Chapter 557: The Marker—Only Thirteen Can Understand It!

Thirteen was one of the burdens the production team had forcibly added to increase the difficulty for Wang Yun.

Xiao Gang didn’t have anything against Thirteen personally. But having someone with autism join a fugitive-style survival show was laughable. And they’d been together for quite some time now.

Thirteen had never shown any signs of having good eyesight. Most of the time, he barely responded when spoken to.

Wang Yun noticed the doubt on Xiao Gang’s face. He took the initiative to explain. 

“You might not know this, but even though Thirteen doesn’t talk much, he has an incredible memory, and he remembers my handwriting. And he sees the world differently from us. He can pick up on details most people would never notice. As long as we leave these markers along the way, I believe Old Hu and the others will find us.”

As he spoke, Wang Yun turned back down the alley.

Following the same method, he marked each corner along the winding path with subtle signs.

When they were done, the two of them returned to the entrance of Hawthorn Courtyard.

Wang Yun casually dropped the souvenir on the stone steps at the doorway, then stretched with a yawn. He could still hear the flickering of the overhead light on the second floor, which meant Ying Yuezi hadn’t finished changing the bulb.

Wang Yun was perfectly happy to have her out of the way.

Now that all preparations were complete, he felt a sudden wave of exhaustion wash over him. He just wanted to sleep.

Turning to Xiao Gang, he said, “Man, running around this much is exhausting. Let’s get some sleep first.”

That taxi ride earlier had nearly shaken his bones apart with how fast the driver had gone.

Xiao Gang was tired too and nodded in full agreement.

So the two of them headed back to their room, collapsed onto the bed, and knocked out under the covers.

***

Elsewhere—

Following the tip from the old man on the street, Wu Yaoming was still en route to the ski resort. Once they got onto the main road, their speed increased significantly.

There was some traffic, which caused a slight delay,

But it was still far better than crawling through Ziwei Alley.

The car’s comms unit buzzed to life.

Wu Yaoming hit the connect button.

“What’s your situation? Any sign of Wang Yun?” came Wu Mingyu’s voice.

“Not yet, but we’re getting close,” Wu Yaoming replied. “According to intel, he probably headed to the Nanshan Ski Resort.”

“Do you need backup?” Wu Mingyu asked.

Back when they were navigating Ziwei Alley, which was too narrow and winding for a large team, Wu Yaoming had only brought the squad leader and a few skilled drivers with him, leaving both himself and Zhao Youcheng in the city.

“You confident you can catch him?” Wu Mingyu asked. “That kid’s slipperier than an eel. Just say the word and we’ll send reinforcements.”

“I understand. I’ll contact you if anything changes.”

“Alright.”

The brief conversation ended, and the transmission cut off.

Looking ahead, Wu Yaoming saw the snow-capped mountain growing larger and larger in the distance.

That had to be the Nanshan Ski Resort.

They were almost there.

“Faster! We’re almost there!” Wu Yaoming couldn’t help urging them on. He could no longer suppress the excitement in his chest. He wanted nothing more than to lay eyes on Wang Yun and arrest him on the spot.

The driver glanced at the road ahead, looking troubled. “There are more cars and pedestrians up ahead. I can’t speed up.”

“Tch!” Wu Yaoming clicked his tongue in frustration.

He’d completely forgotten such a basic fact.

Nanshan Amusement Resort was a major tourist attraction—pedestrian and vehicle traffic would only get heavier the closer they got.

At this rate, they’d end up stuck in the middle of the road again.

A complete waste of time.

“Stop the car!” Wu Yaoming ordered.

The driver slammed the brakes and spun the wheel. With a sharp drift, the vehicle came to a steady halt on the roadside.

“To save time, from this point on, all personnel except the drivers will proceed on foot,” Wu Yaoming barked into the radio.

“Copy!”

“Copy!”

“Copy!”

The vehicles behind him also came to a stop, forming a neat line at the roadside.

Members of the Dragon Nation Inspection Unit jumped out one after another. Everyone moved with practiced efficiency. Within three minutes, they had their equipment loaded and were standing by for the next command.

Wu Yaoming cleared his throat and straightened up.

“All drivers, head directly to the ski resort’s parking lot. Everyone else, move out on foot with me.”

“Understood!”

With a single command, the inspection squad advanced in unison.

Their military boots thudded in perfect rhythm as they marched toward Nanshan Ski Resort.

But what they didn’t know was that someone was already watching them.

Qiqiha’s Captain, Penglai, leaned out of his car window.

To capture Wang Yun faster, the Qiqiha team had dispatched scouts. Their sole mission was to monitor the movements of rival inspection units. Of all of them, Wu Yaoming understood Wang Yun best and was currently closest to him. His movements almost always revealed Wang Yun’s movements as well. 

So when the scouts reported that Wu Yaoming was heading to the Nanshan Ski Resort, Captain Penglai immediately dropped his pursuit of other fugitives,

Swung the car around and followed without hesitation.

Now, seeing Wu Yaoming leading his team on foot, he knew the man’s impatience had boiled over.

“Captain, what should we do? Should we head out on foot too?” asked the skinny teammate beside him.

“I don’t think it’s necessary,” said the chubby teammate. “Wang Yun’s not that easy to catch. Wu Yaoming will probably come up empty again.”

Captain Penglai fell silent for a moment, then spoke coldly, “Everyone out.”

The chubby teammate frowned. “Captain, if Wu Yaoming could’ve caught Wang Yun, he would’ve done it already. There’s no need for us to be in such a rush, is there?”

Captain Penglai shot him a cold glare. “You think we’re the only ones with scouts?”

“You don’t think the other inspection teams are tracking Wu Yaoming too?”

He was right.

Every inspection unit had their eyes locked on the prize that was Wang Yun. There was no way they’d let this chance slip by.

At this very moment, all teams were converging on Nanshan Ski Resort—simultaneously.