Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness

When Bi Fang and Yao Jun arrived at the Jungle Pavilion, they heard a huge commotion, as if people were cheering and applauding.

Upon asking around, they found out that a rock climbing competition was taking place.

Given that this was the Wilderness Club, creating a Rainforest Museum wasn't just about stepping into a rainforest environment to see common rainforest animals.

There were also many unique structures here, such as rock climbing walls.

Before the construction of this rock climbing wall at the Wilderness Club, the tallest rock climbing wall in the world was located in Nevada State, Ugly Country. It was one side of the Whitney Peak Hotel, towering 164 feet, approximately 50 meters.

It used the most common colored footholds, and climbers reaching the summit could overlook the entire landscape of Nevada State and even see the distant, snow-covered Nevada Mountains.

It cost ten British Pounds each time.

The reason for mentioning this was naturally because the rock climbing wall built by the club was even taller, reaching an impressive height of fifty-six meters.

Because of its extreme height, the entire rock climbing wall broke through the Jungle Pavilion and was completely open-air.

This was also to simulate the real environment's wind and rain, and even if requested, mechanical sprinkling could be used to mimic a moist environment.

There were no colored footholds on it, but instead, it was a simulated rock face with human-made marks for easier footholds.

Each use cost 100 RMB, but if one could climb to the top in one go, there would be no charge.

Those who registered for training could also try it for free, but it wasn't exactly free, as the registration fee included the equipment usage.

Rock climbing was a very physically demanding activity, especially if one kept climbing non-stop and added to the special conditions, not many ordinary people could do it, but it wasn't a difficult task with a few more tries.

Thus, this rock climbing wall quickly gained a reputation in the industry.

Every day, people came here to challenge it, and there were often competitions held on it.

Today, Bi Fang and Yao Jun just happened to be here, and apparently, two young men were betting to see who would reach the top first, but it was unclear what the wager was.

Then, a large crowd began to stir beneath them, and now both men had climbed to the halfway point.

Looking at the darker-colored rock face, it was clear that they had activated the 'death mode' by pouring water on the rock face in advance.

Bi Fang had originally planned to just take a quick look and leave, but before he could turn around, a loud shout from the crowd exposed him to everyone's gaze.

"Master Fang!"

"Holy shit, Master Fang, where?"

"Back there, under that tree!"

"Damn, he's alive!"

Yao Jun quietly stepped back two paces and raised his hands, "Looks like you need to find a way to escape."

Although Bi Fang's Wilderness Club was officially wilderness-oriented, it obviously wasn't so simple since the Ocean Pavilion had moved and merged with it.

There would even be a horse track added later.

Yao Jun mentioned that recently a zoo was also interested in relocating here, but it was just a preliminary interest, and even the location hadn't been decided.

Even so, it was indicative of something.

The government seemed to intend to turn this area into some sort of natural recreation area.

So to say that everyone here was a fan of Bi Fang, recognizing him, might not be realistic, but to say that he wouldn't be recognized while walking in the public eye was pure nonsense.

Out of ten people, at least six could recognize Bi Fang immediately, three would find him familiar, and only one might have face blindness.

The crowd surged forward, and the two young men originally the subject of the bet were quickly ignored.

The previous cheers for the climbers suddenly disappeared, as if even the enthusiasm for rock climbing had faded.

The ground trembled slightly, causing Bi Fang's eyebrows to twitch involuntarily.

The current situation was like the migration of the wildebeest during Africa's dry season, truly terrifying for fear he might be flung up to Tian Mountain the next second.

"Finally we see the real deal!"

"He looks even more handsome than on the livestream, can't believe he isn't using a beauty filter!"

"Why does Master Fang, a man, have such good skin? What brand of cosmetics does he use?"

"His muscles are so firm."

"Don't mess around, you pervert, let me do it!"

In less than ten seconds, Bi Fang felt himself overwhelmed by the crowd, and then he could feel some hands groping around in the chaos.

Barely escaping, the crowd started cheering again, asking Bi Fang to teach them rock climbing.

