I am a Big Player
Chapter 307 - 305, It’s easy to go up the mountain but hard to come down (Fourth update for monthly ticket request)_1

Chapter 307: 305, It’s easy to go up the mountain but hard to come down (Fourth update for monthly ticket request)_1

The update frequency of almost 4 times daily is really quite impressive, especially in this era where weekly, monthly, or even yearly updates are the norm—I might just be a breath of fresh air. I ask for your monthly votes in March to help me climb the rankings, thank you everyone.

...

Ren He placed his backpack on the snow of Mount Everest, took out a five-starred red flag with great solemnity, and planted it in the snow. This was something he had prepared for a long time; a trip to Mount Everest without planting a national flag seemed like something was missing.

Although he wasn’t a fanatic patriot, he still loved his country, and Ren He deeply understood the principle that only a wealthy nation can have a strong people.

In his previous life, in March 2015, conflict erupted between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Due to a no-fly zone over the area, commercial planes were unable to operate, and ground transportation was dangerously chaotic with unceasing gunfire.

The motherland immediately decided to dispatch a naval vessel that was escorting in the Gulf of Aden to switch from its escort mission to an evacuation mission for the rescue.

Among all the countries at that time, China was the only one to send a warship for the rescue. Moreover, the Chinese citizens were given priority to board, and all the stranded compatriots were evacuated quickly. The People’s Liberation Army’s guns, satellite phones, and hot water and meals, all provided a sense of security to the compatriots present.

Governments of over ten countries, including Germany, the UK, and Italy, bombarded the Chinese embassy’s phone lines, pleading for China to evacuate their citizens as well...

Without comparison, there is no harm felt, and the citizens of other countries all felt abandoned by their own nations.

If Ren He was a foreign spokesperson, he would dare say, "Thanks to other friendly countries for making us look good."

Which is why he could never become a foreign spokesperson...

Of course, Ren He wouldn’t be someone who sings the national anthem alone in front of the five-starred red flag. In his heart, he had already sung it silently while planting the flag.

Ren He took a selfie and then a few pictures of the scenery around Mount Everest. He had serious business to attend to next—he took out another flag from his backpack, this time it was TK’s.

The previous photo was for his own keepsake, so it didn’t need to be anything special, but this one was different. He had to ensure that no other brand logos on his clothing were captured in the frame, and he needed to make TK’s flag look more attractive...

One could say that this single photo was worth 1.2 million US dollars. Of course, he had to take it well—it might very well be the most expensive photo in the world, Ren He couldn’t help but think.

However, he was flattering himself by creating drama. In fact, some photos were priced unimaginably high; the photo known as "Rhein II" sold in 2011 for a staggering 4,338,500 US dollars. With his photo barely anything in comparison, at best ranking only in the top ten.

Having taken the photo, Ren He smiled. There was a distinct difference in how he had treated the two flags: at this moment, the five-starred red flag was fluttering in the center of Mount Everest, and although it might be blown away by fierce winds in the future, at least for now, it was the center of the Roof of the World.

The Divine Punishment System issued its reward soon after: "Host has completed the Mount Everest climbing task with a good evaluation, Reward: Super Hearing."

It was another sensory skill for Ren He after gaining Super Vision, but he was a bit worried—what if he was forced to hear things when he didn’t want to listen? However, when he actually tried using the ability, he found that his hearing would only start to amplify when he wanted to hear something. This reassured Ren He.

The task was evaluated as good, which seems to be because he ate too much chocolate on the mountain wall; otherwise, it should have been a Perfect Level reward...

"Host has completed the task of summiting Mount Everest with a perfect evaluation, select your targeted reward."

Ren He was thrilled—this was more like it. After all the effort of climbing to the top of Mount Everest, it would be totally unjustifiable not to receive a Perfect Level reward.

Alright, mission accomplished, it’s time to return!

