Chapter 83: Geological Photographer

Han Wei sat in her office, her mood low; she had mostly guessed Qin Yun would refuse, but now that he had, she still felt a pang of disappointment.

She sat like that for a long time, then bit her silver teeth, a look of determination appearing on her flawless face: "I don't believe it—I'll just spend more money and hire a foreign climbing team."

Qin Yun was right: Han Wei's so-called best friend was pure fiction.

But he only suspected—he didn't ask, not at this hour of night; he simply lay down and went back to sleep.

The next morning, as he packed his bags, he remembered his suspicion from yesterday and finally sent a message: "If your best friend can't find a climbing team willing to take her, won't she eventually give up?"

Han Wei had woken early; seeing this WeChat message, she replied without hesitation: "Given my best friend's personality, even if she can't find a domestic team, she'll go abroad—she'll just spend more money. She's stubborn."

Looking at this message on her phone, Qin Yun was almost certain the so-called best friend was Han Wei herself.

Qin Yun thought for a moment and directly called her WeChat voice: "With today's technology, you can just fly up by helicopter to take photos—why climb all the way up?"

"I'm going to take photos for my sister…" The words slipped out, and she instantly realized Qin Yun had figured out her little secret: "You guessed it?"

Qin Yun said solemnly: "Han Wei, I know this might be overstepping, but I still need to know what you're really going for."

Han Wei opened her mouth, then fell silent, unable to speak.

Qin Yun didn't rush her; he waited quietly.

After a moment, Han Wei's voice grew hoarse and low: "My sister is pitiable—she broke ties with our family, and now she's had a leg amputated. Mentally, she's always yearning for a photo of Yaomei Peak, so…"

"…."

Qin Yun rubbed his forehead—you're such a good sister!

Since she'd spoken, Han Wei no longer hid it: "I know it sounds childish, but my sister spends every day staring blankly, muttering about it—I want to fulfill her wish to photograph Yaomei Peak!"

Hearing this, Qin Yun sighed slightly; he didn't try to dissuade her: "I understand. You've clearly researched Yaomei Peak's conditions—it's not for ordinary people."

Han Wei's heart leapt—did Qin Ye mean he'd agreed?

"I know!"

Qin Yun, combining yesterday's research, said: "If traveling from Mount Siguniang Town to Yaomei Peak Base Camp is Stage One with a difficulty rating of two stars, then 4,000 to 5,000 meters is Stage Two, difficulty skyrocketing to four stars; 5,000 to 5,800 meters is Stage Three, difficulty at five stars."

"At this stage, oxygen levels are below 50% of sea level—you won't even need to think about it; you'll suffer severe altitude sickness and must constantly inhale oxygen just to sustain vital signs."

He paused, then asked: "At what altitude do you start getting altitude sickness?"

Han Wei thought of her own experience at Yaomei Peak, feeling guilty: "At Yaomei Peak Base Camp, I needed about forty minutes of oxygen to ease the symptoms."

Hearing this answer, Qin Yun immediately rubbed his forehead.

Han Wei herself felt embarrassed and quickly added: "I can endure it."

Qin Yun said: "It's not about whether you can endure—your body's reactions don't obey your will."

Forty minutes of oxygen just to relieve symptoms meant she was already experiencing moderate altitude sickness; worse symptoms like violent headaches, vomiting, and breathing difficulties were common. To go further, the only solution for Han Wei was to maintain constant oxygen intake.

Han Wei was also helpless—she knew her own condition: at 3,000 to 4,000 meters, even without intervention, she already got altitude sickness, let alone going higher.

"I'll bring an oxygen generator."

Qin Yun nodded. After thinking, he finally agreed—climbing wasn't a bad format for livestreaming, especially in such extreme conditions; it had huge appeal, comparable to wilderness survival.

"I can agree—but I can't guarantee when I'll arrive at Mount Siguniang Town. And you must promise me one thing."

Han Wei's face lit up instantly, her hand gripping the phone slightly trembling: "Really? Qin Ye, tell me."

"Mm. I'll drive myself to Sichuan—we'll meet at Mount Siguniang Town. What I need is this: you must listen to me!"

Qin Yun wasn't in a hurry to head to Sichuan immediately; the nearly 2,000-kilometer journey from Zhejiang to Sichuan gave him time to drive leisurely, enjoying the landscapes, customs, and ethnic cultures of different provinces along the way—it would be enjoyable.

"Okay, Qin Ye, I'll follow you," Han Wei said excitedly. "Just go at your own pace—just let me know when you're about to reach Sichuan."

Qin Yun nodded slightly: "Then it's settled for now—we'll see each other at Mount Siguniang Town."

"Mm, see you then!"

