I am a Big Player
Chapter 309 - 307, A Narrow Escape from Death (Second Update)_1

Chapter 309: 307, A Narrow Escape from Death (Second Update)_1

Ren He waited, very aware in his heart that the nightmare had finally become a reality, and sometimes, fate is most capricious in that it brings exactly what one fears.

But the biggest difference from the dream was that in his dream he did not have the Divine Punishment System, while in reality he did.

Over the past year, he had maintained a mutually beneficial and win-win relationship with the Divine Punishment System, the system wanted cultural inheritance, and he wanted rewards that made him stand out. Although the Divine Punishment System was far superior to him in this cooperation, Ren He felt that at this time the system wouldn’t just stand by and watch him die. With the Divine Punishment System, he would always be able to find a glimmer of hope in this deadly catastrophe.

So how the Divine Punishment System would answer became the thing Ren He cared about most.

"Permission granted," the Divine Punishment System said calmly, "Two perfect rewards may be exchanged for the opportunity to reverse time by one hour. This reward is irreversible, cannot be exchanged again, and an additional task will be issued as extra punishment."

Time reversal by one hour... Ren He was stunned; he had never imagined that the Divine Punishment System would possess such power, but it was regrettable that this reward could not be exchanged again in the future.

And thinking about it, if he had the opportunity to reverse time by one hour for every two perfect rewards, would extreme sports pose any difficulty to him once he had enough rewards saved up?

Then the experience between life and death would cease to exist in the subconscious.

Suddenly, Ren He realized that this was the first, and the last, chance the Divine Punishment System was giving him to turn everything around in the process of his extreme sports.

"Thank you," Ren He said sincerely. Although the system had imposed an additional task as punishment, he had to seize any slim chance of survival.

If he could return to one hour earlier, then Ren He would be able to descend from the North Slope.

At this time, the mountaineering industry within Tibet, China, had not been overly developed, so there were not many climbers, possibly none at all that day. Therefore, even if the path on the North Slope was more difficult, at least Ren He would have a chance to descend.

His consciousness blurred for a second; Ren He instinctively closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he found himself repeating the scene just after he had taken a selfie with the TK flag!

Time had really reversed. The sensation was utterly absurd, yet Ren He knew that all of this was real, that he was indeed back to the time he was at the top of Mount Everest one hour earlier.

He must hurry to descend; in one hour the storm would engulf all life on Mount Everest. He had to reach the human campsite tent on the North Slope within that hour!

However, at that moment he was shocked to find a skateboard lying at his feet... A huge sense of foreboding surged in Ren He’s heart!

"Task: Return to the Nepal campsite by skiing within 2 hours. Failure to complete results in a lifetime of impotence," the Divine Punishment System said calmly.

Damn it, Ren He’s whole being was not good then. He had previously filled his head with thoughts on how to descend the North Slope because that was the route with the highest chance of survival for him. But now the Divine Punishment System suddenly told him: he must ski down from the South Slope to the Nepal campsite...

This really was... just a slim chance of survival...

The skills for skiing were all instilled in Ren He’s mind by the Divine Punishment System. Ren He knew there was no turning back. Some people might choose the more secure route of descending the North Slope even if it meant impotence rather than skiing down the South Slope as if courting death. But Ren He had his own choice... living the rest of his life impotent would mean life was essentially meaningless to him...

This only shows that everyone’s choices are different, and Ren He chose not to be impotent...

In fact, Ren He felt the Divine Punishment System was indeed quite fair. Even with time reversed, it pointed him to another route of dubious life and death, instead of just helping him down the mountain.

Could an entity capable of reversing time not directly transform Ren He from the mountain top to the bottom? Just like a magician pulling off a big trick with a human.

But the Divine Punishment System didn’t do this; it just let him experience life and death once again.

Ren He stood at the summit, looking in the direction where the storm was about to sweep in. At this time, there was only the flowing mist, with no signs of an impending storm.

In just one day today, Ren He had experienced an oxygen-free ascent to the top of Mount Everest and freehand rock climbing a vertical distance of 900 meters. Now, he was about to start snowboarding...

