Chapter 172: A Wilderness Survival Challenge on the Mountain!

Zhao Bing was unaware that his every move had been exposed. It was easy for four elite program inspectors to capture him.

After securing Zhao Bing, the program inspection team conducted a simulated interrogation. Eventually, Zhao Bing divulged everything, including the precise location of Wang Yun’s villa and the coordinates, as well as details about the twenty or so associates currently with him.

All this information was quickly relayed to the Chinese and Indian teams.

***

“Brother Yun, it’s been an hour since Zhao Bing last responded to me,” Xiao Fang entered, his face filled with unease. “I have a bad feeling, maybe I’m just too anxious.”

At that moment, Wang Yun was crafting human skin masks.

“An hour?” Wang Yun expressed his surprise.

Their protocol was to report every half hour, but it had been an hour without any word from Zhao Bing. Given Zhao Bing’s reliable nature, he wouldn’t just abandon his duties unless something had gone wrong.

After a brief pause to consider the implications, Wang Yun rose decisively and faced Xiao Fang with a grave expression.

“Zhao Bing must have been compromised. It’s not safe here anymore. We need to evacuate immediately,” Wang Yun commanded decisively. “Pack up the villa and erase all traces of your information. Assume that the program inspection team knows everything about you. Notify everyone to return immediately. You fifteen IT staff, keep monitoring every move of the program inspection team online. Even if you are discovered, do not panic.”

Xiao Fang acted swiftly in response to these orders. While eleven assassins were currently operating outside, the rest were inside the villa. Everyone promptly began to remove their traces from the villa.

Wang Yun also quickly set up, placing traps around the villa. These mechanisms, inherent to the villa, reflected its original owner Liang Long’s paranoia.

Additionally, Wang Yun instructed his men to strategically place bombs along the villa’s only mountain access route. Any trespasser would trigger an explosion immediately.

Now exposed, they had to act. Wang Yun wasn’t about to lose the villa without a fight.

After making all these preparations, the group initiated a large-scale evacuation. They could no longer stay, but their large numbers meant that if they entered the city rashly, the program inspection teams could easily pinpoint and capture them using their various methods.

At this point, the personal information of these twenty-six members of the assassination organization was compromised. They could no longer afford to move openly in the streets.

“The most dangerous place is the safest,” Wang Yun mused as he studied the map of Xiyun City.

After a moment of contemplation, he made a decision to take another risk. There was nowhere else they could go, and the group was too large. Dispersing everyone now would only lead to a fate similar to that of his previous seventy-plus subordinates.

So far, according to what Xiao Fang had discovered, the program inspection teams had already captured more than twenty of Wang Yun’s men. There were undoubtedly others still unaccounted for, likely making the total even higher.

“Is everyone ready? Follow me up the mountain,” Wang Yun instructed. “Glasses and Fist, take some people up to the nearby mountain first and find a temporary hiding spot. We’ll discuss further once we’ve evaded these people.”

Both Glasses and Fist, experienced in evasive tactics, quickly made their way towards the nearby mountains. These were untamed peaks, occasionally visited by climbers and early morning exercisers. However, the mountain’s vast size meant that searching it thoroughly would require all the program inspectors and still take half a day.

Wang Yun was taking a gamble this time, betting that they wouldn’t expect him to be on the mountain.

As the live audience watched Wang Yun ascend, excitement buzzed through the chat.

“Is Big Brother about to pull a survival stint in the wilderness?”

“Is he trying to channel Sir Alex? Haha, it’s about time he showed us more!”

“Being cooped up in the villa is thrilling, but something feels off. I’m really eager to see Big Brother on the run!”

***

“You’ve done well. When you climb this mountain, you must be careful. Watch every step you take, and make sure your movements are light. Do not startle Wang Yun and the others,” came Wu Yaoming’s voice in their ears.

In the China team’s livestream, everyone watched the scene with bated breath.

“Captain, I’ve found something,” a program officer exclaimed after three minutes of searching. He stood beside the path, pointing at the ground. “This patch of soil is freshly turned, something must be underneath.”

“The same is true on the other side,” he added.

Upon hearing this, Wang Yue knelt down, grabbed a nearby detector, and placed it on the spot. The device beeped insistently.

“It’s a bomb,” Wang Yue said with a grim expression. “There are wires on the ground, watch your steps.”

As she spoke, everyone’s attention shifted, and they tensed as they looked at the concrete path in front of them. Under the sunlight, a transparent fishing line was visible on the ground.

“This fishing line is extremely fine and laid flat on the cement. Without the anomalies detected at the edges, no one would have noticed it. Stepping on it would trigger the bombs hidden along the path.”

A layer of cold sweat formed on everyone’s foreheads as they processed the perilous situation.

“From now on, everyone off the vehicle and proceed on foot,” Wang Yue commanded, pushing her glasses up on the bridge of her nose, her expression grim. “Stick to the dirt paths on either side. Pay close attention if you value your lives.”

The program inspectors dispersed to the sides of the road. The paths were difficult to navigate, typical of mountain terrain, strewn with rocks and uneven dirt, some spots barely offering enough space to place a foot. Despite the challenging terrain, no one dared step back onto the cement.

“Hmm? It’s been two hours and no sound from down the mountain,” Wang Yue noted. “It seems we’ve been spotted.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay