Chapter 14: I

After the shock passed, an uncontrollable joy surged forth.

Rock climbing is an extreme sport; according to him, across the entire globe, the number of participants in all extreme sports combined reaches five hundred million—this includes skateboarding, surfing, mountain biking, downhill racing, wingsuit flying, and rock climbing.

Rock climbing accounts for one-twentieth of all extreme sports, with roughly twenty million people worldwide practicing it; the vast majority engage in indoor climbing, but the rock climbing skill Qin Yun now possesses is true extreme sport—he even had the confidence to scale the cliff face before him without any gear, using only his bare hands.

This would have been unimaginable in the past.

To him now, rock climbing was a sport that fused strength, technique, balance, and endurance; no wonder his body had undergone such dramatic changes under the system’s skill reward.

Without these changes, the so-called skill would have been nothing more than a reflection in water or a flower in the mirror.

Easy—unprecedentedly easy—the feeling of complete control over his body was incredible!

Qin Yun grinned, didn’t linger, and noticed several tourists pointing at him—he was probably mistaken for a fool.

Continuing down the trail, Qin Yun spotted the grass sliding area; many tourists had chosen the grass sliding activity, sliding straight down to the mountain’s exit, laughter echoing everywhere. He watched for a while but didn’t waste money on it—it was only a five- or six-minute walk.

Soon, he saw the scenic area’s exit gate. He found his car in the parking lot, sat in the driver’s seat, scrolled through some photos, and selected a few to post on his Moments.

Then he started the car and slowly drove away from the scenic area.

Thus, this trip ended perfectly—the task was completed, the reward secured, and he had fully, immersively experienced the Yeshanpo Scenic Area; everything was flawless.

As the car drove off, he glanced at the navigation and discovered the nearest highway entrance was just beyond Bailingxia.

According to his plan, he hadn’t accounted for check-in tasks along the way—he intended to drive south on the highway; if any check-in task appeared, he’d pause to complete it, then get back on his original route.

Right now, he planned to do exactly that: head straight onto the highway, drive from Baoding to Hengshui, enter Dezhou in Shandong, pass through Jinan, exit at Zaozhuang into Jiangsu’s Xuzhou, then directly enter Anhui, cross Anhui from Huangshan to Hangzhou, and finally proceed from Hangzhou to Zhoushan.

He wouldn’t alter this main route.

Soon, the car entered National Road 108; less than two kilometers later, he spotted the Bailingxia toll station—but just as he prepared to enter, an unexpected video call request popped up on his WeChat.

Qin Yun glanced at it, saw no place to stop, so he drove past the toll station first, then pulled over to the side.

“Hey, Brother Qin, are you still at the Yeshanpo Scenic Area?”

In the video, Xia Qingqing wore a backpack, and the background suggested she was at a tourist transit center; yet her expression was anxious, her brows tightly furrowed.

Qin Yun glanced back, thought for a moment, and replied: “Yeah, I’m still here. What’s up?”

“That’s great!” Xia Qingqing visibly exhaled in relief, then looked embarrassed. “I left a bag at Bailingxia yesterday. Nothing inside matters except my wallet—I only realized it just now when I tried to buy a ticket at the transit center. Could you please help me retrieve it? Then tell me how I can conveniently come get it?”

“Where are you now? Send me your location—I’ll check the distance. If it’s convenient, I’ll bring it to you; if not, I can order a Meituan delivery—it’ll be fast.” This was no trouble for Qin Yun, so he readily agreed.

Xia Qingqing was overjoyed: “I’m sending you the location and the locker pickup code right now, Brother Qin, thank you so much!”

“Alright, I’ll call you again on WeChat once I’ve got the bag.”

“Okay, goodbye, thank you, Brother Qin.”

Qin Yun nodded, ended the call, opened Xia Qingqing’s location, and realized he’d been careless.

He lightly slapped his own face—regretting it now was pointless. The girl was at the Baoding Passenger Center, a full one hundred and fifty kilometers away—would Meituan even take such a delivery?

He doubted it.

He turned the car around, soon arrived at Bailingxia Scenic Area, found the storage zone, and retrieved a brown bag in no time—damn, it was a brand-name bag—LVMH!

He opened the bag, confirmed her ID and cards were all inside, then sent her photos. He tried placing a delivery order, but for some reason—whether due to the scenic area’s restrictions or the excessive distance—fifteen minutes passed and no one accepted.

“Fine, I’ll go myself. What a pain.”

Qin Yun sighed, canceled the order, and sent Xia Qingqing a voice message telling her to wait where she was—he’d drive over.

At the Baoding Passenger Center, Xia Qingqing put down her phone, patted her chest, and finally relaxed. Her ID was no big deal—easy to replace—but those random bank cards were a nightmare; replacing each one would give her a headache, especially the few foreign ones.

“This guy’s actually pretty nice.”

She muttered softly, found a seat, and waited quietly. She’d assumed he’d just send a local express delivery, but he was coming himself—turns out there really are good people in this world.

Meanwhile, the unfortunate Qin Yun resigned himself, turned the car around, entered the Capital Ring Expressway, then switched to the Beijing-Kunming Expressway, speeding toward the Baoding Passenger Center.

