Chapter 533 - 262: Warm Companionship [Double-Length] (Part 4)
On this terrain, even someone as skilled as Li Younan cannot compare to the agility of a snow leopard, but with a slingshot, the situation changes.
A slingshot is also a bow, fast within tens of meters, ruthless and fast within a few meters.
Once the climb begins, Li Younan becomes wholly absorbed, incredibly focused.
Boasting aside, when it comes to taking action, he never acts carelessly.
With each upward step, he first uses his ice axe to confirm its solidity.
Overall, the slope isn’t particularly steep; at least compared to Gongga Snow Mountain, it’s within an acceptable range, roughly around 60 degrees, with some spots even less steep.
But there are isolated spots that are nearly vertical.
However, for Li Younan, even slopes greater than 90 degrees can be conquered with his formidable climbing skills.
The steeper areas have less snow while the areas with real accumulation are flatter.
Though it’s been snowing for two days, overall the mountain’s snow cover isn’t too thick, even in some very flat areas, only about ten centimeters of powdery snow.
This allows Li Younan to breathe a slight sigh of relief, as there’s no immediate danger of a secondary avalanche.
This climb feels truly like a conquest to Li Younan.
When he climbed Gongga Mountain before, he didn’t have this feeling, but this time it’s different, with his relationship with the mountain taking on an air of conflict and confrontation.
With unstoppable momentum, Li Younan quickly ascends several hundred meters.
Soon he reaches the risk point previously surveyed by the drone—a few mountain pine trees valiantly supporting the boulders that fell from higher up, though their branches are already deformed under the weight, perhaps needing only a bit more external force to send the stones tumbling.
Li Younan secures himself with a safety rope, then begins moving the stones from the top to a nearby flat area.
Without excessive force, these stones won’t roll down.
The last stone is particularly troublesome, roughly the size of half a car tire, easily weighing five to six hundred kilograms, and even Li Younan can’t move it.
This stone is the most burden-heavy for the branches, and would cause the most damage if it fell.
This presents some trouble; standing several meters above the stone, Li Younan carefully observes, directing his gaze toward the valley on the ridge’s right side, gradually formulating a plan.
If moving doesn’t work, then redirecting it so it rolls down first will do.
As long as it’s guided to the ridge’s right side, it naturally will roll towards the valley.
...
The mountain air post-snowfall is as sharp as a blade.
Li Younan stands beneath the boulder like a sword hanging overhead, eyes scrutinizing, steady as a scanner.
He has spent nearly half an hour surveying.
Before acting, Li Younan doesn’t make any rash moves; like a surgeon, he meticulously examines the boulder’s center of gravity, the contact points with the branches below, and potential rolling paths.
His climbing skills endow him with a keen intuition for danger prediction, allowing him to simulate in his mind the trajectory the boulder will follow after gathering this information.
It can be foreseen that if the stone snaps the branches and rolls directly downward, it will likely end up in the mountain notch.
But with even a slight deviation, it will roll from the ridge into the adjacent valley.
Li Younan needs only apply this minimal deviation force.
Moments later, he has a foolproof plan.
Next, he deftly clears the preset path of snow debris and loose stones, moving swiftly and precisely.
Clearing away any potential direction-disrupting stones and snow from the preset path around the boulder is crucial.
With everything secure, he sets up a solid protection point on an exposed, sturdy rock above, securing the safety rope tightly to his waist.
Next is finding a tool.
His gaze sweeps the surroundings, quickly settling on a fallen log half-buried in the snow.
Its wood is firm, with the right length and thickness.
He drags it over, then cautiously chisels a stable groove near the boulder’s base with his ice axe to serve as a pivot.
All preparations are complete.
Li Younan takes a deep breath of icy air, his chest expanding, his strong cardiopulmonary function fueling his calm strength.
He grips the end of the lever with both hands, planting his feet in a stable stance.
Initially, he exerts tentative force.
Under his pressure, the lever bends slightly, emitting a teeth-grating "creak," yet the boulder remains motionless.
He’s not impatient, adjusting his breathing and posture, channeling his weight and power perfectly through his core to the lever.
This conveys a feeling of effortless pressure.
"Creak—"
A faint but clear cracking sound emerges from the boulder’s base.
This is the moment!
Li Younan’s eyes gleam, and his strength explodes in an instant—not a brute push, but a precise, swift, concentrated force, simultaneously using his idle left hand to jab the boulder side’s pre-determined point with his ice axe!
"Boom..."
The boulder briefly hesitates, reluctantly trembling, then the last contact with the branches below is completely severed!
It begins to move.
Starting with a slow slide, it soon rushes down the meticulously chosen path by Li Younan in a thunderous fall.
It bounces and crashes against the mountain, sweeping along more snow powder and stones, eventually plunging into the valley on the right.
Precisely as visualized in his mind.
Perfect!
Once again, Li Younan is impressed by the powerful capabilities endowed by the system.
In a sense, it’s almost like foreseeing the future, just like with the last avalanche.
He stands up, brushes the snow dust from his body, walks to the cliff edge, gazes into the valley, and sees the danger removed.
He salutes lightly with two fingers to the drone circling below.
Yet Li Younan does not rush to descend.
His gaze shifts toward the mountain peak.
Hmm...
Now that I’m here...
Li Younan feels the itch to proceed.