After restocking the fridge, Lu Yang rubbed the sweat from his forehead. Just as he was about to sit down and take a break, he noticed several cyclists parking outside the store to grab drinks.
After selling all the drinks, Lu Yang chatted with them for a while to get a sense of the situation.
In short, everything Lu Qiangqian had told him was accurate: the viral video had obviously been recorded by those same cyclists who had spotted him earlier. Later, the video exploded online, drawing even more riders to Longjing Mountain just to see the excitement.
In that first video, Lu Yang hadn't appeared on camera. So when people finally saw the Wheelchair God in person, they didn't recognize him.
A few days ago, Lu Yang had been aware of the video but had only thought about it casually. Now, it was clear the viral footage had grown and mutated, attracting far more attention than he had realized.
After checking the situation, Lu Yang forgot about it again. The most important thing for him remained: training on the parallel bars.
Whether it was the weekend or a school day, early morning or dusk, the mid-mountain park was always full of youthful figures.
For this young man, only the parallel bars existed. Every time he arrived at the park, he went straight to the bars.
What was extreme was that his training didn't follow any normal routine. He didn't train in the conventional sense—he just walked the bar every single day.
Even more shocking: every time he fell, his expression stayed calm, while the nearby strongmen onlookers gritted their teeth in frustration.
But over time, the strongmen noticed that the number of times he fell gradually decreased. His 'tragic crashes' on the bars became less frequent, and the elders slowly began to accept him.
Little by little, the mid-mountain park returned to its usual lively state.
"Little Lu, what are you training for? Circus tricks? Tightrope shows?" A bald, muscular man standing nearby asked, arms crossed, one eyebrow raised.
"Master Ye, this isn't for fun. I'm doing it for my life," Lu Yang replied, gradually becoming more familiar with these seasoned strongmen.
"Hah, you talk too much nonsense. But if one day you perform, remember to let us watch," Master Ye said, shaking his head.
"We'll see if fate allows it," Lu Yang said casually—but as he spoke, he slipped on the bar and slammed down hard on his groin.
"Yes, you best train properly, young man," Master Ye said coldly, stepping back to give him space.
Even though Lu Yang had been injured, he didn't care. After days of practice, he had lost count of how many times he had slid off the parallel bars.
But the chill in his lower body reminded him: the number of falls was shocking.
Five days later
In the teaching building.
"Yang, gym class is about to start. Basketball," His friends Jiang Hai and Yuan Huihong said as they approached after class.
They weren't in the same class, but gym classes were on the same field.
"I'll go later," Lu Yang said, leaning against the hallway wall, eyes staring at the distant blue sky.
From here, he could just make out two large words written high above:
[ Life Countdown. ]
Below that, a number flashed:
[ 48 hours. ]
"Little Yuan, Little Hai, if you only had 48 hours left to live, what would you do?" Lu Yang suddenly asked.
"Are you serious? I'd obviously buy insurance like crazy. My parents raised me fat and strong—they're gonna live rich for the rest of their life!" Yuan Huihong pounded his chest confidently, grinning from ear to ear.
"You're a truly filial son," Jiang Hai teased, hugging him, unsure if he was joking or praising.
"And you, Little Hai?" Lu Yang asked.
"If it were me, I'd study like crazy, so everyone knows I really learned something before I die," Jiang Hai said firmly, as if making a life-or-death decision.
Both Lu Yang and Yuan Huihong laughed at that.
"But really, instead of thinking, it's better to treat each day as if it's your last," Jiang Hai added, staring seriously at Lu Yang.
His words lingered in Lu Yang's mind, a reminder that action was more important than idle thought.
Gym class.
The bell rang. All the senior second-year classes gathered at the sports field for exercises.
On the basketball court, Jiang Hai and Yuan Huihong stood with a ball, scanning the field—but they couldn't find Lu Yang.
"What the hell? Where's Lu Yang?" Yuan Huihong pinched his eyes in frustration.
"I have no idea," Jiang Hai admitted.
"Hey, you two! Are you playing ball? Toss it to us!" A student holding a ball called out, seeing the two were idle.
As soon as the ball was near, Jiang Hai grabbed it. Yuan Huihong tried to push him away with his shoulder but failed—Jiang Hai's training over two and a half years had made him deceptively strong.
"What are you doing?" Yuan Huihong yelled, asking for the ball from Jiang Hai.
"Wait for me elsewhere, go deeper," Jiang Hai added, helping him redirect the students.
"Little brat, let's battle! You're too inexperienced—I've been practicing this move for two years!" Yuan Huihong boasted, turning back with a smirk.
But Jiang Hai's face darkened.
"What is it?"
"Yuan, don't you feel… today Lu Yang seems a little off? He's usually not this moody," Jiang Hai said, a bad premonition rising.
"Yeah… I noticed that too," Yuan Huihong replied.
They remembered the last time they followed Lu Yang to retrieve Elder Yan's key. Both realized a possibility.
The key location was the rooftop.
Both glanced at the teaching building roof—and sure enough, a figure was standing there.
"Ahhh! Lu Yang, you should be thinking about this!" Yuan Huihong shouted, running toward the building.
His voice echoed across the basketball court.
"Lu Yang? What is happening?"
"Wait, look! There's someone on the rooftop!"
"Over there—Lu Yang!"
The entire basketball court erupted. Word spread instantly, going viral across the field in seconds.
Lu Yang!
He was thinking about jumping!