Chapter 120 Life Forbidden Zone 19
Mount K2 is 8,611 meters above sea level and is the second highest peak on Earth after Mount Everest.
Although it is slightly lower in height than Mount Everest, K2 is definitely ranked first in terms of the danger of climbing.
K2 is not like other mountains, which are broad and continuous. Instead, it appears tall and thin. From a distance, it looks like a narrow white pyramid, and the top is like a long pole reaching into the sky, falling vertically and difficult to climb.
According to data recorded in Ancient Earth, the mortality rate of climbing Mount K2 reached a terrifying 30%.
Climbing is difficult, and entering the mountain is also difficult.
It took Jiang Ran and others six or seven days to walk from the Tajik village to the mountain pass, during which they also passed through dangerous glaciers and mudslides.
After finally getting away from the mudslide, Ren Xiayang finally breathed a sigh of relief. "It's a good thing Fu Bo stayed in the village. Otherwise, with the glacier and the mudslide, he would have probably collapsed and screamed."
Zeng Pei nodded in agreement.
When she was traveling with Fu Bo and Ren Xiayang before, she suffered a lot. She knew too well how it felt to be held back by her companions in times of crisis.
Jiang Ran wiped the mud and water that splashed on his face and said, "Don't say that too soon. We have just entered the mountains. Who knows if there will be another scene that will make you scream."
"Oh, how is that possible?" Ren Xiayang raised his chin proudly. "I'm professionally trained. No matter how dangerous the situation, I won't scream."
Everyone chatted as they walked, and there were often echoes in the valley. In order to talk more clearly, they all unconsciously raised their voices.
"Wait, stop."
Jiang Ran moved his ears: "Listen, is there any strange sound?"
Everyone immediately shut up and listened attentively.
All voices were silent, only the wind was making noise.
But Jiang Ran was not wrong. There was a faint rumbling sound like thunder in the quiet air.
"It seems to be coming from above." Xu Yang raised his head and looked at the cliff.
The other people's hearing was not very good, and only after seeing Jiang Ran nod did they look upwards.
The mountains were scattered and the view was blocked. At first, no one noticed anything. By the time they saw a huge rock rolling down the mountain wall, it was already very close to them.
"Fuck! Help!" Ren Xiayang screamed and ran forward.
"Be careful!" Jiang Ran reminded loudly while dodging carefully.
When rocks roll down a cliff, the most destructive force is not the largest boulder, but the many relatively small pieces of gravel.
They are inconspicuous when falling and can be easily overlooked, but falling from hundreds of meters high, the huge potential energy makes them extremely destructive, and the neglect of human eyes becomes their best umbrella of protection.
So in the rolling stones of the valley, humans are often killed by these seemingly insignificant little stones.
"Oh my god! Oh my god!"
“Run, run!”
As Ren Xiayang ran forward in fear, he completely ignored these small pieces of gravel. This was the most dangerous. If he was not careful, he would get a concussion and lose the ability to move. Then, when faced with the falling boulders, he would have no choice but to be crushed by them.
Jiang Ran dodged the rocks falling around him while observing the situation of others.
After confirming that Zeng Pei and Xu Yang were still able to protect themselves, she immediately rushed to Ren Xiayang, grabbed his arm and pulled him towards her.
The next second, a rock as big as a fist fell where Ren Xiayang was standing. If Jiang Ran hadn't been there, it would have hit Ren Xiayang on the head.
"Thank you, thank you!" Ren Xiayang thanked him with lingering fear.
Jiang Ran pulled him forward without looking back, occasionally observing the falling rocks from above: "Thank you when we're safe!"
Several people dodged and ran for several hundred meters, carefully observed the situation on the mountain wall, and after confirming that they were finally safe, they suddenly exhaled the breath they had been holding for a long time.
Jiang Ran shook his arms, looking unhappy: "You should lose some weight. My arms are sore from pulling."
"I, I'll lose weight when I get back," Ren Xiayang panted, feeling uneasy. "Luckily you were here just now."
The crisis has passed, and the people in the live broadcast room have changed from exclamations to jokes.
[Just now, I said that only Fu Bo would scream when in danger. Who was it? Which sister can help me recall it? ]
Ren Xiayang: I've received professional training. No matter how dangerous the situation, I won't scream.
【Type shame on the public screen! 】
【Shame on you!】
【Shame on you!】
【Shame on you!】
【……】
The crisis was resolved, everyone took a short break, regrouped, and soon headed towards the finish line again.
At this time, they had completely completed the mountain section and were on the road to the summit of Mount Qomolangma.
"Now that we've started climbing the mountain, there shouldn't be frequent rockfalls and mudslides, right?" Ren Xiayang still felt a little scared.
"No more." Jiang Ran said.
