Chapter 194: Extreme Rescue: Oxygen Transfer

Emily gritted her teeth against the bone-chilling cold and thrashed her limbs forward through the water.

The powerful flashlight's visibility underwater extended only two or three meters; beyond that, everything dissolved into a murky haze.

"Huff—!"

After taking a breath from the air pocket, Emily continued swimming, but before she'd gone two meters, a tremendous force suddenly yanked her downward into the water.

This sudden change left her completely stunned.

Her body was dragged uncontrollably away from its original position until the crushing water pressure made her chest feel like it would explode—only then did she snap back to awareness.

Her first thought was: I'm dead.

Without hesitation, she unfastened the rope tied to her body and surged upward.

The deeper she swam, the colder it became; the deeper she swam, the less oxygen remained in her lungs.

Though the powerful flashlight was tightly strapped to her wrist, she could no longer see the ice layer—the despair of something so close yet impossibly far began to cloud her mind.

Drowning is an excruciatingly painful way to die; those who haven't experienced it cannot understand the terror.

Emily's movements slowed further; her fingers and toes had gone completely stiff, her blood flow had slowed, and the reaper's scythe now rested against her neck, ready to strike at any moment.

"Splash!"

The instant Qin Yun jumped into the ice hole, he felt a searing heat—but it vanished within seconds.

His formidable physical adaptability allowed him to overcome the discomfort in mere seconds; he swiftly sank, judged the direction the pike had fled, then darted off in the opposite direction.

On the ice hole's surface, Tom, trembling, and Sean, pale with fear, along with a shaken Justin, stared in shock as Qin Yun leapt in without hesitation.

How could anyone possibly rescue her under these conditions?

In a few seconds, Emily would be dragged dozens of meters away by that pike, nearly a meter long. Even if she managed to untie the rope, how could her position be determined now?

If it were them, they wouldn't even consider attempting a rescue.

Viewers in the livestream held their breath in tense silence; aside from PETA members still hurling curses, nearly everyone remained quiet, silently praying.

This was Qin Yun's first true dive—and only once underwater did he understand what "master-level diving" truly meant: current direction, pressure shifts, breath control—all became effortless.

In the water, he moved like a giant fish.

His descent was steady and even; his ascent calm and controlled; his breathing long and precise; his posture light and fluid—every motion was clean, precise, and efficient.

After descending seven or eight meters, he stopped.

Closing his eyes, he carefully sensed changes in the water flow; his master-level diving skill allowed him to detect subtle movements indicating nearby life.

Emily had been dragged into the water—her movements must have been violent; as long as she was still moving, she would disturb the current.

He needed to sense that tiny difference.

After just a few breaths, he opened his eyes and swiftly swam toward the lower left.

"H… how long?" Tom's voice trembled; such a large, strong man now looked frail and on the verge of collapse.

Sean gripped the rope tightly: "Two… two minutes."

Tom's heart sank—this was nearly his own limit underwater. But he'd taken two breaths within those two minutes; Qin Yun hadn't taken a single one yet.

Justin walked over, staring at the rope still stretching across the ice, his expression grim: "Qin is still moving forward."

As for Qin Yun's sensations—he felt nothing special.

His Sherpa cold adaptation, combined with master-level diving skill and his terrifying physical conditioning, gave him an absurdly massive lung capacity.

One deep breath, and he knew he could stay underwater for seven or eight minutes without issue.

Mostly because the cold didn't affect him—otherwise, like Emily and Tom, he'd suffer freezing, numbness, and sharp pain, which would drain oxygen rapidly.

Qin Yun swam quickly; though he couldn't see clearly underwater, he paused occasionally to judge the flow, closing in on Emily.

Two more minutes passed—finally, in his line of sight appeared a white glow. At first blurred, it sharpened as he drew nearer.

In her despair, Emily's consciousness began to fade.

Just before she lost it entirely, a massive shape surged toward her—she jolted awake in terror.

Her drowsiness vanished instantly; some hidden reserve of strength surged through her body.

Seeing Emily still conscious, Qin Yun exhaled a quiet sigh of relief.

He twisted his body, wrapping his arms around her from behind—Emily immediately thrashed wildly, her fear peaking.

But the next moment, her body was forcibly turned—facing her was a familiar face.

"Qin?" Emily was confused. "Am I dreaming?"

Qin Yun pointed upward, wrapped his left arm around her waist, signaled her to stop struggling, then kicked and stroked toward the way they'd come.

After swimming ten meters, Emily finally realized Qin Yun had come to rescue her—she was deeply moved, but then came the problem: her face twisted in pain.

Her oxygen was gone; her chest felt ready to burst, and her body, held by Qin Yun, began instinctively struggling again.

Qin Yun turned to look at Emily and understood immediately.

She was suffocating—no oxygen left.

Without hesitation, he pulled her close, pressed his mouth to hers, pinched her nose shut, and exhaled a breath of oxygen into her lungs.

That breath eased the crushing pressure in Emily's chest—though she still suffered.

Anyone who's nearly drowned knows: after oxygen deprivation, the body gasps desperately to compensate.

