Who’s there?
As Bi Fang was preparing something to cook, hearing the voice startled him.
To his knowledge, all the guides and service staff from Rob’s guide company should have already descended the mountain by now, so who could be looking for him?
With curiosity, he lifted the tent flap. Because he was facing the sun, the light blurred his vision. Bi Fang squinted his eyes and expressed his surprise, “It’s you!?”
The man standing before him was none other than Ze Long, the dream-chaser whom Bi Fang had saved just a few days ago!
Even though it had only been a few days, the numerous events that had occurred in between made it seem to Bi Fang like a distant past.
Many of the audience members who were drawn by the avalanche had no recollection of the incident, but quite a few enthusiastically shared their accounts.
[That day at the pass, this guy slipped and nearly fell off a cliff. If Master Fang hadn’t climbed down and pulled him up, he would have been done for]
[Indeed, it was very dangerous. The slope was steep and covered with loose gravel. A slip could have been fatal.]
“What are you doing here? Haven’t you descended yet? Come in, the wind’s strong and it’s still rather chilly outside,” Bi Fang said with a smile, stepping aside to make room for the other man to enter.Seeing that Bi Fang remembered him, Ze Long laughed and, without any hesitation, came into the tent with his fruits and vegetables, and sat down next to the stove to warm up. “We started climbing that very night, so we were a day ahead of you. But I guess we were lucky; if we had been on the Khumbu Glacier with you, we might have perished. That would have been even more dangerous.”
Ze Long placed the vegetables and fruits on the table. “As for these items, our guide had them delivered last night. They’re still quite fresh, but we’ll be descending soon and won’t be able to eat them. It would be a waste to leave them behind. After I got back, I followed your live stream, and honestly, I really admire people like you who walk the talk. Awesome!”
“Aw, just trying to make a living,” Bi Fang replied, somewhat embarrassed by the compliment.
The audience found this amusing.
[True struggling for a meal]
[Sometimes even that’s hard to come by (dog’s head)]
[I still remember Old Fang’s first time; he didn’t eat for two days and ended up eating earthworms, which nearly made me throw up. That was also the stream that got me hooked.]
Ze Long also smiled. Those were the kinds of words one could only listen to. “So just now, when I saw your stream coming up to Camp One, I decided to come and give them to you as a token of my respect,” he said.
“Hey, can’t let it go to waste, thanks a lot,” Bi Fang happily accepted the goods. After all, the other man wasn’t going to stay, so rather than let the food go bad, he might as well eat it himself. As Ze Long had said, it would be a waste otherwise. Moreover, canned food often has a strong taste, so having some fresh vegetables to lighten the palate couldn’t hurt.
The two of them chatted for a while longer. Ze Long didn’t stay too long and after expressing his gratitude once more and mentioning that Bi Fang could come visit him in XZ when he had the chance, he left.
Bi Fang then put the vegetables into the boiling water, stirred them with chopsticks, and poured himself a cup of the hot water. He blew on it just a bit before drinking it, to the amazement of his audience.
“Don’t forget, I’m at Camp One, which is at an altitude of 6,000 meters. Here, boiling water only reaches 80 degrees Celsius, and the temperature itself is below zero. The water cools off quickly enough to be drinkable. And since it’s high-altitude ice water, there are no parasites, and bacteria are minimal. Even if it can’t be boiled to 100 degrees, drinking it isn’t really a problem. Of course, there are exceptions for those with sensitive stomachs, but they are very rare.”
It was only then that the audience members came to their senses. Indeed, comfortably watching Bi Fang’s live stream from home, with Bi Fang himself appearing so relaxed, they had almost forgotten where he actually was.
Besides, anyone who could comfortably make it to Camp One couldn’t be in too poor of shape. Physique often correlates with immune strength, and it’s quite rare to find someone with a sensitive stomach.
[Old Fang’s physical condition is so strong. He hasn’t shown any signs of altitude sickness up there—I’m envious]
[Is that envy? You’re just drooling over his physique, you’re so lowly!]
[Ah, yes, yes, I’m lowly]
Of course, it was good.
Bi Fang was happy; his excellent physique had been earned through risking his life. Where there was danger, there he would be, completely disregarding the laws of wilderness survival. If he saw a mountain, he would climb it; if he found a cave, he would explore it.
Only then could his four dimensions reach an extremely balanced fifteen points. A healthy male physique would be just ten points. This wasn’t a simple relationship of one and a half times, but a qualitative leap, nearly the limit that special forces could achieve. With just a bit of focused training, he could reach a professional athlete’s level.
Even professional athletes would fall short in some areas—after all, not everyone could manage both speed and strength, let alone add nerve reflexes, resilience, and so on.
Bi Fang was a bug who, thanks to the system, had forcefully developed all-around abilities.
Soon, the vegetables were cooked, and Bi Fang didn’t pay too much attention, simply eating them together with the flatbread.
“In the high mountains, it’s not convenient to transport supplies, so you can’t eat too well, unless it’s canned food heated up. But that brings another problem, which is excessive trash—many people are willing to eat but not willing to take their trash with them.
You guys know my habits, so this time I’m making do. If you all come to places like this for a trip in the future, try to make do too, okay? Try not to create too much trash for the sake of your taste buds. If you really want to eat, it’s best to take your trash with you when you leave.”
After a mushy lunch that resembled porridge, Bi Fang turned off the live stream, laid out his sleeping bag, set up the stove, and took a brief nap.
Due to traveling at night and the physical exhaustion, if it weren’t for a coughing fit and severe altitude sickness, almost everyone who reached this point could fall asleep the moment they lay down.
When he got up again, it was already two-thirty in the afternoon.
After restarting the live stream, Bi Fang packed up his things, ready to hit the road once more.
“The elevation of Camp Two is around 6,400 meters, so it’s about 400 meters higher than where we are. But between C1 and C2, there is a glacier zone where you have to climb up and down several ice cliffs almost 5-10 meters high with a nearly vertical ascent.
This stretch has numerous crevasses, both visible and hidden. It requires crossing via about 8 ladders, followed by a 10-15 degree inclined ice field. Ordinary people usually need 3 to 4 hours of ‘wriggling’ to cover the 5 kilometers distance.
Moreover, below Camp C2 is a high avalanche frequency area. It’s safe to say that almost every year there’s an avalanche here. Quite a few photography enthusiasts even come back to this place to capture the scene of an avalanche, so extra caution is needed. However, the good news is, we’ve already encountered one not too long ago, and it’s unlikely that another avalanche will happen soon.”
Every year?
Some were startled by this frequency. Wasn’t it said that including this time, there have only been four avalanches on Mount Everest in the past ten years?
“Those four were avalanches with significant casualties, where at least dozens of people were injured or killed. The ones that frequently occur below Camp C2 are strictly monitored, and the overlap with climbing paths is rare. So even though the frequency is very high, there are basically no fatalities as a result.”
Having everything ready, Bi Fang grabbed his climbing poles, stepped out of the tent, and before leaving, he pulled out the pegs, laid the tent flat on the ground, and then pressed it with rocks and snow.
“Alright, although it can’t be completely prevented, this can significantly minimize the tent from being blown away before the next climbing season begins.”
Getting the campsite packed up, it was already three-twenty in the afternoon; he had to admit that at an altitude of 6,000 meters, it took a toll on Bi Fang, and he would feel winded when tired.
Bi Fang was not Superman.
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