The rock climber was from Ajilina, and her name was Yichajin.
Chu Tingwu had never heard of the country Ajilina before, and only after looking it up did she learn that it was a small nation with a population even smaller than Jin City.
This country wasn't particularly strong economically and had a low profile, but within its borders, Yichajin was the best rock climber.
While Yichajin lay there for her tendon surgery under general anesthesia, Chu Tingwu was watching competition videos of Yichajin through her system.
It was a bouldering competition.
In this bouldering competition, there was no limit on attempts - even if climbers fell from above, they could try again, though there was a time limit.
Competitors were ranked based on scoring points and completion time—
If no one could reach the top point, scoring would be calculated based on each point reached, totaling 25 points. If more than one person completed the climb, ranking would be determined by completion time.
The bouldering wall wasn't particularly high and didn't require safety ropes, but the difficulty level was considerable.
First, the wall was tilted toward the ground at an angle.
When climbing, athletes mostly had to hang on the wall using their fingertips and toes, sometimes needing to support their entire body weight with just two fingers when changing positions.
Some people might be able to do several one-arm pull-ups but might not be able to hang on the climbing wall for even a few seconds.
Chu Tingwu was watching these few minutes of Yichajin's competition—
The starting point wasn't difficult, and she quickly got on the wall, but there was no static position available between the starting point and the next five-point mark.
Chu Tingwu remembered when she went to Brother Xia's climbing gym, an outdoor sports enthusiast, he had commented on her bouldering: "You seem quite good at dynamic movements? You're tall but very nimble."
Indeed, shorter climbers typically excel at dynamic movements—because they can't reach as far, they need to make dynamic leaps to the next point in mid-air. Due to their shorter stature and lighter weight, they can better dissipate extra force and momentum to stabilize themselves.
Taller climbers, on the other hand, tend to be better at static climbing—their long arms and legs allow them to directly reach or step to the next point, moving steadily. Correspondingly, they're usually less proficient at dynamic movements.
However, this wasn't an absolute rule.
In competitions, the climbing routes are relatively fixed because before the competition, professional route setters repeatedly test the climbing routes to establish a "standard solution"... Of course, it's precisely because there's a standard solution that when some athletes take an unconventional approach and still solve the climbing puzzle, it shows the charm of this sport.
As for its other appeal, it naturally comes from the aesthetics of climbing itself.
The competition video enlarged before Chu Tingwu's eyes, with the normal video on the left... and on the right, a one-to-one recreation showing a semi-transparent dynamic figure, as if after a muscle scan. The system displayed a 3D visualization of various muscles and blood flow in Yichajin's body during her movements.
The route setting for this competition placed the difficulty at the beginning, causing many people to fail at the five-point mark—even if they managed to make the dynamic leap, the hand hold was not only narrow but had a downward curve.
This meant that athletes really had to rely on the friction between their fingers and the hold platform, along with their own strength to stabilize themselves.
In the footage, Yichajin raised her foot, but instead of moving forward, she held onto the current hand hold, slowly positioning her feet on the higher foot holds, turning half a circle on the angled wall to position her feet above and hands below.
Then, in this position, she completed a foot swap and reached out—this time directly grabbing the five-point hold with a static move.
After securing herself and releasing her feet, she didn't fall like the previous competitors but hung on the wall with slight swaying movements.
In the 3D visualization beside her, her fingers and chest cavity were showing a healthy and active red.
Chu Tingwu unconsciously raised her hand and made a grabbing motion in the air.
She wondered: If it were me, could I grab that hold? Would I need to change my position to complete it statically, or should I jump directly with a dynamic move—could I stabilize myself that way?
Her cat physique indeed gave her better balance and jumping ability, but all climbing athletes possessed strong physical qualities necessary for solving climbing problems.
She could jump, but could she grab that two-centimeter-wide hold after jumping?
Chu Tingwu was genuinely curious.
