After Li Younan uploaded the full version of the video, he no longer concerned himself with the matters on the internet platform.

In fact, during the time he didn’t respond, he often received some insulting and abusive messages in his private messages, commonly known as internet violence.

Naturally, Li Younan also ignored these things, and in this regard, his mindset was extremely stable.

After refocusing on the real world, Li Younan rested in the hotel until noon, had lunch, and then drove back.

The trip to Gongga Mountain didn’t actually take that much time, strictly speaking, as it was only mid-April.

He still needed to plan the next step after going back.

A few hours later, Li Younan returned to the county town at a leisurely pace.

Instead of going directly home, he went to the market to buy a bass and some ingredients, intending to make a nice meal for his mom, and sent her a message saying he was home.

When Li Younan got home, there were still two to three hours before his mom got off work. He prepared the ingredients and then strolled downstairs alone.

There were two old men playing chess downstairs in the apartment building, and Li Younan watched for a while.

It was funny to watch two amateurs peck at each other, disdainful of each other’s poor chess skills.

After watching for a while, since he didn’t say a word, one of the old men arrogantly advised Li Younan, "Young man, look at my chess move, how about this? This move will finish him."

Li Younan blinked and still said nothing.

The old man, unconvinced, made the move he claimed to be brilliant.

The opponent seemed stumped by this move, scratching his head for a long time before finding an excuse to leave for a toilet break.

The old man sat there triumphantly and said, "See, young man, how about this move? I see you’ve been watching for a while, he can’t solve this. While he’s in the bathroom, how about I give you some pointers in a game?"

Li Younan said nothing, only slowly placed his finger on a piece and gently pushed it.

The old man sneered, "Aren’t you giving it away with this move? I’ll just take it."

Li Younan still didn’t speak and continued moving other pieces. After two or three moves, the old man’s face changed, just like his opponent earlier, scratching his head and frowning, muttering, "This move... this move..."

With a smile on his lips, Li Younan put his hands behind his back and walked away slowly.

Bullying a lousy player like this was quite fun.

In the evening, Li Younan made a sumptuous dinner for his mom, and after eating, they each went to their rooms to rest.

Only then did Li Younan leisurely take out his phone to check the situation on the internet, and the backlash was even more overwhelming than he imagined...

As soon as his video was uploaded, all the doubts became ridiculous.

In Li Younan’s video, he detailed his journey as a novice who, relying on rich theoretical knowledge and strong practical skills, managed to "incidentally" climb to the top of Gongga Mountain.

The first wave of impact made everyone realize that Li Younan wasn’t just showing off; he actually went, and what the three previous video-uploading climbers said was true—Li Younan documented his encounter with them in the video, and even included clips of climbing up and down the mountain to rescue Ding Rui.

With video evidence, what was there to question?

Their video didn’t show Li Younan because he was ahead of them; hence, there was no footage of them together.

Additionally, because this online fight lasted a long time and had many plot twists, akin to a grand drama, it attracted even more attention.

The higher the attention, the more details and corroborating materials were unearthed... Someone captured footage of Li Younan reaching the summit of Gongga Snow Mountain from another viewing platform, and also captured two more people coming up after he descended. These further corroborated the fact that Li Younan reached the summit.

At this point, Xu Yusheng was genuinely dumbfounded. He had counted on everything except that Li Younan would actually climb the Gongga Snow Mountain.

Just as Xu Yusheng brokered a deal with an advertiser and was about to celebrate with a couple of beers, the online backlash plunged him into a cold sweat. He stayed in his rented room, furrowing his brow, pondering a solution.

Yet at this moment, he couldn’t think of any way to solve this predicament.

Cold treatment?

While he was overwhelmed, the true backlash of the traffic had just begun.

...

The bystanders were still watching the spectacle.

Meanwhile, clever marketing accounts and keen-sensed trending commentators swiftly realized that this was a rare opportunity for publicity.

Some broadcasters who had followed Xu Yusheng by fanning the flames immediately deleted their previous videos and sided with Li Younan, while those who Xu Yusheng had attacked, whether truthfully or falsely, also found an outlet to voice their grievances.

In short, the internet was flooded with analyses and comments about this hot topic.

"Who gets it, family! Yesterday I was following suit, bashing Li Younan for showing off, and today my face is slapped swollen! There’s even footage of rescuing Ding Rui in the video; Xu Yusheng’s maneuvers are nothing but shooting himself in the foot— is deleting the video now too late?"

"The reversal came faster than a TV drama! The marketing accounts that cursed Li Younan a few days ago have all gone quiet, while Xu Yusheng is still stubborn? Look at the real snow scenery in their video, then look at your nauseating script..."

"No way, does Xu Yusheng think all netizens are blind? Li Younan even filmed the encounter with the three other climbers, and you’re still saying he’s showing off? Now the advertisers are probably terminating contracts overnight; isn’t this a huge loss?"

