I am a Big Player
Chapter 300 - 298, Training begins (First update)_1

Chapter 300: 298, Training begins (First update)_1

After three days of crying and vomiting, the team from Taiwan finally couldn’t bear the crazy sickness anymore and descended the mountain.

There were many who had to give up their climb to Mount Everest due to illness, but it was the first time a whole team felt unwell and had to retreat. Everyone could understand their decision; after all, if you break out in tears when you’re about to tackle higher altitudes in the frigid wilderness, what’s the point of climbing? Your goggles would be filled with tears, and when you took them off, your face would be caked with ice—a truly exquisite misery.

Of course, Ren He only dared to play around like that at 6000 meters. Any higher and such behavior could be fatal, and he bore no deep grudge with anyone.

By Thursday, it was finally decided that Xia Boyu’s Chinese team, Smeier’s motley crew, and an American team would jointly conduct a training exercise at the altitude of 7900 meters.

At this time, Ren He was beginning to doubt whether Smeier had ever really reached the summit. From the current situation, Smeier didn’t seem to understand the terrain very well during several training sessions. At first, Ren He didn’t think much of it, but the longer the trek, the more he doubted.

However, he didn’t say much, as Smeier did indeed seem to have more experience than the rest of them.

At four o’clock in the morning, Ren He was woken up by Smeier from outside the tent. The tent was fastened to the ground with metal hoops. Yang Xi was still fast asleep in her sleeping bag; the sound of Ren He getting up startled her into gasping for the thin air.

Even after nearly ten days here, ordinary people were still tormented by the thin air.

Although Yang Xi was healthy enough, her physical condition was somewhat inferior to the members of the Qinghe Club. If it had been another member of the Qinghe Club, they probably would have found it easier to survive in this place.

Just the day before yesterday, a tent re-ordered from the outside world by An Si had finally been delivered to the 6000-meter camp by the Sherpa people. Ren He’s original tent would be left for Yang Xi to camp at 6000 meters, and he would start his three-day training exercise until he reached the 7900-meter camp and returned.

Moreover, while camping at 6000 meters, Ren He found that his own tent had a selective issue: the temperature inside always lingered around minus five to nine degrees Celsius. If he was to challenge higher altitudes, he would need a more sturdy and windproof tent, so he urgently asked An Si to purchase a new tent from the outside.

Ren He methodically fitted his climbing boots with crampons, an essential piece of equipment for mountaineering in snowy conditions without which it would be extremely easy to have an accident.

Yang Xi watched Ren He with open eyes from her sleeping bag, calm and collected, "I’ll be waiting right here for you to come back."

"Okay," Ren He smiled, "I’ll come back in one piece."

After he finished dressing and equipping himself, twenty minutes had passed. However, when he arrived at the meeting point, he found that no one else had arrived yet.

Only the elderly Xia Boyu was sitting on a low stone, staring dreamily at God Mountain in the sky.

Upon seeing Ren He, Xia Boyu smiled and said, "You’re up early, boy. Did you get up around three o’clock?"

"No, I just woke up. Leader Smeier was responsible for waking each of us up at four," Ren He replied with a smile.

At that moment, Xia Boyu seemed surprised by the response, but Ren He didn’t understand why he reacted that way. It was 4:20 now, and the others hadn’t arrived at the meeting place because in the high-altitude environment with such low morning temperatures, even dressing was a torture. It would take at least 45 minutes to get fully geared up.

This was experience summed up by the old team leaders; the planned departure time was actually five o’clock, which is why leaders like Smeier would wake everyone up at four o’clock, as everyone knew that the morning hours were the most trying.

Xia Boyu looked Ren He over carefully and was impressed with his condition, which seemed as relaxed and comfortable as a young man heading out for morning exercise on a normal day in the plains...

Even in his younger years, Xia Boyu couldn’t have managed such ease. He asked with curiosity, "You must be very young, aren’t you?"

"Yes, 16," Ren He responded with respect for the older man. Maybe he wouldn’t make it to the summit of Mount Everest, but he was indeed the first mountaineer remembered by the world for his unyielding spirit despite never reaching the top.

years old... Xia Boyu was even more astonished upon hearing his age. How could a 16-year-old come to conquer Mount Everest and still be so at ease?!

Ren He’s face was dirty, and Xia Boyu could hardly discern his actual appearance. If Ren He weren’t dressed in proper climbing gear, Xia Boyu might have mistaken him for a wild man... So this was the 16-year-old the camp had been talking about.

There is such a 16-year-old in the country?! Like Ren He’s teammates, Xia Boyu suddenly had a new understanding of Ren He.

Ren He’s age made him an outlier at the 6000-meter camp. Even the youthful Caucasian American in Smeier’s team would often sneer and mock when chatting with others, so everyone knew there was such a 16-year-old in Smeier’s team who also lacked any mountaineering experience.

Many joked with Smeier that it seemed one could make money off anything.

However, after several training sessions, it was almost universally acknowledged that this 16-year-old not only effortlessly completed all the daily training but also had spare energy to enjoy the sunset every day, existing almost like a deity...

After hearing about it, Xia Boyu only laughed and didn’t take it seriously. But now Ren He was standing right in front of him, which forced him to believe.

If he had had such physical fitness back then, would he have...?

There are no such ifs in this world. What he longed for now was to successfully ascend Mount Everest. In the quiet of the night, Xia Boyu felt like the Sherpa people said, as if he had been cursed by the God Mountain Goddess; therefore, every time he climbed, he would encounter some issues.

But he still looked forward to seeing himself standing atop Mount Everest, a kind of obsession.

Once at Mount Everest, weather forecasts were of no use; one could only rely on experience to gauge the weather, but the mountain would always prove, with facts, that experience was useless here.

No one knew what would happen after the ascent.

Finally, at five o’clock, everyone arrived. The problems of a few days ago were absent, and every individual there harbored the utmost enthusiasm and reverence for the climb of Mount Everest.

Let’s go!