I am a Big Player
Chapter 368 - 366, I don’t need a rope (first update)_1

Chapter 368: 366, I don’t need a rope (first update)_1

When the TK Company’s official website last posted the message "Stay tuned," everyone was baffled, wondering what was going to happen, but this time, everyone had a better idea: Knight was about to embark on a brand-new challenge.

They were well aware that the realm of Knight’s challenge would also be new. As for what that realm was, no one knew, though some suggested Knight was already on America’s West Coast, possibly to take up surfing.

But the first man in rock climbing had a strong sense of foreboding—surfing, my ass. Wasn’t the Extreme Domain in California best known for the three massive cliffs in Yosemite National Park?!

Indeed, the venues for Ren He’s upcoming challenges were all located in Yosemite National Park, and he planned to tackle them all in one go—a feat not everyone could achieve. But looking at the four tasks, in reality, the cliffs Ren He was to climb were only two: one was the separate Half Dome, and the other was the peak of El Capitan Mountain, while the third task’s Dawn Wall was, in fact, an almost perfect vertical cliff on the upper part of El Capitan Mountain.

In other words, the Divine Punishment System was not only compelling Ren He to free climb El Capitan Mountain, but had also dedicated a task to ensure the route he chose was the most dangerous one.

Without a doubt, the latter posed the greatest level of difficulty.

On another note, Knight had just released four new songs, two of which had again broken into the top ten charts: one was "we.are.young" and the other was "sugar," while the remaining two also held steady in the top fifteen.

That meant that since Knight arrived in America and started producing videos for Yang Xi, four songs had made it to the top ten charts—a formidable record that even the top stars in North America could only look up to.

Initially, these megastars thought Knight wouldn’t really affect them much, but now things were different—who could ignore someone with numbers like that?

This wasn’t some little star who could get buried even if they wrote good songs simply because they couldn’t promote or advertise themselves. But Knight’s issue was that his own celebrity was already comparable to that of top megastars, and his fans were extremely loyal. The songs he wrote for Yang Xi were anticipated without needing any promotion.

Just look at the current public opinion: others release an album and get both praise and criticism, but on Knight’s end, the voices of criticism were immediately drowned out by clamors for the release of the remaining four songs...

What kind of treatment was this? The disparity between people was just too great. Why could someone who did extreme sports even write songs?

However, no one was a fool. Since Knight had the ability of a gold medal songwriter and a high degree of influence, surely they could ask Knight to write songs for them!

If Knight wrote a hit song, it would be a guaranteed win for them!

But they were thinking too much—the sponsors chasing after Knight to offer sponsorship fees couldn’t even find him, let alone these guys looking to buy songs...

Sponsorship fees were pretty much like giving away money for free, no brain required...

...

Early in the morning in San Francisco, Ren He and Yang Xi set off lightly equipped for Yosemite National Park, about 400 kilometers outside of the city. The recording of the album was delayed by a day, and An Si and Liu Erbao had already arrived there to make covert preparations—all was proceeding silently.

The three cliffs in Yosemite National Park, though a mecca for rock climbers, were quite remote, not frequently visited, so there was little risk of being exposed.

Even if someone did show up, it didn’t matter. This time, TK Company had arranged for more staff on the ground at home, and securing the challenge site in advance was only to be expected.

And what was particularly surprising this time was that not only were An Si and Liu Erbao present, but also several TK executives had arrived to fully witness Knight’s challenge. They said they were there to ensure that the challenge went flawlessly, but An Si had already confided to Ren He that these were all fans of Knight...

Actually, the executives also harbored hero dreams within their own mundane lives. For them, engaging in extreme sports might no longer be practical, but to witness Knight setting another record in person was a joyful occasion indeed.

According to An Si himself, there were quite a few fans of Knight within TK Company...

When Ren He arrived at Yosemite National Park that night with Yang Xi silently in tow, many were already waiting inside. Besides An Si and Liu Erbao, the rest were TK employees who had signed non-disclosure agreements, their faces lit with excitement.

Even these TK employees usually only saw videos that had been edited into final products and could never witness Knight’s presence live. Now being able to see this mysterious idol in person, they felt a sense of honor for some reason.

The Knight, silent for four months, was finally making a comeback!

Yang Xi quietly followed behind Ren He, observing everything. What was it like when she first met Ren He? Her classmates used to say he was a drag at school, a poor student. Which of Ren He’s classmates could have imagined that this very youth now stood at the pinnacle of extreme sports, unrivaled in influence?

Liu Erbao, grinning foolishly, grabbed Ren He and headed into the national park. Yosemite National Park is located in central-eastern California, covering over 3,100 square kilometers. Situated on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California, it was established in 1890 and is one of America’s most stunning national parks. The park is centered around Yosemite Valley, with the Merced River flowing through it and several waterfalls, including the famous Yosemite Falls. The landscape also features many beautiful mountain peaks, of which Ship Peak is the most renowned. It is a 1,099-meter-tall vertical granite wall rising straight from the valley floor, one of the world’s tallest uninterrupted sheer cliffs, and one of the places Ren He is set to challenge.

It would be more accurate to call this place a vast mountain range rather than a park, as Ren He and his team had to travel a long way from the entrance before they could reach their ultimate destination.

Liu Erbao, while on the off-road vehicle, said in detail, "According to your plan, both of these sheer cliffs are very challenging. However, compared to the previous videos, shooting this challenge will be even more difficult for us due to the lack of speed and adrenaline."

Ren He nodded. Liu Erbao was right. Compared to downhill skiing and road biking, free solo climbing could not directly shock the audience with speed, so how to shoot a good video was of utmost importance.

How could they stimulate the viewers’ adrenaline?

Liu Erbao continued, "The cameras have already started rolling from a while back. They will miss your face then capture the whole process of the challenge. This time, I want to shoot a documentary!"

"If it’s a documentary, then it’s a documentary," Ren He nodded and chuckled, "For me, the most important thing is the challenge itself, not the video. This is something I can’t neglect in favor of the superficial."

After all, his extreme challenges were for himself and not for the annual endorsement fee from TK.

If he had set his goal to be merely an actor in a TK promotional film, he wouldn’t have achieved what he has today.

An Si turned around from the passenger seat and said, "All the equipment is ready. We’ll set up the ropes at the top of the cliff first to ensure your complete safety. Once everything is in place and the preparation is done, you can start the challenge. During this time, you can also continue to adjust your condition and personally work on clearing loose rocks from the cliff."

Ren He pondered for a moment and said, "I don’t need a safety rope."

...

Have a meal