Chapter 248

July 3rd, the weather was bright and sunny.

Inside the underground cavern, 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 upon first meeting Qin Yun, behaving entirely like a fan.

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

Qin Yun appeared at the entrance of the underground river at nine in the morning, still well before the 10 a. m. live stream.

All sponsors' 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)—essential for challenging the 300-meter record; he chose the RT Megalodon CCR, a 500-meter-rated model using a helium-nitrogen-oxygen trimix.

Then came the main and decompression cylinders, made by the American company Luxfer; next, the independent backup air supply and diving suit were also top-tier brands. These pieces of equipment were matters of life and death, so Qin Yun dared not neglect them—no single item could afford the slightest flaw.

After all, diving was primarily an overseas sport; domestic development came late, manufacturers were few, and choices required even greater caution.

"Boss Qin, should we stream early or on time?"

After inspecting all the equipment, Qin Yun began warming up; Wei Heng watched for a while, then came over to ask.

"On time!" The cavern 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 single-stream commercial value had long surpassed its former self, consistently drawing tens of millions, even hundreds of millions, of real-time viewers domestically—a figure that would bankrupt any TV station.

Precisely because of this, Su Huan's pricing had grown increasingly bold and non-negotiable; the traffic behind it was her confidence.

After warming up, Su Huan hurriedly handed him diluted salt water; Qin Yun took a sip, squeezed her palm, and found her palm icy cold.

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

Su Huan felt like venting—so many days had passed; if she still didn't grasp how dangerous this cave dive was, she might as well quit and go home to have a baby.

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

Before the government banned cave diving here, this cluster of giant sinkholes in Dashiwei was once called the "ceiling of Chinese cave diving." Though cave dives here remained rare, fatalities had reached four. Since the ban, the site had grown even more mysterious.

As time passed and 10 a. m. drew nearer, streaming on all four platforms was ready; countless viewers waited at the livestream entrances.

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

10…9…8…………3…2…1……

When the countdown hit zero, the screens of all four livestreams flickered, suddenly showing Qin Yun's full body as he, assisted by equipment technicians, began donning his gear.

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

Qin Yun's usual opening line appeared in the livestream.

"Yo, first! First!"

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

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

"Boss Qin is attempting the 350-meter extreme cave diving record—Wish you success."

"Go for it, Boss Qin."

"Fengzi sent a gift to the streamer…"

"Apiao sent a gift to the streamer…"

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

"…a temporary cave diving enthusiast. I'm currently at the Dashiwei sinkhole cluster in Leye, Guangxi—once called the 'ceiling of Chinese cave diving,' recognized worldwide as an underground labyrinth and the 'ultimate forbidden zone' for countless extreme explorers."

"Its vertical depth reaches 613 meters—equivalent to 200 stories high, enough to swallow two Eiffel Towers. The underground river spans 50 kilometers, layered and interwoven, forming a fully submerged 3D maze."

"Even with spotlights and flashlights, visibility remains only between 0.5 and 5 meters; any disturbance instantly reduces sight to zero."

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

"Tsk, I have claustrophobia—I'm scared just looking at this place."

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

"23333, Boss Qin's got guts."

Qin Yun continued: "The underground river branches like a spiderweb, with side passages crisscrossing; the narrowest point is only 0.6 meters wide—if you get stuck, you're done. Moreover, accumulated silt over years has thickened to several meters; even a light touch turns visibility to absolute black."

"But these aren't the real problems. The most notorious is the underground current—it has no pattern, and water flow can surge suddenly, risking the guide rope snapping. 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's fatality rate is 160 times higher than regular diving. Here, there's no sunlight, no rescue—take one wrong step, and it's goodbye forever."

Qin Yun's explanation frightened many fans—but also made them even more eager.

Beyond the countless fans, a group of professionals also watched the livestream; they knew every detail Qin Yun mentioned and understood that the danger could never be captured in two casual sentences.

Without experiencing cave diving, one cannot feel its danger.

Soon, Qin Yun finished donning all equipment, confirmed all systems functioned normally, and arrived at the water's edge. Before fully sealing his full-face mask, he smiled and said: "Friends, it's 10:12 a. m. Thank you for your gifts—I'm going in. Wish me success."

With that, he nodded to Su Huan, grabbed the guide rope, and stepped into the water. Before the livestream, all viewers saw the screen shift to an underwater view—not Qin Yun's primary perspective, but a custom underwater drone already dropped into the water.

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

Each was tightly synced with Qin Yun's primary view, never straying more than thirty meters away, ensuring multi-angle recording of the entire process—Qin Yun didn't need to monitor them at all.

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

Everyone's tension rose with it.

On the livestream screen, Qin Yun's body slowly appeared; everyone saw him move gently toward a nearby Shi Zhu, remove a carabiner, and hammer it into a crack in the stone pillar 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 fix the guide rope, preventing the current from snapping it. That way, you can safely return using the same rope. Without it, visibility underground is so poor you can't tell direction—many cave diving deaths stem from snapped or lost guide ropes."

"So the guide rope is also called the 'lifeline'—its importance outweighs even climbing ropes."

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

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

Where he currently was, the depth was still shallow, with visible rocks and Shi Zhu—he needed to swim inward to find the entrance to the underground maze, so seven hundred meters might truly be insufficient.

At that moment, Qin Yun's body tilted suddenly, swept aside by a hidden current, flinging him uncontrollably against one side.

"Shit, what the hell?"

"Did Qin Ye run into trouble right after entering the water?"

Qin Yun remained calm, controlling his body the instant he struck the rock wall, then pushed off with his left hand, instantly stabilizing himself.

"As I suspected, the undercurrents in this underground river are everywhere—unprepared, they pose a serious threat, especially this one."

He shook the spool of guiding rope in his hand.

"Though the rope's material is strong, bad luck can't withstand the force of the undercurrents. That's precisely why we must anchor it at regular intervals—secure the guiding rope properly, only then can we ensure sufficient safety."