Chapter 35

After Zhuochuan finished all of this, he and the other two tried to distribute some of the food to the three people, then he carried the black mountaineer and descended the mountain with the other two.

With Zhuochuan as the guide, the descent should have been much shorter than Sist expected, but because Zhuochuan was carrying an extra person, the time ended up being about the same as originally estimated, taking a full day.

If Zhuochuan had not built a snow hut for them to take shelter, the three people left on the mountain would have died long ago. No one could remain motionless in a semi-comatose state on a 6,000-meter snow mountain for so long.

If Zhuochuan had chosen to take turns carrying the two people, it would have taken twice as long, and it's likely that no one would have been saved. He had already made this judgment very clearly.

The black mountaineer Zhuochuan carried began to regain consciousness when they were almost at an altitude of 4,000 meters, and gradually recovered. Later, he was able to walk with Zhuochuan's support.

He was extremely grateful to Zhuochuan, who had saved him three times: once from the ice crack, once from the snow pile, and finally by carrying him down nearly 2,000 meters of a steep peak.

This black mountaineer was named James Shepherd, 42 years old, originally the chief of a primitive tribe in South Africa. Later, he grew tired of the old way of life and, during a foreign investment in mining on his land, sold the mining rights to them, receiving a large sum of money. He then settled in the city and passed the position of chief to his son.

After descending the mountain, James was taken to the hospital by an ambulance that had been called. When they parted, he tightly held Zhuochuan's hand.

"Zhu, I can't express my gratitude. Whether it's money or anything else I have, I will use it to repay you."

Zhuochuan shook his head. He had saved the other person to repay the opportunity given to him to understand the "Sigh of Time and Space." If he had been greedy for such a reward, he would have chosen to save his compatriots, which would have been much more beneficial for his development in the country.

Finally, the two exchanged contact information and parted ways. Zhuochuan still had things to do, and James needed to go to the hospital for a check-up and rest.

"Zhu, you need to rest now. You're too exhausted to climb again immediately," Katie said, holding him back as the rescue team was about to set out. She looked at him with concern.

"Without my guidance, the rescue team would take twice as long to find them," Zhuochuan shook his head. His physical recovery speed was something these people didn't know. After resting and eating, his strength had already been restored.

...

When the rescue team, equipped with sufficient rescue equipment, followed Zhuochuan back to the snow hut he had built, another day had passed. The three people left behind had already been in the snow hut for two full days, over 48 hours. When they saw the snow hut from a distance, including Zhuochuan, no one held out much hope. Even on flat ground, a 48-hour coma without medical attention would have a high mortality rate.

However, as they approached, they found movement inside the snow hut.

"Hold on, Ivan," a low voice came from inside.

"Yes, they will definitely come to save us. They wouldn't have gone to so much trouble to build a snow hut otherwise."

"Yes, Yuan, they left us food. They will definitely come back with people."

The rescue team quickly entered the snow hut. Upon seeing the rescuers, the three people, who were barely speaking and encouraging each other, showed uncontrollable joy on their faces.

"Thank God, you finally came."

"Just now was our hourly encouragement session. If you hadn't come, I couldn't guarantee I could hold on until the next hour."

Zhuochuan immediately understood. After they left, the snow hut provided shelter, and these people gradually regained consciousness. At 6,000 meters, the oxygen level, though low, was still sufficient to support the body's recovery. On Mount Everest at 8,000 meters, the oxygen level is too low for them to have regained consciousness.

Of course, without the snow hut, their body temperature would have been taken away by the howling cold wind while they were unconscious, and they would have frozen to death before they could wake up.

However, he was also secretly amazed by the strength of human will in times of crisis. Even with the protection of the snow hut, it would have been impossible to hold on without an extremely strong will. After regaining consciousness, they did not descend the mountain because the loss of strength due to oxygen deprivation was too great, and it was difficult to recover without rescue. This kind of persistence without any external contact is the ultimate test of willpower.

The emergency treatment began immediately, providing oxygen, food, and hot water. The rescue team was very experienced, and they also mentioned that it was fortunate that this was only 6,000 meters, not the death zone above 7,000 meters on Mount Everest, where they would not have regained consciousness.

Everything turned out well. After being treated, the three people soon recovered some strength. The rescue team had ample supplies and set up a rest camp there.

After resting for a day, they began to descend the mountain.

These three people did not know that the black man had been carried down by Zhuochuan. They only thought they had lost consciousness and were forced to stay. As experienced mountaineers, they understood this approach and did not complain, as they themselves had passed by exhausted mountaineers on their climbs without being able to help.

Relatively speaking, their companions had done everything they could by building a snow hut, leaving food, and bringing the rescue team in time.

When they reached the base of the mountain, they met their original teammates, Sist, Katie, and the black man James. James was fine, as he was physically strong. After a check-up and some intravenous fluids at the hospital, he was discharged.

Neither Sist, Katie, nor the black man James told them about Zhuochuan carrying a person down the mountain in advance. Zhuochuan naturally wouldn't either. There was no need to make such a choice again. The current result was the best, and mentioning the past facts would only cause another dispute, even though everyone could understand, it would definitely make them feel uncomfortable.

Surviving a mountain collapse unscathed was the best outcome, and everyone was extremely grateful to Zhuochuan. As mountaineers who often face life and death, the feeling of being rescued was even more profound. On a snow mountain, rescue is an extremely luxurious thing, and once a fatal crisis occurs, being saved is an extremely lucky event.

Zhuochuan's greatest gain was not just the gratitude of these people, but also the potential future connections and returns. More importantly, he clearly felt the growth of his soul. Completing this task from start to finish, his courage, perseverance, and wisdom were all invisibly strengthened.

This is also one of the main reasons why many wealthy people are still willing to take the risk of participating in mountaineering. If you can conquer a true high mountain, there will be few things in life that can make you yield.

That night, after celebrating their survival with Sist's mountaineering team, Zhuochuan returned home by plane the next day. Of course, he had the contact information of these six people. The bonds formed through shared life and death experiences are far stronger than those formed through ordinary social interactions, and his gains were immense.