Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness - Chapter 387

Chapter 387: Chapter 385: Heaven

Please continue reading on ΒOXΝʘVEL.ϹΟM .

“Can this really be eaten?”

Yao Jun held the plastic basin, looking at the gluey food inside, and felt his stomach churn, entirely without appetite.

Bi Fang scooped up a spoonful to taste. The flavor was bland, and because of the boiling point issue, even after cooking for a long time, the noodles were still somewhat hard. Combined with the mushy vegetables, it was like eating undercooked instant noodles mixed with marshmallows—a truly difficult swallow.

[Why does it look like pig slop? (dog’s head)]

[Ah, can’t we eat something better?]

[Eat grilled Tibetan Snowcock!]

[Say chicken not bar, let’s all be civilized]

Rob also sat down with his bowl of food after a day of hard work, without such particular tastes. He slurped down a good half of it in no time, and afterward said, “Every two days, the Sherpa people bring up fresh bread and vegetables. It’s all provided by our company, guaranteed healthy and nutritious, and what’s more, it’s free. There are also people selling food, but believe me, it’s not much better, and it’s more expensive.”

The supplies here were all transported over long distances, so whether it’s a pancake or an egg, prices are incredibly steep, even ten times higher isn’t surprising. And even so, they’re still scarce. Feeling a sense of bliss over a bowl of plain porridge is not uncommon.

Yao Jun sighed, knowing he couldn’t ask for much and lifted his bowl to drink it all in one go. After finishing, he smacked his lips and looked at the Sherpa people next to him, “Did you put salt in this? It tastes so bland to me?”

The Sherpa was puzzled, dipped his pinkie in the dish to taste, and then nodded confidently.

“That’s odd, I can’t taste any saltiness at all,” Yao Jun said, scratching his head.

“That’s because high altitudes dull your taste buds,” said Bi Fang as he drank a bowl of the gluey food, which also tasted bland, as if it had no oil, which was quite disappointing. However, to replenish energy, he had to eat it all, “At low pressure, the blood supply changes, and the sensitivity of the brain’s nerves alters too. Once the brain’s nerves that perceive taste change, the sensation of flavor will be different from what it is in normal conditions. It’s about thirty percent blander. Sherpa people live here all the time, and are accustomed to it. Since we’ve just arrived, naturally, we’re not used to it.”

(vitag.Init = window.vitag.Init || []).push(function(){viAPItag.display(“vi_765923973”)})

“In addition to that, there’s also the reason of smell, but in our perception of flavor, smell accounts for up to 80%. Smell cells only work well in a moist environment. Now we’re around the stove, it’s warm, but dryness is inevitable. Combine the two, and naturally, the flavor gets even blander,” he continued.

It is generally accepted in the scientific community that there are only sour, sweet, bitter, salty, savory, and the sixth taste, ‘fatty’, which Purdue University of Ugly Country scientists confirmed 15 years ago. These taste molecules are captured by the tongue, which then relays the information to the brain, “telling” the tongue what flavor the ingested item has. Smell also plays a crucial role in capturing flavors, but now both the brain and nose have dulled quite a bit, so naturally, you can’t really expect a strong taste. It’s also why airline meals generally taste poor.

“So things get worse the higher we go?” Yao Jun was shocked.

Bi Fang shrugged, “Did you really think you came here on vacation? Having food at all is already good. Higher up, you can’t even get supplies.”

Yao Jun felt a bit suffocated — his mouth was so bland, it could bore a bird. Disappointed, he waved his hand, “Ah, I’m feeling a bit hypoxic again, I’ll rest. According to Rob, we have training tomorrow.”

Everyone exchanged smiles, sped up their meal, and then spread out their sleeping bags next to the stove and crawled in.

Bi Fang was the last one, bidding goodnight to the audience. Just as he was about to sleep, he saw many viewers calling for him, prompting him to lift himself up once again after lying down halfway.

[Old Fang, does this stove never go out?]

[Yeah, is there no crack in your tent? Won’t you get poisoned?]

[How could Old Fang also stumble?]

“Oh, this one.” Bi Fang pulled out a fire poker nonchalantly, opened the stove to poke around, and to everyone’s surprise, instead of extinguishing the fire, he added a hefty amount of fuel. Afterward, he smiled and said, “How could I possibly forget about something like this? But what we’re burning here isn’t coal—it’s biomass pellets. These are made from compressed wood, straw, and other biomass materials. When they burn, they produce no tar and have low particulate emissions. Any excess is vented outside through a flue pipe. It’s smokeless and odorless, clean and sanitary, even more environmentally friendly than coal. It burns completely, without producing carbon monoxide, so there’s no need to worry.”

