By linking my account to the check-in system, I became a leisurely traveler.

Chapter 151 Surpassing the Leader? [First Update!]

So far, Li Younan felt that climbing to this point was too easy, so easy that he once doubted that he had even reached the truly difficult part.

What Li Younan couldn't understand was... that he was actually a master with level two rock climbing skills.

For someone of his caliber, 90 degrees is called a wall, and 89 degrees is called a slope.

Moreover, whether it's a 90-degree angle, a 180-degree angle, or even a larger angle, as long as there's something to grab onto, theoretically you can climb up.

Li Younan certainly wouldn't create deliberate obstacles for himself by forcing himself to climb those difficult cliffs.

But with such abilities, it was difficult for him to feel "this is so difficult" about the mountain in front of him.

This is the effect of several skills combined. If he only had one mountaineering skill or only one highland bloodline, he would not be able to achieve this level.

After Zhao Liang and the other two climbed up the steep slope, Li Younan set off towards that location.

After a while, Li Younan also arrived there and observed the slope.

From this angle, it is indeed quite frightening, but not to the point that it would make people feel like they couldn't climb it.

You don't even need rock climbing skills to climb this slope.

The only challenge is that the altitude here is close to 7 meters.

Li Younan glanced at his watch; it read around 6800 meters.

At such altitudes, slopes that don't usually seem difficult can easily cause oxygen deficiency if a high-intensity climbing method is used.

In addition, there is a thick and compact layer of snow on the slope.

However, judging from the traces left by Ding Rui and his group, it seemed that climbing up wouldn't even require crampons. Li Younan stood there observing for a while, confirming that there were no other paths nearby, before attempting to climb.

Zhao Liang and the others had just used their own experience to confirm for Li Younan that there was no risk of collapse here, but Li Younan still climbed very carefully and secretly resolved to return immediately if any unusual movement occurred.

Fortunately, even with the predictive abilities the system gave him, he didn't feel any danger, so Li Younan climbed up without any unexpected incidents as he tried.

After climbing up this section, there's another slightly gentler slope ahead, and here you can see those guys again.

Li Younan didn't rush to climb further; instead, he continued to record the scenery with his selfie stick and action camera.

He also brought binoculars, which allowed him to look out over the mountains in other directions from this vantage point.

The light path is reversible. When others stand on the viewing platform suitable for viewing Mount Gongga and look this way, Li Younan also regards those people as part of the scenery.

The air here is almost free of impurities, and you can see very far into the distance.

Li Younan, holding binoculars, saw several tiny figures, like ants, on the distant mountain pass. Watching them from the mountaintop was a truly unique experience.

After shooting video footage, Li Younan took out his camera. He, who never liked photographing landscapes, stood there trying to take pictures of the nearby mountains from multiple angles.

After fussing around for quite a while, he slowly packed up his equipment and decided to continue climbing.

At this moment, he looked at the blood oxygen monitor and saw that even at such a high altitude, Li Younan's blood oxygen level was still above 95%.

For a moment, Li Younan was somewhat surprised and couldn't help but sigh that this system truly lived up to its reputation as a cheat.

Even though the skills he was given contained no supernatural elements whatsoever, they were absolutely astonishing and the best in the world.

This type of blood oxygen monitor is based on photoplethysmography (PPG) technology. Although it has some errors, it can monitor general health levels relatively accurately. Therefore, Li Younan felt increasingly confident.

Keep going.

At that moment, a crosswind began to blow, swirling the surrounding snow into view and completely obscuring the figures.

The wind, filled with snow, became something traceable, which looked quite stunning.

At this moment, Li Younan felt no fear, only appreciation for the magnificent natural scenery.

……

Zhao Liang and his two companions had to stop once again.

At this point, they were at an astonishing altitude of 7200 meters, and there were less than 400 meters left to reach the summit.

After climbing that steep slope, we went on to climb several other challenging sections, but overall it was a close call without any major incidents.

However, an unexpected obstacle stood in their way.

This was a glacial crevasse almost vertical to the ground, about the width of three people, not very deep, but several tens of meters high. Because it was their first time climbing this route, and not many people had summited Mount Gongga before, there wasn't much experience to draw upon, so they didn't know how to choose their path.

If they were on flat ground, the three of them would almost certainly choose to enter the crevice at the same time and then climb up the rock wall, which would be the shortest distance.

However, their condition at this moment could not possibly support them to engage in such high-intensity exercise. Once their bodies became oxygen-deprived, they would be close to death.

The three remained silent for a while before Ding Rui broke the silence: "Brother Zhao, you decide."

Zhao Liang remained silent for a while before saying, "Take a detour."

The voice that said "take a detour" carried a hint of helplessness, yet was also very determined.

To be honest, he didn't know which way to go.

However, he knew very well that climbing up from here was absolutely impossible in their current state.

The three of them had no objections and began to look for a new route in the opposite direction.

After struggling for a while, Ding Rui felt his head hurting more and more, and he began to growl uncontrollably.

