Chapter 329: Parachuting Into the Sea of Death (3/3)

【October 8, 9:00 AM, Taklamakan Desert—come watch me traverse a thousand miles of yellow sand with @Fang Yuan, @Ryan, @Tian Zhongkui, @Elizabeth, @Qin Yuwen. Don't miss it.】

Below the text was a group photo: six people in camouflage suits, standing before the camera, exuding competence from head to toe.

When this livestream announcement appeared on social media, fans who had long been waiting erupted in celebration, spreading the news across every fan group. Within minutes, the announcement climbed to the top of Weibo's trending list, as well as TikTok and Douyin's trending charts.

"Haha, finally arrived—Death Sea, I'm excited."

"666, difficulty maxed out—hope nothing goes wrong."

"Even for Brother Qin, I'm not as confident this time—he's bringing five ordinary people."

"A new death-defying journey is about to begin."

"Time flies—last livestream ended just a month and a half ago, feels like yesterday we were still in the Serengeti."

"I heard this one's exclusive to Douyin—livestream only on Douyin and TikTok."

"Surface temperature in Taklamakan in October must exceed fifty degrees—terrifying."

"July and August were worse—surface temperature broke records at 72℃."

"Damn, that's insane."

"It's way more dangerous than anything Qin Brother faced in Qaidam before."

The online clamor didn't affect the five prepared individuals—they couldn't see the comments. At this moment in Korla, the group stepped off the plane and immediately felt the searing heat.

This heat was enveloping, instantly wrapping the entire body.

There were more people this time: besides the six, several staff handled logistics, so Qin Yun didn't need to personally manage the minor preparations.

After checking into the hotel, Qin Yun took possession of the equipment from the staff.

Besides clothing, each of the six carried a 500ml water bottle, one weapon, and one tool.

In the system interface, weapon choices were limited—only three: a 90-pound bow, a straight-handle survival knife, or a curved hawk-claw short blade. Tools offered far more options—compasses, ropes, entrenching tools—over a hundred to choose from.

The 90-pound bow was clearly meant for Qin Yun—no one else could draw it fully. So for Fang Yuan and the others, weapon choices were narrow: either the 33-centimeter straight-handle survival knife or the 18-centimeter curved hawk-claw short blade.

In the end, Fang Yuan chose the long knife and a shovel; Ryan chose the long knife and a ten-meter rope; Tian Zhongkui chose the short blade and a backpack; Elizabeth chose the short blade and a flint fire-starting kit; Qin Yuwen chose the long knife and a bag of salt.

All these items were custom-ordered by Qin Yun from manufacturers—quality was unquestionable.

The 90-pound bow in Qin Yun's hands felt weightless to him—drawing it fully required only about 90 jin of force, while his single arm possessed nearly half a ton of strength—he was no longer human.

To him, the 90-pound bow was like a toy; drawing it gave him no sensation at all.

For Fang Yuan and the others, drawing it fully was impossible—unless specially trained, few could generate 90 jin of force in one arm. The average person could barely manage 30 to 40 pounds.

Thus, after careful consideration, the five had been assigned their gear—not chosen by themselves.

After inspecting all equipment, Qin Yun handed each item to its respective owner.

With all preparations complete, they only awaited tomorrow morning's helicopter flight into the heart of the Taklamakan for airdrop parachuting to begin the livestream.

…

October 8, clear skies, light clouds!

A helicopter lifted off from Korla; as altitude increased, the landscape below shifted rapidly.

Patches of green thinned, farmland gave way to desert, hard gray-brown bedrock stretched to the horizon, human traces vanished—only scattered shrubs struggled to survive.

Wind swept through the cabin, carrying the desert's unique scent—each breath felt gritty with coarse sand.

As they pressed forward, the desert gradually disappeared.

Qin Yun, Fang Yuan, Ryan, Elizabeth, Tian Zhongkui, Qin Yuwen—six figures plunged headlong into the boundless expanse along with the helicopter.

"So magnificent!" Qin Yuwen gazed at the rolling dunes, their massive ridges stretching from beneath their feet to the horizon.

In every direction, not a trace of humanity remained—not even birds. Only pure vastness and endless yellow sand filled the heavens and earth.

