Chapter 657: Chapter 592: The Number One Free Climber Chapter 657: Chapter 592: The Number One Free Climber Yang Ping finished the high-stakes surgery at the affiliated hospital and then played basketball for two days over the weekend.

On Monday, he was extremely busy with surgeries in his department. Thanks to the help of his two assistants, Yang Ping was able to devote some energy to the preparation of his stem cell muscle cultivation project.

Li Jun didn’t wake up, and Qin Xiaowei stayed every day in the family waiting area of the ICU. Every time he saw Yang Ping, Qin Xiaowei would come over to ask about Li Jun’s condition.

The ICU at one point wondered if Li Jun had brain death, but after examination, it was verified that he did not have brain death. Therefore, theoretically, there was a chance for him to awaken. However, in reality, this chance was very slim.

Huge medical costs were piling up, and to maintain Li Jun’s life, the expenses would continue to increase.

As the self-financed part was too large, Qin Xiaowei began to realize that the one million he had received would eventually run out. To save Ajun, he would still need money.

He wanted to get the remaining five hundred thousand as quickly as possible.

Since Li Jun didn’t wake up, and the presence at his bedside was of no assistance, Qin Xiaowei put all the rest of the money into Li Jun’s hospital account. Then he told the ICU doctor that he would be leaving temporarily for a few days to raise more funds.

He emphasized again and again that he would not give up. If medical expenses became tight, he requested that they call him immediately.

Later Qin Xiaowei signed a document stating that if Li Jun’s condition changed, the ICU would do its utmost to rescue him. The doctors could make decisions without waiting for Qin Xiaowei to give his signature.

The ICU doctors believed that he hadn’t given up on the patient because, typically, no one would still be depositing hundreds of thousands into the account if they are planning to abandon the treatment. Most would quietly leave and then turn off their cell phone.

After leaving the ICU, Qin Xiaowei lingered in front of Yang Ping’s office for a long while before mustering the courage to knock and enter.

“Qin Xiaowei?”

Yang Ping was surprised.

Qin Xiaowei sat down, “Professor Yang, I’m going to be away for a few days to fundraise for Ajun’s medical treatment. I will be back in about three days. I swear I will not give up on Ajun, I won’t! If there are any changes in his condition, please do your utmost to rescue him, and then give me a call. My phone is always on.”

Qin Xiaowei was afraid that if he was away and there was a change in his friend’s condition, the hospital would possibly give up on Ajun.

Though he had already signed some consent papers at the ICU, Qin Xiaowei still felt it was important to clarify this with Yang Ping before leaving, as he had great trust in Yang Ping.

Yang Ping didn’t know what he was going to do and decided it was inappropriate to ask. He could only promise that he would put maximum effort into rescuing Li Jun if his condition became critical.

As for what Qin Xiaowei was going to do, and how he would fundraise, Yang Ping was unable to interfere. This was beyond a doctor’s responsibility. Qin Xiaowei was a grown man and was capable of making his own judgments.

This time Qin Xiaowei left for three days to scout the free-climbing rock wall.

Free climbing is a tremendously dangerous sport. In addition to requiring technique and physical strength, it also requires thorough and scientific preparations.

After signing the contract, Qin Xiaowei hadn’t checked out the rock wall he was going to free-climb.

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In the northwestern part of Nandu Province, there lay a mountain area.

Qin Xiaowei stood at the base of the cliff, craning his neck up at this rock precipice. It was indeed a great place for climbing, more suitable than any rock wall he had ever seen before.

Over nine hundred meters tall, with sharp, vertical cliffs rising to ninety degrees. Bare of vegetation, incredibly steep and daunting. It was hard to imagine such a rock formation existing inside this big mountain.

“It’s all granite, with excellent rock quality. We’ve swept it once. There are no bushes, no loose rocks. It’s very suitable for free climbing. If I were younger, I would be willing to try.” Along, with his hands on his hips, handed a pair of binoculars to Qin Xiaowei.

Qin Xiaowei took the binoculars, observed the rock wall thoroughly from top to bottom, from left to right. Indeed, the entire rock wall was devoid of any bushes or weeds, and the quality of the rocks looked very good to the naked eye.

Not far away, they had set up a tent as a temporary base and a preparation center for the climb.

The two men returned to the tent to drink water and rest.

This free-climbing event was a collaboration between an outdoor sports brand and a video platform. The outdoor brand was advertising, while the video platform was gathering a large audience. Along’s company was one of the few that specialized in managing outdoor extreme sports videos and was thus highly valued by both parties. So the two parties commissioned Along to find someone for the free-climbing event.

In this circle, no one was more suitable than Qin Xiaowei.

With skills, physical strength, and age, Qin Xiaowei was the top choice.

For such a new rock wall which had never been climbed, they needed to open up routes, and the layout of these routes was crucial.

First, they used drones to monitor the entire rock wall in real-time and mapped out several routes; then Qin Xiaowei had to personally test climb each route.

During the trial climb, there were safety ropes for protection, making it relatively safe.

But for the actual climb, there were no safety ropes, not even the use of pitons was allowed. It was purely a free climb.

To free climb this type of new rock wall, some people would prepare for many years.

While Qin Xiaowei and Along were resting, they heard rustling sounds.

A slightly obese middle-aged man was being helped along until they reached the tent.

“Boss Zhou is here!”

Along tapped Qin Xiaowei, and they both stood up to welcome Boss Zhou.

Boss Zhou was the owner of the renowned outdoor sports brand “Ground Warriors”. A local person from Nandu, he had been engaged in outdoor sports apparel and equipment businesses for over twenty years.

“Brother Xiaowei!”

Shaking off the hands that were holding him, Boss Zhou steadied himself and shook Qin Xiaowei’s hand.

“Boss Zhou!”

This was Qin Xiaowei’s first meeting with him.

“Brother Xiaowei, I’ve admired you for a long time. Today, I finally meet you in person. You are the number one free climber in the country. I’ve seen your videos; they are fantastic!” Boss Zhou spoke with a look of admiration on his face.

Qin Xiaowei appeared somewhat shy and merely said, “Those are just exaggerations from people within the circle.”

“Brother Xiaowei has climbed many rock walls up and down our country. As for ones that are over nine hundred meters like this one, Xiaowei has climbed those too.”

Along added to the conversation. Of course, he wasn’t exaggerating; Qin Xiaowei was indeed very capable.

“Brother Xiaowei, this one is very challenging. Unfortunately, netizens have high expectations nowadays, and they won’t buy anything less than real. Once this is accomplished, you’ll be our company’s spokesperson, and there will be many more opportunities for cooperation in the future.”

As Boss Zhou spoke, he took the binoculars and looked up at the rock wall. His whole body broke out in goosebumps.

“Brother Xiaowei has no issues, but the preparation time seems a bit rushed. Could we have a bit more time?”

Qin Xiaowei was not good at networking, so Along tried to negotiate for him since they were all brothers within the same circle.

Boss Zhou shook his head and sighed, “I wish I had more time to give, but the circumstances don’t allow it. The company’s stock price has been falling continuously. If I don’t come up with some measures to stimulate it, I might as well jump off this cliff.”

“I’m begging you all!”

Boss Zhou bowed with a pitiful look on his face.

Along wanted to continue bargaining, but Qin Xiaowei pulled at his sleeves, indicating that he should not argue any further.

That’s because Qin Xiaowei was also desperately in need of this money.