Chapter 219: The First Limit (Happy May Day)

The once crystal-clear Indian Ocean instantly lost all its gentleness as the storm approached. Lead-gray clouds surged wildly, completely blurring the boundary between sky and sea.

The entire world seemed to have plunged into this fury at this moment; a blue beacon floated helplessly with the waves, now flipping, now crashing heavily into the water.

Occasionally, it was swallowed by the waves, only to be flung far away by the next surge.

Merely watching the camera's tumble made viewers in the livestream feel nauseous—they couldn't imagine how the man clinging desperately to the beacon endured such wrath of heaven and earth.

Under this power, human strength meant nothing. Even a million-ton supertanker, faced with the storm, was like a dry leaf, helplessly battered.

At this moment, the roar of waves, wind, and thunder merged into a deafening din; not a trace of calm remained on the sea's surface—only fury. The entire Indian Ocean had become a raging abyss.

Qin Yun felt for the first time his muscles reaching their limit; the fatigue in the muscles gripping the beacon constantly urged him to let go.

But he knew that if he let go, he would be completely drowned in this storm.

Without the beacon's protection, his survival in such a terrifying storm depended entirely on luck. So, no matter how exhausted he was, he dared not release his grip. Victory was within reach—just endure today, and tomorrow the sky and sea would stretch wide.

Watching the footage on screen, Lin Xia's face turned deathly pale. As someone from a fishing conglomerate, she had experienced storms before—but never had she seen a human defy such power. She couldn't understand how such a person could exist.

She knew self-media hosts made money, but this was too extreme.

Over these past few days, she had followed Qin Yun's account and watched every single one of his videos, finally realizing he was none other than the account with the most followers on Douyin. She hadn't missed his videos entirely—she'd just scrolled past them quickly, and the algorithm naturally excluded her.

From Qin Yun's first video onward, Lin Xia watched every single one from start to finish.

The more she watched, the more miraculous it seemed; the more she watched, the less this man seemed human.

On the other side, Tan Zong and Cai Yan, back in the Gulf of Aden, also looked up Qin Yun's background—since they had to report his achievements, they naturally investigated him. As officials, checking on a person was effortless.

A person's entire record, if one truly wanted to, could be traced from birth onward with ease.

"Good kid. A shame he didn't join the military."

After learning about Qin Yun's background, Tan Zong slapped his thigh in regret.

Beside him, Cai Yan held the exact opposite opinion.

"You're a commander, a major general. The military is a collective institution. Personal bravery matters, but not that much. Xiao Qin's skills, while impressive, have little practical use in the military. Even if they did, they'd only be needed for missions teeming with peril."

Tan Zong didn't argue with him—he believed Qin Yun's talents should serve the nation through military service.

Watching the churning scene on his phone, he shook his head: "This kid doesn't get seasick? He's still talking normally, showing not a hint of collapse."

"It's incredible," Cai Yan also stared at the screen, where the camera showed only rolling water, nothing but water. "Xiao Qin deserves this money."

The storm lasted far longer than Qin Yun had expected.

For three full hours, he had lost all control over his body.

This was the true limit—the first time Qin Yun had experienced it.

When the storm finally ceased and the clouds parted, sunlight fell upon him again—but he had no strength left. His hand muscles, now relaxed, went completely limp and twitched; the side effects of adrenaline slowly set in.

He lay motionless on the beacon, barely managing to send the drone aloft.

When the camera focused on his ashen face, everyone saw the visible exhaustion—deep, bone-deep, impossible to hide.

Even his breathing was a mechanical effort, each inhale and exhale heavy with helplessness.

"Holy shit, first time seeing Brother Qin look this broken."

"He's not human—three hours! Zhengzhengsangexiaoshi!"

"Jesus, Qin is insane."

"Brother Qin is legendary—we finally saw his limit."

"666. If it lasted any longer, Brother Qin would've collapsed."

"Slap—!"

Qin Yun felt a flicker of strength and struggled to shift from prone to lying on his back. He looked up at the drone, waved weakly, and smiled: "Tired. So tired. I can't even stand up now. If a white-tip shark showed up right now, I'm done."

"Huh…"

"It's currently 4 p. . local time. Four more hours until the livestream ends. I hope nothing happens in these four hours."

Qin Yun chatted incoherently, letting the sun beat down on him. Then, without realizing it, he fell asleep.

At this moment, the total concurrent viewers across four platforms exceeded one hundred million. Over a hundred million people watched Qin Yun sink into deep sleep, and few left the livestream—this scene instantly became a hot news topic.

Watching the exhausted Qin Yun, Su Huan burst into tears. She felt heartbroken for him—and heartbroken that she could do nothing.

Fortunately, the nine-day livestream was nearing its end.

Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, she could embrace the man she had longed for day and night.

When Qin Yun opened his eyes again, two hours had passed. The sun was setting, casting a blazing gold glow across his vision—so intense it made him slowly sit up.

He stretched, then looked sheepishly at the camera: "Sorry. I was so exhausted I fell asleep without realizing it. But after two hours of sleep, my strength has recovered quite a bit."

