Chapter Nine- Observe, Observe, and Observe

Tianmen Mountain Longboard Downhill Open is a grand banquet in the niche sport of longboarding.

While the public knows very little about his game and did not pay attention to it, countless longboard enthusiasts are rushing to Tianmen Mountain from all over the world.

On the day of the qualifying competition, sponsored by an excellent brand, a total of twelve large LED screens were set up at the foot of the mountain and in the valley where the competition was watched from.

The competition will be displayed in real-time on the screens.

At the same time, the speaker and simultaneous interpreter explains and comments on the game.

The foothills and valleys are already crowded with spectators from all over the world. The golden sunlight covered the ridges, national flags of various colors waving and fluttering. Some fans of famous downhills players spread huge banners in the valley, unfurling in the wind.

“God Save The King!”

“Go China!”

The shouts and cheers echoed through the sky.

Everyone today is looking forward to this intense game on the track.

The extreme sports forum is a gathering place for domestic extreme sports enthusiasts. Members in the forum are very active, and some extreme sports events and information are often the first to spread out from here.

In the extreme sports circle, this forum holds a considerable amount of weight.

Currently, in the longboard downhill section of the forum, longboard enthusiasts who could not be there to watch the game in person are watching the live broadcast of the game remotely.

[Bets on who can win number one in this game?]

[I think Lucius, I’ve been to Tianmen Mountain for several competitions. His skill is consistent.]

[I bet on Lucius’s friend, Harrison. I think he can beat his buddy.]

[Why are you guys all betting on the United States? I think the three Brazilian gods are very good. If they don’t make mistakes, there is a chance of a medal.]

[If Mei Xuelai also came to the competition, there would be basically no suspense.]

[Mei Xuelai thinks China is too far away. Sigh, I really want to witness Mei Xuelai’s grace with my own eyes.]

Some fans who have newly joined the forum section read circling posts on the homepage and one couldn’t help but ask: Why is no one betting on our own? Isn’t there more than one hundred contestants this time? Many are from China.

His questioning attracted many replies.

[…]

[This is a question that only a newcomer can ask. Although we are the host, we are really lagging behind in extreme sports. Two of them passing the qualifying round will count as good.]

[Yes, it’s not just longboarding, but also other things. Every time it’s like this, I’ve already gotten used to it.]

At the competition site, a corner of the twelve-sided large LED screen appeared, and the interpreter entered the screen: “Friends in the audience, there is still half an hour until today’s qualifying game will start. We can see the Tianmen Square on the top of the mountain. The first group of qualifiers is checking their longboards and protective gear.”

Simultaneous interpretation conveys the narrator’s words in real-time.

The camera swept across the hilltop plaza, and the audience looked through the LED screens and saw that the first group of contestants was warming up their bodies, their faces ranging from excited to serious.

Commentator; “According to the data from the competition committee, this longboard downhill open has a total of 186 domestic and foreign players from 28 countries and regions participating.’

“They will compete for 32 advancement spots in today’s qualifying round and participate in the finals.”

“The players will be divided into 4 groups, the top six in each group will advance directly, and the remaining places will be allocated to the top eight of the remaining players. Let us wish you all the best results.”

Yu Nian was sitting in the waiting area and saw the first group of players swipe the wristbands containing their identity information on a machine, walking to each of their numbered tracks one after another.

He looked at his own wristband with the number “4-15.”

He is No.15 in the fourth group, the group last of the four qualifying rounds.

Unlike the lively shouts resounding throughout the valley, the atmosphere in the waiting area is solemn and quiet.

There are nearly two hundred players, and 80% of them will be eliminated today, not cruel at all.

But some downhill players are full of confidence and didn’t worry about this qualifying match. Their goal has been placed on winning a medal in the finals.

Lucius, a longboard downhill player from the United States, is one of them. He has participated in the Tianmen Mountain Longboard Downhill Open several times, and each time he did very well. Many people think that he already had a medal in the bag.