While Chu Tingwu was watching the video that only she could see, others were secretly observing her.
—Why was there a semi-transparent virtual projection cat crouching on top of a cleaning robot in the observation room?
At first, the orthopedic experts invited from other hospitals thought it might be Jiao Mountain Orthopedic Hospital's "mascot."
Even private hospitals were starting to develop their own IP nowadays, so having a cat mascot seemed normal—they might even release holiday gift boxes featuring the mascot's image soon.
However, while the experts were discussing the surgical plan, this cat would turn its head and watch them with curious eyes.
When someone spoke, it would look at the speaker.
The speaking expert: "..."
Why did it feel like this cat was actually alive? Had virtual projection and programming technology become this advanced?
He observed quietly and noticed that the cat's movements almost never repeated, unlike fixed programmed patterns.
Fortunately, when the discussion ended and the surgery began, Lian Tong placed the cleaning robot on a platform, and the "little cat's" attention seemed to focus on the ongoing surgery.
Surgery is, of course, tedious, and for laypeople, there isn't much interesting to see in several hours of operation.
While the other experts focused on the surgery, Lian Tong continued observing the cat.
The cat indeed became bored.
Its initial intense focus gradually relaxed, and its ears drooped.
Then, it noticed something and slightly raised its head, seemingly shifting its attention elsewhere.
Lian Tong instinctively looked in the direction of the cat's gaze but saw nothing there.
Then, the cat suddenly raised one front paw.
After making two "paw-flowering" gestures, it tilted its head, looking even more focused.
Lian Tong: "..."
How could he read expressions on a cat's face? Was it really not his imagination?
Just as he was thinking this, the little cat suddenly stood up on its hind legs on the cleaning robot and performed what looked like a set of radio calisthenics... or rather, made many strange movements.
Lian Tong instinctively looked toward where the cat was gazing.
Still nothing there.
Was this some kind of programmed movement test?
Chu Tingwu yawned and sat back down, noticing that her fur was slightly messy—why did the system insist on such realism—she instinctively lowered her head, opened her mouth, then paused.
System: "?"
The system seemed completely unaware of what was wrong.
Chu Tingwu: "...Fix my messy fur."
The next second, Chu Tingwu returned to being a sleek, clean little cat.
In her view, Yichajin had already reached the 20-point mark, with the next challenge being the final top point—she just needed to climb up and maintain stability for three seconds to complete the climb.
But the top point was high, far from the current point, and there were no footholds below.
Chu Tingwu, having done some climbing herself, though she hadn't gone recently due to being busy, had developed some understanding of route solving.
If she were climbing this route, she would try to jump directly and grab the top point with a dynamic move.
However, not everyone possessed such jumping ability. Another solution was to switch feet - lifting one foot and placing it where the hand hold was, supporting with the knee to help complete the jump.
When the foot could firmly step on the hand hold, the entire body would lift up, allowing both hands to grab the top hold.
This was where Yichajin made her mistake.
Chu Tingwu looked at the 3D projection beside her and understood the reason for the error without needing explanation:
When setting the route, route setters would consider female climbers' heights. Yichajin could complete the previous static moves because she was 1.7 meters tall.
But at this position, her height became a disadvantage. Her legs were too long - although she managed to place her leg on the hand hold, she couldn't find a suitable position to generate power. With time running out, she had to make a rushed attempt. Her knee blocked her arm, preventing her from successfully grabbing the top hold when she jumped.
Yichajin fell and sat on the bouldering mat as time ran out.
Maintaining a climbing position consumed tremendous energy. Sweat ran down her forehead, and beside her, the semi-transparent 3D figure sat similarly, with all body data fluctuating.
Though her expression remained unchanged, even managing a helpless smile toward the audience as she turned, the body data was honest - those changing red and blue lines revealed her true emotions.
In the end, Yichajin took second place in this competition.
The first place achieved a complete climb.
System: "Would you like to see the first place winner's moves?"
