Idol Chapter 121

Besides multiple escape route planning, communication, and team splitting are equally important.

Once the game starts, all their social networks and phones will be monitored by a dedicated person, making escaping with a phone akin to driving straight to the police station.

“The issue is, with six of us, moving together makes us too easily recognizable,” Huo Ren said while mapping out Lindu’s traffic zones, seeking areas with relatively weak police presence, multitasking with ease. “So, once we head back to the city, we need to split into teams of 2 or 3, without relying on phones or emails to communicate.”

Xie Lianyun quickly understood, “So, we need a cipher.”

“Right, a cipher,” Huo Ren indicated a photo on the whiteboard with his ballpoint pen. “I’ve noticed that in Lindu, the city’s mascot, the Golden Fish Grass sculpture, appears in nearly every street’s green belt, square, and park.”

Linguo is a constitutional monarchy, where the royal family no longer holds actual power, serving as part of diplomatic etiquette and tourism culture, still highly respected, and attending festivals and ceremonies.

One of the royal symbols is the Golden Fish Grass.

This beautiful greenhouse plant turned into a personified bronze statue and guards the ancient city like a little sprite. Many households place one in their yards or balconies, even putting scarves and little hats on them in winter.

Chi Ji’s eyes lit up as he showed off his phone’s Golden Fish Grass charm.

With its silver-red color scheme and tadpole tail, it looked extremely charming.

“Left hand, right hand, top of the head, scarf, all can be used for signaling,” Huo Ren nodded. “For example, hanging a red scarf means nearby auxiliary police, a blue scarf signifies supply retrieval. We agree on meeting points in advance, left hand for notes, right hand for time.”

Mei Shengyao was already confused, “I might not be able to remember all that.”

“Yun-ge leads one team, I’ll lead another. When crossing streets, be sure to mask your voice, don’t let fans recognize you.”

Xie Lianyun handed a golden wig to Huo Ren, “Consider dressing as women?”

Huo Ren: …?

Jiang Shu was busy Friday and Saturday with engagements with Lindu’s partners, only returning to the hotel on Sunday to check on them.

“Did you bring cash? Don’t use ATMs, they have cameras. Be cautious wherever you go, and make sure not to lose Shengyao—”

Mei Shengyao was securing a Winkler knife to Huo Ren’s waist, carefully tightening the leather strap, “Uncle, you still treat me like I’m twelve.”

He was now nineteen, tall and handsome, not losing out to any of his brothers, his smile bright and youthful.

Huo Ren ruffled Mei Shengyao’s chestnut hair, teasing, “I always see you as a little guy.”

Jiang Shu worried these six were too well looked after by their assistants. Releasing them into the wild for the night, they might not even know how to make fire or boil water.

Before he could lecture further, Long Jia pulled out his phone.

“These are our trucks parked at six points.”

“This is the smokeless stove Xie Xie and I tested yesterday, took forty minutes, could be faster.”

“This is Ren Ren’s last shooting score.”

“This is… oh, the helicopter my friend gave me.”

Jiang Shu: ???!!!

The manager sent them off to the show site with a look of bewilderment, suddenly feeling these kids were growing up too fast, and he was struggling to keep up.

They shook hands with the officers they would be collaborating with, confirming the set, lighting, and the entire process for one last time.

As the officials chatted on, Huo Ren subtly moved closer to Long Jia, whispering, “Jue-ge is your responsibility.”

In the team, only Xie Lianyun and Bo Jue had slightly lower physical fitness, which could be a disadvantage in such a program.

As the strategist, Huo Ren needed to monitor multiple situations at once, pairing the eldest and the third brother together for mutual support.

Long Jia glanced at him, smiling quietly without a word.

The prop gold bricks were all set up, not made of real gold but still shining under the lights, looking valuable.

“All departments countdown, ready to start the program—”

“Road closures confirmed, surveillance ready—”

“Three, two, one!!!”

The next moment, alarms blared and red lights flashed as the six, clad in bulletproof vests, rapidly plundered the gold vault, with the shrill sound of alarms in the distance.

“They’re coming, let’s move!”

“Long-ge, cover our rear!”

The robbers tightened their black masks, grabbed the bags of gold, and dashed out, quickly getting into the car through the blasted back door.

Bo Jue stepped on the gas, speeding away, with the police broadcast warning sounding behind them.

“You are surrounded, please cease resisting—”

Bo Jue turned the steering wheel sharply to speed over the bridge. As the car passed through the narrow street, the traffic light turned red behind them, and a long train whistled past, blocking the police convoy, while other police units were still encircling from different directions.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Mei Shengyao tapped the digital screen, speaking clearly, “Navigation, to the entrance of National Highway 404.”

The car’s audio system responded, its pronunciation cold and clear.

“Welcome to the electronic navigation, I am Bo Jue, pleased to assist you.”

Bo Jue looked incredulously at Mei Shengyao.

“Watch the road,” Mei Shengyao, holding the still-blinking red light, said, “They’re catching up from the right.”

Bo Jue swiftly turned the steering wheel, pressing on the accelerator to continue forward.

Among the six, Bo Jue and Long Jia were the earliest to learn driving. This time, with Long Jia in charge of carrying the gold bags, driving was left to Bo Jue.

The black SUV streaked through the already cleared streets like lightning, and the electronic broadcast spoke again, mimicking the driver’s tone exactly, “You are speeding.”

“Shut up,” Bo Jue said irritably, “I know.”

