Chapter 148

Using a tow hook, Song Shanhe dragged Tang Tang's Land Cruiser onto the asphalt, pulled out his tools, helped He Guang remove the tire, and handed out altitude-sickness pills to everyone.

Zhou Sihai stood aside, feeling this journey along the New Tibet Line was going unusually poorly.

They'd already blown two tires just getting here. That never happened normally—how unlucky could you get?

Liu Nanzhou stepped out of his vehicle, glanced at the scene, and sneered: "Three people are already severely altitude-sick. If something happens mid-journey, there's nowhere to rescue them."

"If you can't speak properly, say less," Zhou Sihai raised his voice, then coughed twice from the thin high-altitude air. "Everyone has enough oxygen and medicine—what's there to worry about with altitude sickness? You'd be better off resting now and driving later."

"Hmph!" Liu Nanzhou sneered, turning and walking back into his car. "Even with this level of physical fitness, you're all running around outside."

Su Wan and Xia Xiaoxing, standing nearby, exchanged a glance.

They were the ones most severely affected by altitude sickness—even after acclimatizing in stages and taking medicine, they still felt sudden, unbearable discomfort. But as Zhou Sihai said, even if they suffered, with oxygen and medicine, they could still endure.

'Whoosh—!'

A cold wind blew past; Xia Xiaoxing pulled her neck in, waved to Su Wan, and immediately ducked back into the car.

Xia Xia Xiaochuan looked up at the gray, hazy sky and felt the wind had strengthened, cutting against his skin like knives.

Seeing this, Zhou Sihai said: "Everyone, get back in the vehicles to rest. He Guang, how much longer?"

He Guang crouched on the ground, hands moving swiftly: "Twenty minutes, old Zhou. You should get back in too—it's freezing out here."

Zhou Sihai didn't refuse. He glanced at Tang Tang beside him; her forehead had been briefly treated and showed no further issues.

"Tang Tang, you stay in the car with Su Wan for now. Once the tire's fixed, you won't drive anymore—Song Shanhe will take over."

"Okay," Tang Tang agreed. Her beautiful face was pale.

He Guang and Song Shanhe worked quickly; under twenty minutes, the tire was repaired.

When the yellow Land Cruiser started again, the entire convoy resumed its journey.

But this time, the convoy drove far more cautiously. Zhou Sihai periodically reminded everyone via radio to check their tires and slow their breathing to avoid worsening altitude sickness.

He constantly monitored the sky and altitude gauge. As elevation climbed steadily, they soon reached the Qitai Daba Pass, spotting an iron sign: Qitai Daba, Elevation 5170M, alongside unreadable Uyghur script.

Though they weren't stopping to rest, everyone pulled over to take photos here.

After all—they'd come this far!

But at over five thousand meters, everyone began suffering altitude sickness—even Zhou Sihai. Their faces looked terrible.

Moreover, as elevation rose, the vehicles' power dropped sharply.

People needed oxygen. So did cars.

Everyone had no strength left to speak, focusing solely on driving.

The wind grew stronger, the temperature dropped. Zhou Sihai checked the car's thermometer: it read -18°C. By dawn, it might drop another seven or eight degrees.

Few people still dared enter the New Tibet Line in weather like this.

He organized this self-drive trip to challenge himself, originally planning for ten vehicles—but ended up with only six, counting two last-minute additions.

At this moment, frost fogged the windows.

Xia Xia Xiaochuan activated the defroster, eyes locked on the road ahead and Su Wan's vehicle ahead. The descent from Qitai Daba was rough; the pavement shifted from asphalt to gravel, with more and more potholes, even hidden ditches.

"Old Zhou, the sky looks wrong—it's going to snow."

He Guang's voice crackled over the radio, his breathing rapid.

Hearing "snow," Xia Xiaoxing leaned toward the window and saw the previously overcast sky seeming to brew something ominous.

Zhou Sihai clearly saw the changing weather. His face darkened: "All vehicles reduce speed, maintain distance, follow my car, and don't deviate from the route. The descent is steep, the road is pitted and frozen—be extra careful."

Liu Nanzhou's expression turned grim: "I remember there's a military outpost at Tian Shuihai—we could take shelter there."

Zhou Sihai nodded: "It's still over fifty kilometers to Tian Shuihai outpost—minimum two hours to drive."

No sooner had he finished than fine snowflakes began drifting down. At first sparse, they quickly turned into heavy, swirling flakes, blinding visibility to under ten meters.

The snow came without warning. Every heart jolted. Simultaneously, everyone slammed on the brakes.

Gazing at the blizzard, Zhou Sihai's eyes flickered with panic.

"Fuck! Shit!" he cursed, snatching up the radio. "Slow to 10 kph. Turn on fog lights. Move slowly."

Xia Xia Xiaochuan turned on the fog lights; their beams struggled to cut through the snow. Xia Xiaoxing sat in the passenger seat, pale, one hand gripping the oxygen mask, the other clutching the handle, breathing heavily.

"Bro, I… I'm scared!"

Xia Xia Xiaochuan glanced at the thermometer: outside temperature had hit -20°C. In weather like this, if the engine died, it might not restart.

Luckily, Fang Chengbao's plug-in hybrid was in the convoy—no worries about battery drain from other vehicles.

"Don't be afraid. The snow won't last long. And the outpost is just dozens of kilometers away—we can shelter there."

"Does the outpost have soldiers?"

"Of course. Troops are stationed there year-round. If trouble arises, you can ask them for help."

Xia Xiaoxing felt slightly reassured.

But she didn't know: even if help was available, they still had to reach the outpost. At 10 kph on this road, in this weather, it would take over five hours to reach the outpost from Qitai Daba.