Ren Xiayang: "That's good, that's good!"
However, just as Ren Xiayang was about to let out a sigh of relief, he saw Jiang Ran looking towards the distant mountaintop and continued, "There will probably be no more rockfalls and mudslides, but extreme weather is inevitable. The weather here changes every three hours on average, and it's very hard to predict. We can only deal with it as it happens."
"No way?" Ren Xiayang wailed.
Zeng Pei slapped him on the back of the head: "If you keep getting so jumpy, why don't you go back and stay with Fu Bo?"
Upon hearing this, Ren Xiayang seriously considered this possibility.
They have just entered the mountains and haven't even reached the top, but they have encountered so many difficulties. It will probably be difficult for him to continue on the road ahead.
It would be better if...
While he was thinking, he heard the sound of a huge rock rolling down and hitting the ground hard from behind.
Ren Xiayang shuddered at the thought of having to go through the Rolling Stone Area again on his way back.
"Go back for what? Of course I can't go back! I still have to climb to the summit of Mount K2 with you!"
Ren Xiayang, who was known for his plastic friendship, clenched his fist and said with confidence.
Jiang Ran and others have not encountered the unpredictable and extreme weather yet, but Jiang Wenxue and others who are walking ahead have already encountered it.
One moment it was barely sunny, and the next moment a blizzard suddenly arrived.
No one wanted to fight against the power of nature, and the whole team retreated in a hurry.
In the fierce wind and snow, they did not try to tie themselves together, but just tried not to get separated, which was already not easy.
Everyone knows that this is just the prelude to a snowstorm. When the real heavy snowstorm comes, visibility on the snow-capped mountains will be greatly reduced, and they will even find it difficult to distinguish the figures of their companions who are close by.
Danger is imminent, and they need to find a solution as soon as possible, otherwise everyone will be eliminated here.
"I remember there was a big rock where we just passed!" a tall and strong bodyguard shouted at the top of his voice. "It's about two men tall. It should be able to block it for us!"
"Are you sure?" Jiang Wenxue asked loudly.
"I..." The bodyguard hesitated.
His memory was pretty good, and he knew there was probably a huge rock that could help them temporarily shelter from the wind and snow, but he was not sure how long it would take them to walk there, and whether they would be buried by the blizzard before they reached the destination.
At this moment, the hope of survival of so many people depends on him alone. It is really difficult for him to pat his chest and say that there is absolutely no problem and that they can survive by following him.
The bodyguard hesitated for a long time, but seeing the hopeful faces of his companions around him, he gritted his teeth and finally said, "Sure!"
"Okay," Jiang Wenxue said, "You lead the way."
Fortunately, they were lucky enough that the bodyguard led everyone to find the huge rock before the snowstorm hit.
However, before anyone could be happy, a terrible fact appeared before their eyes.
The rock is not big enough for everyone to hide inside.
They tried it and found that the boulder could cover most people, but one or two people would always fall.
The bodyguard who just led everyone to find the stone was the tallest and largest in the team. If he also wanted to hide under the stone, two people would be left behind. If he did not hide in with everyone, he would be the only one left behind.
After discovering this, everyone's eyes gradually became strange, and even the bodyguard himself felt a chill in his heart.
There are two people left with nowhere to go, or he is left alone to find a way out. What should he choose?
Jiang Wenxue also quickly did some calculations in his mind.
These bodyguards are all elite players she has selected. The difference in strength between any two of them is not too big, but the difference between one person and two people is actually twice as big, and what they can do is completely different.
After making up his mind, Jiang Wenxue did not speak it out loud.
The pawn she wanted to discard happened to be the hero who had just led everyone to find a hiding place, which made the situation much more complicated.
If she expressed this idea directly, her image would be greatly damaged in the eyes of the audience in the live broadcast room.
So Jiang Wenxue didn't say it clearly, but cast a meaningful look at the abandoned child.
When looking into each other's eyes at such a sensitive moment, many things are said without words.
The bodyguard who had been abandoned also received the information conveyed by Jiang Wenxue.
He was unwilling to give in, but after all, Jiang Wenxue was his financial backer. He was merely hired to compete, so he still had to obey the financial backer's arrangements.
"You guys just hide here."
The abandoned bodyguard pursed his lips and said, "We are a team. We still have to consider everyone's interests. As long as I leave, you can all hide here. This is the most beneficial."
Everyone else is a beneficiary, so of course they won’t jump out and say no at this time.
Everyone praised him flatteringly, saying he was dedicated and caring about the team, but no one ever stood up and offered to keep their position for him.
The abandoned bodyguard felt a chill in his heart, but the blizzard was getting stronger and stronger. He still had to work hard to find other ways to survive, and there was not much time left, so he did not say much to others.