Many of them were there just for the spectacle and didn't know how to climb, so their request was understandable.

Feeling the crowd's enthusiasm, Bi Fang realized that autographs wouldn't be enough, and he reluctantly agreed.

"Alright, alright, but I really am busy."

Bi Fang was pushed and shoved until he stood in front of the rock face, and as for the two young men from earlier, they had disappeared perhaps knowing that Bi Fang would overshadow them, choosing to leave to save face.

In fact, as soon as Bi Fang approached the rock face, many climbers were sliding down with ropes, leaving the entire rock face empty.

It felt like driving a Rolls Royce down the street, with Mazdas automatically moving aside.

"Okay, do you guys have any questions?"

Bi Fang buckled the safety hook, put on gloves, and didn't show any arrogance.

It wasn't that he lacked confidence in his own abilities, but rather he was concerned about others' lack of skills.

Safety measures had to be taken when climbing here.

If Bi Fang relied on his own strong abilities this time without securing a safety rope, what would happen if others tried to emulate him next time?

This might be alright at someone else's place, showing off and leaving a legend in the world, but at your own property, you naturally had to take responsibility.

"Me! Me!"

"Master Fang, I can grab well but just can't execute the next move?"

"Master Fang, look at me! Can we take a picture together?"

In the bullet comments, names like Old Fang and Boss Fang were common, but here it was again Master Fang being called, hiding once more in reality.

"Which brand of skincare does Master Fang use? Recommend one."

"I don't use cosmetics, just exercise, and you can look like me," Bi Fang smiled, "But we'd better ask questions related to rock climbing."

"Master Fang, why do I need to do a dynamic kick sometimes, but my leg doesn't reach, and my hand slips?"

"I find myself increasingly enjoying climbing straight walls; once it tilts, I can't seem to perform."

"If that's the case, then it might be that your finger strength has become a bottleneck in your rock climbing."

Bi Fang listened to the question and provided a careful answer.

The ones asking questions weren't all novices; they had some basic knowledge, but there was still a long way to go to reach professional levels.

"In the climbing gym, watching others move smoothly and effortlessly makes it seem easy, but when I try, I can't perform any moves at all."

"A lot of times, you think others have delicate techniques, but actually, they're just out of strength, like weak countries can't engage in diplomacy. If you can't even grasp a hold, good technique won't help."

"Finger strength is definitely an important factor in advancing in rock climbing, and it's a fundamental concept for beginners."

Dressed in gear, Bi Fang leaped lightly and clung to the wall like a gecko, talking without any breathlessness, and moving left and right with extreme agility.

With muscle control added to balance control, Bi Fang felt rock climbing was almost no different from walking freely on the ground.

"What is finger strength?"

"Do I even need to say it? By definition, finger strength is the strength of the muscles in the fingers!"

"No!" Bi Fang stopped everyone from guessing the literal meaning, "Finger strength isn't just the muscular strength of the fingers; fingers have no muscles. The movement of our fingers is controlled by the 17 muscles in the palm and 18 muscles in the arm which are connected to the fingers by tendons."

Bi Fang freed one hand, removed his glove, and flexed his fingers while pressing on the muscles.

"You can press the same areas and feel it for yourselves."

"The superficial and deep flexors in the arms are the muscles that mainly help your fingers bend, so after climbing, although it's the fingers that are exerting force, you feel most tired in your arms."

"When grasping, the thumb's exertion is completely different. The thumb alone has eight different muscles controlling movements at various angles. When we grip and exert force, the lumbrical and interosseous muscles are key in clutching the holds."

Bi Fang turned his back and gripped a rock in a back-to-wall position, yet his body remained firmly against the wall without any instability.

The crowd below exclaimed in awe.

"Don't just see muscles as lumps of flesh; inside, the muscular fibers are all different. These fibers band together and twist into a rope, becoming tense, and that's when our muscles start exerting force."

"Some muscle fibers have better endurance but not much strength, known as slow-twitch muscles."

"Conversely, some fibers are very strong but get tired quickly, those are fast-twitch muscles. Within each muscle, fibers range from the strongest to the most enduring."