But something was better than nothing—at least Emily regained some rationality from her instinctive thrashing, even as her face turned crimson.

Qin Yun handed her the rope, told her to pull hard, then continued leading her upward.

Knowing survival was within reach, Emily's will to live propelled her into action.

On the ice hole's surface, Sean, Tom, and Justin waited anxiously—they'd noticed the rope had stopped moving, meaning Qin Yun had halted.

But was it voluntary or involuntary? They couldn't tell.

If involuntary, pulling her up now still offered hope; if voluntary, pulling her up might mean Qin Yun had found Emily's body at the bottom.

For a moment, all three were trapped in agonizing psychological conflict.

"Damn it, is Qin dead?"

"It's been nearly five minutes—holy shit, terrifying."

"What's the breath-holding record again? Someone check."

"The free-diving breath-hold record is 11 minutes 54 seconds."

"I can only hold my breath for a minute—I'd drown if I went longer."

"I can do two minutes—you're a noob."

"But this is ice water—thirty degrees below zero above, and even one or two degrees below zero underwater is deadly cold. Even the world record holder would cut their time in half here."

Viewers debated furiously, comments scrolling rapidly—then suddenly, the coiled rope on screen jerked violently downward, and within seconds, it tightened again.

Sean jumped, gripping the rope tightly.

Then came a tug-and-release sensation—he froze, then shouted: "There's movement! There's movement! Pull, pull hard!"

Tom forgot his shivering; all three grabbed the rope and yanked upward in unison.

Another full minute passed.

As two figures broke the surface, everyone watching erupted in cheers.

Qin Yun gripped Emily's legs and shoved her upward: "Dry off and warm up quickly."

Emily was nearly unconscious—but the sudden rush of oxygen as she burst through the surface made her feel more alive than ever.

Sean and Tom rushed to catch Emily; Justin repeated the same procedure on her as he had on Tom. By the time Emily was dressed, they realized Qin Yun was still submerged.

"Qin, get out!" Sean reached out.

Qin Yun shook his head, glanced at Sean and Tom, and asked with a faint smile: "You still going?"

They exchanged glances, then smiled bitterly, falling silent for a moment.

Tom said: "Qin, I can't find that chest—I quit."

Sean nodded: "I quit too."

Emily didn't need to say anything.

Seeing all three had agreed to quit, Qin Yun said: "Fine. I'll first confirm the chest's location—it might even be on the mountain."

After speaking, he took the flashlight from Emily, took a deep breath, and sank back into the water.

Watching him, Tom was speechless.

"Qin… doesn't he feel cold?"

Even now, he was shivering violently, yet Qin Yun had been underwater for seven or eight minutes—and showed no signs of freezing or suffering.

How could human differences be so extreme?

"Maybe Asian physiology is just different," Sean mused, offering the only explanation he could.

Production camp.

Daniel sat in his office, eyes locked on the left screen. On it, a radar-like interface displayed a single red dot at the center; the right screen showed the livestream.

As Qin Yun re-entered the water on the right, a green dot appeared near the red one on the left—and swiftly moved toward it.

Watching the green dot draw closer, Daniel sighed and pressed Enter.

The instant he pressed it, Qin Yun's expression changed—under the flashlight's beam, the chest ahead suddenly sank, faster than he could swim. He had no time to react—watched helplessly as the treasure vanished from his sight.

"Fuck!"

Qin Yun cursed, tried diving deeper—but as he descended, pressure increased, oxygen consumption surged. By the time he reached twenty meters, his oxygen was nearly gone, forcing him to surface immediately.

When he resurfaced, Tom, Justin, Sean, and Emily rushed to him.

"Qin, did you find anything?" Sean asked.

Qin Yun nodded: "I found the chest—it's underwater."

The discovery left the group with complex emotions.

But they understood that even knowing the treasure chest lay at the bottom of the water was useless—they had no ability to retrieve it.

And the only one who might have that ability was Qin Yun.

Qin Yun gripped the edge of the ice cave and pushed hard, his whole body surging violently up from beneath the water.

The impact of his powerful physique at this moment was no less than a man seeing a stunning woman emerge from water.

"Jesus, Qin looks so delicious."

"Such an even build, muscles just right, perfect."

"I'm wet again."

"That damn Qin, how did he train his body? Even better than those online guys."

"Qin's physique is what a truly strong man should look like—immensely striking."

"I know it's striking."

"You know nothing—you sound like you've been hit by it."

The moment he emerged from the water, coldness began to invade; Qin Yun quickly dried himself and put on his clothes.

Now that he knew the treasure chest's location, he had to think carefully—otherwise, diving from this spot might not get it back. Who knew how heavy it was? If it was too heavy to lift, he'd have to solve it underwater.

And what if the items inside couldn't touch water? If they dissolved the moment he opened it, all his effort would be in vain.

He had no qualms about assuming the worst about these foreigners.

"Qin, what are you going to do?" Emily had slightly recovered; she recalled the scene underwater and looked at Qin Yun with new eyes. Had the camera not been on, she would have hugged him right now to savor that feeling.

"I need to think."