Chapter 230: Promotion (Bring Some Traffic)

Ten groups were divided into three sub-regions; Qin Yun was in Sub-region Three, and due to his group's placement, he wouldn't compete today. So after the competition officially began, he wandered around freely, relaxed as if he'd come for a vacation compared to the others from Changkong Club.

"Look, the one coming down is Darren Wayne, captain of the American TEMU team. His first jump had a slight error—two centimeters from the bullseye—but he adjusted slightly on the second jump and landed exactly on the center, scoring 0cm. His skill is extremely strong."

"Don't think that one or two centimeters is easy to cover—just stretch your foot a bit. That's a mistake."

Qin Yun looked at the parachutes floating in the sky like colorful balloons and mentioned something that captivated the live audience.

"Isn't that right? If you're already that close, isn't it easy to just stretch your foot a little farther?"

"I think so too."

"In the live footage just now, that guy named Edgar stepped on the third ring, but I could've sworn he could've pushed in a bit more."

Qin Yun smiled: "The reason you can't do it is because skydiving from two thousand meters isn't the conventional competition you're familiar with. In standard Dingdiantiaosan events we know, the jump height is usually below one thousand meters, often around eight or nine hundred. Even then, high-altitude winds, turbulence, and crosswinds make perfect precision impossible."

"At the same time, upon landing, your legs absorb the impact by bending your knees, and your entire body is slammed into the ground by inertia. Your landing posture is fixed—you can't make even a micro-adjustment. That's why low-altitude Dingdiantiaosan precision is kept within a few centimeters—it's still controllable."

"But with Red Bull's extreme Dingdiantiaosan, when you reach four or six thousand meters, you'll see the precision gap widen dramatically. I believe at six thousand meters, the error from the bullseye will likely be ten or even dozens of meters. Trying to match the precision of one or two thousand meters is nearly impossible."

"As for my challenge at ten thousand meters, hitting a target only a few centimeters wide? Impossible. So even though the Black Throat Pit has a wide diameter, the high-altitude air currents are far more unpredictable. If I lose control during freefall, I may never even enter the pit."

Only after Qin Yun's explanation did the others finally understand.

On the first day of competition, apart from Qin Yun, Shu Han, and You Jindu, Tang Zhou and Fang Yichen from Changkong Club were unlucky and competed today.

The first to go out was Tang Zhou, number thirty-two in Group Three.

At this moment, the helicopter had stabilized at two thousand meters. The outline was visible, but details? Forget it—looked like a peanut.

"Friends, my teammate Tang Zhou is now in position."

The director had switched to the helicopter's internal footage, and Qin Yun's drone simultaneously fed in its feed. In the video, Tang Zhou was fully equipped; due to the altitude, he wore no helmet.

But at four or six thousand meters, you'll need one.

At that height, the cold, oxygen deprivation, and gales can seriously injure you.

Tang Zhou looked calm. After the first jumper exited the cabin, he waited twenty meters, then gave the camera a thumbs-up before diving out.

"Look, Tang Zhou's body is extremely stable—he's controlling it well. This shows his foundation is solid," Qin Yun said, squinting at the freefalling figure above.

"For two-thousand-meter Dingdiantiaosan, the ideal parachute deployment height is as low as possible—lower means less interference. The higher you deploy, the more wind will push you off course, and correction becomes impossible. But the lower you deploy, the less room you have to correct."

"Bro Qin, what's the best deployment height?"

"Yeah, I've noticed top experts deploy around eight hundred meters."

Qin Yun smiled: "Yesterday during practice, I deployed at six hundred meters. At that height, hitting the target is effortless."

Watching Qin Yun's casual demeanor, the live audience didn't feel awe—they felt sheer arrogance.

"Damn, the arrogance king has descended."

"666, Qin Ye, here's a pair of sunglasses for you."

"Hahaha, killed me—now you guys know why you shouldn't eat and ask."