Chu Tingwu nodded.
She shifted slightly, adjusting her position, her ears perking up high.
The winner was from Pauligia, another small country.
As soon as she started climbing, Chu Tingwu could tell that this first-place winner excelled at dynamic movements.
She was only about five centimeters shorter than Yichajin, but at the first five-point hold, their choices were completely different.
Since climbing competitions also involved "problem-solving" elements, each person could choose different climbing routes if they could manage them. Therefore, other competitors waiting backstage couldn't see how the current competitor was climbing.
Even with sufficient physical ability to complete moves, failing to find the right solution meant elimination.
The first-place winner didn't hesitate. Upon seeing the five-point hold, she easily jumped up to it.
As she grabbed the hand hold, her entire body swung outward, but Chu Tingwu noticed her swing was larger than others'. Many climbers could hold on during the outward swing but would slip off when swinging back.
The winner held on firmly, then immediately began conquering the second and third scoring points, all the way to the top hold.
Upon seeing the top hold's height, she lifted her foot, using her toes to step on a hold angled at forty-five degrees.
Chu Tingwu: "Is she going to jump?"
Most people seeing this move would assume the winner intended to adjust her position with static movements to climb to the top. But Chu Tingwu could see from the adjacent 3D model that, judging by the muscle colors, this competitor was preparing for a jump.
Even without looking at the 3D model, Chu Tingwu could sense this was the prelude to a jump.
Because if it were her, she would also choose this position to jump from.
Chu Tingwu told the system: "This is an excellent point for generating force."
Even though it was only two centimeters wide, a small indentation in the wall, ordinary people could barely find it with their feet, let alone step on it - a slip would result in injury.
But it could provide climbers with perfect jumping leverage.
The next second, the winner jumped from this small point and successfully grabbed the top hold.
She turned her head and flashed a brilliant smile at the camera.
Chu Tingwu unconsciously smiled too.
Her hands felt itchy, and her heart felt itchy too, like burying her hands in an orange cat's belly on a beautiful day.
And the orange cat had such a good temperament, even dozing off, too lazy to move even a tiny bit despite feeling your touch.
She really wanted to go climbing now.
However, Chu Tingwu hadn't forgotten she was still performing surgery.
The system's viewpoint was comprehensive, including not only the angles other experts saw but also corresponding muscular holographic projections. Unlike during competitions, if muscles could be personified, their expressions would now be pale and exhausted.
And doctors were performing repairs on them.
Perhaps Yichajin came to Jiao Mountain Orthopedic Hospital because of the free treatment and expert consultation persuasion, but only Chu Tingwu knew her choice was correct. With the system's help in screening, her current surgery could achieve theoretically optimal treatment results.
Soon, she would be able to perform those human-limit movements with her fingers again, continuing her athletic career.
Looking at the 3D muscle texture, Chu Tingwu became curious for the first time: "What would I look like if projected?"
The system was startled.
Then, Chu Tingwu saw a projected cat.
Although the data was correct, the image details were completely wrong.
Chu Tingwu: "..."
She wished she hadn't asked.
Whenever she thought the system was reliable, it would remind her with facts: I can't even identify your species correctly.
And Chu Tingwu probably couldn't undergo a complete physical examination in regular hospitals, even hospitals controlled by the system wouldn't be suitable... Her body changes had exceeded human limits, so what she actually looked like remained a complete mystery.
Blood coursed through her body, vessels, bones, and muscles packed beneath her skin. In this world full of creatures both similar to and different from humans, Chu Tingwu raised her paw, gently placing it on the glass before her.
She might never know exactly what kind of "creature" she was, but this body was like a gift - she could spend her long life discovering its secrets.
And with so many creatures in the world, she could go see them all personally.
The surgery was complete.
The chief surgeon personally finished the final steps. Yichajin remained unconscious, and the doctor gazed at her hand. Even without seeing their full face, one could sense the doctor's fulfilled and satisfied mood.