"Speaking of enhancing muscle strength, it's actually about boosting the strength of each muscle fiber. If you train slow-twitch muscles, your endurance improves; training fast-twitch muscles makes you stronger."

"So if I turn all my slow-twitch muscles into fast-twitch muscles, will I become a strength god?"

Someone in the crowd raised a question.

Bi Fang shook his head, "Unfortunately, the proportion of muscle fibers in each person's muscles is determined at birth, and fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscles don't convert into each other through training, so everyone's potential is different."

"Some people have tendon connections further from their joints, which naturally makes them stronger. Their muscular force is applied through a longer lever arm, because torque equals force times the lever arm."

"You might never become Alex Honnold, but you can become a better version of yourself."

More and more people gathered around, and Bi Fang's heart sank deeper as he spoke.

With so many people, could he really just walk away after he had finished?

At this point, Bi Fang had no choice but to continue, headstrong.

"When you're making a move, not all muscle fibers are involved. If you don't need to use full strength for a move, then the strongest part of your fast-twitch muscles is just watching idly."

"When you exert all your effort, although you're already not able to hold on, your slow-twitch muscles haven't started feeling good yet, and your brain will smartly control to use the minimal muscle fibers to complete the movement."

"Every movement of muscle fibers is tense from the slowest slow-twitch muscles to the fastest fast-twitch muscles."

"That's also why bouldering increases strength faster than climbing routes, because while climbing routes you might get so tired that you can't even grasp properly, but in reality you haven't used your powerful fast-twitch muscles..."

Yao Jun yawned under the tree.

Compared to Bi Fang, his fame was much lower, although he was often cursed as a profiteer, few actually knew what he looked like.

Nine o'clock at night.

At the office binge-watching shows, Yao Jun received a call from Bi Fang.

"Where are you? Come over, I'm out!"

"Ha, you're out? Sooner than I thought."

"Hurry up, I'm dead tired. This is more exhausting than live streaming."

"Hahaha, I'm on my way."

By the time Bi Fang met the Gambian pouched rats it was already 9:30.

Dozens of rats lived together, making quite a spectacular sight, especially these rats—each one as large as a small cat, which looked even more exaggerated, like arriving in some strange country.

Seeing Bi Fang and Yao Jun approaching, these rats were not shy at all. When they saw Bi Fang open his palm revealing pieces of bread, the majority of the rats gathered around, eagerly snatching food and stuffing their cheeks full, bulging out like squirrels.

Bi Fang explained as he fed them.

"These rats are a bit larger than average rats and have a more sensitive sense of smell. Initially, the army managed by the Venezuelan government bred and selected a few qualified mine-detecting rats by artificial means, letting rats detect hidden landmines by smelling gunpowder, and the reward needed only a piece of banana."

"Efficient mine-detecting rats can survey tens of thousands of square meters of land in a day."

Yao Jun shrugged, "Anyway, I'm not keen on rats, and it's your money being spent, so I don't care. What's the plan, take them all back or pick a couple? Leave the others here to interact with tourists?"

"Let's pick a couple and leave the rest here. They can interact with visitors too."

Bi Fang's eyes scrutinized and finally settled on a Gambian pouched rat lying in front of a glass showcase.

Behind the glass was a venomous snake coiling around, hanging upside down on a branch.

The two faced off for a long while, when suddenly the venomous snake lunged to attack but ended up hitting the glass, making a muffled sound.

Interestingly, the rat on the other side of the glass showed no sign of fear; it even moved slightly closer, observing carefully.

"Let's go with this one."

Bi Fang's interest peaked, confident in his choice.

Living with animals for long, realizing the existence of glass isn't strange, but after the venomous snake on the other side of the glass made its move and it wasn't startled at all.

This situation might startle even people, let alone a rat, which shows it's not just clever, but also bold.

Bi Fang needed this kind of rat.

It's too easy to encounter dangerous situations in the wilderness, and he didn't want a Gambian pouched rat that would panic and flee at the first sign of danger, missing afterwards.

"The number of animals at home is really growing."

Bi Fang sighed.