High-Altitude Worker, Unfortunately a Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Role - Chapter 7

Lü Yikang led his team of four, including Zhao Ke, and presented their temporary access passes to the security guard.

The guard escorted them, carrying their bags of tools, onto the elevator of Building One.

“Wow, this elevator is fast!” Lü Yikang exclaimed, looking up at the rapidly changing numbers on the display.

The security guard, a kindly-faced old man, chuckled. “Of course! Imperial City Inscription Garden’s facilities are always top-notch.” He gave a thumbs-up.

The building had thirty-seven floors. Zhao Ke and her group exited the elevator on the thirtieth floor, walked down the corridor, and pushed open a massive glass door spanning two stories. Beyond lay the expansive Sky Garden, with the opposite building towering like a giant. They felt like tiny figures held in the palm of Tathagata Buddha, insignificant yet occupying a place of great importance.

Zhao Ke gazed at the magnificent view, clicking her tongue in admiration.

The rich really know how to live.

The Sky Garden was still empty of plants and trees, with only the translucent glass skylight relentlessly focusing the heat.

“Alright, I’ll leave you here,” the security guard said, stopping at the glass door. The stifling heat radiating from the Sky Garden made him hesitate.

Lü Yikang patted the security guard on the shoulder, saying politely, “Thanks, old brother. We’ll take it from here.”

Zhao Ke, enduring the stifling heat, stepped into the Sky Garden and began examining the walls along the railing.

“What do you think?” Lü Yikang asked, pulling a climbing rope from his toolkit and tossing it onto the ground with a dull thud.

“How long is the rope, Brother Kang?” Zhao Ke asked.

“What are you planning to do?”

“Can we go all the way around?”

“Doubt it.”

“What about halfway?”

“Halfway? How would you even manage that?”

Zhao Ke bent down, retrieved a portable electric vacuum suction cup from the toolbox, and shook it.

“With this.”

After donning her gear, Zhao Ke hung the electric suction cup on her left hip and a handheld power drill on her right. Carrying two bundles of climbing rope—one red, one blue—she walked to the edge of the wall.

“Where are you setting the anchor points?” Lü Yikang asked, following her to the railing.

“On the outside,” Zhao Ke replied without looking up.

“Will it hold with the angled force?”

“The angle’s small. It’ll be fine,” Zhao Ke assured him.

Leaning out the window, she drilled into the wall with the handheld power drill and inserted an expansion bolt.

After inspecting the climbing rope for any damage, Zhao Ke secured one end to an anchor point created by an expansion bolt and the other to her safety harness.

Straddling the wall, she leaned outward, activated the suction cup, and firmly attached it to the outer wall.

The suction cup, about the size of her forearm, was a black circular disk with a handle. Zhao Ke stepped on the suction cup with one foot, flipped herself over, and hung suspended in mid-air, a hundred meters above the ground.

Under her control, the climbing rope equipped with a descender slowly lowered her. The wall was barely a meter high, and she soon had a clear view of the Sky Garden’s underside.

Zhao Ke detached the suction cup and reattached it to the underside, as far as her arm could reach.

Then, hooking her toes around the suction cup, she pressed herself against the underside of the corridor bridge and forcefully rotated her body 180 degrees on that flat surface.

A second anchor point was drilled into the underside, and the rope was secured to it.

Repeating this maneuver several times, Zhao Ke maneuvered herself to the exact center of the Sky Garden.

Finally, she climbed back up the rope to the wall.

“Give me the external unit,” Zhao Ke said, clinging to the wall and peering over the edge.

“Already?” Lü Yikang exclaimed in surprise.

He had expected to wait at least half an hour, but Zhao Ke secured all the anchor points in less than ten minutes.

“Xiao Liang, help Sister Ke secure the outdoor unit,” Lü Yikang called to a waiting colleague. Then he added, “Wait two minutes for me. I’ll come down with you to check.”

The outdoor unit was tightly secured with rigid black straps and tethered to Zhao Ke’s waist with a climbing rope.

Zhao Ke clamped the unit between her legs and slowly descended along the same path she had climbed.

Lü Yikang set two additional anchor points and followed Zhao Ke down.

Watching her technique, he couldn’t help but gasp.

“You’ve got some serious skills! This isn’t just high-altitude work—you’re practically rock climbing!”

“There’s definitely some rock climbing technique involved,” Zhao Ke admitted honestly.

In her previous life, she had specifically learned rock climbing to refine her skills. To maintain composure at extreme heights, she had even tried bungee jumping and skydiving.

Thanks to Zhao Ke’s expertise, the outdoor unit installation, which would normally take an entire afternoon, was completed in just two hours.

Afterward, Zhao Ke personally demonstrated her installation method to Lü Yikang, guiding him step by step.

Lü Yikang, being an experienced craftsman, quickly grasped the techniques.

The four of them then split into two teams, each heading to different buildings.

The Imperial City Inscription Garden comprised sixteen residential buildings, meaning there were eight Sky Gardens in total.

With Zhao Ke’s help, they completed four Sky Gardens in a single afternoon, far exceeding Lü Yikang’s initial estimate of four days.

To express his gratitude and appreciation, Lü Yikang treated Zhao Ke to dinner at a restaurant to strengthen their bond.

“Come, even though I’m older, I have to call you Sister Ke. A toast to Sister Ke!” Lü Yikang raised his beer bottle, the foam threatening to spill over.

He had learned today what it truly meant to be outdone. Zhao Ke, despite her young age, possessed such formidable technical skills that Lü Yikang couldn’t help but admire her.

“Brother Kang, you’re too kind. I should be thanking you for introducing me to this job,” Zhao Ke replied, raising her own bottle.

