to Kaitō Kid.
After glancing through a few stories, Zhang Yang quickly grew bored.
The only interesting thing was Landon's public response to the notice letter with the signature.
Regarding the heavy offers, Landon had politely refused.
He didn't need the money, and the value of the three original volumes of the Yongle Encyclopedia far surpassed what any buyer was offering.
[So Landon's actually Kaitō Kid's number one fan. No one could possibly be more obsessed than him!]
[Landon casually tossed aside the three original volumes of the Yongle Encyclopedia without blinking, but he won't part with the signed notice letter! Money just can't buy the things in his hands!]
[Oh my god! Landon will definitely keep this signed notice letter as a collection!]
[If Kaitō Kid starts signing other notice letters, Landon's will definitely lose its value!]
The discussions online were intense, but Zhang Yang knew he had fans all over the world.
However, he hadn't expected someone like Landon to go so far.
"The three original volumes of the Yongle Encyclopedia are worth billions of dollars, and yet he really surprises me with his dedication!"
If it weren't for Landon, Zhang Yang wouldn't have realized just how valuable his own signature had become!
[Ding!]
[New challenge received: Steal the Sword of King Goujian from the Eagle Nation's escort ship!]
[Mission reward: 100,000 points!]
Zhang Yang paused for a moment, wondering if he had misheard.
"Escort ship?"
After confirming, he realized it was indeed an escort ship.
He immediately put on his monocle, preparing to investigate further.
Escort ships were military-grade vessels. How could they possibly be transporting the Sword of King Goujian?
After some questioning with the Know-It-All Assistant and spending several thousand points, Zhang Yang confirmed his information was correct.
The Sword of King Goujian was being escorted to England as part of a highly classified mission by Eagle Nation.
The escort ship would follow the cargo ship to England, and the departure was scheduled for tomorrow at noon. That gave Zhang Yang only one day to prepare.
"Escort ship, just boarding the ship is going to be a problem!"
This wasn't a cruise ship. It was a military vessel full of Eagle Nation's armed forces.
If Zhang Yang were caught on board, exposing his identity, he could be shot to pieces at any moment.
After a long period of deep thought, Zhang Yang had the Know-It-All Assistant retrieve the list of personnel on the escort ship.
[Ding!]
[This task requires Super Hacker skill at max level. The cost to temporarily unlock this skill is 20,000 points!]
Zhang Yang's lips twitched. The mission only rewarded 100,000 points, but now he needed to invest 30,000 just to proceed.
He gritted his teeth and spent the points.
Soon enough, Zhang Yang received the full list of personnel on the escort ship, along with detailed groupings.
By sheer coincidence, the agent overseeing the escort mission was none other than Bruce, the very same agent who had appeared at Landon's villa the night before.