Chapter 248

July 3rd, the weather was bright and sunny.

Inside the underground cave, lights blazed brilliantly. The Red Bull representative was Lu Sicheng, a capable man in his forties; the DJI representative was Wei Heng, only a few years older than Qin Yun, who was extremely excited to meet Qin Yun for the first time, acting like a devoted fan.

Under the leadership and coordination of these two men, along with official personnel, a live-streaming team was effortlessly assembled.

When Qin Yun appeared at the entrance of the underground river, it was only nine in the morning—still plenty of time before the live stream's scheduled start at ten.

All sponsor equipment was fully prepared; Qin Yun inspected each item one by one. First and foremost was the life-support system: the closed-circuit rebreather (CCR), the only viable option for challenging a depth over 300 meters—he chose the RT Megalodon CCR, rated for 500 meters, using a helium-nitrogen-oxygen trimix.

Then came the main and decompression cylinders, both from the American brand Luxfer; backup independent air supply and the diving suit were also top-tier brands. These were life-critical systems, so Qin Yun dared not neglect a single detail—no equipment could afford the slightest flaw.

After all, diving was still primarily an overseas sport; domestic development had come late, manufacturers were few, and choices had to be made with even greater caution.

"Mr. Qin, should we go live early or on time?"

After finishing his equipment check, Qin Yun began warming up his body. Wei Heng watched for a while, then came over to ask.

"On time!" The cave was crowded—DJI had seven or eight people, Red Bull had five or six, plus government officials and technical staff from equipment sponsors—all specially assigned to him in case of equipment failure, with multiple backup units for every single device.

They couldn't afford to be careless—Qin Yun's live-stream popularity was too high, far beyond ordinary streamers. His live sessions now consistently drew millions, even tens of millions of real-time viewers; on television, such numbers would command astronomical prices.

Precisely because of this, Su Huan's pricing had grown increasingly bold—and non-negotiable—its confidence rooted entirely in the sheer volume of traffic.

After warming up, Su Huan immediately handed him diluted salt water. Qin Yun took a sip, squeezed her palm, and noticed her hand was cold.

"Don't worry—it's not that dangerous."

Su Huan felt like retorting. After all these days, if she still didn't grasp how perilous cave diving was, she might as well quit and go home to have a baby.

Nearby staff, hearing Qin Yun's calm tone, were deeply impressed.

Before official bans on cave diving, this cluster of Tiankengs in Dashiwei, Guangxi, was once called the "ceiling of Chinese cave diving." Though cave dives here remained rare, fatalities had already reached four. Since the ban, the site had grown even more mysterious.

As time passed and ten o'clock neared, streaming on all four platforms was ready; countless viewers waited at the live room entrances, anticipating the broadcast.

DJI's live team watched the countdown on the nearby monitor.

10…9…8…………3…2…1……

When the countdown hit zero, the screens of all four live rooms flashed—suddenly revealing Qin Yun's full figure, as he was being assisted by equipment technicians to don his gear.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Qin Yun, a temporary cave diving enthusiast."

Qin Yun's usual opening line appeared in the live room.

"Oh, first! First!"

"Hahaha, so many people around Mr. Qin—I've never seen him with so many professionals before."

"666, that's Red Bull's logo, DJI's logo—awesome!"

"Mr. Qin is attempting the 350-meter extreme cave diving record today—good luck!"

"Go for it, Mr. Qin!"

"Crazy sent a gift to the streamer…"

"A Piao sent a gift to the streamer…"

From the very start, gifts flooded the screen like free items.

"... temporary cave diving enthusiast. I'm currently at the Dashiwei Tiankeng Cluster in Leye, Guangxi—once called the 'ceiling of Chinese cave diving,' a world-renowned underground labyrinth, and the 'ultimate forbidden zone' for countless extreme explorers."

"Its vertical depth reaches 613 meters—equivalent to 200 stories, enough to swallow two Eiffel Towers. The underground river spans 50 kilometers, layered and interwoven, forming a fully submerged three-dimensional maze."

"Even with spotlights and flashlights, visibility remains only between 0. and 5 meters; any disturbance instantly reduces sight to zero."

As Qin Yun spoke, some viewers immediately searched and compared.

"Wow, I have claustrophobia—just looking at this place scares me."

"Unreal. This isn't human work. I always feel something's watching me underwater."

"23333, Mr. Qin's got guts."

Qin Yun continued: "The underground river branches like a spiderweb, with side passages crisscrossing. The narrowest points are only 0. meters wide—if you get stuck, you're done. Years of sediment have built up layers of mud several meters thick; even a light touch turns visibility into utter blackness."

"But these aren't the real dangers. The most notorious is the underground current—it has no pattern, and water flow can surge suddenly, snapping guide ropes. To date, this underground abyss has claimed four world-class divers."

"A netizen asked: just how dangerous is it?"

"I'll say this: cave diving has a fatality rate 160 times higher than regular diving. Here, there's no sunlight, no rescue. One wrong step—and it's forever."

Qin Yun's explanation frightened many fans—but also intensified their anticipation.

Beyond the countless fans, a group of professionals watched the stream closely. They knew every word Qin Yun spoke by heart and understood the danger was far beyond what two casual sentences could convey.

Without experiencing cave diving, one cannot truly feel its peril.

Soon, Qin Yun finished donning all gear, confirmed every device functioned normally, and arrived at the water's edge. Before fully sealing his full-face mask, he smiled and said: "Friends, it's ten twelve now. Thank you for your gifts—I'm going in. Wish me luck."

With that, he nodded to Su Huan, grabbed the guide rope, and stepped into the water. On the live stream, the view instantly shifted to underwater footage—not Qin Yun's primary perspective, but from a custom underwater drone already deployed in the water.

These drones, each the size of a fist, could change direction by jetting water from six directions, maneuvering freely underwater.

Each was tightly synced with Qin Yun's primary feed, never drifting more than thirty meters away, ensuring multi-angle recording of the entire dive—without Qin Yun needing to monitor them.

As he fully submerged, music began to play softly—the cave diving live stream officially began.

Everyone's tension rose with it.

On the live feed, Qin Yun's body slowly appeared. Everyone watched as he gently moved toward a nearby stone pillar, removed a carabiner, and hammered it into a crack to secure the guide rope.

Some viewers didn't understand; the professionals were happy to explain.

"It's just like rock climbing—using ropes and carabiners to anchor the guide rope, preventing it from being snapped by currents. That way, you can safely return using the same rope. Without it, visibility is so poor you can't tell direction—many cave diving deaths stem from broken or lost guide ropes."

"Hence, the guide rope is called the 'lifeline'—its importance exceeds that of a rock climbing rope."

Not long after, as the guide rope was secured, Qin Yun's voice crackled through the stream, muffled.

"This reel is seven hundred meters long—I hope it's enough. Otherwise, it'll be trouble."

Where he currently was, the water was still shallow, with visible rocks and pillars. He needed to swim inward to find the entrance to the underground maze—so seven hundred meters might not be enough.

At that moment, Qin Yun's body suddenly tilted as an underground current swept him, hurling him sideways.

"Damn, what just happened?"

"Did Mr. Qin hit trouble right after entering?"

Qin Yun remained calm. In the instant before hitting the rock wall, he controlled his body, pushed off with his left hand, and stabilized himself instantly.

"As expected—the underground river's currents are everywhere. Unprepared, they're genuinely dangerous, especially this one."

He shook the guide rope reel in his hand.

"Though this rope is made of strong material, bad luck can still snap it under current pressure. That's why we must place anchor points at intervals—to secure the guide rope and ensure sufficient safety."