Lü Yikang had already paid her half her wages, meaning she wouldn’t have to sleep in the underground garage tonight.

The glass bottles clinked together with a crisp sound.

Zhao Ke tilted her head back and drained half the bottle in one gulp.

“Good! That’s the spirit!” Lü Yikang and his two companions applauded.

Zhao Ke wasn’t trying to conform to any drinking culture; she genuinely enjoyed a casual drink.

In her previous life, burdened by immense stress and lacking much education, drinking was one of the few ways she found to unwind. Over time, she had developed a decent tolerance.

However, Zhao Ke knew that excessive drinking was harmful, so she always kept her consumption in check.

“Sister Ke, we’d like to toast you too,” Xiao Liang and Xiao Zhang said, rising to their feet.

During the lunch break, their junior brother Zheng Yang had told them about an exceptionally beautiful woman in their line of work who was also remarkably skilled. They hadn’t believed him at all and had mercilessly teased him on WeChat.

But when they met Zhao Ke in person, they realized that despite his usual tendency to exaggerate, he hadn’t been wrong this time.

She wasn’t just pretty; she was stunning. And she wasn’t just skilled; she was exceptional.

Zhao Ke accepted each toast graciously, taking a sip from each glass.

“Sister Ke, are you planning to do this long-term?” Xiao Liang asked, his sun-darkened cheeks flushing red after just a few sips.

“Yeah, I should save some money while I’m still young,” Zhao Ke replied.

Lü Yikang had transferred her two thousand yuan today, and another two thousand would come tomorrow.

But after deducting medical expenses, she still needed to rent a place to live in the city, and everything here cost money.

Her empty pockets made Zhao Ke uneasy.

Besides, high-altitude operations was a job that relied on youth.

Once age caught up, physical strength waned, and concentration faltered, her safety would become increasingly uncertain.

Lü Yikang, in his early thirties, was the oldest of the four and already married with a family. Perhaps by his forties, he would switch to a less strenuous job to reassure his family.

Zhao Ke knew this was how things always went in their line of work.

After several rounds of drinks, Zheng Yang finally arrived, fashionably late.

He burst in, shouting, “Master, is she up to it? Can she meet your standards?”

Lü Yikang jumped up and slapped Zheng Yang on the back of the head, scolding, “Watch your mouth! Call her Sister Ke.”

Xiao Liang joined in the teasing, “Junior Brother, you’ve invited a goddess back! You should start by downing three penalty shots.”

Zheng Yang dragged over a plastic stool and sat down, his voice incredulous. “No way, are you seriously that good?”

Zhao Ke, seeing his skeptical gaze, didn’t answer. Instead, she jabbed him in the chest. “How about you? Did you get your certification?”

“Of course I did,” Zheng Yang scoffed, curling his lip dismissively. “Don’t you know who my master is?”

This earned him another slap from Lü Yikang.

“Keep running your mouth, you little brat.”

After finishing their meal, Zhao Ke parted ways with the group.

She found a youth hostel to use as a temporary base.

After showering and changing into the new clothes she’d haggled for at the wholesale market, Zhao Ke felt completely relaxed, finally able to lie down and rest for a while.

First, she repaid the two hundred yuan Sun Yue had lent her.

Sun Yue replied almost immediately.

Snow Under the Moon: “??? Did you get a new gig?”

Master Zhao of AAA High-Altitude Operations: “Gig? No.”

“I’m working on something else.”

Snow Under the Moon: “…Alright. Your hype has died down anyway. Maybe you should focus on honing your acting skills. Some director might still be willing to cast you.”

Master Zhao, a high-altitude equipment installer, reassured her, “Don’t worry, I can take care of myself.”

Sun Yue didn’t reply, so Zhao Ke closed the chat window and opened Weibo.

Every day at this hour, she monitored entertainment industry trends to prevent any plot-related people or events from coming her way again.

Returning to her familiar environment today had numbed her mind. If Sun Yue hadn’t reminded her, Zhao Ke might have forgotten she had transmigrated into a novel.

Weibo was peaceful.

Qiao Shuxue had accepted a variety show appearance as a guest judge on “99 Star Show.” Paparazzi photos of her airport arrival look had gone viral, earning her a spot on the Hot Search list.

Zhao Ke’s memories suddenly became confused.

In the early chapters of the novel, hadn’t Qiao Shuxue debuted as the center of the group with her “high-looks, airheaded beauty” (high-looks, airheaded beauty) persona? There was no mention of her exceptional singing or dancing skills. How could she now be a judge?

Maybe she trained harder after debuting, Zhao Ke reasoned, patching up the plot hole herself. After all, she later becomes the female lead, so she must be proficient in everything.

The next day, after Zhao Ke and her team finished inspecting the remaining four Sky Gardens, Lü Yikang assigned Zhao Ke to inspect the building’s exterior walls.

Since wall inspections were relatively easy and straightforward, Zheng Yang was ordered to accompany Zhao Ke and learn from her.

“Sister Ke, how much have you earned these past two days?” Zheng Yang asked as they slowly descended on a small wooden platform, chatting casually.

Zhao Ke held up four fingers.

However, she felt uneasy constantly using Lü Yikang’s equipment, so she had bought her own set for just over a thousand yuan, leaving her with only three thousand yuan. The two hundred yuan for inspecting the walls was better than nothing.

“Four thousand?! That’s so much!” Zheng Yang exclaimed. “When will I ever earn four thousand yuan in a day?”

“That day will come,” Zhao Ke reassured him.

After finishing the wall inspection, Zhao Ke hurried to a real estate agency before nightfall.

Ideally, she hoped to rent a suitable apartment today. She couldn’t leave her thousand-yuan tools at the youth hostel, where people were constantly coming and going, without worrying.