The city of Grace is located in the southwestern border of Xuan Country, in the southwestern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, bordering Ali Prefecture to the west, Nagqu City to the north, Lhasa City and Shannan City to the east, and bordering Neil, Peacock and other countries. It is located in the middle section of the Taidamia Mountains, with a border line of 1,753 kilometers, a land area of ​​182,000 square kilometers, an average altitude of more than 4,000 meters, and is also the city closest to Mount Hyjal.

Most mountaineering teams will choose to take a plane to reach Grace City in Xuan Country or Zetu City in Neil Country first, and then transfer to an off-road vehicle to continue climbing the Taidamia Mountains.

The railway and airport were built in Grace City only after the founding of Xuan State. It was originally a farming and pastoral area that the country focused on developing. However, with the exploration of Mount Hyjal by countries around the world, the tertiary industry of this city has gradually developed and it has become a famous tourist city in Xuan State. Compared with the cities in Xuan State that have been polluted by industry, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with its blue sky and white clouds does have the effect of purifying worries.

It is mainly used to purify the worries of the poor. The rich are busy enjoying life and go to tourist destinations to stay in five-star hotels to purify their worries.

On nights in Grace, the starry sky is particularly clean. Although it is not as spotless as the Antarctic, with brilliant stars and blooming nebulae, it is summer and people in Grace can observe the stars directly with their naked eyes. This experience is much more pleasant than seeing the dim night sky for city people.

At this time, Zhang Helai was not in the mood to appreciate the starry sky. He was sitting in a single room on the third floor of Grace People's Hospital, with an ashtray full of cigarette butts beside him and his eyes fixed on the screen of his mobile phone.

He took out the cigarette box and found that there was only one cigarette left. Just as he was about to light it, he heard a knock on the door: "Mr. Zhang."

Zhang Helai sighed, put the cigarette back into the cigarette box, turned off the phone, and said, "Come in."

A group of outsiders filed into the not-so-spacious ward. Zhang Helai saw that in addition to the high-ranking official from Grace City whom he had met in the afternoon, there were several foreigners who also came in.

"I'm sorry to disturb Mr. Zhang's rest." The middle-aged Shi Lifang looked at his watch. "It's almost midnight now, but due to special reasons, I hope Mr. Zhang can understand."

"It's okay." Zhang Helai sat back on the sickbed. "It just so happens that I haven't fallen asleep yet. Although I'm very tired today, it's even more unforgettable."

Shi Lifang looked at Zhang Helai apologetically, and the foreigners also sat around the ward. Unlike in the afternoon, the person who came to ask Zhang Helai for details this time was not Shi Lifang's secretary, but a Xuan countryman wearing a black vest.

"Mr. Zhang Helai," the black vest asked, "You returned to Camp 5, located on the north slope of Mount Hyjal at an altitude of 9,600 meters, at 12:30 noon on April 8, right? Then at 3:15 pm, you took a Xuanguo transport helicopter from Camp 5 and returned directly to Grace City at 6:30 pm, right?"

Zhang Helai nodded: "That's right."

At this time, Zhang Helai noticed that the foreigners also nodded, and couldn't help but feel a little surprised - could they also understand the Xuan language?

"I need you to recall everything that happened after you set out from Camp 5 in the early morning of April 8." The black vest looked at his watch. "You haven't slept for 24 hours now. Is that okay?"

"No problem." Zhang Helai said with a smile: "I still can't calm down completely, and I just lay down for a while, so it's okay."

Everyone understood him very well - no matter who you are, it is very normal to have trouble sleeping and a confused mind when encountering such a miracle that seems like heaven and earth.

"But we are going to start from the fifth camp? I thought it would be better to start directly from 9:30." Zhang Helai reminded.

"It's okay. We want to fully understand the details this time." The black vest said, "Don't worry about forgetting anything. Just say whatever you remember."

"Okay." Zhang Helai subconsciously took out the cigarette box, then put it back. The man in the black vest smiled and said, "Mr. Zhang, it's normal to smoke to refresh yourself."

