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Chapter 8: The Operation Begins!

"An advance notice... the Phantom Thief Kaitou Kid," Amiya murmured, her lips curling into a sly smile as she gazed at the Ocean's Heart necklace before her. "I think tomorrow will be quite the spectacle, don’t you agree, Mill?"

"Of course, Your Highness. However... given the tight schedule, I’m still a bit worried someone might notice the replica..."

Amiya carefully pocketed the Ocean's Heart and pondered for a moment. "Then let’s do this—tonight, arrange for someone to slightly blur the glass of the exhibition case. With a faint layer of distortion, unless someone is intimately familiar with the Ocean's Heart, they won’t be able to tell the difference."

Mill considered the idea and nodded in agreement. "Understood, Your Highness. But I have another question. You’ve already stationed guards to watch over the Ocean's Heart, and with the assistance of the Chinese pursuit team, why take this extra precaution?"

"When traveling abroad, it’s always wise to have an additional safety net. Better to have it and not need it than the other way around," Amiya replied with a knowing smile.

Mill nodded, offering no further objections.

"Now, Mill, stop standing there. Come, help me put on the Ocean's Heart. Tomorrow, I’ll personally witness the legendary Phantom Thief Kaitou Kid in action."

"At once, Your Highness."

"Tell me, Mill, if that Phantom Thief Kaitou Kid truly manages to evade everyone’s eyes and steal the Ocean's Heart, only to realize it’s a fake... what kind of expression do you think he’ll make?"

"I imagine his face would be absolutely priceless!"

"My thoughts exactly..."

...

In front of his computer screen, Chen Feng removed his headphones, having obtained the information he needed.

Glancing at the time, he noted how late it had gotten. He had no interest in invading a lady’s privacy—such behavior was far from gentlemanly.

Closing his laptop, Chen Feng lay back on his bed, meticulously reviewing the details of tomorrow’s operation. A faint smirk tugged at his lips.

"Miss Amiya, you truly are an intriguing woman."

...

Time flowed steadily, and before long, it was 9 PM the following evening.

With just one hour left until the time specified in Kaitou Kid’s notice, crowds of "Thief Game" viewers had flocked to the exhibition site, some even traveling from other cities just to see if Chen Feng could deliver on his promise.

The show’s producers had thoughtfully streamed Chen Feng’s live feed directly into the exhibition hall, causing the viewership to skyrocket. In no time, the live audience surpassed 300,000.

The host, Xixi, had also been dispatched to the venue.

"Hello, everyone in the livestream! This is the live broadcast of 'Thief Game: China Region 3,' and I’m your host, Xixi."

"Like many of you watching, I’m eagerly awaiting Chen Feng’s arrival."

"His astonishing magic tricks have left us in awe before. What surprises does he have in store for us this time? With only an hour left until 10 PM, let’s all stay tuned!"

As Xixi spoke, the barrage of comments in the livestream never ceased.

"It’s already 9 PM! Why hasn’t Chen Feng shown up yet? Is he chickening out?"

"Who asked you? There’s still an hour left—are you in a hurry to catch your spouse cheating or something? Or do you think you won’t survive the next hour? Chill out!"

"Exactly! If Feng said he’d come at 10, he’ll be here at 10. Mind your own business."

"Who the hell are you calling out, you bastard?"

"Whoever responds first!"

"Screw you! You dare drop your address? I’ll come find you right now!"

"Bring it on! I live at City, County, Neighborhood! Come at me if you’ve got the guts!"

"You little punk, just you wait!"

...

Meanwhile, Chen Feng, disguised as a young man, quietly entered the exhibition hall, surveying his surroundings.

Unsurprisingly, the number of "special guests" had increased significantly compared to the previous day.

The Ocean's Heart display was under heavy guard—four burly men from Lorqing Country stood watch with steel batons, barring anyone from approaching.

Chen Feng remained inconspicuous, scanning the area for his target.

Before long, his gaze settled on two Lorqing Country repairmen in work uniforms stationed near the west side.

"Man, what rotten luck! Why did we have to pull duty tonight? All because of that damn Chinese thief—he just had to strike during our shift! Now I can’t even slack off properly!"

One of them, Lyle, grumbled in frustration.

"Shh! Keep it down, Lyle! What if someone hears you?" his companion, Caris, warned in a hushed tone.

Lyle waved him off. "Relax, Caris. We’re speaking Lorqingese—they can’t understand us."

"Still, better safe than sorry," Caris insisted.

Lyle gave up arguing and glanced around before nudging Caris with his elbow.

"Hey, since it’s still early, how about we sneak off to the restroom for a smoke?"

"Now?" Caris hesitated. "If we’re caught abandoning our post, we’re dead!"

"Come on!" Lyle pressed. "Those lazy slugs in the surveillance room are probably playing cards anyway. They won’t even notice!"

Tempted, Caris wavered but ultimately shook his head. "Nah, you go ahead. I’ll stay."

Lyle sighed. "Fine. But don’t rat me out, alright?"

"Do I look like a snitch to you?"

"Good. See you in a bit."

With that, Lyle set down his toolbox and, ensuring no one was watching, hurried toward the restroom.

"That Caris... no wonder he hasn’t gotten promoted in three years—too damn timid."

Once inside a stall, Lyle muttered under his breath before eagerly pulling out a cigarette.

Four hours without a smoke was unbearable for a seasoned smoker like him!

"Never tried Chinese cigarettes before," he mused, his craving intensifying as he held the cigarette between his fingers.

But reality struck hard the next second.

"Dammit! No lighter!" Lyle cursed under his breath, reluctantly stepping out of the stall—only to nearly collide with a young man in a checkered shirt and sunglasses.

Spotting a potential savior, Lyle’s hope reignited. He fumbled through his limited Mandarin, gesturing animatedly.

"Friend... I... you... help..."

His comical pantomime seemed to work.

The young man reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter. "You need this?"