The Conqueror of Streetlamp 0085

Spending two hundred to learn professional rock climbing techniques felt well worth it to Chen Jue. In particular, the exercises to strengthen his grip increased the friction of his fingertips significantly. According to Yu Jie’s demonstration, professional climbers' fingers are covered in calluses, the joints are noticeably larger than average, and their palms are so rough they might as well be born wearing anti-slip gloves.

Back when Chen Jue was still working, he barely even lifted weights at the gym—his hands were soft and delicate. But after some time training with hand grippers and darts, his hands had gradually started to resemble those of a climber.

Beyond that, climbing upward required him to swiftly find suitable footholds and leverage points, a real test of reflexes and vision. Any delay in gripping a hold or finding a foothold could result in slipping and losing strength, leading to a fall from the climbing wall. In unprotected outdoor climbing, such a mistake could be fatal.

“The safety rope is basically a safety net for athletes,” he thought. “But with that rope, it doesn’t really train your courage.” After setting a time for his next lesson with Yu Jie, Chen Jue got in his car and left the sports complex.

…

After returning to his apartment, he picked up a few packages he’d ordered. Opening them, he found a shot put, a javelin, a power bar, and a portable bathtub he had bought online. With the Double Eleven sales going on, deliveries were speedy—most packages arrived the next day.

The 50kg power bar was for upper body training. To lift that gold brick, he needed more than just grip strength; he had to hold the brick aloft for 25 seconds, demanding significant muscular endurance in his arms. Training with the power bar mainly targets the forearm, rotator cuff, chest, and deltoid muscles.

He wrapped both hands around the ends of the power bar’s black straps, which served as protection in case the bar snapped back during training. The bar itself was essentially a large spring; when you bend it, it pushes back with 50kg of force—enough to break your teeth if it hit you in the face.

“One, two, three…” Chen Jue tried bending the bar a few times. The 50kg bar was just right for him. But since he’d already spent the afternoon climbing, his hands were weak and he put the power bar down after a few reps.

“Not bad! I can bring it to class and practice, but I’ll have to bend it downward so the teacher doesn’t see,” he muttered.

…

As dusk settled outside, Chen Jue rested in his room for a while, then hopped the fence to Jiang University for dinner. He noticed that his afternoon of climbing had deepened his understanding of the [Climbing] skill; he’d eliminated unnecessary movements and scaled the 2.5-meter-high wall faster than before.

Back in his room, he set up a tripod and recorded himself vaulting the wall. The video showed he made it over in just 2.78 seconds this time.

“If I keep this up, won’t I end up mastering qinggong and running across rooftops?” he joked to himself, watching the playback.

Feeling that the wall wasn’t enough of a challenge, he tried climbing a roadside tree. The street trees around Jiang University were old and tall—seven or eight meters high, with thick trunks and dense branches. The rough bark provided even more friction than the climbing holds.

With a spring off his leg, he grabbed the trunk and scrambled up, reaching the main fork in just a few seconds. To his surprise, a notification popped up:

———

[Ding~]

[You’ve completed a night-time tree climbing exercise. Your understanding of climbing has improved slightly. After close contact with plant surfaces, your ability to find attachment points has also improved marginally.]

[Climbing proficiency +50]

———

“What a huge proficiency boost!” Chen Jue stared at the panel, stunned.

In the afternoon, climbing the wall had increased his [Climbing] proficiency at a snail’s pace—each two or three meters gained him only one point. Yet a single tree climb had given such a large reward!

“Practical training… real combat…” Sitting astride a tree branch, Chen Jue recalled practicing with darts while hunting field mice. When he first trained [Throwing Weapons], practicing on a dartboard barely moved the proficiency bar. Only when he used his skills for real did experience pour in, like popping a double XP buff.

Thinking back on his tree climbing, the lack of safety rope and the darkness had kept him completely on edge—much more thrilling than protected climbing during the day. Even now, perched five meters up, surrounded by branches to break a fall, his heart was pounding and his breathing heavy.

“Only by putting skills to practical use can you reap greater rewards,” his eyes lit up, sensing he’d discovered a pattern in the panel’s prompts.

