Chapter 406: Chapter 404: Then, You Have My Condolences
By the ti everyone returned to Everest Base Camp, it was already twelve noon, and what had originally been a trio had expanded to eleven people.
Yes, eleven people.
After rescuing Saito, at an altitude of 5,400 ters, Bi Fang’s detector reacted again. Upon digging, it was like uncovering gourd babies; except for one individual who died on the spot, six others suffered various injuries but could still walk.
Given that the altitude was not far from Base Camp and that they had left the range of the Khumbu Glacier, Bi Fang had the six of them support each other and walk together.
As for why four plus six equaled eleven, the reason was that Bi Fang had also found an old acquaintance, one of the two Sherpa guides who had initially cut the rope to save their lives.
The other, unfortunately, Bi Fang had not found, and their fate remained unknown…
After the Sherpa was dug out and heard that not only had Bi Fang and his companions survived, but could be said to be unscathed, he was thoroughly choked up.
Seeing the campsite not far away, he was so moved that he couldn’t even weep.
If he hadn’t cut the rope at that ti, but had followed Bi Fang, he might not have lost a leg, nor his closest friend.
Being the sole breadwinner in his family, one can imagine the impact of losing a leg on his entire household.
Unfortunately, there are no what-ifs in life.
Seeing this, Bi Fang didn’t know what to say to comfort him. He didn’t bla the man; as a wilderness adventurer, he understood all too well the influence of instinct on a person.
He patted the man on the shoulder and reassured him, “Stay alive, that’s the best outco. There’s still hope for everything. The Mountain God let you survive for a reason; look forward, that’s what matters.”
All the team mbers watching the weeping Sherpa stayed silent, tears falling quietly; they too had lost companions in the avalanche.
[Three lives, it’s the first ti I’ve seen so many people…]
[Natural disaster…]
[If only we had sothing like in the 007 movies, sothing that pops up like an airbag when an avalanche hits…]
[Stay strong, damn it!]
[Honestly, the impact of this avalanche on is even greater than that of the human traffickers we encountered last ti.]
The mont they saw the camp, a man wrapped in bandages on his forehead knelt down in the snow, his body quivering, startling his teammates next to him.
“Thank you, thank you. Alive, we’ve co back alive, thank you.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay, that’s what we do. Co on, get up,” Bi Fang was taken aback for a mont, then quickly went to help him up.
People nearby also ca to their senses, recalling the scene of the night’s avalanche and their own despair when buried, and tears began to fall.
“If we had waited for rescue, we’d definitely be dead by now. You’re even greater than God!”
“God bless you, God bless you.”
“It’s alright now, truly alright.”
The audience watching this scene was also deeply moved.
[That’s what an adventurer is!]
[Sir is right, the Adventurer Fang is aweso!]
[My idol, my idol, hehe]
[So handso I’m drooling]
[Who’s Nantong?]
[With great power cos great responsibility — gifting the host a spaceship*1—That’s all my pocket money for this month!]
At the sa ti, the personnel who stayed behind in the camp and the climbers who had not yet set out also saw Bi Fang and his team approaching from the distance.
“That is…”
A climber squinted, sowhat incredulously.
Last night, an avalanche had occurred, but due to unstable conditions, no one dared to act rashly, let alone climb, especially on the Khumbu Glacier. When the sun rose in the morning, the glacier was very unstable; a vast expanse of white lay above, and apart from the occasional piece of broken trash carried by the wind, there wasn’t a single person in sight.
Now there were people on the mountain?
And not just a few.
Out of concern, the man cupped his hands around his mouth to form a gaphone and took a deep breath before shouting, “Hey, avalanche! Avalanche! Stop climbing! Danger!”
Clearly, the climber mistook Bi Fang and the others for wealthy youngsters attempting to observe the avalanche up close, but in the next mont, a figure dashed past him, followed by a second, a third…
“Here it cos, a big scoop, a big scoop!”
“Quick, it’s GOD·FANG! GOD·FANG!”
The climber was baffled and reached out to grab soone, quickly asking, “Who is this? Do you know them?”
“F**K, don’t pull !” The third man to dash past tried to shake off the climber’s grip with force, but the climber was so strong that the man couldn’t break free even after trying three tis. As his colleagues were already rushing up, he hastily explained, “These are the survivors of the avalanche, they’ve rescued themselves!”
“Survived, rescued themselves?” The climber was flabbergasted. He had heard of avalanches and seen a few, but he had never heard of anyone successfully rescuing themselves from one and then returning alone. If there were any, it was only a very few cases reported in the news. At least he had never seen such a thing, let alone with so many people?
Wait, all these people had survived and rescued themselves?
The climber wanted to ask more, but the man didn’t give him the chance. Seeing that he couldn’t escape, he actually took off his coat and ran out.
“What on earth is happening?” The climber was completely dumbfounded.
It wasn’t just the climber and the onlookers who were confused; Bi Fang too was perplexed. Upon arriving at the entrance of the camp and seeing a few people rushing over, he thought they were relatives of the climbers, but when he saw the microphones in their hands, he felt sothing was amiss.
“Are those journalists? You’ve got to be kidding,” remarked Yao Jun, the little prince of entertainnt news. He was all too familiar with this setup but simply couldn’t fathom, “The rescue team hasn’t arrived yet, how did they get here?”
Jerret seed to have a clearer understanding, “Rescue workers’ lives matter too. The Mountaineering Association has to consider whether the mountain is stable, the causes of the avalanche, whether there could be a secondary disaster, whether rescue can be promptly executed, and then devise a rescue plan. But paparazzi don’t need to worry about that. As long as there’s money to be made, how important can danger be?”
While they were talking, groups of journalists had already surrounded them. Being at Everest Base Camp, there were so reporters around, but the harsh environnt limited their numbers. Bi Fang gently pushed them aside.
A bombardnt of various languages ca their way: Nepali, English, Hindi, and even Chinese.
“Excuse , please make way, please. There are injured people who need to rest as soon as possible.”
“GOD·FANG, GOD·FANG, I’m your idol, what do you think about your self-rescue that netizens are calling textbook-worthy?”
“Right now, I just want to lie down and watch, so please make way.”
“Master Fang, as a rescuer, what are your thoughts?”
“I feel your mother.”
“Excuse , can you speak English?”
“I appreciate your mother.”
“Excuse , my mother has passed away.”
Bi Fang: “…”
After a long pause, just as Bi Fang was at a loss for what to say, another round of shouting and cursing arose from behind the journalists.
“Get out of the way, all of you, we’re from the Mountaineering Association! Don’t delay the rest for the injured!”
Thank heavens.
Bi Fang breathed a sigh of relief. Although he really wanted to drive these persistent nuisances away, he simply didn’t have any energy left to do so.
Reviews
All reviews (0)