Chapter 234

After three days, the official announcement and explanation from the authorities in conjunction with local police finally arrived.

Sharou and Raoul admitted their actions, and the evidence was overwhelming and irrefutable. Red Bull erupted in fury, notified all international skydiving associations, banned all athletes from the Pharaoh Club, and urged the Egyptian authorities to immediately arrest those involved.

As for Sharou and Raoul, they were directly detained by French authorities pending trial; what awaited them would be years, even over a decade, of imprisonment—this lifetime was utterly finished.

But for Qin Yun, Red Bull was not the main issue—the true key was that the state had stepped in.

In the diplomatic sphere, China directly submitted a formal recall to the Egyptian embassy in China, issued a stern demarche to Egypt's foreign affairs official, delivered a forceful rebuttal, and set a deadline for Egypt to release its investigation results. Simultaneously, China began tightening various measures, including approvals for China-Egypt cultural and tourism cooperation.

Qin Yun's personal matter had been elevated to an international diplomatic level.

His name, which had always appeared only in extreme sports circles, now appeared on the international stage, causing a massive uproar. People in China who had never paid attention to this field had unknowingly learned of Qin Yun's existence.

Or rather, many had merely heard of him but didn't understand him—until this incident, when many actively searched for him and sought to learn about him.

Three days later, the finals of the first Red Bull Cup Extreme Precision Skydiving Championship officially began.

First place: China Changkong Club, Qin Yun; second place: UK Royal Club, Hugo; third place: USA TEMU Club, Nathan; fourth place: Austria Red Bull Club, Griffin; fifth place: Australia Cyberpunk, Edmund; sixth place: France Sky Club, Winster; seventh place: Austria Red Bull Club, Simon; eighth place: UK Royal Club, Raphael; ninth place: Canada Extreme Sports Club, Court; tenth place: Czech Republic, Black.

Of the ten, the first nine all competed under club affiliations; only the tenth, Black from the Czech Republic, was an individual competitor.

According to interviews, he was purely an amateur with no club affiliation, yet he stumbled his way into the finals—undoubtedly a legend.

All ten were men; not a single woman among them.

This also indirectly revealed the vast gender gap in this sport.

Only ten competitors in the finals; each could make up to twelve jumps, with only the best score counted. If someone landed on the bullseye on the first jump, they could skip the remaining eleven. But at six thousand meters, hitting the bullseye was virtually impossible.

Humans are not birds; in midair, one can only roughly adjust direction using a parachute, never achieving fine control.

As for scoring, the finals replaced electronic target scoring with manual and electronic locking systems.

Early that morning, the two flushed-faced individuals stepped out of their room, met up with Changkong Club members, and headed to the finals venue. The day's atmosphere was far more lively than during the preliminaries or semifinals. Media reporters from all over the world seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, with broadcast vans everywhere.

The two held hands tightly; the affection between them was obvious even to fools.

"Boss Qin, one jump and finish them off," Zeng Luo said, his spirits high and mood excellent.

As Changkong Club's reputation grew, he had recently received many international collaboration offers. But he knew all of it came from Qin Yun—without Qin Yun, Changkong Club would still be just a second-rate club internationally.

"That's right, Boss Qin, let these foreigners see how powerful Chinese people are."

Nie Jun, Jiang Shuangxing, and the others were thrilled—this was the first time they'd seen a Chinese competitor enter the finals with overwhelming dominance.

"Hahahaha, don't worry, we'll definitely bring back the first Red Bull Cup trophy for Changkong Club."

When the group arrived at the venue, the large screen was looping footage of the ten competitors from the preliminaries and semifinals. Online, the top five most talked-about competitors, besides Qin Yun, were Hugo of Royal Club, TEMU's Dupont, Red Bull's Griffin, and Extreme Sports' Court.

Each of these four had an extremely impressive resume, having won numerous championships in different international events; on the surface, Qin Yun was nothing.

After all, he was merely an outdoor streamer, while these men were seasoned elites who had honed their craft for years.

Yet now, seeing Changkong Club appear, the broadcast cameras shifted to Qin Yun, and each of them felt immense pressure.

Four thousand meters—that terrifying ability to hit the bullseye five times—made everyone feel Qin Yun was a giant looking down on them; the chance of surpassing him was vanishingly small.

Hugo of Royal Club said to Nathan beside him: "Let's pray Qin isn't good at skydiving at six thousand meters."

Nathan rolled his eyes: "Like we're good at it—my training at this altitude is maybe once or twice a year."

Precision skydiving at six thousand meters was no longer a standard altitude—it far exceeded normal competition requirements. Previously, official U. S. precision skydiving competitions capped out at two thousand meters.

Red Bull had pushed this height to its extreme.

At this moment, everyone in Qin Yun's livestream was waiting eagerly, hoping he could snatch the championship from these top-tier athletes—no one believed the title would go to anyone else.

Qin Yun's repeated extreme maneuvers had blindly instilled confidence in everyone.

Hearing the call for registration, Qin Yun kissed Su Huan: "I'm off now—the livestream's all yours."

Su Huan nodded: "Mm, go ahead, stay safe."

He nodded, gave each of Zeng Luo and the others a fist bump, then appeared on the field, standing before the host platform like the others.

Here, all competitors were to be interviewed by the host.

Faber today had slicked his hair back, looking energetic.

He had prepared all interview questions in advance, so the process unfolded smoothly, entirely under his control.

"Hugo, how's it going? Confident about securing a performance slot?"

Hugo shrugged: "If you mean winning the championship, I have no confidence—but just a performance slot? I think I can manage."

"Hahahaha." Faber understood Hugo's meaning; he turned the microphone toward Qin Yun: "Qin, what about you?"

He expected Qin Yun, as a Chinese, to be humble—after all, the international impression of Chinese people was precisely that.

But Qin Yun was clearly different.

"My plan is to land on the bullseye within three jumps."

His voice echoed through the entire venue via speakers; everyone erupted. His opponents stared at Qin Yun with strange expressions.

To call it arrogance? But remembering his four-thousand-meter record, it didn't seem so outrageous—after all, this time he said three jumps, not one.

"OMG, Qin, if you land on the bullseye within three jumps, I'll give you my villa in Hawaii."

Qin Yun smiled: "Faber, get the transfer contract ready."

Their bet sent the arena's atmosphere soaring—under this atmosphere, the competition officially began.

The ten competitors boarded two planes, ascending to six thousand meters. Each was fully equipped—oxygen, cold-weather gear, helmets—all present; even so, some quickly felt dizzy at this altitude.

Following the prearranged order, each one exited the aircraft cabin, beginning their first jump.

This was Qin Yun's first time—even his first time in life. But his Master-level precision skydiving skill allowed him to adapt slightly, then almost instinctively control his body.

Wind howled, heaven and earth silent; all visible below seemed like tiny insects. Suspended between heaven and earth, he enjoyed absolute freedom. In this moment, all distractions vanished, all thoughts disappeared—only transcendent solitary courage descended upon him.

……

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