Chu Tingwu turned her head, and Lian Tong immediately came over to help her put the cleaning robot on the floor, asking softly, "Are you not going to watch anymore?"
Chu Tingwu shook her head.
The next second, she opened her eyes in the classroom.
The teacher's voice seemed both distant and near, carrying a faint ethereal quality. Someone in front was turning pages, while others were taking notes with scratching sounds.
The sun had long set, and the classroom was almost too bright, making the sky outside the windows appear darker.
Three-Five-Five squeezed by the window, blending into the night's darkness with only its yellow nose tip visible.
Chu Tingwu gave it a small wave, then nodded to the Information Technology teacher, quietly packed her bag, and pushed through the back door.
She met with the mother cat in the hallway. The neighboring classes were still in session as Chu Tingwu and the cat passed by one after another, then knocked and entered the office.
Teacher Shi was frowning while grading papers, his pen moving swiftly until he saw Chu Tingwu and stopped: "Have you made your decision?"
There wasn't enough energy for three subjects; she needed to specialize in one or two.
Chu Tingwu nodded: "I'll only be attending the competitive biology class from now on."
Teacher Shi: "...Ah?"
He wanted to persuade her otherwise, since her grades in the other two subjects were better, but after some thought, he remained silent - though young, this new student showed remarkable maturity in decision-making, and no one could change her mind.
Before leaving, Chu Tingwu expressed her gratitude: "Thank you for allowing Three-Five-Five to come in."
While some at school were friendly toward cats, others felt cats shouldn't enter the teaching building and classrooms, claiming they would affect studies and might scratch students.
Three-Five-Five always came to pick up Chu Tingwu after school, which some teachers found quite objectionable.
The laboratory building had even more important equipment, and Three-Five-Five was stopped outside the building on its first visit.
But today, no one seemed to be chasing her away.
Teacher Shi said, "No need to thank me. Your cat earned it on their own."
Perhaps due to the warming weather these past few days, hibernating animals were waking up one by one. A non-venomous snake had crawled into the office downstairs.
The teacher who discovered the snake only saw its tail at first and mistook it for a lizard. They instinctively tried to grab and throw it out, but when the entire snake body was revealed, screams echoed throughout the building.
The teacher was so startled that their hand jerked, causing the snake to fall to the ground before it slithered away on its own. Though they later realized it was probably non-venomous, no one dared to catch it, and the teacher who had grabbed it was left with deep psychological trauma.
The other teachers didn't dare stay in the office either, all stepping outside and making sure to close the door behind them.
At that moment, one teacher noticed Three-Five-Five walking a dog outside the building—
Since pets weren't allowed in the experimental building, Three-Five-Five would wait for Chu Tingwu on the lawn outside after school, this time helping to walk Program, the Yorkshire Terrier.
Of course, Program was puzzled about why their recent walking route had changed to circling the experimental building.
That teacher, grasping at straws, instinctively waved and called out, "Hey, that cat... could you come here for a moment?"
Only after calling out did they realize how foolish it was.
But surprisingly, Three-Five-Five actually came over, carrying the leash in her mouth, looking up questioningly.
The other teachers: "..."
Another teacher tentatively asked, "Could you help us catch the snake in the office?"
Three-Five-Five: "=="
The experienced working cat wagged her tail to show she understood, then placed the dog leash on that teacher's shoe.
The teacher asked, "Should I... hold the leash for you?"
Three-Five-Five: "Meow."
After responding, she didn't wait for the teachers to open the door. She simply leaped up and entered through the window. After a while, when one of the teachers noticed the silence—not even the sound of papers being knocked over—and went to check, they saw a cat's head appear.
Three-Five-Five emerged with the small snake in her mouth, and surprisingly, the snake was still alive.
After jumping down, she held the snake's head with her paw and lifted her head, thinking:
Should she bring it for her kitten to play with?
