Chapter 100: Descending the Mountain in Secret

In the moment sunlight pierced through the clouds, Wu Lei wept, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face.

He wept for his own career, for the dying Cao Jinmin, and above all for this damned fate.

Standing at Camp C1, the mist gradually cleared and the snowstorm subsided; a faintly swaying figure hung suspended in midair, occasionally slamming against the ice wall. Seeing this, the three suddenly felt a wave of nausea, their heads stabbing with pain in an instant.

"C…Captain… is there really no way?"

Xia Cuo felt as if an axe had split his skull; he sucked hard on his oxygen, only then realizing his hands were trembling.

Wu Lei wiped his tears and tore his gaze away from Cao Jinmin.

After so much time had passed without any response from Cao Jinmin, the meaning was already obvious—even if he was still alive, he was likely moments from death.

He lowered his head and said nothing.

Another half hour passed before Wu Lei finally spoke.

"Let's go!"

He finished speaking and began preparing, but moments later noticed both men beside him staring upward, motionless.

Following their gaze upward, Wu Lei slowly opened his mouth.

…

Standing atop Yaomei Peak, Qin Yun remained still for a long while, until his mind settled completely and he had taken in the entire view; then he prepared to descend.

It must be said that the Sherpas' adaptability is formidable: in this low-oxygen environment, his blood oxygen level, which had dropped to 95%, now rose instead of falling, reaching 96% on the monitor.

No one would believe it if told.

The faint hint of drowsiness he'd felt earlier had vanished entirely.

The descent route is normally more dangerous, but Qin Yun had ascended without any protection—what could be harder than that?

His speed was rapid: from 6250 meters to 6100 meters, then 5900 meters, then 5600 meters. He descended swiftly and steadily, avoiding ice avalanches and detouring around crevasses.

But when he reached Camp C2, his gaze sharpened instantly—he spotted a figure in his line of sight.

"That's…"

The anchor points and safety ropes on the ice wall, the clothing on the figure, and the slightly familiar silhouette all led Qin Yun to recognize the person as a climber from the Dengshan Alliance.

Judging by the current situation, what was expected had become unexpected.

His gaze passed over the motionless figure and fell toward the direction of Camp C1, where three figures stood utterly still.

After a brief pause, Qin Yun pulled out his drone again and launched it; the livestream reopened.

Fans who received the livestream notification were startled.

"What's going on? Why is Brother Qin turning on the livestream again? Feelings of conscience?"

"Did Brother Qin run into trouble descending?"

"Great…"

"What the hell? What is that?"

Qin Yun directed the drone's camera toward Cao Jinmin, and his voice echoed through the livestream.

"Friends, I just came down from the mountain and am now at roughly 5200 meters altitude, where I witnessed this scene. The man is likely a climber from the Dengshan Alliance—he appears to be in danger."

Seeing the livestream screen light up again, Han Wei in base camp also froze—then her expression subtly changed as she saw the image.

She immediately posted a comment: "Brother Qin, you cannot attempt a rescue in this situation—come down quickly."

After posting, she immediately sent ten Carnival gifts, followed by several more messages.

Some netizens, seeing Han Wei's comment, replied: "What does Miss Han mean? Are you refusing to save a life?"

"So selfish? Brother Qin, you misjudged her."

"That's a human life—what kind of thing is that for Miss Han to say?"

Soon, a flood of comments attacking Han Wei appeared.

But quickly, other netizens sided with Han Wei.

"In the Dengshan world, there's an unwritten rule: at this altitude, rescue is absolutely impossible—you simply can't do it."

"Think of Everest's famous Green Boots."

"Those who are criticizing probably don't even know why. Just imagine carrying a one-meter-eighty, one-hundred-fifty-jin object on flat ground."

Qin Yun also saw the netizens' comments and said calmly: "This stretch of Yaomei Peak is extremely dangerous and highly difficult. If the man were conscious, rescue might still be possible—but if he's completely unconscious, you'd essentially be handling a nearly one-hundred-eighty-jin weight here, which is normally impossible."

