Chapter 395: Chapter 393: Mountain God’s Blessing
In the enclosed space, the sound of breathing fluctuated continuously, deep and viscous, like a broken bellows.
In the darkness, Bi Fang and Edinburgh huddled to rest, conserving their energy and heat, while only Danzeng kept digging, following the rope and ceaselessly excavating, his hands nearly numb from the cold.
It wasn’t that Bi Fang was being finicky; in a critical mont for his team’s survival, he still aid to complete the mission without oxygen. The reason was that he was in pain almost all over his body—rescuing Danzeng had drained every last bit of his strength.
If he chose to use oxygen at this point, it would an failing both the mission and the rescue.
Truly worthy of being the warrior of the Third Pole, the favorite of the high mountains.
Feeling the shadowy figure swaying in the darkness, Bi Fang couldn’t help but think.
The joke that the Sherpa people possess a third lung lobe specially for mountaineering is not without foundation; genetically, they are better adapted to high-altitude conditions than ordinary people. They have low blood pressure, ensuring ample brain blood supply, and powerful muscle flexibility; compared to the length of their legs, their torsos are longer to maintain a stable center of gravity on the rugged mountains.
“Mr. Bi, Sir Edinburgh?”
“Here.”
His head was getting dizzier.
The air was pitifully low in oxygen, and every breath felt futile, no matter how hard the alveoli tried to expand, they couldn’t filter in any oxygen. The blood flow was increasingly sluggish, the hemoglobin desperately trying to catch oxygen molecules, but it was all in vain.
The silent darkness was unnerving, and at this mont, Bi Fang couldn’t suppress his panic. This wasn’t fear, but a physiological reaction brought on by the lack of oxygen, not so easily overco by sheer willpower.
If only there was light.
In the mont of being struck by the wind and snow, aside from the backpacks secured to their backs, the headlamps of Bi Fang, Sir, and Danzeng had long since been washed away, their whereabouts unknown. If only they had a lamp now, it wouldn’t be like this.
With his lungs heaving, Bi Fang took another deep breath, further depleting the oxygen in the air, which in turn, increased the concentration of carbon dioxide.
The now calm Bi Fang gave himself a preliminary diagnosis: his arms were completely powerless, his muscles were cramping and stiffening, perhaps a minor strain. A strain would be troubleso as it wouldn’t heal quickly; he hoped it was just simple fatigue.
If they didn’t get out soon, carbon dioxide poisoning might claim his life.
It wasn’t just carbon monoxide that could poison you; carbon dioxide could as well.
Normally, the carbon dioxide content in exhaled human breath is 4.2%. The partial pressure of carbon dioxide in blood is higher than that in the alveoli, which is why carbon dioxide can diffuse into the alveoli.
But once the environntal concentration of carbon dioxide increases, the concentration within the alveoli likewise rises. At that point, the pH levels undergo drastic changes, stimulating the respiratory center, eventually leading to paralysis of the respiratory center and causing asphyxia due to hypoxia.
“Damn it, how did we encounter an avalanche.”
Bi Fang looked up and hit his head against the snow wall, unable to understand how this could have happened.
Perhaps sensing the change in atmosphere, Danzeng called out softly, “Mr. Bi, Sir Edinburgh, are you alright?”
This was already Danzeng’s thirteenth inquiry, asking almost every half a minute. Just as Bi Fang was about to respond as before, a wave of indescribable comfort washed over him, and every cell rejoiced as if…
The oxygen concentration was increasing!
Bi Fang suddenly sat up and expanded his lungs again—no mistake, the oxygen concentration in the air had increased! It wasn’t an illusion!
Were they about to dig out?
But that wasn’t right. Danzeng was digging along the rope. Was soone else not buried?
That was impossible, right?
With confusion in his heart, Bi Fang followed the rope to Danzeng’s side: “Danzeng, continue to dig, fast, keep digging!”
Danzeng looked bewildered, but he didn’t stop his movents, continuing to excavate as large chunks of snow were thrown out.
“`
As he kept digging, Bi Fang sharply noticed that the oxygen concentration in the air seed to have increased a little.
“What’s wrong, Mr. Bi?”
Danzeng was perplexed, not knowing why Bi Fang suddenly reacted.
Bi Fang didn’t answer; he braced his hands on the snow in front of him and pushed hard with both arms.
Suddenly, the snow layer in front of everyone collapsed violently, a cloud of snow dust flew, and the air circulation stirred up a breeze, with fresh air rushing in.
Did they break through?!
Danzeng and the semi-conscious Edinburgh’s eyes widened; although they could see nothing in the darkness, they keenly sensed the airflow.
Are they out?!
No, not yet.
Bi Fang surveyed the pitch black around him; the sky over Mount Everest was very clear, if they were outside, it would not be as pitch black as it was now.
It was an internal “vacuum.”
Bi Fang recalled the scenario of the avalanche and gradually simulated the situation at the ti.
He took a deep breath to alleviate the dizziness caused by the lack of oxygen, and Bi Fang explained, “When the avalanche occurred, it quickly engulfed everything, but the Eagle Head Ice Slope’s shape was too unique, leaving so space in the rocks after the deluge had passed.”
Just like when a plane crashes into the sea and is quickly enveloped by the ocean, the air inside the cabin gets compressed to the top and cannot escape, creating a breathable area.
The peak of the Eagle Head Ice Slope rises high into the sky, but it faces away from the oncoming avalanche. As the deluge swept down, it really protected the last remaining survival space underneath the avalanche like an eagle!
As Edinburgh and Bi Fang marveled at the incredibility of the situation, Danzeng’s shout rang out in the darkness.
“Mr. Bi, there are other people here! Lama Qin! Lama Qin! It’s the Mountain God’s manifestation, it’s the Mountain God’s manifestation! Lama Qin! Lama Qin!”
Other people?
Forcing himself to stand, Bi Fang suddenly faced a blinding light.
Bi Fang hurriedly covered his eyes.
Realizing his mistake, Danzeng quickly dimd the light.
After slowly adjusting to the blinding headlamp, Bi Fang slowly opened his eyes. In the not-so-large space, Yao Jun, Rob, and Jerret, were all there!
“Everyone’s okay, everyone’s okay!”
Danzeng was visibly excited, but the next mont, his mood dropped significantly, “It’s a pity about Uncle Holt and Uncle Lezha; they shouldn’t have run away. I wonder how they are now.”
Edinburgh comforted the young man: “It’s an instinctual reaction, there’s no right or wrong, you don’t have to worry too much about that. The Mountain God will protect them.”
Coughing twice, Bi Fang ca next to Yao Jun and the others, checking each of them in turn.
They all were still breathing, and their breathing was normal, just temporarily fallen into unconsciousness.
Taking out oxygen cylinders from their backpacks and fitting them, Bi Fang then rummaged through Rob’s backpack, and successfully found a small radio.
Phew.
Finding this, Bi Fang let out a sigh of relief.
Luckily it was still there, with this device, even if they couldn’t dig themselves out, they could wait for rescue with assurance.
“`
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