He took a deep breath, suppressing the unease in his heart. This descent was an unknown journey; he didn’t even check to see where obstacles might appear, nor did he know exactly how long the slide would take. He only knew that he only had this one chance.

Any regrets? No regrets.

This was his choice.

"The concept of ’living’ is not about waiting to slowly die but about running ceaselessly, running to faraway places to see as much of the world as possible, running until you’re totally spent so you won’t have regrets."

Ren He meticulously fastened his snowboard to his feet, making it as foolproof as possible, and took deep breaths to calm his emotions.

The gloomy feelings that had fallen to the bottom of the valley in the storm began to slowly brighten. This was the path he had chosen for himself; as long as there was a glimmer of hope, he was sure he could break through!

Ren He’s mood suddenly brightened!

At that moment, Xia Boyu reached the top!

Seeing the five-starred red flag in the center of the snow peak, his heart surged with excitement. In this reversed timeline, it was his first time here.

Then he saw Ren He, who was getting ready to snowboard at the edge of the peak...

Wait, snowboard? Xia Boyu’s eyes slowly widened: "What are you going to do?"

Ren He smiled and said, "Don’t worry about what I’m doing. I just want to give you a piece of advice. The storm is about to hit. I’ve seen the signs in the clouds. Believe me, those who have summited now can only choose to descend via the North Slope to avoid delays on the Hillary Step; only the North Slope offers a slim chance of survival! Mr. Xia, I respect you a lot. You’re one of the most determined people I’ve ever met. So trust me and don’t linger too long at the summit. Hurry down the North Slope."

He couldn’t explain that he had come back from one hour in the future, so he had to make up some nonsense about seeing anomalies in the clouds. Whether others believed him or not was not something he could control.

Ren He was willing to help others but didn’t want to risk his life for it. He could indeed run to the Hillary Step right now and shout that a storm was coming, but would they believe him?

If they would believe him, Ren He wouldn’t have to risk his life skiing down the mountain again.

Xia Boyu suddenly felt an indescribable sensation. Although Ren He was speaking of life and death matters, there was an unprecedented openness and brightness in his demeanor, as if he had already left concerns of life and death behind him.

What kind of spirit was this? Xia Boyu watched as Ren He climbed up with his bare hands and was now preparing to ski down. In comparison, the ’nine deaths and one life’ Xia often talked about seemed like a joke.

This was truly ’nine deaths and one life.’

Xia Boyu took a deep breath and said, "I believe you. I will lead those who have reached the summit to descend quickly from the North Slope."

"Just notify those at the Hillary Step. If they insist on summiting, don’t waste time on them," Ren He said with a smile, unable to continue any further. He had said enough; as for how many would survive, that was not his concern anymore.

What Ren He needed to consider was how to survive himself. There’s a saying: ’With a snowboard, you get hurt often, but it’s not easy to die. With skis, it’s not easy to get hurt, but every year, a few die.’

He was now playing with a snowboard, but here, whether you had a snowboard or skis, if you didn’t play well, you died all the same. He had no parachute to slow him down, no medical team waiting down the mountain to rescue him, only a desperate fight for life.

"An Si, aren’t you going to descend the North Slope with us?" Xia Boyu hesitated before asking: "This is too dangerous isn’t it?"

Ren He pondered for two seconds. Xia Boyu and the others still thought he was An Si. He suddenly smiled and said, "Everyone makes their own choices. Take care, maybe we’ll meet again."

With that, Ren He put on his goggles, headphones, and hat, then leaped from the top of the snow peak! It was as if he instantly broke free from the shackles of life!

Xia Boyu was inexplicably moved; he realized what he sensed in Ren He was an attitude towards life that was so strong he didn’t need anyone to accompany him.

He was alone, but he also relished his solitude!

The headphones blared with a boiling "Fade"; his blood was also boiling as if it could melt all the snow on Mount Everest.

And Ren He was now about to traverse hell to reach heaven!

...

As usual, time to grab a bite.