The Riddle Letter Controversy

Chapter 6: The Storm of the Heist Notice

Evening.

A gentle, warm breeze drifted through the air.

While reporters were still working overtime to cover the news of Amiya, the princess of Lorqing Country, receiving a provocative letter from the phantom thief Kaito Kid upon her arrival, an even more explosive piece of news broke out!

As Chen Feng’s magic performance video gained traction online, over 70,000 people waited in his livestream—even though the stream itself showed nothing but the rooftop bar of the hotel.

But just moments ago, the screen flickered, and the rooftop scene was replaced by a slip of paper with written words.

It was Chen Feng’s heist notice!

The livestream erupted instantly.

“Holy crap! What am I seeing? Is my god Chen Feng really going to steal the ‘Ocean’s Heart’ from the Lorqing Country exhibition?”

“Kaito Kid? Is that the name my husband uses when he steals? No wonder I love him—even his alias sounds amazing!”

“Hey, you up there, stop being thirsty! That’s my husband!”

“Stop arguing, ladies. Because of your comments, he’s been kneeling by my bed explaining himself for the past half hour.”

“Which one of you sisters has strong pee? Hurry up and wake the delusional one above!”

The heist notice sent Chen Feng’s livestream popularity skyrocketing, with the viewer count quickly surpassing 150,000!

Even audiences from other zones of Thief Game flocked to witness the audacious, taunting notice firsthand.

“This is outrageous! He’s completely mocking us, the Pursuit Team!”

In the meeting room of the Pursuit Bureau, Lin Chuanxiong, the leader of Team 2 in China’s Zone 3, slammed his palm on the table with such force that the teacups briefly lifted off the surface.

“Captain Lin, calm down. Chen Feng isn’t an actual criminal. By giving us advance notice, he might just be trying to avoid misunderstandings with the public.”

A young man with gold-rimmed glasses spoke up—refined and scholarly.

His name was Sun Luo, leader of Pursuit Team 3 and the only non-police officer among the three captains. Rumor had it he had once placed third in an international detective competition.

“I agree with Captain Sun.” A cool, composed voice chimed in—belonging to a tall, striking woman.

“This involves another country, after all. Giving us a heads-up prevents unnecessary diplomatic complications. Besides, this situation isn’t entirely bad for us. We can openly set up countermeasures in advance and catch Chen Feng red-handed during his heist.”

Li Qingyan smiled faintly, seemingly unbothered.

To be fair, she had reason to be confident. Just one day into the show, she had personally led a team to capture three participants in West City. As for the remaining seven, in her eyes, their arrests were only a matter of time.

“Hah…”

Lin Chuanxiong exhaled deeply, staring at the photocopied notice on the table with stubborn determination.

“Fine. I’ll wait until he makes his move. But this time, I won’t let him slip away again!”

…

[Ding. Mission 2: Increase livestream viewership to 100,000—completed. Current viewership: 150,000+. Reward: Skill Upgrade Card ×1.]

[Mission 3: Increase livestream viewership to 1,000,000. Reward: Skill Upgrade Card ×2.]

[Ding. Detected host’s first heist notice. Kaito Kid card fusion rate +10%. Reward: System Points +1,000, Kaito Kid Glider ×1, Appraisal Skill (Beginner)! Current fusion rate: 30%.]

On a park bench near the exhibition hall, Chen Feng—holding a newspaper—raised an eyebrow at the system notifications.

The glider—one of Kaito Kid’s most iconic tools!

He was quite satisfied with this reward.

Worth every bit of the 1,000 system points he’d spent on beginner-level hacking skills to spread the heist notice across the city.

As for the Skill Upgrade Card…

After a brief consideration, Chen Feng decided to prioritize upgrading his Disguise skill.

Appearance was always the first clue in identifying someone—and the most fundamental skill for a phantom thief who needed to vanish without a trace.

[Ding. Skill Upgrade Card successfully used. Disguise skill upgraded. Current proficiency: Intermediate.]

Next, he spent 200 points in the system shop on a miniature surveillance drone.

With everything set, Chen Feng checked his watch.

Time to get to work.

…

Evening.

Downtown City H, the exhibition building rented by Lorqing Country.

As the clock struck six, the doors opened promptly.

The turnout was unexpectedly large—some genuinely eager to see the world’s largest blue sapphire, others drawn by the buzz around the heist notice.

Who could say which reason was more compelling?

As the doors opened, visitors lined up to buy tickets and enter.

No one noticed the young man in a black cap and plaid shirt blending into the crowd.

Unlike the others, however, he didn’t rush toward the main attraction—the Ocean’s Heart.

Instead, he quietly observed the surroundings.

The young man was, of course, Chen Feng in disguise.

While Kaito Kid only struck at the time specified in the notice, who said he couldn’t scout the location beforehand?

“The man in the east corner is fidgeting like crazy—not looking at exhibits or listening to guides. Either an official or a thief.”

“The couple in the northwest whispering nonstop, eyes darting around, slight bulge at the lower back—they’re armed.”

“The janitor in the south, the repairman at the counter, the mom in the southeast—all suspicious…”

Chen Feng mentally noted everything, a faint smirk forming.

“Princess Amiya, you’ve prepared quite thoroughly, haven’t you?”

Just then, commotion erupted in the hall as a voice called out:

“Look! Princess Amiya is here!”

The crowd’s attention instantly shifted.

“She actually came in person! The princess is stunning! I’d give up ten years of my life to marry her!”

“Ten? I’d give twenty!”

“Thirty!”

“A hundred!”

“Damn, bro, that’s dedication.”

…

The noise didn’t faze Amiya.

Or perhaps she was simply used to such scenes—unmoved as ever.

With only a polite yet distant smile on her face, she made her way to the small elevated platform at the center of the exhibition hall, escorted by a group of bodyguards from Lorqing Country.