"Hmm? Oh..." Zhang Helai saw that Shilifang didn't say a word and accepted the Black Vest's leadership here. Although he was a little puzzled, he still lit a cigarette and let the burning smoke pass through his lungs, which reminded him of the story 24 hours ago...

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Almost all the members of Zhang Helai's mountaineering team are from Xuan Country, including the team leader, a total of six people.

Although it is spring now, which is not the best time for mountain climbing, it is only relative to summer. In fact, mountain climbing tourism in Hyjal has been highly industrialized, and the danger of climbing to the summit in spring is not higher than that in summer - as long as the captain is reliable.

Zhang Helai arrived in Grace City in early March, met with the team members first, and arrived at the north slope of Mount Hyjal on March 5: the base camp at an altitude of 5,896 meters. After the tents and other equipment were delivered to the base camp, they conducted more than 20 days of training to slowly adapt to the plateau climate and familiarize themselves with the route to the summit.

One of the team members suffered from severe altitude sickness and vomited and had to return to Grace City for treatment, leaving only five people in the team.

Although the process is a very memorable climbing record for Zhang He, it is actually very common: in the more than 50 years of conquering Mount Hyjal, countless mountaineering teams have risked their lives to find the safest climbing route and camping site. In addition to the base camp, there are also forward camps, the first camp, the second camp, the third camp, the fourth camp, and the fifth camp on Mount Hyjal. As long as all safety facilities are in place and the climbing route is followed, the risk of life will be suppressed to the lowest point.

On April 3, the three climbing teams at the base camp found that the weather was good and decided to attack the summit of Mount Hyjal together. They reached Camp 2 in one day, Camp 3 on the second day, Camp 4 on the third day, and Camp 5 on the fourth day. However, Camp 5, located at an altitude of 9,600 meters, was too high and the Kamiya people could not send oxygen cylinders up, so they had to change oxygen cylinders at Camp 4 to complete the next thrilling journey.

Zhang Helai is a middle-aged man in his thirties with a successful career. Although he has no children yet, his wife is pregnant. He came to climb Mount Hyjal purely to fulfill his dream: he joined the mountaineering club in college and met his first love. Their dream at that time was to conquer Mount Hyjal together.

Step by step, they climbed the 5,000-meter entry-level peak Haba Snow Mountain, the 6,000-meter advanced peak Animaqen Peak, the 7,000-meter professional-level Muztagh Ata Peak, and the 8,000-meter master-level peak Cho Oyu Peak. With their 6,000-meter, 7,000-meter, and 8,000-meter mountaineering certificates, they met the requirements of the Xuan Country Mountaineering Association and could choose to challenge the 10,000-meter peak Hyjal Peak. Outsiders without mountaineering certificates could only hang out in the base camp of Hyjal Peak at 5,896 meters.

Later, his first love met with danger during a mountain climbing trip. Zhang Helai worked in a daze for several years, met his current wife, and then struggled to the present.

He knew that this year was his last chance. If he waited until his wife gave birth to the child, the huge responsibilities that came with it would completely drown the last bit of dream hidden in the heart of this middle-aged man.

A man is a boy until he becomes a father. This was Zhang Helai's last act of willfulness.

However, although Zhang Helai arrived at the fifth camp safely with the team, he encountered a small problem.

The oxygen cylinder consumption has reached a critical point.

It wasn't that the oxygen tanks were insufficient, but Zhang Helai consumed a lot of oxygen during the journey from the fourth camp to the fifth camp, which reduced the amount of "spare oxygen". If he wanted to continue to climb to the top, he couldn't make any mistakes, so that he could barely reach the top.

Zhang Helai could also choose to wait in the fifth camp and wait for the mountaineering team to reach the summit and come down to take him away. In this way, he would not need to move and his oxygen consumption would be greatly reduced.

"In other words, you are risking your life to reach the summit?" a blond foreigner suddenly asked in profound Chinese.

"Yes."

“Why do you have to go to this extent?”

"Why? Dreams, memories, luck... I had mixed feelings when I made this decision, but the fundamental reason should be... unwillingness." Zhang Helai smiled faintly, "I know that if I chose to give up at that time, I would blame this decision for the rest of my life."

"Because of this...I was able to meet her with the other team members."