At that moment, Qin Yun suddenly saw Tang Zhou's body jerk violently in midair, shaking hard. Though he stabilized quickly, he drifted dozens of meters sideways.

"Tang Zhou's been affected by wind—he'll deploy soon."

No sooner had he spoken than Changkong Club's colors burst open high above.

"Deployment at one thousand meters isn't bad. If he controls it well, he can still hit the bullseye. Let's wish Tang Zhou success."

Seconds ticked by. As Tang Zhou descended, Qin Yun's gaze slowly shifted to the live feed—he could no longer see him directly.

When Tang Zhou landed and touched the target, numbers instantly appeared on the distant giant screen.

"Spain Gwengiru Club, Owen Edwards, 2cm from center."

"USA TEMU Club, Nathan Costello, 1cm from center."

"..."

"China Changkong Club, Tang Zhou, 6cm from center."

Seeing this result, Nie Jun and Jiang Shuangxing looked grim. Among the top twenty in Group Three, the current top five had an average distance of six centimeters—meaning Tang Zhou was already on the edge of elimination. Unless his next two jumps hit the bullseye perfectly, he was out.

But was that even possible?

Zeng Luo, however, remained calm. His entire hope rested on Qin Yun—he had no expectations for anyone else. After all, everyone practiced within one thousand meters. This Red Bull Cup was extreme skydiving: after the preliminaries came the semifinals at four thousand meters, then finals at six thousand.

Don't count on Tang Zhou and the others.

"Six centimeters from center—pity. Hope his next two jumps are better."

Soon, Tang Zhou's second and third jumps were announced—clearly affected by his first.

One was 10cm from center; the other missed entirely.

No doubt—he was eliminated.

This made Chinese viewers realize the gap: international elites consistently hit within two centimeters. Tang Zhou was far behind.

In truth, to ordinary viewers watching live, the difference was hard to see. Everyone landed on foam pads, all seeming to hit the bullseye. Visually, they looked nearly identical. Without electronic target sensors, no one could tell who was better.

Soon after, Fang Yichen followed Tang Zhou's fate.

Changkong Club had five competitors in Dingdiantiaosan. Two were eliminated on day one.

Zeng Luo had been feeling okay, until the boss of another domestic club, Hurricane Club, came over to gloat.

"Hahaha, little Zeng, we're lucky—someone's ranked third in the group, high chance of advancing to semifinals."

Zeng Luo bowed slightly and offered a few polite congratulations.

But once the man left, he spat: "Fucking bastard, showing off for what? Qin Ye, I'm counting on you."

Qin Yun smiled, watching the man's retreating back. "You have a grudge with him?"

"Not a grudge—just business rivals."

Qin Yun understood now. He knew Zeng Luo's family ran a big business—real industry, supplier of electronics domestically and abroad, even Apple was one of their clients.

So if they were rivals, they were definitely in the same field.

On day two, You Jindu didn't disappoint—he was eliminated. Soon, the third day of preliminaries arrived: May 21st.

Today was Qin Yun and Shu Han's turn.

Shu Han was in Sub-region Two, Group Seven, number twenty-eight; Qin Yun was in Sub-region Three, Group Eight, number forty-three.

Due to the time difference, Qin Yun didn't rush to prepare—he first livestreamed Shu Han's jump.

The girl with the baby face gave everyone a surprise.

Her first and second jumps were each one centimeter from center; her third jump landed dead on the bullseye, finishing with a total distance of two centimeters—securing second place in her group. Though over twenty others hadn't yet jumped, her score all but guaranteed advancement to the semifinals.

When Shu Han returned, her smile never faded—she was overjoyed.

"Well done!"

Qin Yun slapped her hand.

"Qin Ye, it's your turn now."

Soon, Qin Yun's group began check-in. They were assigned helicopters, suited up, and boarded one by one.

Since the main drone couldn't be carried, he wore only a sports camera—just enough to transmit audio.

"You're Qin?"