"But saving a life surpasses building seven-tier pagodas—I can't stand by and let someone die, especially since he's likely unconscious from hypoxia."

Qin Yun did not hesitate further—he moved.

He descended swiftly and soon stood beside Cao Jinmin.

The man was suspended by his safety rope, face-down, his body curled like a shrimp.

His chest rose faintly, but his face was blue, his consciousness long gone; a large swelling marred his forehead, oozing blood.

But…

The air here was extremely thin, and oxygen even more so.

A person from lowland areas would feel unbearable nausea within moments. Worse still, hypoxia-induced headaches drilled like drills into the brain, vision blurred, and even identifying direction became difficult.

Qin Yun immediately checked his blood oxygen level with a monitor; moments later, the reading made his heart sink—the man's blood oxygen had dropped to 44%.

This number was already at the edge of life and death.

Normal blood oxygen is above 95%; at high altitudes, anything below 95% triggers immediate bodily reactions.

Of course, blood oxygen below 95% doesn't necessarily mean hypoxia.

For people who live long-term at low altitudes, blood oxygen saturation drops rapidly upon arriving at high altitudes, but over time, the body gradually adapts—though saturation never returns to low-altitude levels.

The human body's self-regulating capacity is extremely strong.

Qin Yun's ability to maintain high blood oxygen levels is purely due to an external advantage.

Even Sherpas at high altitudes cannot maintain such levels—their oxygen saturation typically hovers above 80%.

But no matter what, 40% blood oxygen is already at the edge of human death limits—human regulatory capacity is ultimately limited.

If no rescue is carried out, this person will surely die.

"Friends, you all just saw what happened—blood oxygen near 40% is a critical state; if we delay any longer, this person will surely die."

Qin Yun reached out, supporting the man's chest, then leaned back against the ice wall. He opened the backpack and found two high-pressure oxygen bottles.

As the oxygen bottles were fastened to his face, the man's ashen complexion began to show deeper chest movements.

Qin Yun kept watching the blood oxygen monitor; when the numbers started rising, he finally exhaled slowly.

"Lucky—he still has internal function. Oxygen is reactivating his bodily systems."

As soon as he finished speaking, the walkie-talkie hanging on the man's chest suddenly crackled to life.

"Qin... Qin Ge, is that you?"

Qin Yun picked up the walkie-talkie, pressing the talk button: "Xia Cuo? It's me."

"It's really you, Qin Ge? Is Brother Jinmin... still alive?" Xia Cuo's voice trembled, thick with sobs and hoarseness.

Qin Yun nodded: "Yeah, he's alive. He's breathing oxygen now. If the head wound isn't too severe, an hour of oxygen should wake him up."

Upon hearing this reply, the three at Camp C1 suddenly paled; Xia Cuo and Song Bin's gazes instantly locked onto Wu Lei.

Wu Lei's face turned deathly white; his lips shook as he clutched his head tightly, unleashing a stifled scream from deep in his throat.

Seeing him like this, Xia Cuo's mouth felt bitter.

Why did they only realize now that Brother Jinmin wasn't dead? They'd panicked, re-anchored, rigged ropes, and scrambled down without a second thought.

They had oxygen bottles.

How could they have overlooked such a simple thing?

Qin Yun watched the blood oxygen monitor; as the number climbed to 55%, he tapped the man's face every few minutes, trying to rouse him.

Once he wakes up, everything afterward will be much easier.

After all, handling a block of ice is completely different from handling a living person. His physical condition is incredible, but why make things harder if it can be simple?

During his communication with Xia Cuo, Qin Ge learned the man's name.

"Cao Jinmin, Cao Jinmin, wake up."

Cao Jinmin seemed to hear someone calling him, but he couldn't muster any response—he felt frozen, as if time itself had stopped.

"Cao Jinmin, Cao Jinmin."

After who knew how long, the voice finally became much clearer.