Every step he took was accompanied by a roar, as if every sound gushing from his lungs was a struggle against the impossible limits of nature and his past life.

The other two weren't in much better shape either.

They were all climbers without oxygen tanks; in such situations, they could only rely on their own bodies.

They also began to understand why Mount Gongga is a more difficult mountain to climb than Mount Everest.

When you are about to reach the summit of Mount Everest, especially on the south slope from the Nepalese side, most of the slopes are only 40 to 50 degrees and there is no place to climb.

Theoretically speaking, it's something that anyone with oxygen and legs can climb.

So, the story of a legless person who summited Mount Everest with a continuous supply of oxygen became news. But on Mount Gongga, that's absolutely impossible.

There are too many difficulties that may be encountered along the way. Some of these obstacles are even located at low altitudes, which are not something that ordinary people can challenge, let alone in such an extreme environment.

The extreme lack of oxygen also slowed down everyone's brain. Ding Rui was now almost moving forward on instinct.

His mind became increasingly confused, and after walking around in a daze for a while, he suddenly forgot why he was walking in this direction in the first place.

Just then, he heard a muffled voice coming from a very, very far away place: "Ding Rui... Ding Rui..."

The sound grew louder and closer in his ears, and suddenly, he was jolted awake.

He was abruptly brought back to reality by Zhao Liang's shout.

He stared blankly at Zhao Liang.

Zhao Liang asked loudly, "Is it alright?"

Ding Rui grunted, the sound almost coming from his stomach, as deep and hoarse as a cow's.

Zhao Liang looked at a slope in front of him.

This slope is over 75 degrees; it's impossible to climb it without an ice axe.

However, there are several gullies extending from the slope. By stepping on the gullies and keeping your body close to the slope, you can slowly climb up.

Once you get past this point, the next 200 meters or so will be easy terrain.

"Almost there, almost there! We're about to reach the summit!"

A journey of a hundred li is only half complete at ninety.

But this is the only predicament we face right now, and we must overcome it no matter what.

Zhao Liang was in the best physical condition. He said, "I'll go first, and you guys follow me closely."

He took out his crampons and put them on, then took out his ice axe and plunged it into the thick ice slope. With his body pressed against the ice wall, he began to climb up.

Ding Rui was the last one to climb up.

He could see his two teammates starting to move upwards, but his brain briefly went blank.

For a moment, my thoughts became disjointed: Where am I? What am I doing? It took me a while to come back to my senses.

He then took the crampons off his back and was about to put them on his shoes when a sudden, intense dizziness struck him as he bent over.

He was panting heavily when he slowly squatted down... and once he squatted down, he could never get up again.

His two teammates gradually disappeared from his sight.

He tried hard to utter a few sounds from his throat, but he didn't know how loud they were; they seemed very soft, yet also as if he had used all his strength. Deafeningly loud.

At this moment, his throat felt slightly sweet, and he felt the sunlight shining warmly on the back of his head. The last trace of clarity... gradually dissipated.

……

At this moment, Li Younan stood in front of the glacial crevice, a hint of doubt and inquiry in his eyes.

He leaned in and stood at the bottom of the crevasse, looking up.

There are many exposed rocks in this crevasse, so you can't rely solely on crampons and ice axes; you need certain rock climbing skills to climb up.

This was naturally not a problem for Li Younan.

His confusion stemmed from the fact that, given their pace, it was unreasonable for them to climb up so quickly if they were taking turns.

For a moment, Li Younan actually felt a bit of admiration.

Perhaps I still underestimated them.

Although I have a system, there are just as many people without a system who can still climb Mount Gongga.

He thought about it again and realized that if he could climb up so quickly, there shouldn't be any risk of collapse.

His assessment of the situation in this area was largely the same.

In comparison, this was probably the most dangerous place for Li Younan during the entire climb.

But it's not exactly a challenge.

Although there was almost no possibility of an accident for him, he still hesitated slightly.

He emerged from the glacier crevice, took a few more photos with his phone, recorded some moments with his video camera, and gazed at the other mountains below Gongga Mountain, which seemed to prostrate themselves in submission. He sighed softly, "Oh well, I'm already here..."

He packed up his photography equipment, crawled back into the glacier crevasse, and began to climb upwards.

One advantage of being in a glacier crevasse is that there are no crosswinds.

It's actually quite comfortable.

If you don't consider the lack of oxygen at high altitudes, it's actually safer here.

A dozen minutes later, an ice axe rose up from under the rock and firmly embedded itself in the ice wall.

Then Li Younan poked his head out.

He looked around and saw that it was a fairly flat area.

In no time, he climbed onto the flat surface.

Looking up at the mountaintop now, all that remains is a gentle slope of two or three hundred meters.

Next, there's almost no chance of anything going wrong and we'll reach the summit.

However, his eyes grew increasingly puzzled at this moment—

Where are the three people walking in front?
(End of this chapter)