Banner stuck in a tree? This is called four ounces deflecting a thousand pounds, understand!

Early the next morning.

Lin Bei was forcibly dragged out of bed by Ruan Qingwu.

The girl had only signed up for the Drone Club yesterday, and today she excitedly dragged Lin Bei along to its first group activity.

On the South Playground, the autumn tiger's lingering heat still held sway. The sun hung dazzlingly overhead, making the rubber track gleam.

"Lin Bei, hurry up!" Ruan Qingwu walked ahead with two bottles of chilled mineral water in her hands, turning to urge him on.

Today, she wore a cropped athletic T-shirt that revealed a small stretch of fair, firm waist. Her high ponytail swung behind her head, radiating youth.

Lin Bei let out a huge yawn and dragged his feet forward.

"It's the weekend. Instead of sleeping in the dorm, we're out here baking in the sun. What's the point?"

"The president posted a notice in the group yesterday. The club and the School TV Station have a joint aerial filming event today. All the freshmen have to help set up."

Ruan Qingwu pushed a bottle of water into Lin Bei's hand.

"You only joined yesterday. You can't skip work on your very first day."

Lin Bei unscrewed the cap and gulped down some icy water, feeling slightly more awake.

They reached the southeastern corner of the playground.

A circle of people had already gathered there.

Zhao Yihang, president of the Drone Club, was testing equipment with several core sophomore members.

Several students wearing staff badges stood nearby. Judging by their clothes, they were probably from the School TV Station. They all had their arms folded, their brows furrowed tightly enough to crush flies.

A huge red banner, a full twenty meters long, lay in the center of the area.

Two rows of large yellow characters were printed on it: Warmly celebrating the successful opening of Jinghai University's 27th Club Culture Festival.

Normally, they could have simply found two stands and hung a banner like this between them.

But the director leading the School TV Station team insisted on making a grand spectacle, demanding that the banner be hung between the crowns of the two century-old camphor trees at the edge of the playground.

He also wanted aerial drone footage to create a sweeping, expansive visual effect.

That had left Zhao Yihang stumped.

Those two camphor trees were at least a dozen meters tall, with trunks so thick that even three people together could not encircle them.

There was no way anyone could climb them.

The only option was to have a drone carry the guide ropes at either end of the banner above the crowns, pass the ropes over thick branches, then pull them down and secure them.

It worked in theory, but actually doing it was extremely difficult.

"President Zhao, can you do this or not?"

Wang Wei, the director leading the School TV Station team, glanced at his watch, his voice full of impatience.

"You've been at this for almost an hour. The camera operator's equipment has been set up so long it's practically smoking. Doesn't your Drone Club claim to have the best technical skills on campus? You can't even hang a banner?"

Zhao Yihang was drenched in sweat, his eyes fixed on the drone in midair.

"Director Wang, the wind's a little strong today, and the airflow up there is unstable. Besides, the canopy's too dense. We can't fly too close, or we risk crashing."

"That's your problem." Wang Wei bluntly turned hostile. "Our station approved funding for your club. If you delay the live broadcast of the opening ceremony at noon, can you take responsibility?"

Zhao Yihang flushed at the rebuke and gritted his teeth.

"One more try. It'll definitely work this time."

He took a deep breath and moved the control stick.

The large hexacopter buzzed overhead, a long, thin nylon rope hanging beneath it as it carefully approached the camphor tree's crown.

The rope was just about to pass over the thickest fork.

Then disaster struck.

A sudden, freak gust swept across the playground.

It was so strong that dust swirled up from the ground.

The crosswind hit the drone in midair, instantly throwing it off balance and tipping it sharply sideways.

"Watch out!" several members below cried.

Scared out of his wits, Zhao Yihang frantically worked the directional controls to save the drone.

The drone barely stabilized, but the nylon rope hanging beneath it was whipped by the wind straight into a dense tangle of dead branches.

It wound tightly around a wrist-thick branch.

And formed a dead knot.

"We're screwed." Zhao Yihang hurriedly maneuvered the drone backward, but the rope pulled taut while the branch did not budge.

When he pulled harder, the drone's motors began screaming under the overload.

"Release the hook! Don't drag the drone down!" a member beside him shouted.

Zhao Yihang could only press the release button helplessly.

The drone detached from the rope and landed safely.

But one end of the enormous twenty-meter banner was now firmly caught in the canopy more than ten meters above the ground, fluttering in the wind like a giant red plastic bag.

Dead silence fell.

Wang Wei's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

He flung his script onto the ground, pointed straight at Zhao Yihang's nose, and unleashed a torrent of abuse.

"Zhao Yihang! What the fuck have you done?"

"The banner's stuck in the tree! How are we supposed to do the live broadcast now? I knew your lousy club couldn't be trusted! I should've gotten the student council's external relations department to handle this!"

Knowing he was in the wrong, Zhao Yihang did not even dare argue. He fretted like an ant on a hot pan.

"Don't worry, Director Wang. I'll think of something. I'll find a way to get it down right now."

He turned to the other members. "Quick, check the equipment room for long bamboo poles!"

The members looked miserable.

"President, that's more than ten meters up. Where would we find a bamboo pole that long? Even three brooms tied together wouldn't reach."

"What about climbing? Who can climb trees?" Zhao Yihang grasped at remedies like a desperate patient.

Everyone looked up at the thick trunk, which did not offer even a single foothold, and shook their heads.

If they missed their footing and fell, they would probably spend the rest of their lives in a wheelchair.

Now they were completely trapped in a dead end.

They could not retrieve the banner, the event could not proceed, and the club would have to reimburse the TV station.

Wang Wei kept sneering beside them.

