Chapter 343: They Spotted Wang Yun’s Tracks—Heading Up the Mountain!

The group slid forward at a steady pace. When the wind picked up, the rope would sway twice. It swayed side to side, not forward and backward. Even so, it still made them move slightly faster.

At the same time, Zhao Youcheng and his team had reached the highway.

None of them had chosen to drive, they had walked the entire way. They didn’t want to miss any clues. 

But walking took time.

The amusement park was three kilometers from the nearest road. They had to pass through a long parking lot, a fashion district, and more. By the time they finally reached the highway, nearly an hour had passed.

“Everyone, stay sharp as we move along the road. Check for anything suspicious. Wang Yun and his group are very likely in the mountains on either side of this road. Or maybe they’re somewhere nearby, watching us in secret,” Zhao Youcheng, leading at the front, reminded everyone.

“Got it, Old Zhao. We’ll definitely find some clues!”

At that moment, someone who had been silent the whole time—Qian Guosen—finally spoke up, “Besides, there are surveillance cameras around here.”

He had followed along, but since he hadn’t been able to contribute much, his presence had been barely noticeable.

“That’s right! Guosen, hurry and pull up the surveillance footage,” Zhao Youcheng said. His face lit up with excitement.

Qian Guosen didn’t wait for Zhao Youcheng’s orders, he had already contacted the roadway department. Even though it was late at night, there were still staff members on duty.

Before long, the roadway personnel unlocked access for him.

In truth, with Qian Guosen’s skills, he could have bypassed the restrictions himself and accessed the surveillance footage directly. But since this was their jurisdiction, he chose to follow the proper procedures.

“Found them!”

Qian Guosen had barely searched for a few minutes before two figures appeared on the screen.

“It’s Hu Sanqing and Xiao Gang. Wang Yun’s subordinates,” he shouted.

Then, he quickly fast-forwarded the footage.

Sure enough—ten minutes later, Wang Yun’s figure appeared.

“Send us the video!”

Wu Yaoming stepped forward, pulled out his phone, and watched the footage. The more he watched, the angrier he became.

A minute later, everyone put away their phones.

“Looks like we were right, this guy really did lure us away on purpose. He let his two subordinates escape first while staying behind to cover them.” Wu Yaoming sighed helplessly.

Hardy stepped forward. He knew Wu Yaoming was feeling guilty. After all, he was the one who suggested rescuing Wang Yun, only to be betrayed.

A real-life case of the farmer and the snake.

“Nobody could have expected this. What kind of boss sacrifices himself to let his subordinates escape first?” 

“Wang Yun has taken loyalty to the extreme,” Werner added from the side.

“Alright, stop overthinking it. I just saw that they climbed up from behind a signpost. As long as we find that sign, they have to be nearby,” Zhao Youcheng said.

The group hurried forward. The road was straight, with no intersections, making the search fairly simple.

After just over ten minutes of walking, they spotted the sign from the surveillance footage.

No Climbing!

Two bold words. Yet, Wang Yun and his group had climbed the mountain right behind it.

It was ironic.

“Move! Up the mountain.”

At Zhao Youcheng’s command, everyone rushed up.

By now, they were all running on sheer willpower. Even Zhao Youcheng himself. None of them could remember the last time they slept. All they knew was—Wang Yun kept running.

And they kept chasing.

The earthquakes that had plagued them seemed to have stopped. An hour had passed without a single tremor. As if even fate itself was aiding their pursuit.

“Faster! We’ve already lost an hour,” Wu Yaoming, pumped with adrenaline, shouted to the group.

Gritting their teeth, everyone forced themselves onward.

Yet they had no idea that at that very moment, Wang Yun and his team were hanging in midair, not far above them, surrounded on all sides.

***

“Xiao Gang, why aren’t you moving?!”

The three of them were now suspended just two meters from the other side. 

But Xiao Gang had suddenly stopped. His body swayed unsteadily, and his hands, having gripped too tightly for too long, were pale from lack of blood flow.

“It’s not that I don’t want to move! My jacket… the quality is too bad. A tear opened up. And I think it’s stuck on the rope. I can’t slide forward anymore,” Xiao Gang shouted helplessly, glancing up at his arm.

But it was too dark to see clearly, he could only guess.

Earlier, while sliding, he had distinctly heard the sound of fabric tearing. He hadn’t said anything before. He was afraid it would panic Brother Hu.

“You gotta be kidding me! What kind of cheap clothes is this?”

Brother Hu was on the verge of tears.

At the very back, Wang Yun could see everything clearly. It was exactly as Xiao Gang had said—the torn fabric had wedged itself around the rope. It was as if a smooth surface had suddenly developed a notch, and that notch just happened to fit snugly around the rope.

What could they do now?