Chapter 80: Spy Discovered! Part 2

“Xiao Fen entered the deep mountains alone, no Ou Yu. Probably not him.” A vice squad officer circled the area and reported back.

Fang Si Ting wasn’t certain. “If together, footprints would be side-by-side, even depth. These are staggered front-back—not traveling as one, but met here.”

Scanning around, he pointed to a grassy direction—indistinguishable to others, but clear to him as a path taken.

“Here.”

Fang Si Ting led twenty vice squad officers in pursuit.

Dry leaves thickened, gradually hiding tracks, but Fang Si Ting pieced together Xiao Fen’s route.

Because he always went straight, no turns.

That made it easier for them.

————

Ling Xiang hid behind a nearby tree, having just slashed a bamboo leaf green with his dagger. He wiped sweat, heart pounding.

In H Country, these snakes should’ve been hibernating.

At the foot of the hill directly in front of him, he vaguely spotted a corner of green clothing. Xiao Fen was squatting in the bushes, seemingly suffering from diarrhea. He hadn’t moved for half an hour already.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, he sent a location pin to the group chat.

Last night, he had instigated the other three criminals to choose the deep mountains along with him, conspiring to ambush Xiao Fen.

He had originally planned to give Xiao Fen one last chance that morning, but the other party refused decisively. He ate his rice ball without leaving any face.

By exposing Xiao Fen’s whereabouts to the Pursuit Team or directly “killing” him, as long as he eliminated him, his reputation online would surely stink even more.

Xiao Fen’s reputation from the First Episode was just as bad, but in this episode, he had washed it clean, and his follower count had skyrocketed even higher.

Being trashed across the entire net didn’t matter—what mattered was outrageous behavior that grabbed eyeballs and generated traffic.

In that case, he had already succeeded halfway.

The other half was to successfully escape and claim the show’s prize money.

After dealing with Xiao Fen, they would take a detour northeast, pass through Guiwu Forest, and get out. He had estimated the route; it would only add four days compared to going straight through Guiwu Forest.

Just four extra days, and it might even shake off the Pursuit Team heading into the deep mountains—what was there not to like?

The only key to this plan was speed.

It was best to take out Xiao Fen within the first two days of the chase, so they wouldn’t venture too deep into the mountains and could turn back in time.

After a while with no sign of anyone getting up, Ling Xiang couldn’t help but grow curious. Could it not be diarrhea? Had he already drunk some water and passed out?

He descended the hillside from the side, taking a circuitous route. Pretending it was a chance encounter, he crept closer on tiptoe. But when he looked, the person was gone—only the green jacket remained.

He wiped his sweat, chugged a big mouthful of water in frustration, and muttered curses under his breath.

Wasted half an hour of my time.

That’s enough time to cover a good distance.

No sooner had he said it than his heart skipped a beat.

Ling Xiang clutched his chest as his limbs grew weak and his vision blurred.

His legs finally gave out, and he knelt down.

Xiao Fen had appeared before him at some point.

He pulled out his phone, aimed the screen at Ling Xiang’s reluctant face turned away, and unlocked it successfully.

He had only taken one sip—he wanted to pass out but couldn’t, yet he had no strength left at all.

What frustrated him now was when had the water in his canteen been drugged? He remembered Xiao Fen had given the drugs to Lu Jin; he shouldn’t have any left.

The only possibility was that his water had been swapped with Xiao Fen’s.

Xiao Fen sat on a nearby rock, ankles crossed in his lap, leisurely typing on his phone.

Before long, he received messages in the group chat.

The three conspirators, plus the three other criminals heading into the deep mountains—he now had all their locations.

“Thanks.”

Xiao Fen patted his face. He hadn’t expected this guy to be fairly popular in the Criminal Team.

He unzipped his bag, which was stuffed full of food and gear—well-equipped but heavy.

Tracking him with that load all night—this guy had some talent.

After a hearty meal, he left in high spirits.

Ling Xiang’s eyes bulged with rage as he glared at his departing figure, utterly helpless.

Over an hour later, Fang Si Ting followed the trail and found him.

Ling Xiang could finally speak. He pointed bitterly toward the diagonal front and rasped, “Xiao… Xiao Fen…”

【Even on the verge of death, he still screwed over someone else. Why didn’t Brother Fen just knife you?】

【Serves you right. Thought you were screwing someone over, but you screwed yourself instead.】

【I’ve had enough of you for a while. You didn’t do jack in the show—what the hell were you thinking?】

【Log off already. I don’t want to see you in the third episode.】

The helicopter airlifted him away. Fang Si Ting walked a distance in the direction he pointed, but his steps slowed.

“No traces.”

The tilt and bend of branches, flattened grass, or specks of soil stuck to them—none of these subtle changes escaped his eyes.

But the trail ended here.

He scanned the surroundings. The green moss on a tree bark showed faint scrape marks—unnoticeable at a glance.

“He climbed the tree.” He pointed in another direction. “Went that way.”

If they kept following Ling Xiang’s direction, they wouldn’t find anyone.

