Chapter 2

Following the third fan fiction, "One Piece: A Long Journey," "Sword Art Online: Survive," and "Naruto: The Menace," this is the fourth fan fiction, based on "Hunter x Hunter." The new book needs recommendations, collections, and clicks. Thank you everyone!

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"I'm here!"

On the peak of Qiongmu Zitaige Mountain, which is part of the middle section of the Kunlun Mountains, white clouds swirl around, blending with the snow on the summit.

A voice, full of energy and excitement, echoed through the mist and snow, spreading far and wide. If there were other mountain climbers nearby, they might have felt a sense of shared accomplishment.

"I'm here..." These words, like a declaration of having reached a destination, carry profound meaning. For every mountain climber, this is both an end and a new beginning.

Looking down at the snow-covered mountains, the man who made this bold declaration is a young man with a short haircut. He is well-built but not overly muscular, with eyebrows like swords, exuding a heroic aura. Even with his eyes slightly squinted, a vibrant energy leaks through the gaps, reflecting his eagerness for the future.

Perhaps his sword-like eyebrows are too striking, and extremes often lead to their opposite. The right eyebrow is interrupted by three scars from claw marks, and his lips are relatively thin, which somewhat diminishes the overwhelming heroic appearance. His skin is a light wheat color, adding a rugged masculinity.

Overall, he is handsome, but the somewhat fierce scar on his right eyebrow slightly mars the overall impression.

This man is named Luo Lie, a gourmet who cannot be described by conventional standards. More than a gourmet, he is an adventurer who values the spirit of exploration.

Standing at the highest point of Qiongmu Zitaige Mountain, he spread his arms like a great bird, facing the strong wind and sub-zero temperatures, his eyes slightly squinted, enjoying the harsh environment that resists human survival.

Considering the altitude, Luo Lie's clothing is frighteningly thin, just a light black sportswear suit. His gear is equally minimal, just a simple backpack, not even a professional mountaineering pack.

This scene would be considered extremely bizarre by any mountain climber.

In the middle section of the Kunlun Mountains, there are eight peaks over 6,000 meters high, one of which is Qiongmu Zitaige Mountain, an ice mountain reaching 6,920 meters. At such a high altitude, the air is thin, and the temperature is estimated to be around -38 degrees Celsius.

What does this mean? A spit of saliva would freeze before it hits the ground. Yet, Luo Lie, wearing only a thin sportswear suit, shows no signs of suffering from the extreme cold and doesn't need an oxygen tank.

"Phew..."

Luo Lie exhaled a puff of warm air, which instantly turned to frost. He shaded his eyes and looked far into the distance at another group of peaks, seemingly his true destination, with this peak just a temporary vantage point.

"The 'Unfrozen Lake' that Uncle Atamu spoke of is at the highest peak. Although it's just a legend, the world is vast and full of wonders!"

Luo Lie bent slightly, picked up the backpack at his feet, slung it over his shoulder, and leaped down the steep snow slope, turning into a black shadow sliding down the snow-covered incline.

This scene was truly shocking, but fortunately, no one saw it, or they would have been amazed.

A year ago, Luo Lie would have scoffed at the various legends woven with words. As an adventurer, he only accepted what he saw with his own eyes. But a year later, he believed that all the ancient legends passed down to today were not entirely baseless, such as the 'Unfrozen Lake' known only to the older generation of the Uighur people.

The turning point came a year ago, when he nearly died, but also when he was reborn.

The Kunlun Mountains have countless high peaks. A year ago, Luo Lie came to the Kunlun Mountains for the first time, with the mindset that "if you don't seek death, you won't die." His first climb ended in failure, which was inevitable because he was not fully prepared and had no team support. Even with his good physical condition, the failure was obvious.

However, Luo Lie was a lucky man. When he was exhausted and disoriented, he rolled down the slope and fell into a canyon, but he landed on a cliff jutting out from the mountain, where a small green tree cushioned his fall. He didn't die immediately but broke four ribs, his arm, and his thigh.

Although he didn't die directly, he was in a place where no one could hear his cries for help, and with his severe injuries, he was as good as dead.

What he called luck was that, like a novel protagonist, he survived a great disaster and had a miraculous encounter. The small tree that cushioned his fall bore a crystal-clear white fruit, about the size of a baby's fist.

At that moment, determined not to die of hunger, Luo Lie used all his strength to pick the fruit, not caring if it was poisonous, and swallowed it. And he survived.

He never told anyone about this, as it was the root cause of his body's transformation.

Descending the mountain in a superhuman way, Luo Lie reached out and touched the jade hanging from his chest through his clothes, treating it as a talisman. After taking risks, he would always touch it a few times.

The jade was dug out from the stone wall where the small tree's roots were. It was round like a pebble, about the size of a quail's egg, white as snow, and clear and bright, with no patterns.

Luo Lie did not believe this jade was an ordinary object. He even thought it was the "culprit" that made the strange fruit grow.

After eating the fruit, not only did his injuries heal instantly, but a day later, he could clearly feel the life energy circulating in his body, a perception ability granted by the fruit.

The "vitality" from his body was very weak, but perhaps guided by a life instinct, without any instruction, Luo Lie learned how to make the life energy in his body stronger, making the vitality more vigorous.