The snow grew heavier; the road quickly vanished under snow, turning treacherously slick. Xiang Nian gripped the steering wheel tightly, following Zhou Sihai's vehicle. He was a veteran of this convoy, having joined since its founding.

But he'd never driven through weather this brutal. His heart was now fluttering with unease.

Though he'd traveled many self-drive routes, this was his first time facing such conditions.

Suddenly, his vehicle lurched sideways, the steering wheel spun out of control, and the car shot straight toward the roadside.

"Shit!"

Xiang Nian roared, trying to correct the wheel—but the slick road rendered the car uncontrollable. *Bang! * It slammed into a massive boulder; the front crumpled instantly, the engine coughed twice, then died.

His accident terrified Song Shanhe behind him, who slammed on the brakes—his car skidded out of control, sliding sideways into the rear of the Land Cruiser with a *clang*.

Fortunately, Su Wan, Xia Xia Xiaochuan, and He Guang reacted quickly, tapping their brakes gently instead of stomping, and slowed to a stop.

"What happened?" Zhou Sihai bellowed over the radio.

"My car skidded—I and Old Xiang both slid off the road. My vehicle's still running, no engine cut-out. Old Xiang, you okay?"

"It's dead. We don't know the exact cause—we need to inspect it."

Zhou Sihai slammed the steering wheel hard, quickly pulled over, but stared at the blizzard overhead, his heart pounding with panic.

"Guang, get out and check. Everyone else stay in the vehicle."

"Received!"

After replying, He Guang parked behind Xia Xia Xiaochuan's G-Class, then jumped out—the blizzard and extreme cold instantly struck him with the cruelty of winter.

"Fucking hell, this damn weather."

He Guang cursed, quickly approaching the two vehicles by the roadside.

At that moment, Xiang Nian also opened his door and stepped out.

"Old Xiang, pop the hood. I'll check it."

"Bang!"

As the hood opened, He Guang immediately crouched over the front of the car, inspecting closely—but checked left and right, found no faults; the engine and oil were both intact, only the front bumper was slightly dented, yet that alone couldn't explain why it wouldn't start.

"Could it be underneath?" His face darkened as he began inspecting the underside.

The moment he did, his expression turned black—a strong stench of gasoline hit his nose.

The metal fuel line under the car had snapped; gasoline leaked everywhere. No wonder it died—without fuel pressure, it couldn't ignite.

And this kind of damage? Impossible to repair in this godforsaken place.

"Guang, what's the situation?"

Through the blizzard, Zhou Sihai's voice came through.

"Wrecked!" He Guang shouted helplessly, "Xiang's car is done—won't start, all the fuel's leaked out."

"Shit!"

Zhou Sihai cursed angrily.

Inside the car, Liu Nanzhou complained: "I told you not to cross the Xinjiang-Tibet Highway at this time. You insisted anyway."

"Shut up. Did I make you come?" Zhou Sihai unleashed his long-suppressed fury. "You came on your own. Did you think I wanted this?"

Hearing this, Liu Nanzhou roared back: "How dare you say that? You lose money in business, your daughter rebels—you can't do anything right!"

They argued fiercely, their voices piercing—but the blizzard was too loud for anyone else to hear.

"Old Zhou, make a decision," Song Shanhe said through the radio.

Zhou Sihai pulled his oxygen mask over his face, took several deep breaths, then said: "Move the gear. Transfer everything from Xiang's car to the others. Keep moving. Leave this one behind for now."

Xiang Nian immediately objected: "By the time we come back, who knows if the car will even still be here. Why not just tow it?"

Zhou Sihai: "... "

He didn't argue: "Fine. Then we tow it. Your car stays at the rear. Guang will tow you."

After the plan was settled, everyone moved at once. Soon, the Land Rover and the Land Cruiser were both pulled out.

But as they advanced again, soon even with snow chains, the vehicles began slipping again—everyone was stuck, unable to move an inch.

In the end, Zhou Sihai had no choice but to drive off the road, find a flat gravel patch by the roadside, and circle all the vehicles together, waiting for the blizzard to pass.

And they waited—until nightfall.

After one full day, snow depth on the road had reached nearly fifty centimeters. With snow this thick, no vehicle could possibly move. Even if the wheels turned, they'd just slip—freeing themselves was pure fantasy.

"What now?" Tang Tang asked over the radio. "Idling the cars—is that really safe?"

Among all their vehicles, only Su Wan's Fang Chengbao could remain running indefinitely without moving. The rest were gasoline cars—idling not only risked damage, but in this condition, their batteries would die quickly.

And if Zhou Sihai hadn't been experienced enough to order them to clear snow from the exhaust pipes constantly, they might already have suffered carbon monoxide poisoning.

"Guang, Shanhe, Xia Xia Xiaochuan, Xiang Nian—shut off your engines and get out to clear snow around us. We'll start a fire. The cars have idled long enough. Everyone else, go to Su Wan's vehicle. Let's solve this immediate problem. Survive tonight. Unless something goes wrong, tomorrow's snow will melt."

Under Zhou Sihai's orders, everyone moved swiftly.

Five men had grim faces but worked hard; four women also looked uneasy, huddled inside their cars, still warm.

Half an hour later, a seven-to-eight-meter circle of snow had been cleared from the road. The canopy was raised, the stove and firewood prepared—once the flames rose, warmth slowly spread.

With the Fang Chengbao's headlights as illumination, the scent of food on each stove slowly rose. The earlier panic and tension finally eased a little after everyone ate.

As each person held steaming water, gathered under the canopy, though cold, they gradually calmed down.

"Brother, I'm sorry."

Xia Xiaoxing tugged Xia Xia Xiaochuan's hand; Xia Xia Xiaochuan gripped it back: "I'll add you twenty thousand when we get back."

"How shameless."