Chapter 483: Where Are You! Officially Begins!

There were only five hours left before the escape program went live.

Wang Yun woke naturally.

Lifting his blindfold, he drew open the curtains.

Outside the window stretched a vast sea of clouds—blindingly white, like he was floating high above the world. Looking down, there was nothing but mist.

On international flights, phones could access the internet.

As soon as he unlocked his, a message from Director Zhou came through.

“Everything is ready. The moment you step off the plane, escape mode will begin. But you’re different. We’ll be waiting in the VIP lounge at the airport. A staff member will escort you in.”

The message had been sent at 4 a.m.

There were still two and a half hours until landing.

Wang Yun replied with a simple “OK” emoji, then closed his eyes again, conserving his energy.

But you’re different.

Those words stuck in his mind.

It was clear the rules for this escape would be different—for him, at least. As for everyone else, things would likely proceed the same as in the previous season.

Soon, the plane landed.

Wang Yun and his two companions prepared to disembark.

***

At the same time, back in Dragon Country—

Today was a day of overwhelming excitement.

It wasn’t a national holiday. It wasn’t the Olympics or any major sports event. Today marked the official launch of Skynet Operation Season 2: Where Are You?

“Welcome, everyone! Get ready to tune in and watch the second season of Skynet: Where Are You!”

No matter what platform you opened—social media, video apps, news aggregators—this line was plastered across the homepage.

Fans of the show clicked in eagerly.

On-screen, the host stood on a luxurious and jaw-droppingly grand stage.

Behind him was a massive crowd.

As the camera panned across, it revealed groups of people in dramatically different uniforms—at least a dozen distinct factions by the looks of it. And behind each faction stood more people dressed exactly like them.

It was immediately obvious: these were program inspectors from various countries.

Standing at the head of each team was their captain.

Several familiar faces could be spotted among them.

The host was none other than Teacher He—one of China’s top broadcasters—whose appearance was no surprise to long-time viewers.

For a show of this scale, even bringing in the world’s most elite hosts would be completely justified.

“I know everyone’s been eagerly waiting for Season Two,” he said. “Just like you, I’ve been checking social media all month long, hoping to find some leaks or sneak peeks. But in this age of internet transparency, I couldn’t find anything. Not a single spoiler. To be perfectly honest, it wasn’t until 9 p.m. two nights ago that I got the call from the director asking me to host. And let me tell you, the excitement I felt then… is exactly what you’re feeling now.”

Teacher He stood on stage in a thick down jacket, microphone in hand. Though his cheeks and nose were red from the cold, his eyes sparkled with barely contained excitement.

Six drones hovered above, capturing the scene live.

Surrounding the stage were more than twenty professional cameras, all rolling.

This kind of spectacle was something you’d only expect from the Spring Festival Gala.

“Forgive me for rambling. I’m just that excited. Alright, without further ado, let’s go over the new rules for this season!”

He took a step forward.

“I’m sure many of you still remember Season One vividly. After a full month of relentless pursuit, Wang Yun still managed to escape in the end. Given his unbelievable cleverness, the production team has decided to revise the rules just for him.”

As he spoke, he picked up a cue card from a nearby stand.

The moment he glanced at it, his pupils widened in shock.

His reaction was completely genuine, like even he had only just learned the details.

“Holy crap,” he exclaimed. “I swear, I just now realized how insane the new rules are!”

Stretching his neck, he read each line aloud with gravity.

“This season, there will be five hundred contestants from around the world. Each one is an elite in their field: retired soldiers, former special forces, chefs, racecar drivers, equestrians, aerobics champions… Founders and members of high-IQ think tanks, lawyers, national-level retired athletes, renowned psychologists… the list goes on! These people… are the contestants of this season!”

He took a deep breath.

“Listen closely, everyone. These aren’t inspectors. They’re contestants. Just like Wang Yun. They’re all fugitives!”

The moment he finished, the livestream chat exploded.

A flood of bullet comments filled the screen, every viewer hammering exclamation marks in disbelief.

Across the internet, netizens were fired up.

“What?! These elites are the escapees?!”

“My god, I’ve got goosebumps! They turned last season’s inspectors into this season’s fugitives!”

“So many people joining Big Bro’s side! This is wild!”

“I swear, some of those contestants look like former inspector captains!”

“Totally agree! If the fugitives are this strong, just how terrifying do the new inspectors have to be to catch them?!”