[emmm, clinging to my little earthen stove, I’ve gained more knowledge again]

[There’s such a variety, I’m so envious of the wealthy bosses. Watching Master Fang spend hundreds of thousands like it’s nothing, I’m so jealous my teeth could shatter]

[What’s there to be envious about? You know he’s spending your money, right? If he climbs, it’s just like you climb, isn’t it? You’ll be a man who has summited Mount Everest without oxygen too]

[I’m a cheapskate at heart!]

[Speaking of Sir, he can really persevere. Being able to get to base camp at ninety… Last time I went to xz, I almost died. Indeed, uselessness knows no age; I’m the only exception]

Bi Fang was amused by the lively audience and chatted idly for a while before finally ending the live stream.

Before going to sleep, he also checked the number of viewers in the live stream and discovered that at today’s peak, it had actually reached 2.45 million, a cause for celebration.

His own Everest challenge hadn’t even officially started yet—just chatting and enjoying the view had attracted as many viewers as his normal peak streaming times.

It seemed that Sir’s arrival did indeed have a significant impact. The host from the world of animals had come to Master Fang’s live stream, leading to word spreading from one to ten, ten to a hundred, and even attracting many people who normally didn’t watch live streams, just to see with their own eyes what kind of live stream could draw in Sir’s participation.

Bi Fang closed his eyes contently; this live stream had ended, and his Wilderness Points would see a significant increase, at least 300, enough for some high-level equipment.

Plan successful.

The next day.

“I can’t do this anymore, you guys go ahead. If I climb any more, I’ll be done for.” Wang Yongbo took a deep breath of oxygen, his eyes ringed with dark circles, and said.

Wang Yongbo had hardly slept last night, frequently needing to take a breath of oxygen, and even when he did sleep, it felt as if something was pressing on his chest in his dreams, utterly unbearable. If he continued climbing, he might really die on Mount Everest.

Managing the long journey to a camp almost six thousand meters above sea level had already been extremely difficult for him. Looking higher up, although only three thousand meters remained in elevation, how much more was left in terms of distance?

Climb a Beichuan Jiuhuang Mountain on foot? That was just over two thousand meters, but imagine how difficult the remaining distance must be—it wasn’t something he could achieve. If he actually went up, others would have to divert their attention to take care of him, which wasn’t good.

As for the remaining distance, Bi Fang planned to advance little by little, ultimately waiting at an altitude of 7,900 meters for the weather forecast. Once the conditions were right, they would summit before two in the afternoon and then return.

Bi Fang scratched his eyebrows, considering Wang Yongbo’s total abandonment to be within expectations, “So, do you want to head back first? Rob will climb up with us. At this time, no other guide teams will be descending, so if you want to go down, you can only go with the Sherpas who came to deliver vegetables.”

Wang Yongbo waved his hand, “No problem, I’ll just wait here for you guys. Over 5.000 meters, I feel okay, just let the porters bring me some extra oxygen tanks.”

With that, Wang Yongbo opened the oxygen generator nearby and skillfully inserted the oxygen tube into his nostrils as if he were a severe UCI patient, which made Bi Fang chuckle.

Shaking their heads, the group left him alone and continued their training with Rob. Today, they were going to reach a mountain pass first, then go through a series of exercises before returning to the camp for rest in the evening. The next day, they would continue advancing, aiming to reach the second base camp.

Time was tight, but there was nothing to be helped about it. Bi Fang and the others had arrived late, and the main training site had to be shifted to Camp Three.

No sooner had they left the camp that Yao Jun faced a problem—he grabbed Bi Fang with a constipated expression.

Bi Fang was puzzled, “What’s wrong?”

Yao Jun’s face turned beet red; he looked around and, after a long while, finally asked, “Is there a toilet here?”

Bi Fang pointed speechlessly to a nearby pile of rocks.

Yao Jun was extremely embarrassed—he looked at the seemingly endless field of rocks and almost died of social embarrassment on the spot. Dude, you’re still live broadcast; are you really going to let me poop here?

But when the team had to stop due to Yao Jun’s toilet problem, he reluctantly took the toilet paper and found a large rock among the rocks.

It was truly a unique outdoor defecating experience. Yao Jun had defecated outdoors before but unlike his past experiences in China, which usually involved finding a bush or some cover, the terrain here lacked any. He could only find a large rock to hide behind. Even though it could protect him from the teammates’ view, the space behind him was vast, with a clear view spanning 2 to 5 kilometers.

This meant that anyone in the 2 to 5 kilometers behind could see him—could there be anything more thrilling?

For the first time, he experienced the joy of unburdening his youth under such a vast sky—what more could he ask for?

