I am a Big Player
Chapter 298 - 296, The Silence at 6,000 Meters Altitude (Second Update)_1

Chapter 298: 296, The Silence at 6,000 Meters Altitude (Second Update)_1

Gradually, the training became more intense, even including several long hikes, but for Ren He the effect was the same; it did not challenge his physical limits.

After returning to camp, everyone would be slow-witted or even feel unwell, but Ren He would still sit with Yang Xi on a large boulder to watch the sunset, whispering from time to time, only ceasing this public display of affection when the weather turned exceedingly foul.

Gradually, everyone started to feel a bit confused. Didn’t this guy say he had never been above 6,000 meters? How come he seems to be fine?

Even experienced climbers would feel unwell during the gradual acclimatization process, more or less, but nobody was completely immune.

When Yang Xi and An Si first arrived, they felt dizzy doing nothing at the 6,000-meter camp, let alone Ren He after exercise.

The Caucasian youths, peering through their tent, looked at Ren He’s silhouette sitting on the stone and felt as if they were screwed: "Does he not need oxygen to survive?"

It was humiliating. After several days of strenuous training, everyone was half-dead, including Smeier himself; yet Ren He remained unscathed.

Even An Si was puzzled. "Are you even human? Didn’t you say you had never been in a snowy mountain environment above 6,000 meters?" An Si asked one evening as he, Ren He, and Yang Xi huddled together, cooking bread porridge.

"Yeah, I’ve never been," Ren He replied nonchalantly while stirring the shredded bread in the pot. Eating bread every day was making him nauseous, the dryness hard to swallow. Up to this point, altitude sickness hadn’t troubled him, but eating had indeed turned his stomach.

The bread porridge was also filled with wilted greens to supplement vitamins. Looking at the small pot, Ren He felt he needed to reward himself well once he returned to the Capital.

An Si was certain that after such long and grueling training, Ren He was indeed completely fine!

So, gradually, everyone in the team began to realize something... The claims Ren He made about his superior physical fitness might not have been mere angry retorts during an argument, but statements made with underlying confidence...

The team had already been jokingly divided by the deputy leader into the US team and the Chinese team. At this point, the US team began to shut up; especially since Ren He, even during this morning’s training hike, had excess energy to run off and enjoy the scenery. What was going on?

Ren He, however, didn’t think much of it. He was here for Mount Everest, the roof of the world. Everything else was secondary.

He once had a spring dream at the 6,000-meter base camp, doing undescribable things with Yang Xi...

These days, he and Yang Xi slept in the same tent, with Ren He holding her from behind. Due to the chill, Yang Xi would curl up completely in the middle of the night. The two of them huddled together, warm and cozy, which made Ren He’s urges stir.

But before they could start anything in the tent, Yang Xi began to gasp for air and started to feel dizzy...

Reality was indeed far crueler than any dream!

By the seventh day, one of the American team members began to show symptoms of illness. He was confused after the training hike, having started to cough a few days prior, and today he was intermittently coughing up pink frothy sputum streaked with blood.

The symptom was classic, and Smeier knew at a glance that the Caucasian American climber was suffering from high altitude pulmonary edema. Characterized by its sudden onset and rapid progression, it could be completely cured with timely diagnosis and treatment.

In fact, many would exhibit such symptoms or even die at just over 4,000 meters, and it was easily treatable, but that was only with adequate medical facilities. Discovering such an illness at 6,000 meters meant he had to endure a three-day journey being carried down by the Sherpa people, and by that time, whether he could be cured was a big question.

Ren He and the others were gathered around him, listening to the young Caucasian man’s breathing sound, which resembled the noise when sucking the bottom of a yogurt bottle; from this sound alone, they knew how severe the condition was.

In fact, high-altitude pulmonary edema is known for its rapid onset.

Even helicopters couldn’t reach this place; only pilots who were both brave and skillful dared to attempt it, but flying here would cost at least 20,000 US dollars, and that was just for someone to consider trying.

Smeier had borrowed a satellite phone from the adventure consulting company to call the helicopter service below the mountain. However, unsurprisingly, they were not willing to take the risk.

"We can only get the Sherpa people to carry him down. I hope he can hold on," Smeier sighed. He actually understood in his heart that if the man’s illness were only treated after three days, even if he were saved, he would likely be left with a disability.

The young Caucasian man’s bodily functions would deteriorate, his muscles would begin to atrophy slowly, and that was assuming he was rescued.

At the 6000-meter-high base camp, there were already four teams present; this was the most suitable time for summiting, and professional climbing teams from all over the world were on their way.

Everyone watched as the young Caucasian man was carried down the mountain on a stretcher; such was the price of climbing Mount Everest. Lying on the stretcher, struggling to breathe while tears streamed down his cheeks from the corners of his eyes, he had failed. In his heart, he had failed.

Before the ascent, everyone held heroic ambitions, believing they were healthy enough, believing that misfortune would not befall them, believing that conquering Mount Everest would be the honor of a lifetime.

Some had tallied the number of deaths on Mount Everest, others the number of successful summits, but no one kept count of those who abandoned the climb halfway...

The truth was that this number was astonishingly high; some people realized upon arriving here that they might never have a chance to see the peak in their lifetime.

Death wasn’t the scariest part; the horror laid in being just one step away from a dream, and that one step was eternally out of reach, never to be taken.

It was during these times that Smeier’s American and Chinese teams finally began to coexist peacefully, all subdued by the overwhelming feeling of despondency. Even An Si would occasionally let out a sigh, having not anticipated witnessing such a shocking scene simply by accompanying Ren He on this trip to Mount Everest.

Only after spending a night could everyone slowly recover from such incidents.

That day, everyone crawled into their sleeping bags early on, except for Ren He and Yang Xi who were still sitting on a large rock, staring blankly at the sunrise.

Someone observed them silently through the gap in the tent, genuinely envious.

Smeier glanced at Ren He and Yang Xi, silently took out his camera, and captured the silhouettes of the two in the afterglow of the setting sun.

In the frozen focus of the lens, the setting sun cast its rays from the west, passing over the white snow-capped mountains, setting the clouds ablaze. Yang Xi leaned quietly against Ren He, mute, like the desolate aftermath of war ruins.

And Ren He still sat with a straight back, like a stubborn and resilient mountain peak.

...

Something came up tonight, and the update might be a bit late; I’m not quite sure myself... If you can’t wait, you can read it tomorrow morning, haha.