Chapter 527: Analysis of Each Team’s Current Status

“Could it be that some places aren’t as simple as they look?” Zhao Youcheng murmured to himself.

Wu Yaoming, who had been sitting beside him, looked up immediately.

“What did you say, Elder Zhao?”

Zhao Youcheng paused for a moment, then stood up decisively.

“Mingyu, your waist is still injured, so stay here and monitor the surveillance feed. If anything unexpected happens, alert us immediately. Yaoming, you’re coming with me,” he said and nodded at the two men.

“Where are you going?” Wu Mingyu asked.

“To take a proper walk around the city. It’s time for some immersive tourism.”

Last season, Wu Mingyu had injured his lower back. Even though a month had passed, the injury hadn’t fully healed.

This time, he had come to film the show while still recovering, and both Zhao Youcheng and Wu Yaoming had been taking special care of him.

Viewers in the Dragon Nation’s livestream chat were visibly relieved to see that Zhao Youcheng had finally caught on. Most of the Dragon Nation’s audience were retired soldiers or individuals who had once worked under Zhao Youcheng, or belonged to related professions.

So now that their former commander finally decided to get off his chair and investigate firsthand, they were thrilled.

He should’ve stepped outside long ago. Sitting in a room staring at monitors all day gets you nowhere.

One reason the show’s difficulty had skyrocketed this season was tied to Lidao’s complex layout and history.

Lidao had once gone through a territorial split. Back then, it had been anything but peaceful. Plus, the island was right next to a “no-man’s-land” zone—petty thieves and small-time troublemakers often drifted over to stir up chaos.

Over time, merchants in the area grew anxious.

As a result, many of the storefronts along the street operated under fake signage like “hanging sheep heads to sell dog meat.”

Only by stepping inside and passing through a hidden door could one access the real operation within.

And clearly, the program inspectors hadn’t realized any of this.

But many of the fugitives had.

As Zhao Youcheng was arriving at this conclusion, another team was making a similar discovery.

Zhilihui’s team had also started checking behind shopfronts.

Their team consisted entirely of ordinary citizens. Unlike the official teams, they had no professional strategists, no tactical planning. All they could do was take the slow and stupid route—check everything, one by one.

But it worked.

Zhilihui’s team had so far covered more ground than any of the other thirteen teams. They were the fastest to scout the entire island.

Not only that, they had divided the territory into specific zones. Garbage stations, unfinished buildings, ATM kiosks—anyplace someone could hide.

They memorized every potential hideout.

And they assigned thirty people to the job—each responsible for checking 10 to 15 locations per day, running constant patrols.

They knew they might not find fugitives during a given time slot, but that didn’t mean the next round wouldn’t pay off.

Despite using the most exhausting and clumsy methods, Zhilihui’s team had climbed to 4th place on the leaderboard.

They also held the record for the most C- and D-rank fugitives eliminated.

Where there are dark horses, there are also fallen champions.

The royal family team had once been the crowd favorite. After all, they had the most advanced tech and a wealth of elite talent.

But now, their score had plummeted to seventh place.

An obscure, no-name team no one had expected topped them on the leaderboard.

This left Eve, Stanley, and Miller in a state of visible panic.

Their livestream channel had the fewest viewers of all. The atmosphere was just too heavy. Eve was either yelling at someone or getting ready to. Stanley and Miller, despite being out in the field with their team, were clearly running out of both patience and confidence.

They looked perpetually irritated on camera, their nerves frayed to the edge.

Their emotional state quickly spread to the rest of their group. Over a hundred people, and yet in five full hours, not a single fugitive had been caught.

It was a textbook example of how emotional instability can sabotage action.

***

In stark contrast was the ever-entertaining Hahabaya Tribe.

Hailing from a tribal nation, the Hahabaya were quickly becoming fan favorites. Every time their chieftain showed up on screen, the livestream chat would go wild with energy. And once again, the chief had appeared, this time in a quiet alley where hardly anyone was around.

“Only three fugitives discovered in an entire morning? You disgrace the gods with this performance!”

Suo Xijieli appeared out of nowhere like a ghost as usual, emerging right at the alley entrance.

By now, he’d completely adapted to local customs—no more leafy camouflage outfits.

That outfit had cost them dearly on day one. The moment they stepped out in full tribal gear, they’d tipped off all the fugitives. The “snakes” scattered before they could get close. They didn’t even get the chance to sneak up on anyone.

The whole blunder had even trended on social media. In the face of cold hard interests, things like faith and appearance didn’t mean a thing.

The funniest part was that the chieftain actually filed a budget request with the showrunners to make up for it.

Their tribe had burned through all their funds just getting to the filming location; the cost of transporting so many people was no joke.

They had no money left to buy civilian clothes.

Fortunately, the production team stepped in generously and agreed to cover all costs of food and clothing during the show.

They even promised to reimburse their travel expenses for the trip home.

And of course, there was still money to be made—points could be exchanged for cash.

So naturally, every single member of the tribe had been going all-out for the past three days, working harder than anyone.