The Goddess Seen by Mortals (Part 2)

At 4:00 AM on April 8th, when Zhang Helai's team officially departed from the Fifth Camp, only 12 people remained in the entire team.

They set off as three teams together, originally supposed to be 20 people, but eight of them experienced severe physical discomfort while resting at the Fourth Camp. It wasn't symptoms like vomiting blood or other serious issues, but rather a lazy lying on the ground as if drunk, with blurred consciousness. Even if they managed to get up, they couldn't distinguish between shoes and thermoses – yes, one guy picked up a boot and put it in his mouth, wondering why there was no water.

Their condition meant they could only stay at the Fourth Camp, waiting for the Kamiya People to escort them down the mountain.

Because they were on Haijiaer Peak at an altitude of over 8000 meters, the oxygen here was only one-third of that at sea level. Even if they wore oxygen masks while sleeping at night, they couldn't suppress the discomfort their bodies produced.

Compared to them, Zhang Helai was fortunate; he could still maintain a clear mind and continue. But he was also unfortunate; his physical strength had reached its limit, and he had to consume more oxygen to maintain his skills.

Even though they had rested for six hours in the Fifth Camp, which was as large as a football field, Zhang Helai felt incredibly heavy when he woke up.

When they set off together, the teammates beside him could see that Zhang Helai's Oxygen Tank consumption was higher than theirs – this was a very dangerous number. Someone patted Zhang Helai's shoulder and pointed to the Oxygen Tank. Zhang Helai shook his head, so no one continued to persuade him.

They had to cherish the strength to speak and fulfill their duty as human beings: to persuade others to cherish their lives.

Anyone who dared to conquer Haijiaer Peak had to be responsible for themselves. Even though the process of climbing Haijiaer Peak had been made very safe, they could see many bodies buried in the snow and ice waterfalls along the way – except for some bodies that were too strangely located to collect, the rest were climbers who had died on the journey in the past year or two for various reasons.

Haijiaer Peak was undoubtedly a natural ice coffin. The rate of decomposition here was extremely slow, and because climbers were usually fully equipped with cold-weather gear, later climbers would not see decaying flesh and bones when they saw bodies, only body markers standing like road signs on the white snow and glaciers.

This was the truth of the climbing route above 9000 meters on Haijiaer Peak: every path was stepped out step by step with the lives of countless climbers. Some couldn't even be considered paths; they had to rely on experienced climbers to fix ropes on near-90° cliffs and slowly climb over. Sometimes, when they encountered collapsed mountain paths, they had to let experienced climbers fix ropes and lay down boards before the people behind could slowly climb over the broken cliff above 9000 meters. One mistake, and even the body wouldn't be found.

At first, they would have some complex emotions like fear towards these body markers, but eventually, they completely let go and nodded slightly as they passed by as a greeting – after all, they might also become a part of them, so this was like saying hello to their neighbors in advance.

Either conquer nature, become nature, or give up. If you dare to come here, no one is obligated to be responsible for your life.

All climbers had their own desires, whether it was to gain an experience to show off, for fame and fortune, or because of a dream. But in the world's highest place above 9000 meters, they were left with only one thought: conquer it, and then survive!

Around 8:50 AM on April 9th, they had followed the mountain path to the 9810-meter marker. It would take at most two hours to climb to the summit of Haijiaer Peak. After taking photos as a souvenir, they could successfully descend and return to the Fifth Camp before 1:00 PM.

The latest time to descend Haijiaer Peak was 13:00. Any later, and the unpredictable weather could prevent climbers from returning to the camp before dark, or even trap them halfway. The 9810-meter marker that Zhang Helai and the others saw had a body marker buried in the snow next to it – no one knew if he had frozen to death because he was trapped here by the weather.

At this time, Zhang Helai developed severe nausea, paleness, cold sweats, and other symptoms, slowly falling behind the team. His Oxygen Tank was also running low – he was showing severe symptoms of oxygen deprivation.

Even if he could hold on to reach the summit, he wouldn't be able to descend due to lack of oxygen. He had overestimated his physical strength; he had consumed oxygen too quickly during the climb, and now he was finally at the end of his rope.

He couldn't turn back now, so he braced himself, taking heavy steps, his mind filled with the thought that even if he died, he had to die at an altitude of ten thousand meters – he had already arranged for his family's future security before choosing to come to Haijiaer Peak.

No one would help him here. At most, after descending, they could tell the Kamiya People the location of Zhang Helai's body, so the Kamiya People could bring his body back and notify his family to claim the body for burial.

Oxygen deprivation made Zhang Helai's body increasingly heavy. The equipment on him felt like chains extending from the mountain, trying to keep him forever in this natural burial ground.

At that time, he didn't have many thoughts left – ordinary people at least had a 'flashback' before death, but those suffering from oxygen deprivation would slowly lose consciousness before death due to insufficient oxygen supply to the brain, and even the luxury of 'memories' wouldn't exist.

