No one expected Kaitou Kid to appear right before them.
"Kaitou Kid?!" The two girls who had seen him before instinctively called out his name as the thief stepped from the shadows.
The treasure hunters, however, were startled. They had spent so much time getting here, only to find someone had beaten them to it? "Whoever you are, you're dead!"
"Oh? I actually thought we could cooperate," Kid chuckled. "But since you brought me the key, I'll spare your lives."
Before anyone could react, Kid already had a strange-looking gun in his hand. With two quick shots, he dropped two treasure hunters unconscious. He shook his head. "Unprofessional."
He snatched the hunters' bags and turned to the two girls. "Would you ladies like to go treasure hunting?"
The three who had once met on the school rooftop reunited again in this dark tunnel. Only now Liu A'dou was in disguise, so the other two didn't recognize him. Sonoko and Ran were nervous, but with no way back, they followed.
Kid handed them each a flashlight and kept a torch for himself, leading from the front. Seeing that Kid didn't use them as "trap testers," the girls both breathed in relief. Compared to the treasure hunters, Kid seemed much more like a good guy.
"Treasure hunting is all about caution," he said.
Click.
Even as he spoke, Kid's foot triggered a mechanism. Sonoko and Ran froze, holding their breath, as shadows shot from the walls like lightning—arrows flying straight at him.
In that split second, Kid moved with inhuman reflexes, dancing through the storm of arrows. His poses were bizarre, powerful, almost like a bodybuilder showing off—basically a shameless JOJO imitation. I have poses, I'm proud.
The arrows tore through the gaps he left behind. "That's why I said—be cautious," Kid remarked.
Sonoko and Ran nodded rapidly. If they had gone first, they wouldn't have stood a chance.
"You two wait here. I'll check ahead. When I call, then follow." The path ahead was where gas often gathered. If his torch met it, there'd be an explosion.
Kid couldn't let Sonoko and Ran take that risk, so he went alone.
The tunnel was littered with bones and corpses. Their clothes were black, their mouths frozen open. They had either burned or suffocated. An explosion in a sealed space could consume all the oxygen at once, leaving nothing to breathe.
These had been treasure hunters too, chasing legends. But unlucky, they met gas pockets. Liu A'dou shook his head. You people go underground without oxygen tanks, without flashlights, only carrying torches? Were you trying to die faster?
The men who kidnapped Sonoko and Ran had been just as reckless—torches only, not even a flashlight.
"It's safe now. Come on," Kid called back. Then kindly added, "But brace yourselves. It's not pretty."
Even with the warning, Sonoko and Ran couldn't stop their screams. Their cries echoed through the narrow passage, wailing like ghosts, making the air even more chilling.
Ran, daughter of a detective, had seen her share of corpses. Why did she still scream every time? Sonoko was no different. She'd seen bodies before too, yet never got used to it.
"Alright. Just bones. Calm down," Kid said.
The two girls clung to each other until they finally quieted down. Kid continued, "These tunnels are tricky. Undersea gas seeps in. If the wind shifts, gas gathers here. With open flames, it explodes. These poor guys died in just such blasts."
Just when Sonoko and Ran thought Kid was a good guy—risking himself to protect them—he added, "But honestly, they were unprofessional. Unless it's an emergency, you never bring open fire underground. You bring geese instead. They didn't even check the geology here. They dug their own graves."
"Does a phantom thief really need to know all that?" Sonoko asked, summoning her courage.
"Of course. A phantom thief has to know a bit of everything—even tomb raiding. When it comes to sneaking into underground tunnels, I'm actually very professional," Kid said with a touch of pride. "Come on, up ahead should be the treasure chamber's door."
Before them stood a thick stone gate. On its surface, four weapons—blades and pistols—formed an 'X'-shaped groove. It was the emblem of Anne Bonny and Mary Read's pirate flag.
Such a door could only mean one thing: they had arrived.
Sonoko gasped in disbelief. There really was a treasure chamber! Her eyes sparkled with curiosity. Would it be priceless gold? Or dazzling, beautiful jewels?
Kid no longer frightened the two girls. Now they were beginning to enjoy the thrill of treasure hunting. What would those two legendary female pirates, feared three centuries ago, leave behind for the future?
"Ah, there's another corpse over there." Ran's flashlight swept across a corner, where a skeleton slumped against the wall, long dead.
"Looks like he struggled all the way to the gate, but without the method to open it, he died here," Kid said, shaking his head in disdain. "Why not just turn back? So stubborn, waiting here for death. But I get it. Do you two know how Indians catch monkeys?"
The girls blinked. They had no idea what he meant.
"Let me explain. They make a box and put food inside—something monkeys love. Then they cut a hole just big enough for the monkey to reach in with an open hand. The monkey grabs the food, but with its fist clenched, it can't pull its hand out. Too greedy to let go, it ends up caught by the hunters."
The lesson was clear.
"I get it," Sonoko said. "This guy was too greedy. He wouldn't leave, so he died here."
"You're smart."
Pleased with the praise, Sonoko stopped feeling afraid. She now believed Kid was actually a good person, someone who would protect her.
Ran, staring at the heavy stone gate, couldn't figure out how to open it. "So how do we get inside?"
"There's a way. The items the treasure hunters stole from the exhibition hall yesterday are the key." Kid patted the bag he'd taken from them.
So that was it. Sonoko was already impatient. "Then what are we waiting for?"
Kid was used to her excitable personality—jumping around, exaggerating, and except for the occasional ladylike pose, nothing but a wild tomboy.
"No rush, no rush. Let's rest for a moment," Kid said, quoting Ikkyū the little monk. But he knew resting here was unrealistic. He opened the bundle to take out the key.
But… nothing. No blade, no pistol. Just two nearly identical steel bars. The key wasn't there.
Kid instantly knew who had swapped it out without the hunters noticing. "Lupin the Third!!"
Only he could pull off a switch like that.
Kid thought grimly, This act won't hold up anymore. All because of those unprofessional treasure hunters. Being unprofessional gets people killed.