Chapter 509: The First to Strike

The audience held their breath once more. They were confused by what she was doing.

Ying Yuezi’s eyes were sharp and focused, locked dead ahead.

Her pace slowed.

Step by silent step, she crept forward.

Up ahead, a man in athletic wear and a baseball cap was moving just as slowly, scanning the area around him.

He looked like he was searching for something.

Every time he passed a pile of trash, he instinctively kicked at it, as if expecting something—or someone—to be hiding behind it.

A closer look revealed his features. He was a man from the Dragon Nation. And if someone like him was on this island, there could only be one explanation.

A Program Inspector.

That was Ying Yuezi’s target.

“What is she trying to do?!”

“Isn’t it obvious? Our goddess is about to become the first fugitive to go on the offensive against an Inspector!”

“This is wild! None of the male fugitives have dared to try, and now a woman is the first one to step up and crack the shell!”

“I’m so nervous right now. I mean, she’s still a girl. What if she loses?”

“Don’t forget, our goddess was once a captain! Her resume’s shining highlight was hand-to-hand combat!”

“Goddess, get him!”

The livestream exploded with cheers.

She crept closer with each step.

The program inspector ahead still hadn’t noticed a thing. Not even a flicker of awareness that someone was behind him.

But even the dullest person has eyes.

Just as he kicked aside a pile of trash and started to glance to the side, he caught a flicker of movement. A shadow dashed across the ground.

Instinctively, he started to turn only to be met by a sudden gust of wind slamming straight into his face.

Bang!

A dull thud rang out.

A stocky man, easily six feet tall, collapsed flat on his back.

“Argh! Who—who are you?!”

The back of his head struck the ground with a sickening crack. His vision spun, everything going black. But even in that state, he managed to cry out reflexively.

“Cough—!”

The moment he shouted, a sharp pain jolted through his chest.

Ying Yuezi’s knee was planted firmly on his sternum. Her hands locked his wrists in place. Her leg pinned his own between the thighs, immobilizing him.

It was a clean, brutal, efficient takedown. She completely subdued a burly man in less than two seconds.

The livestream erupted with celebration.

“So fierce! So cool!”

Even the Inspector on the ground realized the danger.

His voice trembled.

“H-hey, hey now… If you want me eliminated, I’ll call it a suicide right now, okay? No need to go full force!”

Panic set in.

What he feared most was that these fugitives would get too deep into their roles and forget the boundaries.

The chat went wild with laughter.

“The Inspector is scared!”

“Afraid that the goddess will shatter his lifeline with a single blow!”

A wall of “Hahaha” comments stormed the screen.

“I’m not going to eliminate you,” Ying Yuezi said. Her voice was cool, crystalline, and commanding.

The Inspector froze. “A female fugitive? 089?”

He immediately blurted out a number. Her number. It was Ying Yuezi’s official fugitive designation.

“Smart,” she said simply.

Then withdrew her leg from his chest.

The Inspector’s vision had cleared by now.

When he finally saw Ying Yuezi’s face, his expression turned to shock and dread.

Of all the luck, he’d actually spoken to her up close in the last season, back when she too was part of the Program Inspection Team. Not that she’d remember.

“Captain Ying… I mean, Fugitive 089, what are you planning?”

He scrambled to his feet, taking a nervous step back.

Ying Yuezi stared at him coldly.

“Don’t think about running,” she said, lips barely parting. “If I can take you down once, I can do it again.”

Her words were like ice, slamming despair straight into his chest.

He didn’t want to be eliminated, not like this. The game had only just begun. That was why he’d volunteered to patrol this garbage collection point. Most of the fugitives were elite professionals. None of them would want to hide somewhere this filthy. He’d chosen it hoping to avoid conflict.

After all, some of the fugitives were stunt coordinators, black belts, Muay Thai champions…

“What do you want?”

His voice was hoarse.

Ying Yuezi pulled a folded slip of paper from her bag.

“Deliver this to Captain Zhao. He’ll know what to do.” She handed it over casually. “And just so you know, while I hit you just now, I slipped poison into your mouth. You’ll die if you don’t get the antidote within twenty-four hours. Of course, you could go see a doctor. But from diagnosis to prescription, you won’t make it in time.”

She waved the slip of paper toward him.

Stunned, the Inspector clutched at his throat. Sure enough, his mouth was dry.

He swallowed.

There was something there. Something foreign sliding down his throat. But of course, it wasn’t real poison.

“You… You—!”

“If you don’t want to die and be eliminated, then move,” Ying Yuezi said, her voice calm and final. “The address is in the note. Zhao Youcheng will tell you what to do next.”