The biennial Extreme Olympics took p the picturesque coastal city of Luo City, the gra stage for extreme riders to showcase their skills. Extreme sports inated in the early st tury as an adventurous pursuit where humans pushed the limits of their physical aal capabilities.

  From the initial challenge of speed to testing guts, ce, skill, and reflexes, the sport evolved over time. Alongside the thrill came risks—crippling injuries or eveh! Yet, this very danger fueled humanity’s desire to test their limits with their lives, transf extreme sports into a global phenomenon.

  The Extreme Olympics showed signs of overshadowing the traditional Olympics. Sihe sport began with speed challenges, its earliest enthusiasts were jokingly dubbed “riders,” a niame that stuck through the years.

  Ireets and alleys of Luo City, you’d occasionally spot these extreme riders and their fans, decked out in bizarre clothing and quirky outfits. They were mostly young, their hair dyed in vibrant colors and styled into odd shapes. Their heads, hands, and bodies sported all sorts of peculiar accessories made from every imagierial.

  If you paid close attention, you’d notice that among the variety of materials, extreme riders favored aquamarihe most—aquamarine earrings, rings, bracelets, even buttons. Known as the “stone of the brave,” aquamarine symbolized ess, ce, and intelligence, perfectly aligning with the spirit of extreme sports and earning it a special p the hearts of enthusiasts. With even keener observation, you’d see that among all the aquamarine accessories, no one wore it around their neck as a pendant or amulet—except for one person, the only exception!

  A young man in loose-fitting jeans strolled zily down a wide, straight street, idly chewing gum. His sleepy eyes sed a roadside billboard with disi. It read, “Wele to the Holy Land of Extreme Sports—Luo City.” Around twenty years old, his sharp, angur features resembled those of a European, but he had bck hair, yellow-toned skin, and deep bck pupils tinged with a faint hint of aquamarine—so subtle it was invisible unless you looked closely. His open shirt revealed a lean, muscur chest, where a rge aquamarine amulet hung, its bluish glow dazzling against his bronzed skin.

  Passersby noticed the amulet and couldn’t help but stop, gazing at him with reverence as he ambled away. Judging by their expressions, if this weren’t the Olympic Vilge—with its strict “Do Not Disturb Athletes” rule—they’d have swarmed him for autographs.

  The Olympic Vilge was far quieter than the bustling streets outside, with few people in sight. As the young man rounded a er, he uedly ran into a dozen trendy, oddly-haired peers. Adorned with aquamarine accessories, they too seemed to be petitors in the games. Chatting loudly and oblivious to their surroundings, they nearly collided with him—until they spotted the aquamarine amulet around his neck. Startled at first, they quickly parted to the sides. But ohey got a good look at him, their revereuro fury, their faces flushing red.

  “You’re not Dumas?” A tall, burly man with braids blocked his path, hands on hips, gring at him with hostility.

  “I’m not,” the young man replied, unfazed by the aggression, still casually chewing his gum. His response only fueled their anger further. A teenage boy poi the amulet and barked, “Only Dumas wear aquamarine on his chest!”

  “Why’s that?” The young man shrugged nontly. His attitude ehem even more. The burly man jabbed a fi his nose and spat out each word, “I don’t care if yenuinely clueless or just pying dumb—I’ll tell you one more time! Dumas is the three-time secutive Extreme All-Around Champion, the King of Riders. Ireme sports, he’s like Jordan in the NBA or Pelé in soccer. Jordan’s the god of basketball, Pelé’s the king of football, and Dumas? He’s the god in every extreme enthusiast’s heart! You worship a god, but you don’t mimic him. Since Dumas wears aquamarine around his neo extreme fan in the world copies that—unless you beat him.”

  “Oh, I see,” the young man nodded as if enlightened, but made no move to remove the amulet. The group closed in with menag i, some crag their knuckles, clearly itg to teach this ignorant kid a lesson. Only one, a calmer petitor, kept studying the amulet before muttering uainly, “If I’m not mistaken, this one-of-a-kind aquamarine amulet belongs to the King of Riders, Dumas.”

