Chapter 506: Adjusting the State, Deploying the Plan!

What? All the streets and shops within a ten-kilometer radius? Estimate the average number of people during peak hours?

Even a computer would struggle to complete that in three days, let alone a human brain.

After Wang Yun spoke, he quietly fixed his gaze on Thirteen.

Everyone else turned to look at him in stunned silence.

Big Mouth nearly tipped over the seafood platter he was arranging. 

Thirteen said nothing. His head hung low, and his hands fidgeted in front of him. His long, slender fingers quickly turned red from the friction. He was extremely nervous.

“I… I’ll help Thirteen with it,” Xiao Gang said softly, mistaking Thirteen’s shyness for distress. “If it’s too much for him, we can do it together.”

“Don’t get in the way, Xiao Gang. Boss surely has something else planned for you,” Old Hu said. 

“Boss, does this mean we start moving in three days?” he added, visibly excited.

Of everyone, Old Hu understood Wang Yun the best. Every move the man made was deliberate, every word calculated. Especially that one sentence: We begin the offensive in three days. That alone was enough to stir his blood.

Eliminating even the most ordinary program inspector was worth a hundred thousand.

Truth be told, when Wang Yun had given Xiao Gang two million as a wedding gift, Old Hu had been secretly jealous for quite a while.

Sure, when he would get married, Boss would give him the same, but who wouldn’t want that kind of money now?

Wang Yun nodded. “That’s right. I hadn’t planned to announce it yet, but Thirteen’s ability caught my attention. So…”

He turned his eyes back to Thirteen.

He was waiting for Thirteen to speak.

By joining the show, Thirteen had already taken his first step toward redemption.

Ten seconds passed—silent.

Only the sound of Big Mouth stir-frying filled the room.

No one else spoke. They were all waiting for a response.

Old Zhou opened his mouth twice, planning to break the silence, but seeing the others keeping quiet, he chose to remain silent too.

Thirty seconds.

Just as someone was about to create a distraction to ease the awkwardness, Thirteen lifted his head. His gaze locked on Wang Yun, pupils trembling slightly. His hands pressed over his chest, fists clenched tightly.

“I… I can do it!”

Those four simple words—I can do it!—made everyone smile.

“Brother Thirteen, you’re amazing!” Xiang Xiang clapped excitedly.

“Thirteen, you’ve got this! I knew you could do it!”

“Such a smart kid!”

Everyone chimed in with praise.

Wang Yun was visibly pleased. “Looks like the food’s ready, let’s eat first.”

And with that, their first proper meal on Lidao began.

During the meal, no one spoke. Everyone was eating like they’d been starving for days, barely pausing to breathe. Old Hu in particular was devouring food like a machine. His sheer enthusiasm inspired the others to dig in even harder.

Wang Yun wanted to laugh at the sight of them all, but didn’t want to waste time. So he joined in and ate just as quickly.

By the time the meal ended, the sun had fully risen.

With their bellies full, everyone collapsed into sleep.

It was 10 a.m.

***

Meanwhile, every single program inspector had been dispatched. This time, the number of deployed personnel far exceeded the previous rounds.

The streets were practically filled with stern-faced inspectors.

Usually bustling with commuters heading to work, the roads today were unusually lively, though in a very different way. Even street vendors began to feel something was off. They stood at their shop entrances, craning their necks to look around.

In the southern part of the city, the inspection team with the most presence was from the Police Family.

Their belief was that with so many fugitives on the run, there were bound to be traces left on the streets. And their job was to use their eagle-like eyes to identify any suspicious individuals.

The Royal Family had also stationed some of their personnel in the south.

The rest were positioned in the north, near the coastline. 

They reasoned that the fugitives probably didn’t have much money and would likely try to conserve what little they had. So they headed to the place with the highest likelihood of finding free food, the northern coastline.

Although the coastline was vast, they were equipped with thermal-imaging drones. So there was a high probability they could track someone down.

“Captain, we’ve spotted two suspicious individuals on the southwestern outskirts. They’re moving quickly. Requesting permission to engage immediately,” a voice crackled over the radio inside the Royal Family’s operations room.

Eve frowned slightly as she watched the video feed on the screen.

“Engage immediately. From now on, in situations like this, you don’t need to ask for permission.”

“Understood!”

Better to grab the wrong person than let someone slip through.

At worst, they could just explain it to a passerby as part of a show. No one would likely hold it against them.

The Royal Family team launched their operation in full force.

Meanwhile, the team drawing the most curiosity was one called Qiqiha.

The members of this team used a different strategy, checking locations one by one. And they did it in a tightly grouped formation.

Currently, they were near the bottom of the rankings.

They hadn’t caught a single fugitive yet.

But their method was the safest—no one was ever alone, so they never gave the fugitives an opening.

It was the slowest, most exhausting strategy, but also the safest.

In stark contrast, the Dragon Nation team did the exact opposite. Drawing from previous experience, they scattered into small units, spreading out to search independently.