He climbed down and searched nearby for an even taller tree. After twenty seconds of effort, he reached the fork of a ten-meter-high street tree, its position more secluded and shrouded in darkness—no streetlights at all. The main fork was over seven or eight meters off the ground, as high as a third-story window.

The panel rewarded him with another +60 proficiency for this climb.

Seeing these generous rewards, Chen Jue became more convinced of his hunch about the panel’s reward logic.

“Isn’t this pushing me to take on greater challenges?” he thought. “Only by risking my neck do I really boost my nerve!” Cautiously, he climbed down from the highest tree.

Under a nearby streetlight, Chen Jue examined his stinging palms. Compared to protected climbing, wild tree climbing was far riskier—not only did he have several bleeding scratches from bark and branches, but his thin athletic wear was torn in several places.

Clearly, his [Climbing] skill hadn’t reached a high enough level, and his night vision was lacking—he couldn’t avoid the hazards hidden in the dark.

“High investment and high risk bring high returns, after all,” he mused, tracing the scratches on his hand. The wounds were superficial, more like an itchy sting, and would stop bleeding soon—nothing that would disrupt his daily life.

But around the apartment and on campus, the tallest trees were only a dozen meters high. To find better trees, he’d have to go to the outskirts or deep mountains. As for the nearby Xixi Wetland Park, though it had fifty-meter giants, it was a protected area with rangers on patrol—not the place for reckless climbing.

“It’d be easier back home—the hills are full of trees,” he mused, recalling childhood days in the countryside of Wen City. With adults off working in the city, his grandparents tended loquat and bayberry trees, and he and the local kids would go climbing to pick fruit during harvest. Those fruit trees weren’t as tall as these, but at least you got to enjoy sweet fruit after climbing, which was much more fun than climbing street trees just for proficiency.

As he pondered where to find taller trees for more attribute and proficiency gains, his eyes fell on his shadow and an idea sparked. He glanced up at a nearly twenty-meter-tall streetlight—almost level with the seventh floor of the nearby apartment—and murmured, “If I could climb that barehanded, wouldn’t the proficiency reward be even greater?”

…

Ever since acquiring the panel, Chen Jue had transformed from a hesitant worrier to a man of action. Seeing the towering streetlight, he immediately reached up to feel the pole’s surface. Though not as rough as tree bark, the thick anti-slip paint provided a decent grip.

“This could work!” His eyes lit up. He reached overhead, locking his fingers around the pole, braced his legs against it, and his whole body arched into a > shape as he started inching upward.

Compared to the trees, this was much harder—far more exhausting. The higher he climbed, the more his palms sweated, making his grip on the painted pole slippery and reducing his hold.

“No good! I’ll never make it to the top this way.”

Looking down, he saw he was already ten meters above the ground. A slip from here could mean more than a broken bone—if he landed wrong, he might lose his life.

Now, he truly understood the danger faced by free solo climbers in the wild.

Oddly, the greater the risk, the calmer he felt. The wind and city noise faded away, replaced by the pounding of his heart and the sound of his own breath. In the stillness of the night, it felt as though the whole world had fallen silent.

“Change position!”

In this strange calm, his Lv3 [Climbing] skill finally showed its worth. As if guided by instinct, he bent his knees, switched from pushing with his legs to hooking them around the pole, then locked his thighs onto it, hanging like a monkey.

“Whoo—exciting!” Chen Jue was filled with a sense of achievement, as if conquering his own fears. Regulating his breathing, he glanced up—just over ten meters left. Maintaining his bear-hug posture, he inched upward: pull with his hands, release and squeeze with his legs in rhythm.

In less than two minutes, he reached the top of the twenty-meter-tall pole. The glaring light made him squint, and the panel flashed with messages:

———

[Ding~]

[You have completed a difficult night climb. Your adrenaline is surging, metabolism accelerating, heart beating faster, and blood oxygen capacity has increased. Your courage has been slightly enhanced.]

[Being in a dangerous high place, your focus is sharper than usual, reflexes quicker, and your mind more active.]

[Constitution +0.01]

[Mental attribute +0.01]

That’s it for today. My cough’s gotten worse and I’m feeling weak and foggy. Probably from all the late nights and this nasty virus messing up my sleep. I’ll try to get to bed early tonight and recover.

(End of chapter)