Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness

Chapter 410: Chapter 408 Impossible!

At base camp, the arguments among the group continued, gradually reaching a fever pitch.

From time to time, individuals descended the mountain to join the dispute, while association members ascended to maintain basic order. For a moment, the entire base camp seemed to be engulfed in chaos. If not for the high-altitude hypoxia, which caused heavy breathing from the slightest exertion, Bi Fang suspected that a fight would have already broken out.

“For these people, tens of thousands of Ugly Knives is just pocket change, isn’t it?”

“The richer they are, the stingier they get.”

“I looked it up, and Mount Everest has been closed several times in recent years, not just this once. Does the association do this every year?”

Bi Fang shook his head, “The reasons for the closure vary. Apart from the accidents in 2014 and this year, the other closures were due to environmental concerns or weather conditions, such as severe snowfalls. The former would be announced before the start of the climbing season, and the latter is due to the high risk, so it’s an unavoidable measure, with only mourning as a reason, and is the most unacceptable.”

So that was the case.

“Ah, it’s been ten days, I’ve watched the livestream for ten days, and just when it got to the most exciting part, it abruptly ended.” Lying on the couch inside the camper, Étienne let out a long sigh, but accidentally jerked his hand and smacked his phone against his face, knocking his teeth against his lips, causing him so much pain that he grimaced.

Elvan and Lenin, who were checking the moving red markers on the computer, took the opportunity to give unsolicited advice, “Indeed, it’s a shame. But what can be done? Life can’t always be smooth sailing. All we can do is accept it.”

“OKOK, stop with your preaching,” Étienne said, unimpressed.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Outside the Arctic Circle.

Peter and Tony closed their laptops in disappointment and went off together to find Peter’s aunt, planning to make some apple pie to appease their discontent.

Matthew clicked his ballpoint pen, his intended report now reluctantly put aside.

Unbeknownst to those on Mount Everest, the interest in Bi Fang’s livestream quickly declined.

“How long is this going to go on?” Bi Fang scratched his eyebrow, unsure of what to do. The abrupt end of the livestream left him, who had never encountered such a situation before, at a loss.

Maybe wait for Edinburgh to come down and visit the documentary filming site together?

Just as he was contemplating this, a shout snapped him back to reality. Turning around, he saw it was Thais.

“Thais? What’s the situation now?”

Thais, gasping for breath, felt nearly suffocated by the atmosphere in the crowd, “It’s bad, very bad. The cancellation of the climbing season is set in stone. It can’t be changed, their quarreling is useless. Moreover, the Sherpa people have stated that if it doesn’t stop, they will do as they did ten years ago and halt all activities. We can only wait for our president to arrive now.”

“When will he be arriving?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Then Edinburgh and the others should be descending about now. I should be leaving tomorrow as well.”

“We are still very grateful for Mr. Bi’s help; without you, this rescue would not have gone so smoothly. If possible, please don’t rush away, our association would like to express our gratitude.”

“It’s not necessary,” Bi Fang waved his hand dismissively, “If I want to save someone, I just do it. I don’t have any other motive. You can go back now.”

With that, without waiting for Thais to respond, Bi Fang returned to his tent and ended the livestream after a bit of idle chat.

The next morning, early hours.

More people came down from the mountain, including Edinburgh and Rob, who had returned to base camp via a newly carved route.

Gasping for air, Edinburgh entered the tent, scanned the room, but did not find the person he was looking for. Anxiously, he turned to Bi Fang to ask, “Where’s Danzeng?”

“Danzeng?” Bi Fang was taken aback, then turned to Wang Yongbo and others, “Have any of you seen him?”

Wang Yongbo shook his head, then looked toward Yao Jun. Yao Jun also shook his head, then turned to Jerret. Everyone shook their heads.

No one had seen Danzeng.

“Wasn’t he with you?” Bi Fang asked, growing concerned for the young man who had been willing to help others during the avalanche.

“No! He descended the mountain by himself yesterday!”

“By himself!?”

Everyone was shocked. Descending the mountain alone was far too dangerous.

After the avalanche, the route was completely reset. Even with Bi Fang’s experience, descending was a terrifying ordeal. Yet a young man who had just turned twenty chose to go down alone, and what’s more critical, he is now missing!

“Rob, do you have his phone number?”

Rob nodded but then shook his head: “I called, but it didn’t go through.”

These Sherpa guides were all arranged by the company; Rob had contact information but he had tried early in the morning and couldn’t reach him.

“Damn it, where could this kid have gone?”

Realizing the urgency of the situation, Mr. Bi quickly rushed out of the camp and joined everyone in the search, but half an hour later, when they reconvened, no one had found him.

The Mount Everest base camp is only so large; where could this guy have gone?

He couldn’t have really encountered danger, could he?

Bi Fang swallowed hard as he looked up at the towering mountain. Just as he hesitated whether to climb the mountain to search, commotion broke out within the camp.

The President of the Nepal Mountaineering Association had arrived!

Sherpa stepped down from the helicopter, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses and took a few deep breaths before gesturing to quiet the noisy crowd.

“I am terribly sorry, everyone. May I have a word?”

Seeing that the president of the association had come, everyone at the base camp gradually lowered their voices, curious to hear what he had to say.

Noticing the improved atmosphere, Sherpa resumed speaking: “I am deeply sorry for what has happened and feel a great sense of guilt for the compatriots we’ve lost in this disaster.”

After finishing, without waiting for a response, Sherpa bowed his head to observe a moment of silence.

In such a situation, it was hard for the onlookers to blame or insult him, and the voices grew quieter.

Just then, a shout of anger came from the crowd.

“We never wanted an avalanche to happen, and we too are heartbroken! But you can’t block our dream to climb because of the sacrifices! Sacrifices are inevitable, the dead shouldn’t stop the living’s journey! Either continue the climbing season or give us back our money!”

“Yes! Exactly!”

“Refund us!”

“Return our tickets!”

Seeing the situation he had just stabilized flare up again, irritation flashed in Sherpa’s eyes, and he shouted: “Impossible, the climbing season cannot possibly start! Why do you think you can move forward? Why? Is it because of yourselves? No, most certainly not. Look around you, look!”

Sherpa pointed to the surroundings, to the graveyard below the mountain and the colorful litter scattered everywhere.

“It’s been said that Mount Everest today is littered on the left with trash and on the right with corpses. Is that a lie? No! In 2018, a Sherpa cleaning team cleared 28,000 pounds of human excrement. In 2019, 14 Sherpas cleaned up 10,386 kilograms of trash from Everest on their own.

As for human bodies, it goes without saying. After the 2021 spring climbing season, the official death toll was 309 people, most of whom were whom? And why? Don’t you know? Ah!?”

“It’s you, it’s because of you!”

“Ever since this disaster, more than six Sherpas have lost their lives, including those who are missing and unaccounted for! They could have been at home with their wives, with their children. Why should they accompany you to trample on the sacred mountain in your minds? Why?”

“Given this, shouldn’t the climbing season be canceled?”