Fortunately, one teacher seemed to read her mind and brought over a clear food container, carefully taking the snake from under Three-Five-Five's paw and releasing it by the lake far from the teaching building.
Having had the cat help them out, the teachers couldn't bring themselves to chase her away anymore.
Besides, this cat really seemed... very polite.
Though one teacher tried to feed Three-Five-Five sausages, she wouldn't eat them.
How did Chu Tingwu find out about this?
Because Three-Five-Five led her to the office downstairs, where the tortoiseshell cat brought her to that teacher, then meowed once, indicating that the teacher could give the sausages to her kitten instead.
The teacher held back a laugh: "Alright, alright."
Chu Tingwu: "=v= Thank you, teacher."
She carried her backpack, accompanied by her cat, with snacks in her mouth, retrieved her skateboard from the security guard, and walked out through the empty school gates.
She made her way back to the residential complex but didn't go home. Instead, she checked the time and walked to the space between Buildings 2 and 3.
The two buildings were connected, with a narrow path between them that could only fit two people, paved with stone slabs.
The left side led to a small playground within the complex, while the right side was an area where residents exercised and chatted, equipped with various public facilities.
Trees provided shade, blocking the light from the street lamps. Chu Tingwu leaned her skateboard against the wall at an angle, both feet on the upturned ends, and looked up to examine the wall.
The cement wall, having aged, had developed various small holes and dents, though these indentations were barely big enough to fit a finger joint.
Still, that should be enough.
She just had an itch to climb, and wall climbing would satisfy it.
Without needing light, her eyes could see in the dark. After identifying suitable holds, Chu Tingwu jumped from the skateboard, hooked her left index finger into a point, grabbed the wall with her right hand, and lifted her toes, using friction to stick to the wall.
Though these wall holds might not be as scientifically placed as those on a climbing wall, the surface wasn't as smooth as a climbing wall and was perfectly vertical.
Easy, Chu Tingwu thought.
With her jumping ability, she could actually reach much higher, but that wouldn't be interesting... That wouldn't be "solving a climbing puzzle" but rather crushing the challenge outright. Though simple and effective, Chu Tingwu suspected that doing it too often would rob her of the joy of climbing.
She tried to solve her self-imposed climbing challenges using movements that would theoretically be possible for human climbing athletes to achieve.
After sticking to the wall, she quickly discovered the downside of vertical walls—
Without protruding holds, she could only check them by turning her face sideways, making many holds unclear, forcing her to climb based on memory.
Chu Tingwu decided to try static moves first.
Since the holds were all concave, she couldn't perform moves like hanging upside down on the wall. Her shoes weren't as flexible as fingers, so when Chu Tingwu tensed her calves, she gave herself an upward boost, caught a higher hold, and swung gently while hanging on the wall.
She felt the pressure on her fingers, but while searching for suitable footholds with her legs, she couldn't find any during those few seconds her fingers could support her.
Finally, Chu Tingwu had to jump down and reassess the wall.
Three-Five-Five watched her jumping around from below, also looking up curiously—
"Meow?"
Was there something her kitten wanted up on the wall?
She looked at her kitten and received the answer that she was "just climbing for fun."
Three-Five-Five: "=="
That made sense; her kitten was at the age where they enjoyed climbing up and down.
Cats are natural climbers. She narrowed her eyes to examine the wall ahead, her tail hanging over the edge of the skateboard. Then Three-Five-Five jumped onto the skateboard and leaped up, but instead of using her claws to hook onto the wall, she performed a wall kick—
She kicked off one wall to jump to the opposite wall, then pushed off with her hind legs, completely bypassing the two points Chu Tingwu had chosen, and hooked onto a slightly larger hole nearby.
Then, the cat pushed against the wall with her hind legs, slowly moving both legs onto the wall, achieving a cramped but stable four-legged stance.
Chu Tingwu: ...A mountain goat pose?