Two hours later, the snowstorm subsided.
The huge rock shelter was very useful. Under its protection, Jiang Wenxue and others survived safely until the blizzard passed.
However, in the vast snow and ice, the bodyguard who had just left on his own was nowhere to be seen, and it was unknown whether he had successfully avoided the blizzard.
Having already given up on him once, even if it was just a show, he couldn't give up on him so easily again. Jiang Wenxue, considering the audience's comments and public opinion, led his team to try to search for the abandoned bodyguard who had disappeared.
However, after everyone divided the work and searched for half an hour, they still couldn't find their companions.
"Maybe he's been eliminated?"
"Yeah, the blizzard was so strong just now that I almost got blown away even though I was hiding under a rock. Not to mention him trying to find shelter at the last minute. How could he possibly find one?"
"That makes sense. Should we still look for it?"
Everyone still had a strong sense of being employed, and when a decision needed to be made, they all fell silent and waited for Jiang Wenxue's instructions.
Jiang Wenxue lowered his brows and sighed softly.
"I really hope to find him, but as everyone has just analyzed, under these circumstances, the possibility of him surviving is too small."
Everyone was not stupid and quickly understood what she meant. They all agreed with her and told her not to be so soft-hearted, saying it was not her fault.
Jiang Wenxue lowered his head and listened quietly to everyone's words of comfort, then wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeves, as if wiping away tears.
Then she sniffed, raised her head with red eyes, and curled the corners of her mouth hard, as if she wanted to soothe everyone's uncomfortable mood with a smile.
"He definitely doesn't want to see us waste too much time trying to find him. All we can do is keep moving forward and take first place so his sacrifice won't be in vain."
"Wen Xue is right!"
"Yeah, let's hurry up!"
"A lot of time has just been wasted."
“…”
This unusually harmonious scene seemed extremely ironic to the audience in the live broadcast room.
Because they can see the live broadcast room of each contestant, they can clearly and explicitly know that the contestant who was just abandoned by Jiang Wenxue and others has not been eliminated yet.
From the audience's perspective, this player is not only physically strong, but also mentally strong. Even when abandoned by his teammates, he did not give up, but continued to try to find cover. In the end, he actually survived the raging blizzard alone.
But what happens after surviving?
Looking around, I saw endless white snow and no one was around.
Because they were traveling in a group, their supplies were all coordinated, rather than everyone carrying their own. This runner only brought some climbing tools, while the clothes and food that were most essential for survival were left with his teammates.
In the following time, the audience witnessed with their own eyes his efforts to find his teammates, his hands and feet becoming stiff due to the extremely low temperature, and finally he gradually lost the strength to move and collapsed in the snow.
When the temperature drops to a dangerous level, the life-saving bag's automatic activation program is triggered.
As the orange light slowly rose into the sky, almost all the online viewers were so shocked that they were speechless.
This brave player who saved his teammates at the critical moment was not eliminated because of the snowstorm. Instead, he was abandoned by his teammates and was frozen to death due to lack of supplies.
You know, Jiang Wenxue and the others were very close to him at one point during their search! As long as they didn't abandon their teammates and expanded the search circle a little, they would be able to find him easily!
However, Jiang Wenxue and the others only searched for half an hour before they couldn't wait to declare their teammates dead and continued on their way.
Look at what Jiang Wenxue is talking about?
"All we can do is keep moving forward and take first place so his sacrifice will not be in vain."
The audience in the live broadcast room almost wanted to curse.
"I'm speechless! Giving up on someone after they rescued you is fine, but couldn't you have looked for them after the storm passed?!"
[I took screenshots of the livestreams from both sides at the time. It was really just a matter of a few steps forward, and they would have found the person!]
[This is so tragic! I'm so angry I'm about to have a heart attack if I even think about it!]
[Yeah, yeah! Why don't you just keep on going so his sacrifice won't be in vain? If you had just searched a little longer, he wouldn't have died, okay?! I'm speechless!]
[Ah, even though everyone is mocking me, if I put myself in Jiang Wenxue and the others' perspective, what else can I do?]
[I agree with the above comment. We have a God's perspective and can see them and find them immediately, but Jiang Wenxue and the others don't know! In such a terrible blizzard, it's normal for them to think their teammates have been eliminated, right?]
Normal? I don’t think it’s normal.
[Stay away from normal people, normal people won’t take the blame]
[A message to all the netizens who sympathize with Jiang Wenxue's team: you can go back and watch the second season of "Back to Earth." Jiang Ran and his team also encountered a snowstorm and got separated. Did they abandon their teammates and continue on their own after searching for them but failing to find them?]
[I agree, there are obviously people who can do it]
Don't lower your bottom line for sympathy of scumbags
【……】
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