He led the Vice Squad Officers swiftly in that direction. Over an hour later, they spotted a figure.

The Vice Squad Officers fanned out quickly, rushing to surround the person.

“Don’t move!”

“Stay right there!”

A few birds burst from the bushes in fright.

Fang Si Ting pushed aside the undergrowth and saw it was another Criminal Guest.

He sighed. It wasn’t going to be that easy, after all.

“Call the helicopter to take him away.”

He contacted Tang Shen. They rested in place while he painstakingly re-examined the environment, ruled out the guest’s recent path, and veered off in a new direction.

Half a day later, he rendezvoused with Tang Shen.

“We cover this huge mountain area and still bump into each other?” Tang Shen asked, puzzled.

“Too much of a coincidence.” Fang Si Ting pulled out a map and had both sides sketch their routes for the day.

“I caught three Criminal Guests on the road today,” Tang Shen said.

Fang Si Ting looked at him in surprise. “I got two.”

It was only the first day, and they’d already nabbed five.

Plus the one who auto-forfeited, only three remained.

As the sun set in the west, their first day had been highly fruitful.

“These guests have such crap stamina—how did they dare pick the deep mountains?” Tang Shen shook his head.

“Something’s off.” Fang Si Ting frowned too.

The deep mountains were vast. Even with weak people, finding anyone in this whole area—let alone catching them—was no easy task.

“Xiao Fen’s been leading us by the nose.”

Fang Si Ting glanced around. Moments ago, dozens from both teams had converged here, leaving traces everywhere.

Now, not a single trackable sign remained—they’d lost Xiao Fen.

They rested in place and pitched tents while the other Vice Squad Officers built a fire for dinner.

Fang Si Ting and Tang Shen kept analyzing.

“Xiao Fen used the other criminals’ movements to completely cover his own tracks, so we have no idea where he’s actually headed,” Tang Shen said. “If we keep chasing traces, we might just go in circles. Better to ditch tracking altogether. Go straight, spread out and search—we’ve got the numbers, finding one guy should be easy.”

It had only been a day or two; people couldn’t have gone far, and their stamina was still good. Pushing straight ahead raised the odds of catching up.

Fang Si Ting studied his and Tang Shen’s paths, deep in thought. “What if he never planned to head deeper into the mountains?”

He’d previously assumed Xiao Fen would stick to the deep mountains route because the Vice Squad Officers had seen it, and it fit his thrill-seeking personality. But even with his physique, crossing these mountains would take nearly two months.

“He doesn’t have the patience for that long a trek.”

“How do you know?” Tang Shen didn’t buy it. “Doesn’t he love challenges?”

A hint of amusement flickered in Fang Si Ting’s eyes. “That little punk spent barely two days in town after catching the killer before he was bored out of his mind and howling.”

He even started finding ways to mess with and tease him.

He wasn’t the type to endure boredom and loneliness.

“The deep woods might thrill him at first, but after a while, with the scenery all the same, he’d get bored for sure. If we keep going straight, we might miss him entirely.”

“You’re starting to understand him awfully well.” Tang Shen noted. “If not the deep mountains, is he doubling back through Guiwu Forest?”

That made sense to him too—this was just a feint.

Just like Ling Xiang had planned, Xiao Fen intended the same, though his motives differed.

“He knows I’d personally track him and send more manpower here, so he faked heading this way. Once he shakes us, he’ll loop back to Guiwu Forest and escape from there. I only posted a skeleton crew there.”

“I’m impressed.” What a troublemaker.

“Deputy Team Leader Tang, I’m leaving twenty men with you to keep chasing the remaining two fugitives in the deep mountains. The rest come with me now.” Fang Si Ting stood, calling for his team to douse the campfire, break camp, and eat on the move.

“You’re not resting first? We know his route now anyway,” Tang Shen said. He’d walked all day, and his calves were cramping.

“No time—I just thought of something key.” Fang Si Ting geared up, speaking faster. “To slip our net without a trace, he might backtrack along the same path.”

He had to head back too.

————

1 a.m.

Thanks to his exceptional memory and sense of direction, Xiao Fen returned to the spot where Ling Xiang had been caught.

The foot of an unremarkable hillside.

During the day, to lure the Pursuit Team and guests into contact, he’d traveled light with just a dagger and two knives, stashing everything else in Ling Xiang’s bag.

Ling Xiang thought he’d taken the bag, but he’d only hidden it nearby.

Something that heavy—he wasn’t going to lug it around like Ling Xiang and waste stamina.

He had to loop back anyway, so this spot served as his midway resupply point.

He had meals sorted for tonight and tomorrow morning.

From here to Guiwu Forest, at his pace, it’d take just one day.

He found the Bamboo Leaf Green that Ling Xiang had killed and confirmed it was the place.

He rummaged around. Nothing?!

Where’s my huge bag?

A bad premonition surged in his heart.

Just then, rustling came from the bushes. He turned to see Fang Si Ting and a group of Vice Squad Officers standing there.

“Looking for this?” Inspector Fang dangled the massive backpack. “Here.”

With those words, the bag came flying straight at his head.