Chapter 227

Coach Nie is Nie Jun, and Coach Jiang is Jiang Shuangxing; both are veteran competitive skydivers from within China.

Although they never achieved any outstanding results in their lifetimes, they are already considered elders in this field domestically, with rich experience and broad knowledge. Over the years, since joining Changkong Club, they've led Changkong to numerous competitions and won many medals.

They successfully elevated Changkong's rank to Class A, a feat of great merit for the club.

After getting to know the two coaches, Zeng Luo introduced Qin Yun to the competing team members. Besides Lu Hao and his two companions, the other four were Sun Ang, Shu Han, Tang Zhou, and Fang Yichen.

Among them, Shu Han was the only female competitor.

Clearly, all of them possessed basic emotional intelligence; each treated Qin Yun with courtesy. Tang Zhou and Fang Yichen, in particular, acted as if they had met their idol, visibly excited.

"Coach Nie, please brief us on the situation."

Nie Jun nodded: "Changkong is China's top skydiving club. This time, we've entered four events in the Red Bull Extreme Dingdian Skydiving Championship: Dingdian Skydiving, Freestyle Skydiving, Special Skills Skydiving, and Freefall Skydiving."

"Everyone will compete in the solo Dingdian Skydiving event. Tang Zhou, Fang Yichen, Lu Hao, and Ding Shuo will compete in Freestyle Skydiving. Sun Ang will compete in Special Skills Skydiving. Shu Han and You Jindu will compete in Freefall Skydiving."

"Mr. Qin, you'll only be competing in Dingdian Skydiving, right?"

Qin Yun nodded: "Yes, I'll only compete in Dingdian Skydiving."

Nie Jun continued: "Among all events, Dingdian Skydiving is the most traditional and popular, and also the most prestigious. I'll focus on explaining the rules for this event."

"The competition consists of preliminary, semifinal, and final rounds. The preliminary round is divided into ten groups; the top three from each group advance. Each competitor performs three jumps at 2, 00 meters, and their score is the sum of distances from the target center. That means even if your first jump lands perfectly on target, a major mistake on the second or third jump could eliminate you outright—so all three jumps must be flawless."

"There are fifty spots in the semifinal, with over five hundred competitors. All events take place in Saint-Amand, France. The preliminary round lasts five days, followed by the semifinal. So whether you're scheduled early or late, it's not ideal. The best position is to compete on the third or fourth day—you'll maintain your form while still getting sufficient rest."

"Only ten competitors will advance from the semifinal to the final. The jump height increases to 4, 00 meters, and each competitor performs five jumps under the same rules."

"In the final, each competitor gets twelve jumps at 6, 00 meters. But the scoring rule changes: only the single jump closest to the target counts. At this height, deviations are enormous—even landing within eight meters is considered miraculous."

"Within China, some athletes can approach the world record at 2, 00 meters, but at 4, 00 or 6, 00 meters, we can only look up in awe."

Qin Yun asked curiously: "Has China ever achieved anything in international extreme skydiving?"

Nie Jun smiled awkwardly: "We have results in standard competitions, but zero in extreme challenges—all records are held by foreigners."

Standard competitions!

Qin Yun knew standard competitions typically occurred at 1, 00 or 1, 00 meters—hardly extreme sports. But this Red Bull Cup was an extreme skydiving championship, with the preliminary round already set at 2, 00 meters.

Indeed, only foreigners know how to truly recklessly push limits.

"These are the basic rules of this Red Bull Cup. Finally, the top three will perform a show—how they perform is up to personal choice."

Saying this, Nie Jun pointed to Shu Han: "Xiao Han is our Changkong Club's strongest athlete. She has a good chance of advancing past the preliminary round into the semifinal, but making it from semifinal to final will depend on luck."

Qin Yun looked at Shu Han. She had a childlike face, appearing quite young—yet she was Changkong Club's strongest competitor.

Shu Han gave Qin Yun a shy smile, looking slightly embarrassed.

"There's no helping it. Skydiving originated abroad, and the most professional athletes are foreigners. In China, there are simply too few people who do this. After all, it's an extremely dangerous sport, and domestic authorities strictly regulate it—there's virtually no official skydiving competition ever held."

This is a soil problem—without the right environment, talent cannot emerge.

But for extreme sports, whether there's talent or not doesn't matter; such death-defying activities aren't worth promoting.

That's Qin Yun's view.

Zeng Luo said: "Mr. Qin, do you have any other questions?"

Qin Yun thought for a moment: "Can I livestream the competition?"

Zeng Luo shook his head: "No. Drone interference is too severe—the authorities prohibit it. If anything goes wrong because of it, the consequences would be too damaging."

"That's a shame." He shook his head, unsurprised. "I have no other questions. Thank you all."

Zeng Luo smiled: "Ye Ran, register Mr. Qin's information immediately and upload it—don't make any mistakes."

"Understood, boss."

……

"Holy shit, did you hear that? He actually wants to livestream? He's willing to risk his life for money!"

On the way back to the training base, Lu Hao shouted loudly, seeking agreement from others—but the rest paid him no attention.

Even Shu Han, the girl with the baby face, glared at him: "Little Rat, what are you talking about?"

Lu Hao immediately shrank his neck and chuckled nervously: "Sis Han, I was just saying it out loud—I didn't mean anything by it."

"Hmph." Shu Han sneered. "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Put away your jealousy and train hard. If you mess up during Freestyle Skydiving, you'll regret it."

With that, she strode off.