The cat stood at a spot just out of Chu Tingwu's reach, but this time Chu Tingwu didn't hold back. She jumped to the same height, though without any points to stand on, she spread her legs and did an incomplete split, each foot braced against opposite walls to maintain stability.
Not only did she maintain her position, but she could even pet the cat on the wall.
When Chu Tingwu grabbed Three-Five-Five's front paws, the cat didn't react, but when she tried to touch the back paws, Three-Five-Five moved them away with a "meow meow."
Then, the cat gripped the wall firmly with her front paws and pushed against it with her back paws, demonstrating to her kitten: Look, you can hang like this.
Chu Tingwu: "..."
She didn't have such claws and paw pads.
She pried Three-Five-Five's front paws loose, supported the cat's armpits to pull her off the wall, and then quickly caught the lower half of Three-Five-Five's body with her other hand, ending up holding her like a baby.
The tortoiseshell cat, now being cradled face-up in her kitten's arms: "?"
While the human and cat remained still, the sound of flapping wings came from below.
An elderly man passing by with a cage was walking his pet parrot, which he had let out for exercise. The parrot flew upward, but halfway up, it let out a frightened squawk and dove back into its cage:
"Bandits! Bandits!"
The old man was confused at first, but hearing these words made him anxious. He quickly closed the cage door and looked around: "Where? Where? Where's that cat?"
Three-Five-Five opened her mouth—
Chu Tingwu covered her mouth.
Only after the man and his bird had left did the human and cat quietly sneak back home.
As she went upstairs, Teacher Yuan happened to be going up as well and greeted Chu Tingwu: "Did you go skateboarding?"
Chu Tingwu: "Yes, I did."
Though just stepping on it a few times barely counts as skateboarding!
Teacher Yuan: "I knew it! I guessed you went skateboarding with Three-Five-Five. The old man from Building Two kept saying his parrot saw Three-Five-Five but couldn't say exactly where... I told him it must be where he heard the skateboard sounds, otherwise he must have seen wrong - but he wouldn't believe me—"
Chu Tingwu: "=v="
Skateboarding was indeed quite fun.
The next day was the weekend. Since two classes had been canceled, Chu Tingwu only needed to attend classes on Sunday, leaving Saturday free.
So she finally accepted Brother Xia's invitation to go rock climbing. In the car, she tried to promote skateboarding to her fellow climbing enthusiasts.
Recently, she had done some handiwork modifying her skateboard, making it possible to change the small wing-shaped connection between the boards into an extended form.
However, after she demonstrated it, her fellow climbers burst out laughing: "I can't... this is just too cute! How should I put it? It's like those training wheels I had when I first learned to ride a bike!"
They were adults now and didn't need training wheels anymore!
Chu Tingwu: "==Oh?"
Then when they arrived at the farmhouse, these adults started falling all over the place as soon as they stepped on the board.
There weren't any suitable high mountains for rock climbing near Jin City, so the group chose the zoo in the suburbs. The zoo was built along a mountain, and its design maintained much of the natural wilderness. Some of the natural rock slopes were preserved, and unlike certain mountains, climbing wasn't prohibited here.
Brother Xia seemed quite familiar with the zoo management. These climbing enthusiasts weren't first-time visitors either - they even had a dedicated place to store their belongings.
After parking nearby, Chu Tingwu and Three-Five-Five got out of the car one after another. Looking up, they noticed several anchor points on the rock face.
Regular outdoor climbing naturally had safety measures - the anchor points on the rock face. From the terrain, it was clear this wouldn't be top-rope climbing.
Top-rope climbing was when the safety equipment was at the very top, with the rope hanging down - like in most climbing gyms.
There was another climbing method where you still needed to reach the summit, but previous climbers had left anchor points on the wall. As later climbers reached certain heights, they would clip their protection rope into these points - in outdoor climbing, this was similar to reaching a halfway point or checkpoint in bouldering, marking small achievements along the climbing route.
