I am a Big Player
Chapter 308 - 306, Two perfect experiences in exchange for a way to live (First Release)_1

Chapter 308: 306, Two perfect experiences in exchange for a way to live (First Release)_1

It was only when Ren He saw how quickly the sky was darkening that he realized why veteran climbers emphasized to descend by 1 pm, at the latest by 2 pm.

Indeed, Ren He had summitted at 12:10 pm and started descending at 12:25 pm. His descent was early enough, but when he reached the Hillary Platform at 12:30 pm and waited there for a full 40 minutes, everything was already too late.

Actually, when he reached the summit, he had also paid attention to the weather. The sky, which had been clear an hour ago, was now covered with dark clouds, and the place from where the clouds had approached was still vivid in his memory. At 12:10 pm, that area was still misty with streaks of clouds and had been no different from other places.

But that’s just how unpredictable the weather on Mount Everest is; otherwise, it wouldn’t cause so many people anxiety.

If Ren He had descended from the Hillary Step earlier, even if the storm had arrived, he could have sheltered in a tent at the 7900-meter camp where all the tents were securely fastened to the ice field. The storm wasn’t as terrifying as a typhoon; it only seemed particularly horrifying due to the high altitude and low temperatures.

But now it was different. The storm had arrived too fast, and even if Ren He could ignore the group still climbing the Hillary Step, it was too late for him to get back to the camp now.

To return to the camp along this route in the midst of the storm would take several hours, and he would need to ensure he didn’t succumb to hypothermia or fall into a crevasse during the storm.

Xia Boyu was slowly descending from behind. Seeing that Ren He was still trapped on the Hillary Step, he gave a wry smile, "It seems we’re all going to be left here by Mount Everest."

Ren He didn’t have the time to talk to him; instead, he was urgently figuring out in his mind how to survive this storm. Xia Boyu had spent too much time at the summit. But even if he had descended earlier, he would have ended up waiting here just like Ren He.

What was more terrifying was that, until now, some people still harbored the illusion that the storm might not be too severe. But Ren He felt that if they didn’t descend now, the storm might leave everyone behind.

Smeier, the leader of the American team, had also realized that something was wrong. They were shouting loudly at the base of the Hillary Step for everyone to hurry down. As long as you’re alive, there’s always another chance to summit.

If they were in camp, perhaps they would listen, but how high is the Hillary Step? 8790 meters! Many even believed they could still make it down after a quick summit following the Step.

Ren He couldn’t care less about their lives; at this moment, life or death was a choice each had to make. Descending now might mean survival; not descending now meant certain death.

It wasn’t that everyone was too foolish. In fact, none of those who could climb this far were fools, but when disasters struck, it often proved just how stupid people could be in the moment.

Afterwards, everyone would reflect and say that if they had acted differently at that time, maybe not so many would have died. But what use was that?

But now Ren He’s biggest problem was that as long as others didn’t stop summiting via the Hillary Step, he couldn’t descend! Frustrating, wasn’t it?

Forced into this situation by nature, he seriously considered skiing from the summit down to the South Col all the way back to the base camp in Nepal... but he faced many issues. One, he hadn’t deliberately studied the route. Two, he didn’t have a snowboard at all!

At this time, the American team leader was shouting into his satellite phone, "The storm is coming, it’s imperative that the doctors from the lower camps come up to the 6000-meter or higher camps for a rescue; otherwise, it’s scary to think how many might die. We’re now located at the Hillary Step. I want them to descend, but the situation has spiraled out of control. Someone has already summitted successfully without oxygen, but I think we’re all going to be left here... Alright, if it can’t be salvaged, I’ll have to descend alone."

At the end of the phone call, it seemed someone was urging him to stop waiting and descend himself. At this time, nobody could be held to a moral standard anymore, even if he was a paid guide.

At that moment, rolling down the damn slope seemed safer than waiting here. Many who had already reached the summit were urging those climbing the Hillary Step to go down; of course, there were also those who snapped back with harsh words, not understanding how, at that moment, the conflict suddenly became about how those who had summited were exaggerating the severity of the storm.

Indeed, while dark clouds were rolling in, the wind wasn’t actually much stronger than before. This was the source of everyone’s false hope.

But the sense of unease in Ren He’s heart was growing stronger and stronger!

After waiting another 10 minutes, a gust of wind suddenly hit, stronger than at any point that day. Ren He’s jacket was plastered tightly against his body, and he found it hard to stand steady!

Suddenly, someone on the Hillary Step didn’t hold onto the rope and fell off, his scream tearing through the air as he plummeted down the mountain, beyond anyone’s help!

Everyone was stunned. This was the first death from a fall during this climbing expedition. No amount of stories heard could compare to the terror of witnessing such an event firsthand. Only now did the people on the Hillary Step start to descend in a panic.

Though the passage was now clear... it was too late!

Snow and frigid, furious winds swept across the entire Mount Everest; the snow on the mountain whirled around as if it were the dust of the plains. The real disaster had arrived.

The entire camp at 6000 meters, almost simultaneously, learned that the climbing team was to summit that day, and that a storm was approaching. Everyone was trapped on the mountain.

The whole camp at 6000 meters fell into a mood of despair. The Sherpa and professional climbing teams, which made up the climbing consultancy company, had already written off the disaster as irrecoverable in their large tent.

Yang Xi sat silently in the tent, staring at the storm outside. She didn’t lose her mind and run up the mountain, because she knew it would be futile. But the thought that this farewell could be forever caused her heart to tear with indescribable pain, a kind of pain that could only cease with death.

Ren He stood on the Hillary Step, watching the howling winds in the sky like the roar of a beast. At that moment, even if he continued to descend, he was painfully aware of one thing: he couldn’t make it back to the camp at 7900 meters. No one could. It was too late!

Previously, Ren He himself had harbored a bit of hope, always thinking that once everyone had climbed up the Hillary Step, he could quickly make his way down.

It seemed that it was only now that he truly understood how, in life or death situations, humans could make foolish mistakes.

If he had realized the problem earlier and descended directly down the North Slope into China, even though it was steeper and more perilous, it would have been better than waiting for death with his physical condition.

Difficult as it was to ascend from the South Slope and descend through the North Slope, it would have been far more challenging than climbing Mount Everest itself, but still, it was a chance at life, wasn’t it? Far better than a certain death!

In his mind, he asked, "What about trading two perfect rewards for a chance to live?"

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I’m begging for monthly tickets, begging for monthly tickets. Currently ranked 8th in the urban category for monthly tickets, hoping to maintain the position...