Ding Shuo patted Lu Hao's shoulder and chuckled: "You forgot? Compared to Tang Zhou and Fang Yichen, Sis Han is Mr. Qin's biggest fan. Talking about Mr. Qin in front of her? You've got balls of steel."

Lu Hao wanted to cry!

After having dinner with Zeng Luo and once Ye Ran had completed Qin Yun's registration, Qin Yun planned to leave.

He had no intention of staying to train, because his skills weren't learned through practice—they were granted by the system.

So he bid everyone farewell and left with Su Huan for Zhoushan.

……

"What are you doing?"

Back home with Hu Fen, Su Huan saw Qin Yun sprawled on the sofa, fingers flying across his phone.

"Replying to fans' comments. Everyone's asking why I haven't done a single livestream this month—it's already the end of the month."

Su Huan smiled: "Why don't you tell them you're going to compete in the Red Bull Extreme Dingdian Skydiving Championship?"

"I'll post it soon." Qin Yun put down his phone and looked at Su Huan. "I've been idle for over a month—I feel like my bones are rusting. I'm thinking of doing a livestream before heading to France, just to warm up."

"It's your call," Su Huan said, turning toward the kitchen. "But you've only got half a month until the 18th, and you still have to go to Beijing—are you sure?"

Qin Yun rubbed his nose, picked up his phone again, and after thinking for a moment, posted a Weibo.

【May 18, Red Bull Extreme Dingdian Skydiving Championship: I will challenge a Dingdian jump from 10, 00 meters, aiming for the Black Throat Sinkhole】

As soon as he posted it, the comment section exploded.

"Holy shit, I was just checking Red Bull's official website!"

" Dingdian Skydiving? That's a death sport. Is Mr. Qin going to do it again?"

"666, 10, 00 meters? Why not jump from outer space?"

"Black Throat Sinkhole? I think I've seen that somewhere."

"From DouBao: Sinkhole entrance is 58m x 72m, vertical depth 398m, located in Saint-Amand, France—the same venue as this Red Bull Extreme Dingdian Skydiving Championship."

"That wide? That's child's play. Mr. Qin, raise the difficulty—try jumping into a ten-meter-wide hole."

"Holy shit, you're an idiot. From 10, 00 meters, even if you gave him a 1, 00m x 1, 00m target, he couldn't land in it."

"Don't insult him—the hole is actually huge, almost like the ocean."

"I checked: the world record is 8, 48 meters—jumped from Mount Everest's height—landed in Mexico's Swallow Cave. Holy shit, that's not human."

"If Mr. Qin succeeds, he'll be legendary."

"Probably not. Landing precisely from 10, 00 meters depends entirely on parachute deployment timing—too early, impossible; too late, deadly."

Qin Yun posted the Weibo and ignored it. He also decided not to livestream during this period—he'd wait until after the skydiving competition. A little extra rest wouldn't hurt.

At least, the video of his survival in the Indian Ocean was still going viral on Douyin. Qin Yun's fame hadn't faded during this month's break—in fact, it had exploded both domestically and internationally.

Especially his solo confrontation with armed militants, which had been cut into clips and replayed endlessly online.

He even received a message from higher-ups: he must be extremely careful when traveling abroad. Certain countries harbor resentment toward him and are likely to make small moves.

Qin Yun replied: As long as they don't pull out guns, he was fine.

Of course, the warning was one thing—but the main purpose was to inform him about the award.

The authorities had prepared an award for him: the National Security Special Contribution Award. When he heard it, he was stunned.

The award was conferred by the State Council and the Ministry of State Security. Qin Yun felt as if his ancestors' graves were smoking. His family had been fishermen for generations—how could he, in this generation, have made such a great contribution to the nation?

But regardless, facts were facts—he'd have to go to Beijing in two days.

After hearing the news, Hu Fen immediately observed a vegetarian fast, invited ancestors from both the Hu and Qin families to dinner, and solemnly announced the news. The ceremony's scale was unprecedented in the Qin family's history.

But since the award hadn't been officially granted yet, Hu Fen kept it secret from everyone, waiting until her son returned with the prize to invite relatives over.

In her words, this was a matter of honoring ancestors and glorifying the family—more significant than getting into Tsinghua or Peking University.

Soon, the May Day holiday ended!

Qin Yun and Su Huan prepared formal attire and quietly arrived in Beijing.

They didn't need to worry—once their plane landed, officials came to meet them.

Then he met people he'd only ever seen on TV news, making even his usually calm self extremely nervous.

"Comrade Qin, you've done extremely well." The leader was warm, took photos with Qin Yun, and then included Su Huan as well.

Even after leaving, Qin Yun felt light-headed, as if walking on cotton.

Although the ceremony wasn't public and the award certificate only read "Contributed to National Security," the official records clearly stated "National Security Special Contribution Award"—it was kept low-key for his safety.

But all the benefits were still fully granted.

For instance, the current popular talent classification—he immediately qualified for Class A talent benefits. Even settling in Beijing was no longer an issue—it was purely up to whether he wanted to or not.

His future children's education would require no concern over household registration—he could enroll anywhere, with full benefits.

This thrilled Su Huan!

"Comrade Qin, you've done extremely well," Su Huan patted Qin Yun's shoulder in the hotel, grinning. "Keep it up, okay? Myself and our future child are counting on you."

Qin Yun looked up at Su Huan standing on the chair, speechless, then scooped her up and tossed her onto the bed.

"Future child, huh? Ten months from now, you'll be one!"

"Ah… no!"