Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness

Chapter 411: Chapter 409

Just a little bit more, nearly done.

Will have it fixed before 12:10.

In the closed space, the sound of breathing was constant and deep, thick like a damaged bellows.

In the darkness, Bi Fang and Edinburgh curled up, resting to slow down the depletion of their energy and heat, only Danzeng continued to dig, following the rope and digging without cease, his hands nearly numb from the cold.

It wasn’t that Bi Fang was being finicky. While the lives of his teammates were at stake, he had to maintain an oxygen-free mission throughout. The reason was that he was in almost complete pain, and digging out Danzeng had already drained his last bit of strength.

If he chose to use oxygen at this time, neither the mission nor the rescue could be completed.

Truly worthy of being the warriors of the third pole, the darlings of the mountains.

Feeling the shadow swaying in the dark, Bi Fang couldn’t stop thinking.

The playful nickname given to Sherpa people about having a third lung lobe for climbing isn’t without basis, it’s genetically determined that they are better adapted to high-altitude environments than ordinary people; their low blood pressure ensures sufficient blood supply to the brain, and their muscular contractions are powerful; compared with their legs, their torsos are longer, ensuring that they can balance their center of gravity in rugged mountainous terrain.

“Mr. Bi, Sir Edinburgh?”

“Here.”

Getting dizzier.

The oxygen in the air was pitifully scarce, each breath was ineffectually straining, no matter how hard the alveoli tried to expand, they simply couldn’t filter enough oxygen, blood flow was increasingly sluggish, and hemoglobin was struggling in vain to capture oxygen molecules.

The silent darkness was panic-inducing. By now, Bi Fang couldn’t suppress the anxiety. It wasn’t fear, but the physiological behavior brought on by oxygen deprivation, hard to overcome by sheer willpower.

If only there were light.

In the moment they were hit by the blizzard, aside from the backpacks secured on their backs, the headlamps of him, Sir, and Danzeng had long been washed away, whereabouts unknown. If only there was a lamp now, it wouldn’t be as bad as it is.

Bi Fang’s chest rose and fell as he took deep breaths again, further depleting the oxygen in the air, while, conversely, the carbon dioxide concentration rose.

Bi Fang, regaining his calm, made a preliminary self-diagnosis: his arms were completely limp, muscles spasmed and stiffened, or there was a slight strain. A strain would be troublesome, not easy to heal in a short time. He hoped it was just a simple case of weakness.

If he didn’t get out soon, carbon dioxide poisoning might claim his life.

It wasn’t just carbon monoxide that could poison someone; carbon dioxide could do the same.

Under normal circumstances, the carbon dioxide content in human exhalations is 4.2%. The partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the blood is higher than in the alveoli, which enables diffusion into the alveoli.

But once the carbon dioxide concentration in the environment increases, the alveolar concentration also rises. This causes a drastic change in PH, stimulating the respiratory center, resulting eventually in paralysis of the respiratory center and hypoxic suffocation of the body.

“Damn it, how could there be an avalanche.”

Bi Fang hit his head against the snow wall, his mind just couldn’t understand it.

Perhaps sensing the change in atmosphere, Danzeng called out softly, “Mr. Bi, Sir Edinburgh, are you guys okay?”

This was the thirteenth time Danzeng had asked, nearly every half minute. Just as Bi Fang was about to reply as before, an indescribable sense of comfort surfaced, each cell rejoicing as if…

The oxygen concentration had increased!

Bi Fang suddenly sat up, expanding his lungs once more, yes, that’s right, the oxygen in the air had increased! It wasn’t an illusion!

Are we going to dig out?

That doesn’t make sense, Danzeng was digging along the rope. Was somebody not buried?

Impossible, right?

With confusion in his heart, Bi Fang approached Danzeng along the rope, “Danzeng, keep digging, hurry, keep digging!”

Danzeng looked utterly confused, but his hands didn’t stop moving, continuing to excavate, with large chunks of snow being thrown out.

While digging, Bi Fang keenly felt that the oxygen concentration in the air seemed to have increased somewhat.

“What’s wrong, Mr. Bi?”

Danzeng, clueless, didn’t understand why Bi Fang suddenly reacted.

Without answering, Bi Fang braced his hands against the layer of snow in front of him and pushed hard with both hands.

Suddenly, the layer of snow in front of everyone collapsed violently, sending a shower of snow dust flying, air circulation picking up a breeze, with fresh air rushing in desperately.

Dug through!?

Danzeng and the semi-conscious Edinburgh widened their eyes. Although they could see nothing in the darkness, they keenly sensed the airflow.

Did we make it out!?

No, not yet.

Bi Fang looked around at the pitch-black surroundings; the sky over Mount Everest was very clear. If they had gotten out, it wouldn’t be as pitch-black as it was now where they couldn’t see anything clearly.

This was an internal “vacuum”.

Bi Fang recalled the scene of the avalanche, gradually piecing together the scenario of that moment.

Gathering his breath in one go to alleviate the dizziness from the lack of oxygen, Bi Fang explained, “When the avalanche occurred, it swiftly engulfed everything. But the shape of the Eagle Head Ice Slope is so unique that after the torrent swept over, it left part of the space within the rocks.”

Just like an airplane crashing into the sea would be quickly enveloped, the air inside the cabin would be squeezed to the top and unable to flow out, creating a breathable area.

The Eagle Head of the Eagle Head Ice Slope soared into the sky but faced away from the direction of the avalanche. As the torrential flow rushed down, it really protected the last living space underneath the avalanche like an Eagle!

As Edinburgh and Bi Fang marveled at the incredibility of the situation, Danzeng’s shout rang out in the darkness.

“Mr. Bi, there are other people here! Lama Qin! Lama Qin! The Mountain God showed his sign, the Mountain God showed his sign! Lama Qin! Lama Qin!”

Other people?

Pushing himself to stand up, Bi Fang was suddenly blinded by a burst of bright light.

Bi Fang quickly covered his eyes.

Realizing his mistake, Danzeng who picked up the headlamp, quickly dimmed the light.

After finally adjusting to the blinding headlamp, Bi Fang slowly opened his eyes. Inside the small space, there were Yao Jun, Rob, and Jerret, all here!

“Everyone’s okay, everyone’s okay!”

Danzeng was obviously a bit excited, but the next moment his mood dropped a lot, “It’s a pity about Uncle Holt and Uncle Lezha. They shouldn’t have run away; I don’t know how they are doing now.”

Edinburgh comforted the young man, “It’s an instinctual reaction, there’s no right or wrong; don’t dwell on it too much, the Mountain God will bless them.”

Bi Fang coughed twice and went over to Yao Jun and the others, checking each of them.

They were all still breathing, and the breathing was normal, just temporarily unconscious.

Taking oxygen bottles out of their backpacks and putting them on for them, Bi Fang rummaged through Rob’s backpack and found a small radio.

Whew.

Bi Fang sighed with relief upon finding this device.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Fortunately, it was still there. With it, even if they couldn’t dig their way out, they could wait for rescue with peace of mind.