Three-Five-Five shook her head uneasily - the zoo had too many complex smells she wasn't used to.
She turned her head to find everyone around her starting to warm up, their eyes fixed intently on the rock face ahead.
Brother Xia was explaining to Chu Tingwu: "Although rock climbing isn't very popular in China, this climbing spot in our city is quite famous in small circles. That's why I wanted to bring you here to check it out."
This natural rock face had a clean climbing route of sixteen meters. Since its discovery by the first climbing enthusiast, whenever Brother Xia's climbing friends came to Jin City, he would invite them here.
To other tourists, this was just another rock wall in the city zoo, but when climbers saw it, they would share knowing looks, immediately hit it off, and start warming up and putting on their gear.
Chu Tingwu was having exactly those thoughts now.
She really wanted to climb to the top.
However, knowing Chu Tingwu was a beginner, Brother Xia gave a little chuckle and didn't go into too much detail—
Overseas, there were outdoor climbing locations with clean routes reaching heights of about forty meters, rated at 5.14, which probably only world-class athletes could complete.
It was a test of both physical strength and willpower.
Some might think forty meters isn't very high, but this route might already be on a cliff face. Imagine climbing to the twelfth floor without any external aid, hanging on the outside of the building looking down - that sense of thrill and excitement was completely different from indoor climbing!
Although this rock face was only five stories high, in climbing, height and "difficulty" weren't the same thing. The route's difficulty meant that completing the zoo's rock face required professional-level skills.
Few of them could climb it successfully, and sometimes Brother Xia would think that perhaps if he managed to complete this wall, he might feel a sense of loss.
That probably wouldn't be today.
With this mix of regret and desire to reach the top, everyone set up temporary safety equipment while laying out picnic mats.
Yes, they were combining rock climbing with a picnic, since this area was quite far from other animal exhibits.
Of course, tourists would still pass by.
Some tourists recognized they were rock climbing and would curiously point and even secretly take photos, while others completely missed the climbers on the rock face and would walk up asking: "Are you selling barbecue skewers? Do you have a price list?"
"This is just for ourselves..."
"That's even better, healthier! Sell me a couple, I'll pay for them!"
They probably thought it would be cheaper than the zoo's prices!
The people below reluctantly took the money, while on another side, Chu Tingwu had already started attempting the climb.
When she got on the rock face, Three-Five-Five followed.
For a cat smaller than humans, this rock face was much easier to climb than those in climbing gyms, with a higher margin for error.
Grabbing the protrusions on the rock face, Three-Five-Five successfully kept pace with Chu Tingwu.
Chu Tingwu clipped the rope to the first anchor point, tested its strength, and continued climbing.
Brother Xia stood nearby, smiling encouragingly: "Keep going, try to pass Linlin!"
However, after climbing to a certain height, Chu Tingwu understood why so many people had failed here. There was a large unavoidable rock overhang above, like an angle - this was common in bouldering, but nature hadn't provided route-setting like indoor climbing walls - so there were simply no suitable handholds on this rock.
But someone had found a solution.
That would be the first climber who made it up and hammered in the anchor points.
Chu Tingwu looked up at the rock face for a while, then signaled Three-Five-Five to get in the bag.
She wore a bag that allowed the cat to stretch out all four limbs while being elastic and secure - the kind used for outdoor activities with animals.
Three-Five-Five scratched at the rock with her claws before getting into the bag. Chu Tingwu hung from the rock face with one hand while securing all the bag's fasteners.
Nearby, Linlin: "..."
This kid really had abundant energy.
Someone fell off from the side, and distant onlooking tourists let out small gasps - they probably thought this was part of the zoo's performances.
...Why not watch the monkey show at the monkey mountain instead?
These thoughts drifted aimlessly through Chu Tingwu's mind, but her movements didn't stop. She glanced to her left, suddenly leaped, lunged to the left, her body swinging dramatically in mid-air before stabilizing again.
