He had assumed that Shao Qi would join him in attacking the falcon. However, to his surprise, Shao Qi had stealthily descended. He wasn't one to be outwitted, promptly guiding the falcon towards Shao Qi's direction. Simultaneously, he propelled himself with a leap, lodging his dagger into the rocks, rapidly climbing to Shao Qi's side.

Seeing that the two were aiming for its nesting ground, where hungry fledglings awaited, the falcon grew agitated. Flapping its wings forcefully, the gusty winds caused the ropes on the sheer cliff to sway. Shao Qi acted swiftly, grabbing Zhou You and using his dagger to anchor them, stabilizing their bodies.

"Screech..." The falcon forcefully lunged towards the two men. They exchanged a glance and faced the falcon, suspended on the cliff. They remained motionless, prompting the falcon to believe they were paralyzed in fear. The falcon's speed didn't waver. However, just before impact, both men simultaneously released their grip and leaped downward without slowing. The falcon, unable to decelerate in time, collided directly with the cliff, dizzily plummeting down the mountainside.

Zhou You knew the falcon wouldn't die, but it might be grounded temporarily. Using his dagger, he continued descending, rapidly approaching the location of the nest.

Shao Qi wasted no time; he descended even faster using the rope. To prevent Zhou You from outpacing him, he cleared the jutting rocks from the cliff's surface, leaving Zhou You without footholds.

Zhou You wasn't one to be underestimated. If you attack my rocks, I'll sever your rope. However, the composition of that rope remained a mystery; Zhou You exerted substantial effort before managing to cut it.

The scene of a person plunging off the cliff didn't unfold. While Zhou You was cutting the rope, Shao Qi had already unlocked the clasp. Grasping a tree on the cliff's face with force, he swayed gently and leaped to the location of the bird's nest.

There was a small cave here, just deep enough to accommodate the falcon's nest. Shao Qi's leap led him directly into the nest.

Within the nest rested a lone fledgling falcon, small but already possessing aggression. The moment Shao Qi landed, the fledgling began pecking at him with its beak.

Observing Shao Qi being harassed by a young bird, Zhou You laughed and remarked, "Mr. Shao, finding this amusing?"

"Try it yourself and you'll know," Shao Qi retorted.

Seeing that the young bird's feathers were not yet fully developed, Zhou You realized that dealing with it would be easy for Shao Qi. However, Shao Qi evaded rather than attacked, his intentions unclear.

The ledge was already cramped. If Zhou You jumped down, he would inevitably end up squeezing against Shao Qi. The confined space would hinder his actions, placing him at a disadvantage.

"Why the sudden hesitation to come down? If you linger any longer, the larger bird will be on its way up," Zhou You goaded.

"What do you expect me to do? Once I secure the nest, I win," Zhou You questioned defensively.

"Just thought you might want to experience the sensation of being pecked by a bird."

"Tsk, it's just a small bird. Why not throw it down?"

Shao Qi grabbed the fledgling falcon's beak, allowing it to flap its fledgling wings. Shaking his head, he said, "That would be too cruel. We could fetch a good price for selling a young falcon."

Taking advantage of Shao Qi's distraction with the bird, Zhou You jumped down from above, landing a kick on Shao Qi's back and sending him flying out of the nest. Zhou You promptly seized the spot Shao Qi had previously occupied.

Shao Qi clung to a tree branch on the cliff's face with the fledgling falcon. He looked up and shouted, "Do you realize there's a bottomless abyss below? Aren't you afraid I'll fall to my death?"

Standing within the nest and peering downward, Zhou You burst into laughter. "There's another falcon below. If you fall, you can catch a ride on the flying bird to ascend!"

Just at that moment, the call of the falcon below resonated, and the fledgling echoed the call. Soon, the bird itself soared upward.

Their competition was all in jest. No one took the outcome seriously as long as the bird remained unresolved. After all, the falcon was an intermediate-level mutant beast, and handling it posed no significant challenge for either of them. The true difficulty lay in battling it on the precarious cliff's edge, where a slight misstep could lead to a genuine fall.

The enraged falcon surged forward even as it clutched its fledgling. With Shao Qi's hands occupied, Zhou You took control, launching twelve throwing knives to intercept it and prevent its advance.

Capitalizing on the opportunity, Shao Qi climbed back up. The two men found themselves squeezed into a single nest, making even turning around a challenging task, which resulted in a somewhat comical sight.

"How should we determine the winner now?" Shao Qi felt that he had reached the nest first, and with the fledgling in his hands, he believed he should be declared the victor.

Zhou You didn't feel that he had lost, remarking, "I blocked the larger bird. How about we determine the winner by whoever climbs back to the mountaintop first?"

"No problem!" Shao Qi handed the fledgling to Zhou You, then quickly scaled the mountainside himself, using the same technique they had employed during their descent.

Observing that the fledgling's wings had fully developed and it could likely fly, Zhou You tossed it down and shouted towards the falcon, "Catch!"

The falcon, hindered by the barrage of throwing knives, was unable to ascend. However, shortly after the knives were retrieved, the falcon was taken aback as its fledgling plummeted from above, flapping its wings in midair.

"Screech..." The falcon was both startled and furious. It extended its wings and ascended, attempting to catch its fledgling mid-air. However, before it could reach, the fledgling adjusted to the newfound strength of its wings and began flying on its own.

The adult falcon accompanied the fledgling, practicing flight halfway up the mountainside, no longer concerned about the two humans above.

Zhou You forcefully launched twelve throwing knives onto the cliff. Each knife provided the necessary leverage for him to leap upward. This method was significantly faster than Shao Qi's gradual ascent with a single dagger.

Observing the man soar past him and reach the mountaintop first, Shao Qi acknowledged his defeat, "This approach is clever. You're quite skilled!"

Controlling the flight of the knives, Zhou You caught them and stored them in a sheath, smiling as he remarked, "The Tian Silk Net is mine!"

Shao Qi kept his word, handing over the net once they descended the mountain. He was thinking, "In the future, shouldn't worry about having fish to eat."

With ample time remaining, the two men drove back to the Jiangnan Base. By this point, signs of high-level mutant beasts were no longer visible in the vicinity. They didn't make any stops on the way, driving continuously for two days and nights until they finally returned to the base, coincidentally arriving simultaneously with the Dragon Squad.

"Dragon Squad, you've returned with quite a haul this time!" The guards at the city gate noticed their arrival, driving several large trucks laden with cargo. Deep tire tracks marked their path, hinting at the valuable contents within the vehicles.

Long Gan replied, "Most of it is cargo transported for our employer."

"Oh, in that case, we'll need to inspect the vehicles. Any mutant beasts entering the base, whether alive or dead, must be registered." Moreover, at the Jiangnan Base, the exploration team was required to pay taxes on the wildlife they captured in the wild. During their previous visit to the city, Zhou You and the others had skirted this requirement due to their lack of large trucks. Shao Qi had also presented credentials, allowing them to proceed without much scrutiny.