In the livestream, the camera locked onto Cao Jinmin; when he slowly opened his eyes, everyone erupted in cheers.

"Haha, he's awake, he's awake!"

"This kid's got luck—he made it just in time for Qin Ge."

"Lucky break—only Qin Ge would come. Look at his teammates—they abandoned him right away."

"Yeah, who'd come rescue you in a place like this?"

Seeing Cao Jinmin's eyes open, Qin Yun relaxed slightly—his constant slaps weren't in vain.

"Cao Jinmin!" Qin Yun studied his pupils as he looked at him. "Do you know who you are?"

Cao Jinmin still didn't fully grasp his situation—he stared at Qin Yun, dazed. It took a long while before his awareness slowly returned.

Seeing him reach for the oxygen mask, Qin Yun quickly stopped him: "Don't rush. Keep breathing. We'll talk later. Do you have any strength now?"

Cao Jinmin shook his head. He felt utterly drained, powerless, sharp pains throbbing in his skull, unbearable.

Qin Yun wasn't surprised: "Rest a bit longer. We'll go down after."

Cao Jinmin nodded. After a while, as his blood oxygen slowly rose, his thoughts gradually stirred—he finally understood his situation.

Surviving against all odds, having narrowly snatched back his life—this truth brought tears to his eyes.

"Brother Jinmin, Brother Jinmin, are you awake?"

Qin Yun slipped the walkie-talkie into his hand.

"Xia Cuo, Captain, Ah Bin—I'm fine. We'll talk about everything else after we get back."

Soon, another half-hour passed. The cold had begun to frost Cao Jinmin's face. Qin Yun asked again—but the answer remained: no strength at all.

He silently shook his head. He knew they couldn't wait any longer.

The man's body had clearly been damaged by oxygen deprivation—he'd likely need weeks in a hospital after descending.

"We have to go down. I'll tie you to my back. Bear with it."

Cao Jinmin: "Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Qin Ge."

Qin Yun moved swiftly: he unfastened the safety rope, removed the backpack's weight, lifted the man, and strapped him to his back, then tightly wrapped the rope around to prevent slipping.

Once done, Qin Yun gave the drone a thumbs-up and began climbing down the mountain.

"Qin Ge's got supernatural strength—he's actually doing this."

"Insane—he's carrying at least 150 pounds and looks completely unfazed."

"That's why he's Qin Ge. This guy hit the jackpot."

After more than half an hour, Qin Yun reached Camp C1. Cao Jinmin's gaze at Wu Lei, Xia Cuo, and Song Bin was complex. He wasn't stupid—he knew exactly what had happened when he went down.

But he didn't blame them. He simply understood their bond was over.

Qin Yun looked at Xia Cuo and the others: "I'm going down first. You follow after. The snowstorm's likely coming back."

With that, he led the way out of Camp C1, entering the rocky slope mixed with glaciers. This stretch was riddled with crevasses—open and hidden, crisscrossing; one misstep could send you straight into the abyss.

Before they could blink, Wu Lei and the others lost sight of Qin Yun and Cao Jinmin.

Watching Qin Yun's movements, Cao Jinmin felt his entire life had been wasted. Was this even human? Carrying him, he moved like a deer—easily identifying safe footholds. What was agony for others was flat ground to Qin Yun.

He covered nearly a thousand meters in just one hour.

Carefully crossing the ice avalanche fan, Qin Yun spotted several figures at base camp—no one else but Han Wei and the Storm Climbing Team.

"Yes, Boss Qin is badass."

"If Sister Han had a teammate like Boss Qin back then, nothing would have happened to her."

"Right, Boss Qin really is a god-tier player. Carrying a grown man on his back and acting like it's nothing—what kind of stamina is that? Sister Han is in for a treat."

"Damn it, can you stop with the innuendo?"

"Just tell me if what I'm saying makes sense or not. With that kind of stamina, wouldn't it just wear someone out?"

"Goddamn~ ugh"