Chapter 277: Wang Yun Found! Three Operations Launched Simultaneously

The situation was now crystal clear.

The stacked stones forming a ladder, along with the rock ledge extending from the mountainside wide enough for a person to step on, made it evident that escaping via this route was entirely feasible.

Zhao Youcheng immediately turned to the program inspectors by the river.

“Can these drone fish tilt their heads upward to take pictures?” Zhao Youcheng asked.

The lead program inspector thought for a moment and nodded.  

“In theory, they can. We’d need one fish at the bottom as a base, and I could tilt the head of another fish upward. But it can only tilt to about a forty-five-degree angle,” the inspector explained.

“Good. How far along are the machine fish right now?” Zhao Youcheng asked, stepping forward.

“They’ve traveled about twenty-two kilometers away from us.”

“Make them swim back as fast as possible and get to this coordinate. Once there, have the fish tilt its head to take photos.” Zhao Youcheng pointed to the coordinates of the red dot on the screen. 

The program inspector immediately started working on his remote control.

“It’ll take about twenty minutes to reach that point since it’s upstream, and the river current is really strong, so it’s slowing them down.”

“No problem. Just do it as fast as you can.” 

After that, Zhao Youcheng turned to Wu Yaoming.  

“Now, select two physically strong program inspectors with rock climbing experience. Have them follow this rock ledge. If they spot any signs of activity, they must return and report immediately without giving away their position.”

“Got it! I’ll assign people right away!” Wu Yaoming quickly picked out two individuals from the fifty-person team.

These two happened to be professional climbing instructors, part of the program’s elite inspectors. Five minutes later, they climbed onto the ledge, using climbing hooks to move carefully forward.

Their movements were small and cautious since the ledge was gradually sloping upward. By the time they reached a visible distance, they were already eight or nine meters above the ground. Beyond that, visibility was poor, and without safety guarantees, progress was slow.

“Wang Yun is too cunning, managing to escape along this path. No one would’ve expected it,” Wu Yaoming said as he watched his team in action.

Meanwhile, Qian Guosen sat cross-legged, staring intently at the screen. Just as he kept his focus, one of the red dots on the screen suddenly moved.

“Wait, that red dot moved,” Qian Guosen shouted. 

Zhao Youcheng and Wu Yaoming quickly walked over and crouched down.  

“How is that possible? This hillside is practically vertical. Is he trying to get himself killed?” Zhao Youcheng exclaimed in surprise.  

On the screen, one of the red dots was steadily moving downward, slowly but consistently.  

“Based on climbing techniques, descending like this is safe. He could fix the rope at the starting point and then slowly rappel down. But why would he go down? It’s all river down there!” Wu Yaoming was puzzled.

Right now, they couldn’t confirm if these four red dots were Wang Yun and his group. For all they knew, it could just be four snakes! Anything was possible.

“When the drone fish get back, make sure you follow my directions to tilt the camera up,” Zhao Youcheng quickly instructed the team behind him.  

The team members nodded and continued operating the remote controls.  

“If it really is Wang Yun, then we won’t even need to tilt the camera. The flat shot will catch him,” Wu Yaoming said.  

“Hopefully, it’s him. Otherwise, we’ll have come up empty again,” he added.

All three of them kept their eyes glued to the screen. As the red dot moved, their anxiety grew.

Five minutes later, the red dot had descended all the way down to the riverbank. Once it reached the bottom, it merged with the other red dots in the river, disappearing into them.

“There are too many creatures in the river. The red dot has blended in with them, and now we can’t tell which one is him. We’ll have to wait for the machine fish’s footage,” Qian Guosen explained to the other two.

They continued staring at the screen, their vision growing blurry from the intensity. Zhao Youcheng frowned deeply, clearly tense.

“Hurry up with that drone! Faster, faster!” Zhao Youcheng urged the team.  

“It’s just one more kilometer. One more kilometer, and we’ll be there,” the program inspector said, equally anxious. 

It was a crucial moment. 

Whether or not they’d find Wang Yun depended on this. Everyone was so nervous they barely dared to breathe. Zhao Youcheng, feeling the pressure, even pulled out a cigarette.  

Qian Guosen looked at him, surprised. “Old Zhao, you quit smoking ages ago. What’s got you lighting up again?”  

Zhao Youcheng laughed awkwardly. “I caved last night and bought a pack. No worries, I’m just taking a few puffs.”

As he spoke, Zhao Youcheng handed the cigarette to the other two. The pack he bought last night was now almost finished. 

Qian Guosen didn’t say anything. In this situation, it was really testing their nerves.  

Fifteen minutes later, the drone fish arrived at the designated coordinates.  

“Captain, we’ve got a visual! It’s a figure… Wait, no!”  

When the machine fish reached the river coordinates, it tilted and caught sight of a human figure. But the very next second, the camera feed cut off, going to black. They had been spotted. 

“What happened?! Where’s the feed?”  

The three of them rushed over, only to be met with their own startled faces reflected on the blank screen.

The program inspector was visibly shaken, “We were spotted. But I’m sure it was a person. The camera was destroyed.”  

“What?!” Wu Yaoming shouted in surprise. 

Zhao Youcheng looked intensely at the inspector. “Are you sure? You saw a person? A human figure?”  

“I’m sure! He was moving! I saw his legs too, right by the riverbank. But I only caught a glimpse before we were spotted. I’ve got the playback.”  

The inspector quickly pulled up the footage. In the playback, for a split second, a human figure appeared.  

“Let me see that, I’ll enhance the image!. 

Qian Guosen grabbed the computer and after a few moments, managed to bring up a clearer outline of the figure.  

The image was still blurry, but the limbs and body were visible, along with dark, black hair.  

Because the shot was taken from below, the figure appeared to be about 1.85 meters tall—quite tall.  

“It’s Wang Yun! It has to be him!” Qian Guosen declared immediately.  

“I’m familiar with his build. This is definitely him. He’s tall, and his hairstyle is exactly the same as when Joseph chased him. Look at the pants in the bottom left corner. Those are the same gray pants he was wearing when he left Xiyun City.” 

Qian Guosen pointed to the image of the gray pants on the screen. He would recognize Wang Yun even if he were reduced to ashes.

“Let’s move! Call everyone back immediately! Get in touch with Captain Alfa and mark the closest landing point along the river. We need exact coordinates. We’re heading out now. Captain Wu, you stay here with a team and follow this rock path further inside. You, pull all the drone fish back. I want this operation running on three fronts—water, mountainside, and the riverbank—we’re going after Wang Yun on all fronts!”