As for the color of this medal, it depends on how well he plays in the finals.

Lucius sat in his seat, wearing headphones, shaking his legs, and mobilizing his muscles. He boringly scanned the contestants in the waiting area.

His eyebrows raised when he saw Yu Nian.

The outstanding appearance of this young Asian man is very abrupt here. His fair skin and delicate face seem to belong in a completely different place on stage with his own spotlight.

Lucid greeted him humorously: “Hey, beautiful. Are you really here to participate in the competition instead of cheering us on?”

Scanning the bracelet on Yu Nian’s thin wrist, he noticed the numbers 4-15. Lucius pointed to the “4-03” on his wristband, “We are both in the fourth group, but I won’t lose deliberately for you.”

Yu Nian ignored him. The first group of the game was about to begin, and his eyes were focused on the big screen.

Next to him,  there sat Wu Qian and Deng Jingwei. They didn’t understand English and didn’t know what Lucius said. Still, it was not a good thing seeing his teasing expression.

Wu Qian asked: “Do you really want to participate?”

Deng Jingwei didn’t know how to persuade him. He felt that should respect the wishes of his artists, but he was really worried about the danger.

Yu Nian did not answer, staring at the big screen, as if already immersed in his own world. He could no longer hear the voices beside him.

The referee issued the signal, a shot fired, and dozens of figures stepped on their longboards instantly moved.

The sun burned. The mountains stood tall.

The forest and sea are like green waves. The gray-white road spirals and winds in the green waves, extending from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain, making the world and the earth become one.

Tongtian Road, from the ground to the sky! The downhill players jumped from the junction of the blue sky and the green mountains.

The roar of the audience once again resounded in the valley.

The wind lifted up various national flags and banners of different sizes overlapped.

Yu Nian focused on that road.

“Always look forward, that is your road, your direction, simple scenery on both sides of the road is not worthy of your attention!”

There is no longer the scenery on the sides of the road in his eyes, nor other colors.

There is only this winding gray road.

The first group finished, and now the second group will play.

Then the second group finished, and next came the third group.

Yu Nian has been staring at the fierce competition on the big screen.

Wu Qian thought he was watching the game and tried comforting him: “Don’t be nervous, just do your best.”

Yu Nian did not answer him as usual and did not break his line of sight for a moment.

Wu Qian realized that Yu Nian seemed to be in a trance. His eyes were still not moving, but his lips were moving quickly.

Seeing that he was chanting something, Wu Qian couldn’t help but lean closer to hear his chants.

“The ninety-ninth bend, straight… the first turn back, the dense area of bends…”

“The eighty-eighth bend to the eighty-fourth bend, the spiral descends, and the cake tower bends five consecutive times…”

“Three wall bends…”

After listening for a while, Wu Qian’s expression changed.

Yu Nian is not watching the game!

His eyes filtered out the longboard downhill players who were chasing fiercely on the track and noted the corners. 

He is recording the distance.

Missing the pre-match practice track, he is trying to become familiar with the track this way!

Wu Qian opened his mouth, it was difficult to believe what was happening before his eyes. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn’t bother Yu Nian. He sat silently and chose to be quiet.

The third group match finished.

The commentator’s passionate voice sounded: “Okay! After these three sets of qualification matches, 18 players have been qualified for the finals. Now for our last group of players.”

Yu Nian closed his astringent eyes.

He quickly went over the curves he had just seen through the big screen in his mind.

“Every year, the essence of artistic creation is observation, and then expression.”

“Observe and express, this is what you need to spend a lifetime doing.”

The kind voice of his grandma teaching him how to paint echoed in his mind.

Observe, observe, and observe. The road in the five consecutive corners of the cake tower is narrow, and the turning angle is small. He will fall out due to inertia. Several players made mistakes here in the qualifiers just now.

Observe, observe, and observe. After three consecutive wall bends, because of the previous rainfall, the mountain seeped in water. He saw the remaining watermarks on the road showing how slippery it is.

