"Wanwan, Iâll go ahead and see how far it is. You take your time riding slowly, and Iâll come back for you."
"Itâs okay, I can manage."
Ling Hanâs figure had barely disappeared when laughter echoed down from the mountain. It was Jiang Laiâs voice, very familiar to Mo Wanwan. She looked up to see Zhou Yiqing riding a three-seater bike smoothly down the slope, with Yangyang laughing excitedly behind him. The family of three each held a small flag in their hands as they walked down the mountain, quickly passing by Mo Wanwan without any intention of stopping to greet her.
Mo Wanwan turned her head back, completely shocked.
Three people riding one bike?
Wouldnât Zhou Yiqing at the front be the only one exerting all the force?
Even if Jiang Lai was helping from the back, coordinating three people on one bike would surely be less convenient than two people or one. How were they going so fast?
By the time Ling Han came down the mountain to fetch her and they went back, it took them a full twenty-five minutes.
But the mountain staff were arranged by Ling Han, so they cut off some of their time, counting it as eighteen minutes and handed them a flag to pass the checkpoint.
At this moment, Ling Han recalled what he had just seen and asked the staff.
"How long did that team take just now?"
"The Purple Team? They took less than thirteen minutes, anyway, pretty fast."
Ling Han hadnât expected that Zhou Yiqing, while managing such a large company, could still train his physical fitness so well.
Going uphill solo in thirteen minutes would already be considered fast, and he was riding a three-seater.
At this moment, Ling Han sincerely admired Zhou Yiqing.
In the following fourth and fifth checkpoints, Jiang Laiâs family left everyone in their dust, moving so fast it was like they were on a cheat mode; they collected flags effortlessly.
The director, seeing the situation getting out of control, quickly arranged a restriction at the sixth checkpoint, tying up Jiang Lai, who was the strongest, specifically targeting him. Initially, it was arranged to tie any person at random, but to target Jiang Lai, it was directly required to tie the mom. The dad and child had to stack foam blocks into a Heavenly Ladder from below, reaching a certain height and remaining stable for thirty seconds to pass.
Without Jiang Lai, the mighty help, building the foam into a Heavenly Ladder wouldnât be easy.
Jiang Lai was hoisted high up, and at this moment, two other families took shortcuts and arrived at this checkpoint first.
Ling Han discovered on the map that if they didnât follow the marked sequence, they could skip the physical checkpoints and head to the mental challenge. After the physical toll of the first four checkpoints, they were exhausted, and the fifth was still a physical test of courage: Braving the Rapids, so Ling Han decided to first complete a mental challenge and return to the fifth once their energy was replenished.
Yang Bingâs group shared the same thought. They had been lagging behind from the start, so cut the path to the sixth checkpoint, arriving to see Jiang Lai hoisted high and Zhou Yiqing and Yangyang preparing for the challenge below.
Each challenge attempt couldnât exceed fifteen minutes, and after reaching the specified height, the child had to stand on it for more than thirty seconds.
Initially, Ling Han thought the sixth checkpoint would be a test of intelligence, expecting something like answering questions. To his surprise, the sixth was this difficult, leaving almost all the pressure on the dad and child while the mom, hanging up there, couldnât help at all.
Since they arrived together, they began the challenge together, and Mo Wanwan and Yang Bing were hoisted up in turn, at around the height of two floors, their suspended postures looking uncomfortable.
Ling Han and Cui Moting had already begun the challenge. The kids first donned anti-fall gear, and thick sponges were laid under the foam blocks to ensure no injuries even if they fell.
Zhou Yiqing hadnât started moving, looking at Yangyang, and asked him again.
"Are you sure you can stand on your own?"
Yangyang looked at the high-up Jiang Lai, nervously clenched his fists, and then nodded heavily.
"I can!"
Yangyang nervously stood on the first foam board, as Zhou Yiqing kept adding more, and Yangyang continued to step onto new foam blocks, ascending.
Thanks to his height, Zhou Yiqing was adding the blocks himself up to about two meters. After that, he needed to hand the foam blocks to the child so the child could add them on his own.
For the other two groups, when their foam blocks reached two meters, they were already tottering unsteadily. Dandan and Hengheng couldnât stand steadily, especially Dandan, who upon Yang Bingâs scream, had his blocks collapse directly under him, and he fell with them. Seeing his small body hit the foam mats brought distress to viewers, who scolded the production crew for the cruelty of such tough challenges for children.
A staff member reminded beside them.
"This checkpoint isnât compulsory; you can abandon it and go to the next anytime."
After Dandan fell, his body wasnât hurt, but tears welled up in his eyes. Yang Bing comforted him.
"Forget it, weâll skip this checkpoint. There are still plenty of flags ahead."
Dandan didnât dare continue, afraid heâd upset again, remembering how despite falling from two meters it felt painless, but for his height, it was like an adult falling from four or five meters.
The psychological impact was significant.
After Dandan gave up, Hengheng and Yangyangâs foam boards kept stacking higher, soon reaching three meters.
Zhou Yiqing had built very stable foam bases, steady at three meters, only slightly wobbling as it neared four.
[Mr. Zhou truly has skills]
[A case of architectural principle, Mr. Zhouâs bridge-building style is very scientific and reasonable, even four more meters wouldnât be a problem]
[Why do I feel Yangyang is shaking all the time? Is it because Yangyang is afraid of heights?]
Though Zhou Yiqingâs foam stack was flawless and stable, Yangyangâs continued shaking made the foam blocks tremble too.
On the other side, Henghengâs foam had shifted slightly but quickly stabilized once he crouched for balance.
[I recall Hengheng mentioned during introductions that his favorite sport is rock climbing]
[No wonder Hengheng is fearless; compared to rock climbing heights, this is nothing]
[Almost five meters!!]
[So tense, so thrilling, I canât bear to look at Yangyang]
[Surely, Yangyang is afraid of heights, his foundation is solid but he fears heights]
Jiang Lai noticed this and seeing Yangyangâs wobbling attempts, felt a twinge of sympathy.
"Yangyang, itâs okay for a man to be scared, no need to feel embarrassed."
Yangyang looked up at Jiang Lai, they were already close. Just two more blocks, and he would reach Jiang Laiâs hand.