About half an hour into the Beijing-Kunming Expressway, he suddenly spotted smoke rising from the tire of a car in the second lane, then the vehicle lost control—first slamming into the guardrail on the first lane, then flipping over, rolling continuously into the fourth lane, struck by two following cars in succession, and finally crashing hard into the guardrail before stopping.

All vehicles behind instantly braked; Qin Yun did too.

But he suddenly noticed white smoke seeping from the underside of one of the cars—this smoke was different from the tire friction smoke earlier.

“Shit, it’s catching fire!”

Qin Yun’s face darkened—he immediately realized it, since all three vehicles were electric.

Without hesitation, he checked his rearview mirror, accelerated rapidly toward the accident site, stopped fifty meters away, then opened his door and ran out.

While running, he dialed emergency services.

When he reached the accident vehicle, the white smoke beneath the middle car had grown thick; the driver of the last car quickly opened his door and fled far away.

Qin Yun reached the second car and saw it wasn’t just the driver inside—there were three others, clearly a family of four.

But now, all four were desperately pulling at the doors, unable to open them; panic and fear overwhelmed them, especially the two children, who screamed in terror.

The driver spotted Qin Yun and shouted: “Help! Help! The doors won’t open!”

Qin Yun glanced at the car’s underside—no flames yet, there was still time.

He ignored the driver and sprinted toward the guardrail. The driver thought he’d abandoned them and screamed in despair.

“No! Come back! Help!”

Qin Yun scanned the area, found a stone the size of a palm, then ran back.

The driver saw what he held and instantly understood.

Qin Yun climbed onto the hood, gripped the stone in his right hand, and smashed it hard against the front windshield.

*Crack!* The glass instantly cracked—but didn’t shatter, still held together.

At that moment, his vehicle repair skill activated again—he easily identified the glass’s fixed points, then struck the edge with the stone and stomped down with all his leg strength, amplified by his rock climbing skill; the entire pane shattered with a *crash*.

“Hurry! Flames are appearing—move now!”

Qin Yun urged them; the family scrambled out, barely escaping as the flames fully engulfed the car.

“My toy!” the boy cried, realizing his hands were empty as he saw the fire.

But no one cared about toys now.

Qin Yun sprinted to the overturned vehicle ahead—the intense heat made him frown; if nothing was done, this car would be engulfed too.

At that moment, a drone appeared above him.

“Please evacuate immediately—the vehicle poses an explosion risk; police and emergency crews are on their way…”

Qin Yun didn’t wait for the drone to finish—he shouted: “There are still three people inside!”

The drone fell silent, then replied urgently: “We’re contacting firefighters immediately—stay safe.”

Qin Yun ignored it, bent down, and examined the scene; when he saw the driver’s twisted neck, his heart sank.

The driver was dead.

The man in the front passenger seat and the elderly man in the back still had chest movement—they were alive, but unconscious from the impact, likely unable to free themselves. If they weren’t rescued soon, death by fire was almost certain.

Qin Yun checked the door handles—all hidden—but the rear windows had shattered during the roll. The car was upside down now; the front passenger side was jammed against the guardrail—useless.

He thought for a moment, then looked up at the drone: “Three males—two in the front seat, around forty; one in the back, around seventy. Except the driver, the other two are still breathing.”

After speaking, Qin Yun tore off his shirt, revealing his lean, muscular torso; he wrapped his right hand in his T-shirt, gripped the broken glass edge of the door, and pulled with all his strength—his previously subtle muscle lines instantly tightened.

The door groaned open a gap of over ten centimeters—but couldn’t open further; Qin Yun looked down and saw the door’s lower edge was pinned against the ground.

He ran to the middle car, grabbed the stone again, and smashed the driver’s window in seconds—now he didn’t care about risking injury to the corpse; he carefully avoided glass shards falling onto the body to prevent future complications.

He checked—the door could open, unlike the rear, which was pinned.

He gripped the window frame again, slowly pulled, and the door gradually opened until there was enough space—he stopped.

Then he unbuckled the seatbelt, dragged the driver out—but the fire from the rear car had now erupted into roaring flames; the heat forced anyone who’d tried to help to retreat.

“Brother, get out! If it explodes, you’re done for!”

Someone shouted from afar.

Qin Yun ignored him—he was drenched in sweat but managed to drag the front passenger out. Just then, three men ran up from ahead, helped carry the two he’d pulled out to safety, and Qin Yun finally exhaled in relief.

Qin Yun climbed into the back seat, checked the old man—his leg was broken, but otherwise, he seemed unharmed.

There was no time to worry about aggravating injuries now—he could feel the growing danger; if he delayed further, even he might be trapped.

Only now, with his enhanced strength, could he carry a hundred-kilogram man—he’d never have managed it before.

Finally, he dragged the old man out—then *pfft!*—he saw the car’s battery pack swell rapidly, a pungent odor filled the air, and a sudden flame erupted skyward.

“Damn!”

Qin Yun jumped, sprinted forward with the old man on his back; after running dozens of meters, the third car also caught fire—in mere breaths, all three vehicles were fully engulfed in flames.

If he’d waited another minute, he might have been trapped inside.

He placed the old man on the ground and only then felt the wave of fear—he was drenched in sweat. He wasn’t particularly brave, and he didn’t know why he’d suddenly summoned such courage to save others.

Clenching his fists, Qin Yun suddenly realized—he’d changed too.