The helicopter maintained steady altitude, penetrating deeper—the environment grew increasingly lifeless.

When sand surrounded them on all sides, they realized unconsciously the helicopter had hovered at two thousand meters.

"Brother Qin, we've reached the destination."

The pilot's voice came through the headset.

Qin Yun nodded.

【Whoosh—!】

He yanked the cabin door open—immediate gales surged inside.

Qin Yun turned to Fang Yuan and the other five; each face bore unmistakable tension. He smiled faintly: "Gentlemen, the livestream begins soon—nervous?"

Fang Yuan nodded: "My heartbeat's accelerating."

Elizabeth: "Mine too."

Ryan and Qin Yuwen nodded in agreement as well—only Tian Zhongkui, though tense, carried a hint of excitement within him.

"Hahaha!" Qin Yun pointed to his right arm—each person's right arm bore a drone, DJI-sponsored, equipped with AI and a screen: "Protect your drone—it's your camera. Your future popularity depends entirely on the footage you capture."

Everyone nodded firmly.

Qin Yun didn't waste words: "Power on all devices."

Instantly, each pressed the power button on their drone and action camera; Qin Yun also activated his three fixed cameras.

As all devices powered on, Qin Yun's main unit instantly synced every camera feed. Now his AI drone could freely switch between all camera angles.

Altogether, thirteen camera angles were active simultaneously—quite impressive.

After confirming all signals were connected, Qin Yun nodded to them and pressed the broadcast button.

【Boom—!】

As he pressed it, the Douyin and TikTok feeds flickered—then appeared.

"666, here it is, here it is!"

"Hahaha, couch, couch!"

"Finally started—I was getting impatient."

"Qin Ye, I love you."

"Quick, go check Weibo. A voting channel has appeared on Qin Ye's Weibo, for voting on the five participants."

At the right moment, Qin Yun's voice rang out in the livestream room.

"Hello everyone, I'm Qin Yun. The location I'm at right now is 2,000 meters above the heart of the Taklamakan Desert. Standing behind me are the companions who will be joining me for this livestream. Let them say hello."

"Hello everyone, I'm Fang Yuan, 25 years old, from Shandong. I'll give it my all and absolutely won't hold Qin Ye back."

"Hello everyone, I'm Ryan Evans, 23 years old, from Los Angeles, USA."

"Hello everyone, I'm Tian Zhong Kui. You can call me Xiao Kui. I'm from Japan, and I'm a high school senior."

"I'm Elizabeth. Hello to all my friends watching. I'll see this through to the end and absolutely won't give up."

"Hello everyone, I'm Qin Yuwen. This is my first time participating in a livestream like this, and I'm really nervous right now. I don't want to be the one holding everyone back, and I hope I can be of help to Qin Ye."

After everyone had said their greetings, Qin Yun turned the camera back on himself.

"I'm sure some of you have already seen the voting channel I posted on my Weibo. This vote is for the five of them. Each person, each IP, can only vote twice a day. The livestream will last a few days, so you can vote for that many days. When the livestream ends, I'll distribute the rewards based on the voting results."

He didn't say what the rewards were — he planned to reveal that after the livestream ended. No need to spill it now.

"Alright, enough talk." Qin Yun glanced at the upper-left corner of the livestream room. "It's 9:03 AM Beijing time. So let's kick off this livestream you've all been waiting for — Fang Yuan!"

"Here!"

"Jump!"

"Yes, sir!"

Fang Yuan took a deep breath, pulled down his goggles, and leapt from the cabin.

"Whoa, parachute jump, that's intense."

"Ryan."

"Here!"

"Tian Zhong Kui… Elizabeth… Qin Yuwen…"

Following his voice, one figure after another walked past him, then threw themselves from the cabin without a second thought. Soon, only he remained inside.

Qin Yun held the drone in his hand, let out a laugh, leaned back, and left the cabin as well.

"Aoooo… woooooo…"

Accompanied by the sound, the Taklamakan Desert, stretching for thousands of miles, suddenly appeared on camera. A sense of vastness and austerity leapt from the screen into the eyes of every viewer in the livestream room.

At the same time, a grand, stirring BGM began to play!

……

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