The instant I leapt from the rooftop, my mind was still very calm. The mountain scenery rapidly swept by from above, and I could feel all of my hair lifting upwards.
Maybe this is what jumping off a building really feels like?
Once again experiencing that feeling between life and death, I seemed to become a bit more open-minded.
The sensation of freefalling was like truly experiencing death, and it was a choice I made myself, which felt especially wondrous.
I was fine, I only cursed the Divine Punishment System because when I was bouncing up there, I could hear the rope squeaking. How ridiculous is this? Why wasn't this decrepit project shut down earlier?
I must report this when I get back!
During the bounces, my blood began to rush to my forehead, and I could predict that when I got back up, there would definitely be bloodshot in my eyes.
Suddenly, I heard a terrifying sound of metal breaking above my head, creak!
The sound pierced into my brain so intensely it made my teeth feel sore!
"Fuck! What broke? Xu Nuo! Hurry the fuck up and have them pull me up!" I panicked. Although risking one's life could feel thrilling, who would actually want to play it all the way to death? But I knew that even though something seemed to have happened above, since I hadn't fallen yet, there should still be hope for rescue...
I looked at the dense jungle below and calculated the distance from the ground... about 300 meters or so?
If I fell from this height, there's no doubt I would be dead!
At that moment, another cable used to pull me up dangled down. I quickly grabbed it and fastened it onto my body.
I started to feel myself being slowly and gradually pulled up. I let out a sigh of relief in my mind and hurried to get up. Escaping the danger was the key.
However, I was now feeling a bit embarrassed... because of it!
I don't know the principle behind it, but most men experience a short-term "stand-up" of their little brother after bungee jumping.
"Ren He, are you okay?" Xu Nuo immediately asked when I was pulled up.
I, still unsettled, said, "I just want to know the fuck what snapped just now?"
"Oh, it was just a rail that suddenly broke, not that the bungee equipment malfunctioned."
I was taken aback and couldn't help laughing and crying, "Fuck, that scared me to death! I thought I was a goner! Truly fucking intense!"
The manager said with a beaming smile, "Bungee jumping seems dangerous, but it really isn't, otherwise the park would just be waiting to lose money, right?"
With a dark face, I thought to myself, just stop it already. With your old and unmaintained projects that don't spend money on upkeep, not shutting them down would be an outrage.
While talking, I suddenly looked up and saw my classmates. What a coincidence, running into them at this moment. First, I saw Yang Xi, and surprisingly, her gaze was on me. I then followed her gaze to myself, and shit, my little brother was still standing at attention!
I quickly patted my butt and stood up to let blood flow back to normal, hoping that my little brother would calm down quickly. Although it wasn't shameful since it's a normal reaction to bungee jumping, it was still a bit awkward...
"Cough cough, hey everyone, are we all here?" I changed the subject, and I could definitely see a hint of amusement in Yang Xi's eyes.
Duan Xiaolou asked in return, "How come you're here? Didn't you not want to come out to play?"
"Ah, actually, I had already planned to come to White Cloud Mountain to watch the sunrise and bungee jump with Xu Nuo, so when you all said you were going to Chongdu Gully, I didn't sign up."
This could only fool ghosts; it was planned all along? Xu Nuo clearly told her just yesterday that she couldn't participate because of some urgent matter—it was obviously a decision made just yesterday! Besides, during the night run, she had personally told Ren He that the destination of the activity had been changed to White Cloud Mountain. However, Duan Xiaolou knew she couldn't keep asking because she was aware that Ren He probably just didn't like moving with the large group.
Yet, she deeply felt the wisdom of Ren He's decision today. If she wasn't following this group of classmates, she definitely could have seen the sunrise! Moreover, this trip wouldn't have ended with so many unpleasant memories.
But going alone did not fit Duan Xiaolou's character. Always the class monitor since primary school, imagining herself as the future student council president in college, she seemed like she would never be as capricious as Ren He.
Duan Xiaolou said, "Shall we all go back together then?"
"Together, definitely together!" Ren He said cheerfully, "We'll go back with everyone."
Anyway, going back meant sitting on the coach in the parking lot; there was no difference, and since they had encountered each other, it did seem a bit inappropriate to go alone.
Only after hearing Ren He say this did Duan Xiaolou give it a rest and then turned to everyone, "This bungee jumping facility does look quite unsafe. Let's not take the risk, it's time to go down the mountain, pack up and get ready for the return trip."
When they arrived at the tourist service center, everyone watched Ren He and Xu Nuo walk into the White Cloud Hotel with their eyes wide open. Thinking about the place they stayed in, which even had cockroaches, made them feel even more conflicted.
"Xu Nuo is not living a life anymore, right? Inviting Ren He to stay at such an expensive place?"
"I heard Xu Nuo's family is in business, but who knows what kind of business they do."
Yang Xi curiously asked, "Why does everyone think it's Xu Nuo who's paying? Why do I feel like it's Ren He inviting Xu Nuo? The way they've been acting on this trip, it's clear that Ren He is the one in charge."
"Yang Xi, you transferred late and don't know. Ren He is famously stingy with his pocket money, only a total of 5 yuan a month. It's absolutely impossible for him to pay for a stay at the White Cloud Hotel."
Yang Xi felt confused. Why were these classmates' thoughts different from what she understood?
On the way back, Ren He purposely chose the seats behind Duan Xiaolou and Yang Xi for himself and Little Fatty, Xu Nuo. Although they sat close, they actually didn't talk much. Ren He was also not quite clear on his own thoughts; he just subconsciously wanted to be closer, without any real intent.
It was only at this point that he started to check his phone, to see how his online novel was doing. He had to remember, he had just launched it yesterday!
He had been too busy to check the previous day, only setting the prewritten chapters to publish at scheduled times. Now, he suddenly remembered, he didn't even know what kind of launch promotion he had gotten!
Plus, he wanted to know how his novel was faring, whether it could truly live up to the title of a divine book.
This was the nature of online literature. No matter how many favorites you had before launching, how much praise you received, or how many recommendation tickets you got, only on the launch day can you verify your true success!
Subscription numbers are the ultimate proof of everything.
In this parallel universe where knowledge copyright protection was quite solid, overall online literary performance had significantly improved.
Below 1000 average subscriptions is a flop, above 1000 holds hope for a rise, 5000 average subscriptions is considered high-quality work, and 10000 average subscriptions is divine.
The threshold for the annual conference at Grand Times Chinese Network is exactly 10000 average subscriptions.
And those with 40000 to 100000 average subscriptions are seen as supreme deities, those are the real giants.
100000 average subscriptions, that's probably the record high for Grand Times Chinese Network, far surpassing that of Earth.
"What a great era, knowledge copyright is protected so well! They say fortune favors the brave; may heaven bless me for my grades to be explosive!"
However, at this moment, the alert tone of the Divine Punishment System suddenly rang in Ren He's mind, "Congratulations on completing the bungee jumping mission: Reward, a 1.0 increase in physical ability."