Then, she raised her foot to her head, hooked the rock with her instep, and as she pushed down, she lunged outward, grabbing the vertical rock face with both hands.
In climbing, this move was called a "side pull." Using the traction provided by the vertical rock face, she slowly pulled herself up, successfully circumventing that rock section and continuing upward.
Then Three-Five-Five jumped down—
For the route ahead, Three-Five-Five could once again reach higher spots faster than Chu Tingwu.
The cat also had a safety rope around her waist, with the other end attached to Chu Tingwu's waist. Now Three-Five-Five easily placed all four paws on the same protrusion, tail held high as she watched her young charge exerting herself below.
Brother Xia had fallen twice and was now resting to recover his strength. Sitting with a water bottle, looking up, he noticed that although Chu Tingwu had started later, she had already reached second position.
Brother Xia: "..." Somehow this scene felt familiar?
Actually, Brother Xia hadn't planned to take Chu Tingwu outdoor climbing so soon - but this young girl was truly amazing, it was as if she didn't quite understand the concept of "difficulty."
Brother Xia had long observed that she could climb both beginner routes and high-difficulty ones. Looking back at their time climbing together, although her speed varied and others sometimes demonstrated solutions for her, the fact that Chu Tingwu could complete every climb showed that her talent wasn't just ordinary.
Being average among beginners was one thing, but maintaining that consistency among experienced climbers, occasionally even surpassing others, indicated exceptional talent.
While he was pondering this, whistles and footsteps suddenly came from behind. Brother Xia turned his head as a nearby tourist exclaimed, "What's that?"
Zoo staff members hurriedly called out, "Everyone make way! Make way, a monkey has escaped!"
A monkey had escaped from their monkey mountain!
The monkey was small, darting like a golden-brown shadow under the vehicle's chassis. As people bent down to look, someone shouted, "Oh! Oh! It's climbing up, the monkey's climbing up!"
One of the climbers lost their grip and fell, while only the person at the very top remained stable, seemingly focused entirely on climbing.
The monkey moved gracefully across the rock wall, occasionally reaching out to pull itself up effortlessly, making all the climbers envious... but now wasn't the time for envy, as the zoo had already started mobilizing staff.
Of course, they didn't expect the climbers on the wall to help catch the monkey - how could they?
Soon, the monkey reached the angled section of the wall and paused, allowing everyone to see it was a golden snub-nosed monkey.
The little golden monkey scratched its neck, didn't choose the side route, and instead leaped out, grabbed the corner's edge, and with a light swing, propelled itself to the upper section of the wall.
People below went: "Ah—"
This monkey might be impossible to catch now.
The golden monkey probably thought the same, but just then, a hand reached out and grabbed its neck.
Chu Tingwu: "?"
Of all places to go, this bold monkey had tried to jump right over her head.
Chu Tingwu wedged her feet into the wall, waved down at the people below, but before the zoo staff could excitedly respond, she pulled back her hand, opened her backpack, and stuffed the monkey inside.
The golden monkey: "Squeak!"
Chu Tingwu's actions clearly said: she still wanted to continue climbing.
Brother Xia: "..."
Why keep climbing at a time like this!
Unlike Three-Five-Five, the monkey tried to struggle in the backpack. The staff below showed strange expressions, but after such an emotional rollercoaster, they had no energy to speak, only using their eyes to ask Brother Xia: where does your climbing friend intend to take our national treasure?
Brother Xia: "...She just wants to continue climbing, really, the monkey will be fine."
Just as he finished speaking.
Because the monkey was not only struggling but trying to grab Chu Tingwu's hair, Three-Five-Five, who was already annoyed about having her bag taken earlier, stood up on the wall and made an irritated "meow-growl" sound.
Then she raised her paw and gave the monkey several flicks to the forehead.
Staff member: "..."
He looked at Brother Xia again.
Brother Xia: "..."
Well... at least the human didn't harm any animals! Let the animals sort out their own conflicts.
