I am a Big Player
Chapter 304 - 302, Vertical Climbing ( - One)_1

Chapter 304: 302, Vertical Climbing (Chapter One)_1

In the eyes of ordinary people, it’s impossible to summit a mountain peak higher than 8000 meters without an oxygen cylinder.

Oxygen, being one of the primary dynamic forces of the human body, is something that anyone who has used an oxygen cylinder would understand; when you carry one up the mountains and turn the regulator’s valve to its maximum, you feel an unprecedented surge of vitality.

Conversely, you would feel as if each step is a struggle, with a strong sensation of suffocation accompanying you, the oxygen is insufficient, and your footsteps feel heavy.

That is the importance of oxygen.

Here, the oxygen level is only a third of that in normal living environments, and it even drops lower at the summit; at that point, not to mention moving, not dying would be the best outcome.

Xia Boyu, motivated by his dream, had actually made peace with the possibility of dying on Mount Everest this time, because he knew very well that he had used a substantial amount of his oxygen cylinder between Camp 3 and Camp 4, and the remaining oxygen wouldn’t be enough for him to reach the summit of Everest, let alone have enough to get back down to camp.

He wouldn’t even make it to the supply point to change oxygen cylinders when descending; that one-kilometer distance would be his final resting place, where he would become a permanent landmark, eternally sleeping there with his dream.

However, the situation took an unexpected turn, Ren He actually gave his own oxygen cylinder to him!

The feeling was like being a survivor of a ship hitting an iceberg on the endless azure sea, and at that moment, someone gives you their lifebuoy and slowly sinks into the depths themselves.

Xia Boyu’s heart ached. At 27, he gave up his own sleeping bag to someone else, which ultimately led to his amputation; did he regret it?

He had regrets; he regretted that his help to others hindered his own dreams.

But now Ren He had made an equally heavy sacrifice for him, and it felt as if it was preordained, a sip and a peck of fate.

Ren He’s action seemed to tell him: don’t regret it, everything that happened was not your fault, and it’s all in the past; now at an altitude of 7900 meters, the only thing that should occupy your mind is the dream.

Let everything else drift away with the wind.

With no other thoughts in mind, there should only be the dream here.

After gathering his teammates and Sherpa guides, Xia Boyu faced them and said, "Today, we may very well witness the birth of the first person to climb Everest without an oxygen cylinder. Let’s set out together now and I wish everyone alive to witness it all, good luck!"

Xia Boyu was too old and he wouldn’t have been able to reach the summit of Everest without this new oxygen cylinder; he understood all too well what this oxygen cylinder meant to him. The original cylinder would probably have only supported him for one kilometer out of camp, after which he would kneel by the roadside and slowly die a helpless death.

But now that he had regained hope, he was ready to make his final charge!

After saying this, he shouldered his backpack and began to head up the mountain. Xia Boyu felt a warm flow coursing through his heart, as if he had never felt so good before; it was like a fire had been lit inside him!

Indeed, none of the members of the three teams had expected such a twist in the final push. They knew that Ren He was strong; they had felt it too much during the training.

But they could never have imagined that Ren He would give up his reliance on the oxygen cylinder at this point.

You must know that even during the 5-hour rest last night, team leaders had told everyone to slightly open their oxygen cylinders to sleep.

In this place, the low oxygen environment is causing damage to human blood vessels and brain nerves at all times, and only the oxygen cylinder can alleviate such a state. Without oxygen, it’s quite possible that some may not wake up in the morning.

Yet, the pressure gauge on Xia Boyu’s new oxygen cylinder clearly showed that Ren He hadn’t taken a single breath from it; it was full!

At this point, some even started to speculate whether Ren He had been planning to create the record for the first person to climb without oxygen from the very beginning!

A 16-year-old boy, creating the record for the first person to make an oxygen-less ascent, his name would be permanently recorded in the history of mountaineering, even a thousand years later.

Whenever people talk about the first person to truly conquer Mount Everest, it will always be this 16-year-old boy, no one else!

This is fucking insane!

...

During the ascent of Mount Everest, each team member should maintain a distance of at least 300 meters from others to ensure that any problems can be promptly identified by teammates ahead or behind.

Of course, even here, if someone really becomes incapacitated due to a sudden illness, there’s no one who can truly offer help. The best anyone could do would be to wrap up warm and then slowly wait for death.

Ren He walked alone along the mountain path toward the distance. At this point, from the South Slope, there was only one way to the summit. Ren He even considered climbing directly up the rock face using the most straightforward method.

Now, without any teammates, he was the only one in this frozen snowy landscape. This feeling of solitude was overwhelming.

But above his head was the place of light, and although the shadows of dreams lingered, he still came, without a moment’s hesitation. Ren He had already dubbed his trip to Nepal as a moth flying into the flame.

Like a moth that has never seen light in its life, it will rush toward the fire. It doesn’t matter if it burns others—it’s not a pity even if it burns itself to death.

Burning down the whole world doesn’t matter either.

The clouds nearby were moving rapidly, and the sunlight was about to penetrate the thick clouds and reach Mount Everest. Ren He looked up at the peak and said in his mind, "How about we make a deal? I’ll climb up without any safety measures, and you give me a reward. How about that? I’ll make it up to you with an entertainment piece when I get back. If I don’t make it, you can kill me."

This was his first time negotiating with the Divine Punishment System in such a manner of making a promise now and fulfilling it later.

The calm voice of the Divine Punishment System sounded in Ren He’s mind: "Permission granted."

Ren He smiled: "Thank you!"

In fact, the very top of Mount Everest isn’t completely covered in ice and snow; there are more exposed rocks. Seen from the distant horizon, it resembles a black, wedge-shaped mountain range with a steep incline, at least not a vertical wall like the UP Building.

Ren He gauged with his eyes that the slope of the rock face he was planning to climb was only about 70 to 80 degrees. If one didn’t take into account oxygen, strength, or temperature, it would even be easier to climb than the UP Building.

It’s just that no one has ever dared to consider these things.

If he were to walk to the summit, the distance would be about 4 kilometers. But to climb directly up from here, it was only a 900-meter vertical distance...

It has to be said, Ren He made a bold move in the place where he came closest to his dream!

It’s a daredevil act, how could Ren He let himself be confined to the realm of ordinary people? On the death-defying path, no one in parallel worlds has ever surpassed Ren He.

For Ren He, this was a dream. He only hoped that he could see the view from the summit in the most splendid way possible while alive, and then return alive to embrace Yang Xi.

Yes, the most splendid, most rich, and intense way!

Xia Boyu and his team members were trudging along the mountain path when suddenly a teammate exclaimed, "Leader, look at the snow on this mountain wall—it has footprints!"

Everyone turned their heads in astonishment, and indeed, they were footprints, leading all the way up into the clouds above...

Even on the exposed rocks of the mountain wall, white marks could be seen—traces of someone having stepped on them with crampons...

"Holy shit, he actually chose to ascend the vertical mountain wall from here and seems to be climbing quite proficiently. Is this guy even human?!" someone exclaimed.

And everyone present knew very well who that ’he’ referred to...