Observe, observe, and observe…

“Fourth group of contestants, please go to the preparation area.” The staff prompted. 

Yu Nian opened his eyes, his expression calm.

He took the back matte helmet that Deng Jingwei handed him and walked to the starting point of the track. He handed the bracelet bound with his identity information to the staff.

Because of the importance of Tianmen Mountain in the field of downhill longboarding, every time anyone steps on this road, they need to record everything down at the Tianmen Square Office of Tianmen Mountain.

They must bring an ID card/passport/visa to upload the identity information into the system for authentication. This generates a number unique to each person.

Every time they step onto Tianmen Mountain, the personal record in the system counts each visit.

The staff scanned their card on the machine, and the electronic voice sounded: “Ding, confirmation successful. Contestant, China-9877635.”

In this game, there is no name, only your nationality, and number.

Returning the bracelet to Yu Nian, the staff person smiled and said, “Come on.”

Yu Nian walked to the starting position belonging to 4-15 and put on his helmet.

This outstandingly produced helmet has a great texture and aerodynamic line design. It had practical and artistic beauty, giving the people a strong sense of futuristic technology.

The camera swept over, and Yu Nian happened to be putting on his helmet at that time. 

With his helmet and hands covering his face, only a pair of beautiful eyebrows were exposed.

The audience’s discussion became louder.

“That number 15 seems a bit handsome.”

“He’s for our country! Fighting for a bit of moral support. Only two Chinese players in the first three groups made it to the top six.”

As the camera scanned each contestant, the commentator introduced them to the audience one by one.

Among them, the number of times they were on this track is a piece of data that must be introduced.

In today’s information technology, the recording system is very perfect.

Once a person touches Tianmen Mountain, there will be one more record of their visit for that player.

No exceptions.

After a long period of announcing each player’s information, the commentator’s voice has become hoarse. But the enthusiasm of the commentary is not diminished: “Number 15 of group 4, let us call up his number in the system for his records. Record number 9877635, his number of previous ladder tracks is-”

The commentator’s words froze.

The audience saw that the corner of the big screen belonged to the narrator’s sub-camera. He was full of disbelief. He covered the microphone and turned his head to question the staff.

Even though the microphone was covered, they still had high-definition audio equipment, so their conversation still echoed in the valley.

“There is no error in the data?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“How is this possible! Wasn’t there a practice day?”

“The track was opened yesterday and because of a flight delay, he did not have enough time to make it for the practice.”

The audience looked at each other as they listened to the hushed conversation.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

After a while, the narrator uncovered the microphone.

“I’m sorry for the delay.” The commentator cleared his throat, with residual shock on his face, “Number 15 of group 4, record number 9877635, his previous number of ladder tracks: 0!”

There was a moment of silence at the foot of the mountain and in the valley. Then the discussion suddenly boomed.

“What is this situation?’

“I don’t know, this is my first time here, this hasn’t happened before?”

“Is this fake??”

The commentator explained: “We just learned that due to a flight delay, No.15 of group 4 missed yesterday’s track familiarization time!”

“Number 15 of group 4, record number 9877635, his number of tracks on the Tongtian Road is 0! This means that in this game, he will be on this road for the first time!”

The audience was in an uproar.

“Isn’t he going to die?”

Even the ones with the least experience have set foot on Tongtian Road more than ten times. There are nearly two hundred contestants who participated in this competition.

No one has ever participated in this race without a trial run.

No one has thought about this possibility. Everyone in the race is eager to study every road section and every corner beforehand.

How dare he?

Lucius in the same group heard the simultaneous interpretation and looked at Yu Nian with wide eyes.

Is he crazy, this Chinese person?

He must be crazy!

The fixing buckle of the helmet clicked, and Yu Nian slid down the PC shutter on the helmet.

He stopped looking at the outside world.

His eyes were cold.

His journey begins at this moment.

Being on this road, he now can only go forward.