"With time left, I'll give everyone thirty or so teeth from the open-ocean white-tip sharks as gifts. If you're interested, tap the lottery in the top-left corner of your screen. I'll offer eight lottery slots per platform. Winners will get their teeth mailed after I return—though delivery times can't be guaranteed."

Hearing Qin Yun was giving away the sharp teeth of open-ocean white-tip sharks, the livestream audience erupted in excitement.

"Haha, Emperor O is online—I'm definitely winning."

"I hope heaven finally favors me."

"I never win the Powerball, but at least let me get one of Qin's teeth."

"I counted—over a hundred million people for thirty teeth. Holy shit, that's close to lottery odds."

After Qin Yun spoke, Su Huan immediately launched the lottery on all four platforms—each platform had its own system, so the methods differed.

"Everyone interested can join. Oh, Xiao Huan—space the physical lucky bags ten minutes apart on each platform…"

Even if it ended now, this livestream was a resounding success.

The cost of these minor gifts meant nothing to him. He'd earned so much over these nine days—the initial estimate of seventy million was too low; the actual total neared one hundred million.

This insane earning power was terrifying.

So Qin Yun didn't care about giving away gifts—compared to a hundred million, every gift was less than a penny.

But a generous host and a stingy one leave completely different impressions. Qin Yun didn't care whether he seemed cheap, but he accepted Su Huan's suggestion.

As the great sun sank into the ocean's edge, its last glow faded, and the stars reclaimed the sky.

Qin Yun briefly replenished water and food, then ended the livestream when time was right.

He packed up his gear, sat on the beacon, and gazed at the Indian Ocean beneath the stars—his mood unusually relaxed. Though his body was drained, his spirit felt light.

…

The next morning at eight, Qin Yun began livestreaming on time.

He had packed everything, waiting only for the rescue helicopter to arrive, ending his nine-day survival livestream in the Indian Ocean.

While chatting with netizens and waiting for the helicopter, a change appeared far across the sea. Qin Yun quickly turned the camera—everyone instantly saw a massive creature slowly rising from the water.

"Could that be Xiangxiang?"

"Damn, Xiangxiang came to see Qin off?"

"So intelligent?"

"Hahaha, Qin didn't save him in vain."

"Tap-tap-tap…"

The sperm whale's sounds echoed. Qin Yun listened carefully, stood on the beacon, waved, then jumped into the water and pushed the beacon toward Xiangxiang.

"I was a little disappointed—but he actually came to see me off."

Qin Yun was delighted. Pushing the beacon, he soon reached Xiangxiang's side.

He climbed back onto the beacon and shouted: "Xiangxiang, you came to see me off?"

"Tap-tap-tap-tap"

"Thank you. If you ever need help, remember my name—I'm Qin Yun."

The livestream audience fell silent.

"Damn, how shameless."

"If shouting your name works in the ocean, I'll shout mine next time."

"Haha, Qin's hilarious."

"If he needs to shout your name, you probably can't save him anyway."

Over the ocean, a helicopter drew near. When the pilot saw the scene below, he froze.

"OMG, is that… a whale?"

As soon as the helicopter landed, Su Huan yanked open the cabin door, desperate to rush into the arms of the man on the sea.

She waved frantically, shouting something.

But the helicopter's noise drowned her voice—she couldn't reach Qin Yun.

Seeing the helicopter, Qin Yun waved to Xiangxiang: "I'm leaving. Goodbye."

Xiangxiang seemed to understand. Suddenly, it spouted a jet of seawater, then slowly sank, vanishing completely.

Watching Xiangxiang depart, Qin Yun smiled and turned back to the drone: "Hello everyone. I'm Qin Yun, a temporary survivor of an air crash. In the Indian Ocean, I struggled for nine days—and finally, rescue arrived."

"These nine days, I endured thirst, sunburn, starvation, several terrifying storms, being surrounded by open-ocean white-tip sharks, nearly bitten by a venomous sea snake that appeared out of nowhere, and even encountered pirates."

"But despite all the danger, I always survived—not by luck, but by solid survival knowledge. So friends, if you ever survive an air crash and end up in the ocean, don't panic. Hold on. The longer you survive, the higher your chance of rescue."

Hearing this, everyone fell silent.

"Damn, you're in a crash? Your whole family's in a crash."

"I think air crashes are always fatal."

"Survivors are rare, though not unheard of."

"I'd last one day in that hellhole, tops, if I were Qin."

"Fuck yeah!"

"Hahaha!" Qin Yun was in high spirits. "Alright, that's the end of this nine-day livestream. My next one will come after I've fully recovered—I'll announce it on social media. Goodbye."

As he finished, both drones immediately took flight.

Qin Yun grabbed the descending rope and slowly rose. At that moment, the drone's camera focused on the drone itself, clearly showing Qin Yun entering it, held tightly by a beautiful woman who passionately kissed him.

At the same time, the system panel popped up.

【Check-in task completed. Reward received: +1 to Overclock skill】

【Overclock Skill LV1: Computers can overclock—why not people? Kid, you can do it】