"Enough. Stop wasting your energy. I'm calling the Youth League Committee adviser right now to revoke your club's partnership eligibility. Clean up this mess yourselves."

His face deathly pale, Zhao Yihang pulled out his phone in despair.

"Forget it. I'll call 119 and have the fire department bring a ladder truck."

Calling out the fire department just to hang a banner-if word got out, the Drone Club would lose every last shred of face.

Just as Zhao Yihang was about to dial.

A slender hand suddenly reached over and pressed down on his phone screen.

"No need to trouble the firefighters. Let me."

The voice was quiet, with a lazy, casual air.

Everyone turned in unison.

Lin Bei walked unhurriedly out from behind the crowd.

Ruan Qingwu followed him, a trace of curiosity flashing through her large eyes.

Zhao Yihang paused, recognizing the guqin virtuoso who had joined the club yesterday.

"Junior Lin Bei? How... how are you going to do it? It's too high. It's too dangerous."

Before Lin Bei could speak, Wang Wei snorted beside them.

"Oh, here comes another hero. You'll do it? How?"

Wang Wei looked Lin Bei up and down, his face full of disdain.

"Were you born a monkey? Can you climb up there? Or can you fly? Anyone can talk big. Stop wasting everyone's time."

Lin Bei did not even spare Wang Wei a proper glance.

He walked straight beneath the century-old camphor tree and looked up.

About fifteen or sixteen meters above the ground.

The nylon rope was wound tightly around a wrist-thick dead branch in a complicated dead knot.

Brute force definitely would not work.

Lin Bei lowered his gaze, took a step forward, and planted his feet.

Everyone around him fell silent. Dozens of eyes fixed on him, waiting to see what tricks he could pull.

Wang Wei curled his lip, ready to watch him make a fool of himself.

The next second.

Lin Bei slowly raised his right hand.

He took no running start and held no tools.

He simply rested his palm lightly against the rough, cracked bark.

"What's he doing?"

"Touching the tree to pray for a blessing?"

Several TV station staff could not help muttering.

Lin Bei's face remained expressionless.

Inside his dantian, the azure vortex of spiritual power suddenly shuddered.

A strand of domineering, pure spiritual power silently slipped from Lin Bei's palm into the trunk.

The azure current, invisible to the naked eye, climbed rapidly along the grain of the wood inside the trunk.

Three meters.

Eight meters.

Fifteen meters.

Lin Bei's gaze sharpened slightly, and the five fingers of his right hand abruptly curled against the trunk.

The spiritual power that had climbed to the top instantly exploded inside the dead branch entangled with the banner!

A crisp crack rang out.

Under everyone's incredulous gazes.

The wrist-thick branch shook violently twice.

With its support gone, the enormous twenty-meter banner drifted down.

Lin Bei remained where he stood without moving his feet at all.

He extended his left hand and casually grabbed.

He caught the edge of the banner firmly.

The entire process flowed like drifting clouds and running water, taking less than ten seconds.

Dead silence fell.

The sneer froze completely on Wang Wei's face, his eyes bulging so far they almost fell out.

Zhao Yihang and the club members looked as though they had seen a ghost, their jaws shattering all over the ground.

Standing a short distance away, Ruan Qingwu also stared with her beautiful eyes wide and her small mouth slightly open.

A full two or three seconds passed.

"Holy shit!!!"

Someone in the crowd swore first.

Then the entire area erupted.

"What kind of god-tier fucking move was that?!"

"Am I seeing things? He touched the tree, and the banner fell down?!"

Zhao Yihang trembled all over with excitement, sprang up from where he stood, and rushed straight over to Lin Bei.

"Lin Bei! Junior! God!"

Zhao Yihang babbled incoherently, staring at Lin Bei's hand with shining eyes.

"H-how... how did you do that? Do you know qigong? One Yang Finger? Or striking the ox through the mountain?"

The TV station staff also crowded over, looking at Lin Bei like he was a monster. Wang Wei in particular alternated between green and white, not daring to let out so much as a fart.

Lin Bei dusted off his hands and stuffed the banner into Zhao Yihang's arms.

Seeing everyone's fanatical gazes, Lin Bei's mouth twitched.

"What qigong? Have faith in science."

He pointed at the canopy overhead and began spouting nonsense with a perfectly serious face.

"I know a little about measuring wind and calculating distances. I observed it just now. Although this tree has a thick trunk, under specific wind conditions, it has a tiny natural resonance frequency."

"I touched the trunk to confirm the resonance transmission node. Then, using the Kármán vortex street effect of the swirling wind, I applied an opposing thrust at the base of the trunk."

"Four ounces deflecting a thousand pounds, understand? It just happened to shake loose the load-bearing point trapped in that tight corner. Basic physics. Nothing to make a fuss about."

Lin Bei's explanation left everyone around him thoroughly dazed.

Resonance frequency?

Load-bearing point?

Four ounces deflecting a thousand pounds?

Although the vast majority had understood none of it, looking at Lin Bei's assured, confident expression.

Everyone found it impressive despite not understanding.

"Badass..."

Zhao Yihang swallowed hard and gave him a thumbs-up.

"A god really is a god. Not only is your guqin playing sublime, but your physics is fucking heaven-defying too!"

"He's a human anemometer!"

Lin Bei ignored the bunch filling in the blanks with their wild imaginations.

He walked over to Ruan Qingwu and casually took the other bottle of ice water from her hand.

"All right, problem solved. Let's find somewhere cool to hang out. It's too sunny here."

Seeing how breezy and unruffled he looked, Ruan Qingwu felt as though a little deer were darting wildly around inside her heart.

She nodded obediently and followed Lin Bei toward the shade of the trees beside the sports field.

They left a crowd behind them, still worshipping that camphor tree and frantically debating the feasibility of resonance frequencies.