When the team was once again fully assembled and heading towards the mountain pass, they encountered Tibetan Snowcocks again. Unfortunately, they didn’t stay, simply took a couple of photos, and moved on.

After a comfortable gentle slope, the team entered an area of rock debris. These scattered rocks were the remnants of glacial movement.

“Get ready to start ascending; check your ice claws, don’t be careless, this area is above the snowline, and it’s very dangerous.” After walking two hundred meters, Rob said, gasping for breath.

The group stopped to check their gear, and Bi Fang also tapped the ice claws on his feet, showing them to his audience. Many viewers with no mountaineering experience noticed for the first time that Bi Fang’s climbing boots now sported a pair of claw-like attachments.

“I’m using professional full-step-in crampons which require the boots to have special slots. The advantage of full-step-in crampons is that they’re very stable after being fixed in place and not easy to loosen, and they’re relatively easy to put on and take off. However, the downside is that if the boots are made with crampon slots, the soles need to be specially reinforced, making them very stiff and heavy. It also makes the boots expensive to manufacture, so they won’t be cheap overall. I didn’t attach them yesterday, but today we’re above the snowline, so they’re a must.”

Rob pointed at the walking tracks not far ahead and said, “Because there are many dangerous ice fissures nearby, we can only follow in the footsteps of those who came before.”

The group advanced along the tracks, and before long they arrived at a super huge boulder. Then, they began to climb at an angle of nearly 60 degrees. The sky, without warning, started to pelt hailstones, and all they could hear was the overstrained sound of their own panting.

The environment was truly harsh, with thin and dry air, temperatures around minus five or six degrees, and intense ultraviolet radiation, compounded by their fatigued and chilled bodies. They really could only continue on by sheer willpower.

As the snow on the ground grew thicker and more abundant, just when everyone felt they could no longer persist, a vast expanse of white snow appeared before their eyes.

Rob looked up and made the sign of the cross over his chest, excitedly exclaiming, “We’re here, the pass!”

Upon reaching the pass, their view suddenly widened spectacularly, allowing them to see the entire chain of undulating mountains through this natural window.

Bi Fang finally saw the distant snow-capped mountains and the endless stretch of sandy land beneath them.

He pulled out the altimeter.

5814M

No county-level city was higher than this pass. Even the highest, XZ Shuanghu County, was only 5000 meters. Now, they were much higher than most humans, and at this altitude, there were no permanent residents on Earth. The oxygen content in the air was roughly only 50% of that at the capital, but the advantage was.

There was not a hint of smog.

The air was cold, yet incredibly fresh; it felt like what they were inhaling into their lungs wasn’t air but clear water.

Standing there, Bi Fang could clearly see a huge depression on the earth’s surface, the bed of a large lake—Duoqingcuo, with the snow-covered Zhumu Lagiri, towering over 7000 meters, behind it.

On the dried-up lakebed, fierce winds blew, carrying rain and gravel across the ground. The group looked towards the snow mountain and saw clouds billowing behind it like a tide surging towards the low-lying pass between the peaks—a moisture from the distant Indian Ocean, attempting to surmount the world’s highest mountain range. Although they managed to cross the high peaks, they gradually dissipated not far from the pass.

The group reached out their hands as if they could feel the moist air.

Sir Edinburgh squinted against the ultraviolet rays, yet still managed with childlike innocence and joy to discern and say, “Beyond the snow mountain is Bhutan, and past the mountain is the mysterious Yadong Valley. I have been there before; it’s breathtaking. One side of the mountain hosts a dry sandy land where only the most drought-resistant plants can survive in such extreme conditions; and on the other side of the pass, are the moist foothills perpetually shrouded in clouds and mist.

Most regions of XZ lie on the northern side of the Himalayas, with climates primarily characterized by cold deserts or dry warm valley weather, resulting in unique but not diverse species. However, the Himalayas have been deeply cut by rivers into several valleys, where moisture spreads and rises along the valley, creating climates very different from the surroundings, allowing many subtropical and even tropical plants to grow at higher altitudes along the warm and humid trails of the water vapor.

The huge elevation difference from the peaks to the valleys, with its resulting changes in temperature and humidity, has led to extremely varied plant communities and a richness of species. Moreover, the high mountains between the valleys act as natural barriers, causing a dramatic differentiation of plant species in this area and the emergence of many endemic species. For these reasons, the valleys of the Himalayas have become the region with the richest biodiversity in all of XZ, and it is also the plant haven in Huaxia that attracts me the most.

I was truly excited when I went there; it was simply paradise!”

At that moment, Sir was so animated that he danced around; he had been to both sides of the mountain but had never come to the mountaintop to look down at the two sides. Such a magnificent view even caused him to inadvertently drop his walking stick, which slid straight down the icy slope into the valley between the mountains.