Two days later, Karthos made international headlines, reporting on the recent plane crash and the theft of a national treasure.
The plane crash caused few casualties, so it didn’t generate significant international buzz.
However, the stolen national treasure captured the world’s attention.
The treasure in question was allegedly the Ten Thousand Years Pearl, a priceless artifact housed in The Royal Museum.
It was the only one of its kind in the entire world.
Priceless and beyond valuation.
This was why they had been forced to shut down all outbound travel—to apprehend the thief.
Watching Prince Kenny’s international address on television, Aurora Sinclair put on her mask, her expression unreadable.
’The Ten Thousand Years Pearl is fragile, which makes it difficult to move.’
’Even if it were truly stolen, it’s most likely stashed in so corner of The Royal Museum, waiting for the heat to die down before being moved.’
’So, for the ti being, the Ten Thousand Years Pearl wouldn’t have left The Royal Museum.’
"Morgan, let’s go."
Two black-clad figures leaped from their hotel window, swiftly bypassing layers of security as they headed straight for The Royal Museum.
Due to the theft of the national treasure, security forces outside The Royal Museum had been heavily reinforced.
The security seed impenetrable.
But once the pair slipped inside the museum, they found no security personnel at all.
"Ditto Miles, scan the surveillance."
"Understood, Master."
With Ditto Miles guiding them, the pair reached the location of the stolen Ten Thousand Years Pearl—the museum’s vault—almost completely unimpeded.
Alvin Morgan hacked directly into their security system.
"This system has a self-protecting reboot function. Aurora, you only have ten minutes."
"That’s enough..."
The mont the vault opened, Aurora Sinclair darted inside.
The display case for the Ten Thousand Years Pearl stood right in the center.
"Ditto Miles, scan the area around the display case for hidden compartnts."
"Understood, Master."
Soon, it located a well-hidden compartnt near the display case.
She opened it and found the very box that was supposed to contain the Ten Thousand Years Pearl.
But when she opened the box, she found that the Ten Thousand Years Pearl inside was a fake.
Aurora Sinclair glanced at the other treasures on display nearby. They were all forgeries.
***
"The treasures in this vault are all fakes? Maybe we overlooked sothing..."
After a mont of contemplation, Alvin Morgan carefully observed his surroundings.
’The vault is the most unassuming room in The Royal Museum, and the security system outside is top-tier.’
’Could this be a diversion as well?’
"Morgan, this wall is hollow."
Alvin Morgan turned to see Aurora Sinclair standing about six feet away, knocking on the wall.
Then, she pressed her palm firmly against the wall and swiped it to the side. The sudden sound of grinding gears echoed in the room.
The entire wall began to slide toward him, slowly revealing an identical-looking door on Aurora’s side.
This entrance was also fitted with a security system.
"This is the real vault."
The two of them then proceeded to remove all of the priceless artifacts from the true vault, including the Ten Thousand Years Pearl.
They didn’t take the artifacts out of the museum. Instead, they scattered and hid them throughout the building, ensuring they wouldn’t be easily discovered.
Only the Ten Thousand Years Pearl was taken by Aurora Sinclair, who had other plans for it.
「The next day.」
A deafening, top-level alarm blared through The Royal Museum.
Prince Kenny roared, his eyes practically bursting from their sockets, "Lock down The Oasis imdiately! Find them!"
That evening, news of the robbery at the Karthos Royal Museum once again swept international headlines.
This ti, over a dozen items were stolen, shocking the world.
The King of Karthos was enraged, ordering a search of the entire Oasis, including every embassy.
But despite nurous searches, none of the stolen treasures were found. There was no news of them on the dark web or in any other gray markets.
The atmosphere inside The Royal Council Chamber was heavy with tension.
The King of Karthos stared down grimly at the ministers of his council.
The Head of the Royal Guard respectfully reported on the search.
"Your Majesty, we have searched nearly every part of The Oasis. The treasures have not been found."
Not a single royal official or minister dared to breathe too loudly, terrified of displeasing the King.
With their heads slightly bowed, they secretly watched the King’s expression. Seeing his lips pressed into a thin line, none of them dared to make a sound.
The entire chamber fell silent for several minutes before the elderly King on his dais asked in a deep voice, "Has The Royal Palace been searched?"
The Head of the Imperial Guard’s expression faltered. He imdiately dropped to his knees and replied, "N-No..."
"Go. Search every corner of The Royal Palace! *Cough, cough*..."
"Yes!"
The faces of the royal officials and ministers in the room changed instantly, a vague sense of foreboding creeping into their hearts.
’If the treasures aren’t out there, then they can only be in The Royal Palace... or in one of our own mansions.’
And just as they feared, a search of Prince Kenny’s residence turned up the Ten Thousand Years Pearl. It was found inside Xavier Marsh’s suitcase.
"This has nothing to do with ," Xavier Marsh said, his face stern as he addressed the Royal Guard. "I don’t know why it’s in my luggage."
’He was extrely nervous. His power was at the Basic Great Martial King level. For soone to plant sothing in his suitcase without him noticing, their power had to be at least at the Martial Lord realm. Killing him would be child’s play for such a person.’
’He didn’t usually make enemies. Who would fra him?’
Xavier Marsh racked his brain but couldn’t make sense of it. Then, a delicate face flashed in his mind, and he froze in shock.
’Could it be... Aurora Sinclair?’
His face turned deathly pale, and his body swayed uncontrollably. A profound fear seized him.
’If it really was Aurora Sinclair, then his days were numbered.’
The Royal Guard didn’t know Xavier Marsh’s true identity, especially since he had co to Karthos in secret. Not even the King was aware of his presence.
Xavier Marsh was imdiately surrounded.
Kenny’s confidant hurried forward to negotiate, but The Royal Guard showed no leniency. Instead, they went to seek the King’s instructions.
Back in the council chamber, the King was furious and demanded that Kenny explain himself.
Kenny was in a bind. He had not reported Xavier Marsh’s arrival to the King.
On top of that, the incident with his son had already brought great sha upon Karthos in the eyes of the international community.
The King was already extrely displeased with him. If he didn’t handle this properly, he would certainly be marginalized by the King, and perhaps even charged with a cri.
Kenny imdiately rose, dropped to one knee, and replied anxiously, "Your Majesty, Referee Marshall couldn’t have done it! He has been at his residence this whole ti and hasn’t gone out. This is clearly a fra job by the real thief!"
The King’s expression was grim. He stared at the prince for a long mont before asking calmly, "Why is he here?"
Kenny kept his head down, struggling to hide the panic in his eyes. "I invited him here to privately discuss the matter of compensation. Because of what Locke did, Royalty was shad, and I wished to alleviate Your Majesty’s burden..."
"And did you co to a solution?"
"We... We haven’t had the chance to discuss it yet..."
"Hmph..." The King gripped his scepter and slamd it onto the floor, causing everyone in the room to hold their breath.
Beads of sweat covered Kenny’s forehead.
Just then, the Head of the Imperial Guard entered again, his expression grim. "Your Majesty, envoys from several nations are here. They are requesting that their citizens be allowed to depart the country..."
"Absolutely not!" Kenny exclaid, leaping to his feet. "Your Majesty, this is too much of a coincidence..."
"Prince," the Head of the Imperial Guard said with great hesitation, "they know that the national treasure was found in Referee Marshall’s possession..."
"What...? N-No... Impossible..." Kenny’s eyes flew wide open, and he stumbled back a couple of steps in disbelief.
"Soone sent a video of our search of The Royal Palace to the various embassies..."
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