  “No,” the young man’s face darkened suddenly, “it’s more accurate to say Dumas once wore this aquamarine amulet, but it’s not his.”

  “Liar! Bullshit!” The group erupted in curses. The burly man swung a furious punch at his hit nothing. As he pulled back his fist, stunned, he saw the young man hadn’t budged an inch, still standing there zily chewing gum. The crowd fell silereme sports pros all had superhuman reflexes, but dodging a sudden punch like that without moving from the spot? That was unreal.

  “I’ve had the honor of meeting Dumas a few times and was lucky enough to hear him tell the story of this amulet firsthand,” the calmer petitor broke the silence. “It didn’t inally belong to Dumas.”

  His words drew everyone’s attention. Curious eyes turo this fortunate soul who knew Dumas, eager to hear about the amulet so cherished by the King of Riders.

  “From the age of seventeen, when Dumas started peting in world-css events, he showed unmatched talent ireme sports. Guts, endurance, skill, reflexes—he had no rival. But in private, he once said he wasn’t the best rider. The best was his friend from when he was fifteen, aerner named Xia Fei.” A hint of admiration crossed his face. “As a teenager, Dumas was obsessed with extreme sports, risking his life to push his physical aal limits. Back then, he and his crew of young riders loved a game called ‘Death Train.’ At the signal, a dozen teens would race along train tracks toward an oning train barreling at over a hundred miles an hour. Amid the train’s deafening whistle, the st oo leap off the tracks was the winner—bragging rights or a couple hundred bucks pooled together as the prize. In that game, it wasn’t always the boldest or fastest who won. Only those with precise judgment of their reflexes, cool-headedness, araordinary ce could push their body and mind to the edge, getting as close as possible to the speeding train while staying safe.”

  The group nodded slightly. Many had pyed simir life-or-death challenges and khe tricks well. The speaker’s expression dimmed as he tinued, “In those death matches, Dumas often lost to his Eastern friend Xia Fei. Until the st time, when Xia Fei slipped as he leapt off the tracks at the final moment, getting crushed to pieces by the train. All Dumas found at the se was his friend’s only keepsake—this aquamarine amulet.”

  A dreamy reverence filled their eyes. To normal people, riskih to test your limits was insanity, but to hardcore extreme sports fans, it was the pinnacle of the sport! There was no gra it—just raw danger. How many times in a lifetime could anyoheir heart leap into their throat like that?

  The young man stopped chewing his gum, his eyes flickering with a strange mix of sorrow and longing.

  “From then on, this aquamarine amulet never left Dumas’s side. As he rose to fame ireme sports, it became his symbol. So, I want to know—how did it end up with you?” The speaker fixed his gaze on the young man.

  “Simple,” the young man’s face turned serious for the first time. “I’m Xia Fei’s younger brother, Xia Feng. More importantly, I beat Dumas, and the stakes were this aquamarine amulet. I just took back what beloo my brother.”

  “You beat Dumas?” The group froze, then burst into r ughter, pointing at Xia Feng and gaspiween chuckles, “You beat the King of Riders, Dumas? So you’re the best extreme rider now?”

  “Who beat Dumas?” Before Xia Feng could respond, a sharp shout cut through from behind. The word “who” echoed from dozens of steps away, but by “Dumas,” the voice had rocketed to his side like lightning. A whirlwind swept in, stopping precisely in front of Xia Feng with the st lingering he sudden gust startled the group into stepping bastinctively, but Xia Feng stood unfazed, calm in the eye of the storm.

  As the whirlwind dissipated, a bck-cd girl on rollerbdes stood steady before them. She had an athletic build and strikiures, her chestnut curls tied loosely into a ponytail. In her early twenties, her sharp, icy eyes and frosty expression gave her an unapproachable allure. Silver high-top rollerbdes made her tower half a head over the group, and her dramatic reverse-slide stop amplified her imposing presence.