"I advise some broadcasters not to be so double-standard! Yesterday you followed Xu Yusheng in slandering Li Younan, and today you’re deleting works to side with him upon seeing the video evidence? Asking for traffic with a little dignity; even Li Younan’s hiking shoes have more integrity than you lot!"

"I originally thought it was just an internet celebrity hype drama, but it turned out to be a real-life slap in the face! Xu Yusheng calculated everything but never expected Li Younan to actually reach the summit. Now, the whole internet is digging up dirt on him. This is the backlash of online bullying, isn’t it?"

"Stop saying things like ’internet celebrities are all acting’! Li Younan used the camera to prove himself, while Xu Yusheng used his actions to prove just how foolish he is. Those who followed and trashed him, isn’t it time to apologize to Li Younan?"

"I came to watch a flame war but ended up becoming a fan of Li Younan! So far, Li Younan hasn’t responded to Old Xu even once, hahaha, this is his approach—always speaking with facts."

Almost every few minutes, a refresh of the search keywords would reveal a new streamer or marketing account commenting on the situation.

As Xu Yusheng searched, his back began to grow cold. He realized he really messed up this time.

Now, many of the marketing accounts that initially sided with him had switched tones and started stepping on him.

These people are really shameless, being such fence-sitters for traffic.

Moreover, the private message inbox he opened to shape his persona was almost instantly bombarded with various malicious insults and abuse. Some were so nasty and dirty that his head buzzed.

He knew very well that if he didn’t do something, he might really not be able to make a living on the internet in the future.

After some thought, he chose the most reliable option—apologize.

As long as he intentionally focused attention on the misunderstanding, there might still be some room for maneuver.

And if he elevated the narrative, saying he was targeting those hyping hosts to clear the internet, thinking about the online environment... he was just too aggressive... his mind was now a mess, unsure if this would work, but it was the only choice at the moment.

However, just as he finished recording the video and was about to send it, someone in the fan group forwarded a video that made him feel like he was in an ice cave.

"I am the legal representative of Li Younan. We have now secured all evidence of Xu Yusheng’s malicious manipulation and distortion of facts, leading netizens to bully my client. We now decide to sue Mr. Xu. The internet is not a lawless place. Our client has repeatedly tolerated Xu’s remarks, allowing his arrogance to grow. This time, our client will take up the weapon of law to defend his rights. Stay tuned!"

Under the video were voices of applause.

This message was, of course, not sent from Li Younan’s video account, but from a lawyer.

This lawyer also had quite the reputation, having successfully won several defamation lawsuits.

For a lawyer, fame is crucial, and if he wins this high-profile case involving Li Younan, it would greatly boost his reputation, so he was putting in the effort.

However, becoming Li Younan’s lawyer involved a small twist—Liu Yu actively suggested to Li Younan that he should sue the guy.

Initially, Liu Yu wanted to persuade Li Younan, worried that he might be too soft-hearted, but after hearing the story, Li Younan agreed almost without any hesitation.

At this moment, Liu Yu naturally felt a bit satisfied—Li Younan is a kind person, but undoubtedly, he’s definitely not idiotically kind-hearted. Facing someone like Xu, Li Younan shows no mercy when he turns cold.

After Xu’s apology video was released, it was flooded with criticism.

And Li Younan still made no response, as if Xu didn’t deserve to hear his voice at all.

He faced one complaint after another, several videos were taken down, those advertising sponsors also started demanding breach fees, and all sorts of stressful situations piled up. Only then did Xu begin to empathize with the plight of the hosts he had previously exposed, who faced ruin and disgrace.

But there’s no regret medicine in life, echoing that saying—those who toy with traffic will eventually be bitten back by it.

...

While most people were just watching the drama, a small portion noticed the key point in this event: Li Younan really climbed Gongga Mountain.

The quarrel attracted most people’s attention, so this more astonishing fact went relatively unnoticed.

However, there are always some professionals who can keenly spot this.

First, Li Younan had no prior mountaineering experience.

Second, when climbing Gongga Mountain, he didn’t use an oxygen tank but carried two oxygen tanks, meaning he was under more weight than the average climber.

Third, according to Zhao Liang’s description, this guy even climbed a section of a rock wall dozens of meters high above 7,000 meters altitude.

Then the most outrageous fourth point—while saving Ding Rui’s life, he stayed by his side while he inhaled oxygen for nearly an hour. To know that’s at 7,000 meters altitude! To stay for over an hour without oxygen there, and then come down smoothly?

All these details combined led to an unbelievable conclusion: this guy’s physical prowess is practically ultra-Sherpa!

Some even wondered if his physique was different from the average person.

It all pointed to one conclusion: Li Younan is truly gifted!

Perhaps he is naturally more adapted to high-altitude climates, or maybe he inherently has a higher blood oxygen exchange capacity than most people.

In short, he seems born for mountaineering.

Many people tagged the official Chinese mountaineering team.

"Come check out this kid."

"A chosen mountaineer!"

"The child of the mountain god!"

And a slew of impressive titles and accolades were plastered on Li Younan’s face.