Luo Lie called this method "Qi cultivation."

He believed that "Qi" was the breath of life energy, which everyone had, from fierce beasts to ordinary humans to tiny ants.

The greater one's ability, the greater one's ambition.

Keeping the secret of his encounter in his heart, Luo Lie's dream has now become a goal. He wants to step into the "forbidden zones of humanity," go to places no one has been, see things no one has seen, and gather unknown ingredients.

A week later, he reached a peak at 7,500 meters. Surrounded by mountains, a lake as smooth as a mirror appeared before him, roughly 20,000 square meters, about the size of 50 basketball courts.

"It must be here, the Unfrozen Lake."

Looking at the calm lake reflecting the sky and clouds, Luo Lie smiled excitedly, leaped down the snow-covered slope, and soon reached the lake's edge.

At such a high altitude, lakes are usually life-giving springs, with clear water and flocks of birds and wildlife nearby. But at 7,000 meters, there were no signs of life around the lake.

The Unfrozen Lake, as described in Uighur legends, is here. From the terrain, it seems to be in a volcanic crater, hidden by the surrounding mountains. It would be hard to discover without climbing a higher peak.

Luo Lie didn't know the exact location of the Unfrozen Lake. He followed a direction, climbed one mountain after another, and found this lifeless lake in a volcanic crater-like terrain.

"At such a low temperature, it should be frozen, but..."

Luo Lie dropped his backpack, squatted down, and dipped his hand into the water. It was icy cold, and he couldn't even feel a small ice chip. He smiled, his eyes gleaming.

"Is it a dead lake or a living lake? Let me see."

Excitement surged in his chest. He took off his sportswear, revealing a dark wetsuit, clearly prepared for this.

He casually threw his clothes aside, bent down, and pulled out a headlamp from his backpack, turned it on, and a beam of strong light shot out.

He tied the headlamp to his forehead, took out an underwater camera and hung it around his neck, and put on a diving mask. Without any fear of potential threats and without an oxygen tank, he jumped into the lake.

The water was icy cold, like layers of ice wrapping around his body, but within his tolerance.

The water was clear, and the light could reach far, but there were no plants, debris, or signs of life.

Logically, with such clear water, sunlight should make the bottom visible, but Luo Lie found the bottom dark and silent.

Perhaps it was the dark, silent lake bottom or the icy water, even with his extraordinary abilities, Luo Lie felt a chill spread from his heart.

"Feeling no life energy, there should be no life."

Without any tools, he dived 200 meters deep. The light from his headlamp finally illuminated the bottom.

"Hmm?"

Bubbles gushed from Luo Lie's mouth and nose.

"Is that... a ruin?"

Seeing the illuminated area, Luo Lie's eyes behind the diving mask widened in shock.

How could there be ruins in such a place?

If it were a desert or deep in the mountains, it wouldn't be surprising, but this is a lake bottom at 7,500 meters.

Suppressing his shock, Luo Lie continued to dive, finally reaching the ruins. Without hesitation, he took several photos with his camera.

"This is an amazing discovery."

Luo Lie thought excitedly. Before he could fully explore the ruins, he was drawn to unknown symbols on a stone pillar. He approached and used the headlamp to see the symbols clearly.

"They look like pictograms." Luo Lie reached out and gently touched the symbols, puzzled.

Suddenly, Luo Lie's body trembled. An indescribably powerful life energy appeared behind him!

Luo Lie's heart raced, and he immediately turned around. Before he could see anything, he found himself in endless darkness.

His consciousness didn't pause or sleep. The sensation from his body was indescribable, like suddenly touching the ground in zero gravity. The feeling was strange and terrifying.

A moment ago, he was under heavy water pressure, and the next moment, he was covered by various hard, foul-smelling objects.

The same darkness, but a different world.

He didn't know what happened, held his breath, and struggled to push away the hard objects, climbing upward.

Whatever happened, he was sure he was not in the lake bottom but in an unknown place.

After climbing for a while, he pushed open something like an old TV, and light flooded his eyes, making him squint. After a moment, he adapted to the light and climbed out.

At that moment, he finally realized where he was—mountains of garbage, and the thing he pushed open was indeed an old, broken TV.

"Where... am I?"

Luo Lie looked at the piles of garbage emitting smoke and toxic fumes, and the barren land beyond, feeling lost.

Suddenly, he sensed someone looking up at him. He looked down and saw three people in white protective suits looking up at him on the garbage mountain. Their expressions were hidden behind gas masks.

"Human, protective suits, garbage piles?" Seeing their attire, these three words immediately came to Luo Lie's mind, not realizing his own transformation.

The sunlight, filtered through the smoke and toxic fumes, was weak, reflecting on the visors of the three people's protective suits, showing a naked black-haired boy standing on the garbage mountain, staring at them.

Although this place can accept anything, including life and corpses, it is usually infants who are abandoned here, not children around ten years old.

Perhaps sensing the strange looks from the people in protective suits, Luo Lie looked down at his body and was shocked.

Not wearing clothes was not the main issue; his penis, slightly swaying in the wind, had shrunk!!!

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