Just as he was about to lose consciousness and close his eyes, Zhang Helai heard a strange sound coming from below amidst the cold wind.

It was the sound of sand and gravel produced by rock layers colliding.

Did something fall? Or did the wind blow open the ice waterfall?

Zhang Helai struggled to open his eyes. In his blurry vision, he saw a figure appear below.

Below... a figure...?

Zhang Helai was walking on a mountain path; below him was a slope of nearly 80°!

In a daze, Zhang Helai thought he was experiencing auditory and visual hallucinations due to oxygen deprivation. However, the figure quickly approached him and ripped off his oxygen mask!

The air, like a wind knife and cold sword, instantly covered his face. Without the Oxygen Tank, he almost closed his eyes and fainted directly. However, the next second, another oxygen mask was placed on his face. Zhang Helai subconsciously took a deep breath. The abundant oxygen instantly relieved his oxygen deprivation symptoms, pulling him back from the brink of losing consciousness.

"Who saved me?" Zhang Helai's first thought upon regaining consciousness was, "How could someone give me their oxygen tank?"

Everyone could at most carry one oxygen tank; otherwise, the weight would be too high to move. The oxygen Zhang Helai was breathing now was naturally someone else's. He opened his eyes and turned his head, only to see an unfamiliar face.

The swirling snow covered her golden hair with frost, and her exposed fair skin was frozen red. Her thin clothing seemed like useless armor against the biting wind and cold, serving only to cover her body. Although her delicate face was gaunt and thin, the divine light in her eyes shone into the depths of Zhang Helai's heart like sunlight.

She held an oxygen mask in her right hand, pressing it against Zhang Helai's face, and carried an oxygen tank in her left hand. A rope was wrapped around her waist, and there was nothing else.

A... golden-haired girl.

A... climber without an oxygen tank.

A... climber who didn't take the mountain path but climbed directly.

A... climber who wasn't wearing cold-weather clothing, with bare hands, feet, and face, climbing a high mountain at an altitude of 9000 meters!

No cold-weather clothing, no oxygen tank, what did that mean?

Based on the concept that the temperature drops by 6 degrees for every 1000 meters of altitude, the plains of Tedamia were currently in spring, around 20°. Therefore, at an altitude of 9000 meters or more, it would be at least -34°. In fact, when they set off from the Fifth Camp at 9600 meters, the measured temperature was -40°.

What did -40° mean? If you spat, the spit would freeze before it hit the ground. A normal person without cold-weather gear in -40° would die within an hour due to heat loss, their body temperature dropping below 25°, their thermoregulatory center failing, their breathing and heartbeat suppressed, their blood pressure dropping almost in a straight line, all reflexes disappearing, unresponsive to external stimuli, ultimately leading to paralysis of the vasomotor and respiratory centers and death.

Simply put, this golden-haired girl should have already turned into an ice sculpture, her hands and feet as fragile and stiff as popsicles, completely unable to move!

Moreover, she didn't even have an oxygen tank?!

Although among extreme climbing enthusiasts, some believe that human potential is infinite, as many climbers can gradually adapt to the high-altitude climate after training at an altitude of 6000 meters. The partial pressure of oxygen in the alveoli and arterial blood of people in plain areas is 10 mmHg, while for the Kamiya People in high-altitude areas, it is 1 mmHg. They require less oxygen on high mountains and can climb higher.

Therefore, some believe that as long as someone adapts for a long time in high-altitude areas, they can reach the summit of Haijiaer Peak, which is over 10,000 meters high with less than one-third oxygen content, without carrying an oxygen tank!

However, this is ultimately an illusion. Let alone 10,000 meters, even at the Third Camp at 8400 meters, no one can currently climb without an oxygen tank, not even the Kamiya People who have lived in high-altitude areas for generations!

And then, this golden-haired girl didn't take the usual path, climbing a cliff with a slope of nearly 70° to 90° with her bare hands...

Countless complex thoughts collided incessantly, finally settling into a single sentence from Zhang Helai's mouth: "Thank you."

He didn't think his charm was so high that this golden-haired girl would sacrifice herself to save him, so the reason was natural – the golden-haired girl saw he was about to die and simply helped him.

The golden-haired girl smiled, helped him remove the oxygen tank from his back, and attached the oxygen tank she was holding.

Zhang Helai didn't stop her, nor did he have the standing to stop her – worried that the golden-haired girl giving him the oxygen tank would cause her to die from lack of oxygen?

Nonsense, Zhang Helai could see with his own eyes that the golden-haired girl was in a better state than him!

"At that time, you should have also known that the person in front of you..." the Black Vest asked, "should not be an ordinary person."

"It's not an exaggeration to describe her as Superman," Zhang Helai said with a smile. "She is simply... the Goddess of Haijiaer Mountain, an existence that mortals can only look up to."