Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 427 - 425: Human Courage?

Chapter 427: Chapter 425: Human Courage?

After all the bustle had ended, everyone prepared to rest. They were at a campsite 5,900 meters above sea level. Since a large amount of supplies were carried by robot guides, the three of them hadn’t actually expended much physical strength, and they still had some energy to chat and laugh.

A full moon hung in the sky, its visibility fluctuating between the clouds and mist. Zhang Yuan breathed in the cool, thin air of the mountaintop and suddenly realized that he was thinking less and less about the world of Kunlun Mountain.

This Sakura World... how should he put it? It was quite nice—if one got used to this kind of leisurely life. It was tough for one person to completely change an entire era; there was no perfection in the world. Since he had come here, he should live this life well.

For some reason, the average human lifespan here could only reach 110 years. There was no extensive life-extension technology, nor anything like hibernation technology.

A person’s life happens only once, and how to live it more meaningfully was a complex philosophical question.

"Even defining ’meaning’ is hard to explain."

With his thoughts blurring into drowsiness, Zhang Yuan fell asleep, his breathing even and steady.

When he woke up the next day, the first thing he saw was Wang Nana’s smiling face. This girl, a few days younger than him, was always so full of vitality.

"Good morning!" Wang Nana greeted.

"Good morning!" Zhang Yuan responded.

As for Ma Mingtao, the blockhead, it seemed like he hadn’t slept well; his face was a mess, and he was huffing oxygen with his head covered. His chest heaved unsteadily, as if he was struggling to breathe.

"Useless!" Wang Nana ridiculed.

"Get lost! Just wait and see if I don’t end up carrying you!" retorted Ma Mingtao, his eyes slanted as he quickly recovered his breath with the help of copious amounts of oxygen.

"You go away, if anyone is going to carry me, it’ll be Zhang Yuan! Anyone who can’t climb the mountain is a pig!"

"Alright then..."

Zhang Yuan squinted his eyes, thoroughly enjoying this egalitarian family-like atmosphere, "Save your breath, conserve your energy. When the time comes, I won’t be carrying anyone; she will!"

He pointed at a green-eyed robot girl.

The entire process of climbing Mount Everest would take four days.

Camp One served as a "physical and material supply station" before heading to the Western Ice Basin and Camp Two, then on to Camps Three and Four.

In the past, the climbing teams would usually look for Tibetan guides and, through a communal effort, carry supplies all the way up to Camp Four at an altitude of 7,950 meters.

But now, that wasn’t necessary. The robot guides were strong and carried a lot of oxygen along with various warming equipment, which undoubtedly made climbing easier.

Next up, the Western Ice Basin was shaped like a "U," resembling a large valley filled with ice. It was the boundary between Mount Everest, Lhotse, and Nu Buze Mountain.

Mount Everest was to the north, and walking straight ahead from this point would lead to Lhotse, with Nu Buze Mountain directly to the south. Although the Western Ice Basin was flat, dangers lurked everywhere.

"First is the issue of high temperatures. At this altitude above 6,000 meters, the surrounding ice and snow walls act as reflectors for the plateau’s sunlight, and the temperature can easily soar to 37 degrees Celsius. That is followed by the risk of altitude sickness and the risk of complete physical exhaustion."

"Do you know what the most common sight for climbers here in the past was?" asked the robot guide, a young and lively looking girl, who could still engage in conversation even at an altitude of 7,000 meters.

Zhang Yuan felt he could hardly breathe anymore; at this altitude, the oxygen content was only one-third of the normal level—a true test for both body and mind.

"What is it?" Ma Mingtao’s shaky voice asked. "I feel like I’m going to die, I really want to go home."

"...It’s human corpses!" the tour guide lady explained on her own: "Previous climbers, when they ran out of strength, lacked oxygen, or encountered sudden weather changes, just collapsed like this and died silently. And their companions lacked the strength to carry a body down the mountain, so they had to leave the corpses in the snow."

"These corpses became ice sculptures that won’t decay for ten thousand years. As time went on, the number of bodies on Mount Everest kept increasing, becoming a kind of ecological pollution."

Zhang Yuan shuddered all over, as if he were listening to a horror story. He wiped the sweat from his face and looked around but didn’t see any of the so-called bodies.

The tour guide girl went on to say: "...In the past, almost every team climbing Mount Everest had Sherpa guides. They are a special ethnic group from the high-altitude mountains of the Himalayas South Slope and have a natural ability to climb. Many times, their job was to carry a body down..."

"Of course, they were paid for this..."

The following events became simpler. With the progress of the era, the Sherpas also began living richer lives and no longer needed to work just for money.

All the related bodies were cleaned up by robots; these poor explorers, having been buried for thousands of years, finally returned to their roots.

In the end, people even forgot the names of these explorers.

"Is it really worth losing your life for climbing, just to prove human courage?" This question lingered in Zhang Yuan’s heart.

Sometimes, when he couldn’t catch his breath, he would feel regret like Ma Mingtao; it was the human instinct to seek benefits and avoid harm, wishing to escape such difficulties.

At the foot of the mountain, there was a related small city, where the social welfare system was about the same, but culturally there were great differences.

In this city, climbing was a faith for the people.

Along the way, they encountered several climbing teams. When passing by, they greeted each other warmly and even kindly asked if help was needed.

The robot tour guide in front provided Zhang Yuan and his companions with enough safety; otherwise, they would have struggled significantly.

The official summit attempt began at midnight, setting off from Camp Four, starting the climb on the South Slope’s precipitous cliffs of Mount Everest, reaching the ladder at the altitude of 8,384 meters, then heading to the western side of the peak. From there, they could launch the final climb up the World Roof’s south slope.

Zhang Yuan felt as if he could barely breathe, having to stop and inhale oxygen after just a few steps. This climb had become agonizing. The mild symptoms of altitude sickness came one after another—vomiting, diarrhea, and dizziness. He felt as if Venus was flashing before his eyes, and at any moment, he could faint.

If he really did faint, he might lose his life.

This was the most dangerous place, where fallen climbers were numerous.

Ma Mingtao and Wang Nana also looked horribly pale, and the usually lively Wang Nana had long stopped talking, her face ashen as she tried her best to conserve energy. Although the robot tour guide helped her a lot, she still seemed barely able to hold on.

"I’m regretting this inexplicably, humans are truly fragile, and I want to go home." Ma Mingtao murmured reflectively during their last break.

"Yeah, once the pain starts, you’ll regret it."

Zhang Yuan said with a smile, "Then you turn back down the mountain, and after you’re comfortable again, you regret not climbing. This kind of regret might last for decades, even a lifetime."

"No, you’re wrong there," said the tour guide girl. "Knowing your limits is the wise choice. If everyone had the courage to descend, there wouldn’t be so many deaths. This lady has probably reached her limit; it’s better for her to inhale some oxygen first."