After ending the call, Han Wei sat stunned for a while, opened her phone's photo album, stared at a group photo, and—lost in thought—her eyes grew moist.

Although Qin Yun had agreed, he could foresee Han Wei would struggle terribly—even with an oxygen generator, moving through harsh conditions would be grueling.

He only needed to ensure her safety; if he saw her condition deteriorating, he'd stop everything immediately.

But according to the system's current check-in task pattern, driving from Jinhua to Sichuan would inevitably trigger check-in tasks along the way. By the time he reached Sichuan, it might be ages.

He packed his bags, went to the hotel lobby, and saw Zhao Yajun and Li Xintian both pushing a suitcase—clearly waiting for him.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes," Zhao Yajun walked over. "Qin Ye, Yajun and I are heading back to school today. Where are you going next?"

Qin Yun smiled: "I'm driving to Sichuan, traveling and exploring along the way. Need me to drop you at the station?"

Li Xintian felt a pang of envy but thanked him: "No need, Qin Ye—we'll just take a ride-hailing car."

"Alright, then be careful on your way," Qin Yun said, merely being polite.

Zhao Yajun said: "I really wish I could travel with Qin Ye."

Qin Yun laughed: "Traveling can happen anytime—right now, your priority is finding your future direction: will you be an office worker or your own boss?"

After chatting a while, a ride-hailing car arrived at the entrance.

Qin Yun helped load their suitcases into the trunk; Zhao Yajun waved from inside: "Qin Ye, when you livestream, I'll send you a carnival!"

Li Xintian: "Me too."

Qin Yun chuckled, not taking it seriously: "I'll be waiting then."

Soon, the car pulled away, merging into traffic.

Qin Yun felt good—this was the meaning of travel: meeting different people, eating different foods, experiencing different customs. If everywhere was the same, he might as well stay home.

Since there was no check-in task, he had no specific goal. After checking out, he opened navigation, searched directly for Mount Siguniang Town, then set the route from his current location to the destination.

Along the way, he passed Jiangxi, Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan—crossing three provinces and one municipality, total distance 2,200 kilometers.

First stop: Quzhou.

He posted a selfie on Moments and drove off.

Meanwhile, on Douyin, his video clips had been shared countless times, each with extremely high engagement; though they didn't generate income, they greatly boosted his follower growth.

Yesterday he still had only fifteen million followers, but by noon the follower count had already approached twenty million.

Especially when these people entered Qin Yun's homepage and saw the videos he had posted so far, they were amazed and all became his followers.

People naturally admire the strong, and especially seeing Qin Yun do things ordinary people cannot, they admire him even more.

Most importantly, what Qin Yun did was almost always operating right at the edge of human limits — it was a game of nerves, and for people stuck in offices, it was undoubtedly something they deeply longed for.

When the car was passing through Longyou County, he suddenly remembered something.

"The Longyou Grottoes seem to be right here in Longyou County, Quzhou."

It seemed the Longyou Grottoes were hailed as the "Ninth Wonder of the World," the largest and most mysterious man-made underground grotto complex yet discovered. The era of their excavation and their purpose remain mysteries to this day; the caverns are vast, the structures exquisite, the chisel marks layered one upon another, and the visual impact is tremendous.

Qin Yun had only ever seen them online; he had never actually been there.

Since he was already passing through Longyou County and had thought of it again, naturally there was no reason not to go.

After getting off the Shanghai–Kunming Expressway, Qin Yun navigated directly to the Longyou Grottoes and found they were less than five kilometers away — practically right beside the highway.

Then once he went inside, he began to feel sorry for his fifty-yuan ticket.

Because after walking through the five grottoes, he found that the carvings on the walls and pillars were not ancient relics but later additions. Although the overall sense of space was quite nice, it wasn't really worth the ticket price; he felt it would be better if admission were free.

As for the so-called Ninth Wonder of the World, he figured that was a title the Longyou cultural-tourism folks had bestowed upon themselves.

If one were simply appreciating the grotto caverns on their own merits, they could indeed be called grand in scale and marvelously crafted by nature's hand, but if you came all this way especially for them, it really wasn't worth it.

Qin Yun retraced his route. Since he was already here, he might as well make the best of it — he planned to sample some of Longyou's local specialty foods.

Eating is an attitude toward life, a kind of passion; everything else may disappear, but the passion cannot.

Qin Yun wholeheartedly agreed with this saying by Cai Lan, so when it came to food, he had always been very serious.

Now that he himself had mastered top-tier culinary skills, he could be even more particular about eating. The path of food is worth pursuing for a lifetime — especially in China, where you could spend a whole lifetime and still never eat your way through all the cuisine.