However, in reality, climbing Mount Everest was just the beginning with the summiting. Ren He understood this deeply: summiting is only the start of mountaineering. The ultimate goal is to retreat alive from the top of Mount Everest. Looking down the mountain, Ren He truly felt the impulse to leap from here, thinking that such a feat would indeed be magnificent and undoubtedly make history.

But reason told him that this was impossible. Ren He chuckled and said to himself, "Next time!"

Yes, the next time he summits! Ren He already had a new plan in his heart—a plan even more audacious!

He slowly made his way downward, having chosen to climb directly up the rock face on his ascent, which afforded him no opportunity to see the legendary landmarks.

Soon after descending from the summit, he encountered a corpse by the side of the trail. It was the first time Ren He had seen a body in such an environment, and the only thing he could say about the feeling was that it was profound: everyone came here to reach the top, yet the outcomes were so different.

To outsiders, summiting Mount Everest might not seem that difficult anymore, but only those who have really experienced it understand: every day in the camp, there’s invariably someone suffering from an incident, be it sickness or injury.

After all, this place is still the Forbidden Zone for Life. How easy can it actually be?

During Ren He’s descent, he was surprised to find that Xia Boyu, the elderly man, was leading the team ascending the mountain!

When they were just a few hundred meters below the summit, the distance between the climbers grew significantly due to the necessity of crossing the famous Hillary Step one by one. In a previous life, the Hillary Step was so named because Edmund Hillary was the first to summit Mount Everest.

In this parallel world, this step had come to be known as the Mandela Step.

To summit Mount Everest via the southeastern route, one must pass through a twelve-meter-tall nearly vertical section of exposed rock face at 8,790 meters above sea level on the southeast ridge, between the South Summit and the highest point. All climbers must ascend one by one using ropes, even crossing crevasses directly from a ladder, and only one person can pass at a time. This is the Hillary Step.

When everyone reaches that point, the distance between them would inevitably stretch out considerably. So it seemed that Xia Boyu must have been the first to cross the Hillary Step.

Ren He greeted him with a smile, "You seem to be holding up well. Keep it up; you’re almost there."

Xia Boyu looked at Ren He with a wide grin, a wave of emotions surging in his heart. The man had given him an oxygen bottle, chosen the most difficult way to climb, was the first to reach the summit without supplemental oxygen, and could still greet him so casually...

"Thank you," Xia Boyu said solemnly. Without that oxygen bottle, he couldn’t have made it this far in such good condition.

"It’s nothing. I’m heading down first. See you at the camp!" Ren He said with a smile.

"Sure, see you at the camp!" Xia Boyu said earnestly as he watched Ren He’s retreating figure and then continued his ascent toward the summit.

When he reached the top and saw the Five-Star Red Flag fluttering at the center of the Top of Mount Everest, Xia Boyu’s heart was indescribably shaken. He had previously thought of the young man as simply strong, unbelievably so.

But now as he looked at the national flag the other had placed, a feeling of pride as a compatriot sprouted unbidden—it was a Chinese person! A Chinese youth!

A Chinese person was the first to truly conquer Mount Everest!

In their youth, they had always sought to compete with foreigners, and after a lifetime of rivalry, they were still a bit behind. But now, it seemed things had changed!

When Ren He arrived at the Hillary Platform, there were already about a dozen more people there, seemingly from teams that had started after him.

There was an unwritten rule on Mount Everest: ascend first, descend later, meaning Ren He had to wait for them to come up before he could go down.

The wait for them to finish took over forty minutes.

However, it was during this dull waiting period when he looked up at the scenery and noticed the horizon suddenly darkening, reminiscent of that nightmarish scene...

A storm was coming!

...

A bonus Chapter for rewards, I ask for the March monthly tickets. I rarely request for this stuff, and my updates have already been quite "geili". While others occasionally burst forth, I’m bursting forth daily... I’m hoping to make it onto the charts and need everyone’s help!