A voice in Arabic came from behind. Qin Yun turned—it was Sha Lu from the Egyptian Pharaoh Club.

Qin Yun nodded: "Hello."

The man named Sha Lu stared at Qin Yun with a blank expression: "Hope your parachute opens successfully. Don't end up as meat paste."

Qin Yun's eyes narrowed slightly—he sensed the malice in the man's tone.

Recalling the man's nationality, Qin Yun instantly guessed. He smiled faintly: "Thank you. I wish you success too."

The cabin camera had been fixed on them—their exchange was recorded.

Qin Yun's live audience began speculating.

"Hmm, I think I just figured something out."

"Obviously—it's because Qin Ye wiped out those Egyptians during the Indian Ocean livestream."

"Haha, this guy's so arrogant, he better watch out—he'll get crushed by Qin Ye."

"Qin Ye doesn't fear armed militants. What's he scared of, some punk?"

"It's peaceful now, but in a war zone, Qin Ye would've killed you already."

At this moment, Su Huan was controlling the drone. Before handing it to her, Qin Yun had quietly told her what to do. Now that his plane was ascending, she immediately uploaded the prize contest he'd pre-set.

"Hello everyone, I'm Su Huan. This is a prize contest Qin Ye asked me to set up. If you have diamonds, place your bets. No diamonds deducted if you lose—but if you win, you get paid automatically based on the odds."

"Wow, it's Sister Su's voice—so hot."

"Sister Su is gorgeous. Show us your face!"

"Prize contest? Let me check—promotion odds are 1. 5 to 1, elimination odds are 1 to 10, 00."

"I don't have much money, but I'll bet 100 diamonds on promotion."

"One to ten thousand sounds tempting, but the probability is practically zero."

"Heh, I bet one diamond on elimination."

Instantly, participation surged. If this were profit-driven, the numbers would've been massive—enough to trigger a gambling report.

In truth, this prize contest was simply Qin Yun's way of engaging his fans.

"Look, Qin Ye 's jumping!"

"Holy shit, he's falling fast!"

"Damn, why hasn't he deployed yet?"

"Seven hundred meters… six hundred meters… deployed!"

"Extreme maneuver—Qin Ye is too good."

"Landed! What's the distance?"

"Hahaha, zero again—perfectly hit the target."

Qin Yun's maneuvers held no surprises for him, but others had no way of knowing. As his first and second jumps landed precisely on the target center, all competitors' attention turned to him during his third jump.

The host and guest panelists flipped through Qin Yun's file, speaking excitedly one after another.

"Jesus, opening chute at six hundred meters—Qin is insane."

"So he's Qin—no wonder he's different."

Several guest panelists, men and women alike, stared at Qin Yun with gleaming eyes. Especially the women, as if they could see through his clothes to his tall, muscular frame, exclaiming "OMG!" nonstop.

Soon, Qin Yun's third jump landed—no variation, effortlessly touching the target point. Three perfect jumps in a row, instantly securing first place in his group with no surprise, advancing smoothly to the semifinals.

"Bro Qin, awesome!"

When Qin Yun returned, Zeng Luo was beside himself with excitement. Though Shu Han also advanced to the semifinals, anyone with eyes could see she'd gotten lucky—she'd reached her limit and stood almost no chance of passing the semifinals. But Qin Yun was different; two thousand meters of precision skydiving felt like child's play.

What of four thousand meters? What of six thousand?

Thinking of the livestream title—"Ten Thousand Meter Altitude Precision Skydive"—he knew for certain he'd make the top three and earn a spot in the exhibition match.

Qin Yun patted his shoulder: "Calm down."

Then he turned to Su Huan: "How much did I lose?"

Su Huan glanced at the prize-guessing data summary and smiled: "A total of 150 million diamonds were bet on your advancement. You paid out 7. million diamonds."

Qin Yun looked at the drone, patted his chest, and let out a visible sigh of relief: "Thanks to everyone for holding back—if not, I'd be bankrupt."