“Reminder, you are speeding,” the voice identical to his own retorted without politeness, “Be careful, or the police uncle will take you away.”

The car erupted in laughter.

“Mei Shengyao!! Turn off that damn navigation!!!”

Mei Shengyao, enjoying his roasted chestnuts, cheerfully shook his head, “Bo Jue’s voice is so nice, I want to listen more.”

Xie Lianyun thoughtfully said, “You can’t possibly start arguing with the navigation.”

The electronic navigation’s Bo Jue coldly stated, “You are speeding, please be aware of the oncoming traffic.”

“I know.”

“You have run a red light, please pay attention to traffic safety.”

“I. Know!”

Huo Ren, who had taken the group to record voice navigation prompts, never imagined such an embarrassing day for this feature.

Their company’s drivers preferred sweet-talking female celebrities with slim waists and large busts and had never used their pack of boys’ voices.

Bo Jue fiercely turned the steering wheel to drift away from the pursuing cars, his long hair flying in the wind like feathers during the sharp turn.

Long Jia whistled subconsciously, but Huo Ren covered his mouth and pushed him back.

“Don’t flirt with the driver while driving,” the team leader seriously said, “Mei Shengyao, you too, settle down.”

They avoided the highways, using secluded paths to leave the city area, heading to an outdoor parking lot of a suburban restaurant to ditch the car, and switching to a powerful off-road vehicle to continue their escape.

The rotating distance light gradually dimmed, finally extinguishing after an hour.

The time was May 7, 2016, at 20:19.

The location is the outskirts of Lindu, near Mist Step Mountain.

Lindu, a tourist city with a port facing the sea and surrounded by mountains and rivers, boasts a superior geographical location.

For this show, the production team marked four mountains for their selection, but only outlined a broad area for the cooperating police force, indicating they wouldn’t escape to the neighboring province.

Although annoyed by his own voice prompts, Bo Jue drove steadily and swiftly, eventually reaching halfway up the mountain to park the car in a concealed spot covered with camouflage cloth.

The six unloaded their gear, buried the gold bricks in a cave they had scouted beforehand, and then proceeded deeper into the mountain forest under the cover of night.

Mist Step Mountain, a royal hunting ground, forbids public access in autumn and winter but opens for sightseeing in spring and summer.

The number of mountain wolves is minimal, and those that are there have been well-fed by rabbits and mountain mice, showing no interest in humans.

Huo Ren, leading with a hiking stick, guided them through the underbrush along a path to the flat ground they had marked the day before. Only after checking the extinguished lantern did he signal that they could set up the tents.

Tonight, the moonlight was splendid, allowing a clear view of the celestial rotation, the air crisp and invigorating like a cool drink.

Before they could finish setting up camp, Xie Lianyun suddenly halted their efforts.

“We need to dig a hole first.”

Chi Ji turned, “I’ve got the shovel; how deep do we need it?”

“Not for a campfire, but for hiding the tents and our gear,” Xie Lianyun explained. “Remember the rules, drones might patrol the mountain.”

Unable to predict the drones’ flying altitude and scanning precision, they needed quick concealment capabilities for emergencies.

Split into two groups, one gathered leaves and branches for camouflage while the other swiftly began digging with shovels.

“Where do we hide if the tents are in the hole?”

“In tree hollows, cozying up with the squirrels.”

By the time the tents were set up again, everyone was hungry.

Mei Shengyao magically produced a large thermos, “Anyone want some black rice porridge?”

Chi Ji, who had single-handedly set up a tent, slumped beside him, “Canned food?”

“It’s hot. I put the rice in before digging the hole, and I added three pieces of rock sugar for you~!”

“Mei Mei, you’re too good to us…”

Opting for a communal meal in one small tent, they enjoyed the black rice porridge with luncheon meat and a couple of energy bars, feeling much warmer after the hot meal.

Before sleep, Mei Shengyao distributed small boxes and timers to everyone, handing out steam eye masks.

“Get up every three hours to check the light, then turn off the timer.”

Bo Jue distributed small bottles of water to each tent, adding a few extra heat packs.

“It’s too cold in the mountains; use these if you feel cold.”

After wishing each other goodnight, they crawled back into their tents.

Huo Ren, having carried a lot during the hike, fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes, his breathing slow and deep.

Mei Shengyao added another blanket over him and cozied up in the sleeping bag beside him.

The mountain night was filled with the faint sounds of frogs and birds, and the night breeze, chilling as if dipped in ice water, caused shivers down one’s spine.

The elder brothers stayed up late, securing the nearby safe perimeter and familiarizing themselves with the plan for the next few days.

Xie Lianyun and Long Jia were in mid-conversation when they suddenly stopped, pointing out some movement in the southeast.

“Is that… a deer?”

Long Jia squinted for a while, “Looks like it, could also be a roe deer.”

“Should we go for it?” Xie Lianyun hesitated, “It’s too big, even if we catch one, we wouldn’t know how to bleed and skin it.”

“Let’s do it.” Bo Jue spoke up calmly, “I’ll handle the bleeding.”

Xie Lianyun was momentarily stunned, wondering if he’d heard wrong, “You know how to do that?”

Someone was already nonchalantly sharpening a knife with a flint, “Hurry up, or it’ll run away.”

Long Jia, carrying a hunting rifle, stretched leisurely before stepping out.

“Old Xie, hunting is a tradition in the Nordic countries.”

“In this regard, Teacher Xiao Bo is more professional than us.”