CHAPTER 191: CHAPTER 14: COLLAPSE

In the crevasse.

Hua Yun was still leading the way.

She continually cleared away the ice crystals at the base of the crevasse with her snow pole.

Meanwhile, Chen Wen was captivated by the sights beneath the ice crevasse.

"My God, this place is fucking beautiful!"

Chen Wen couldn’t help but say as he touched the heartbreakingly blue ice walls on both sides.

"This ice is called blue ice, or glacial ice, and it’s been here for quite some years."

Hua Yun’s pupils reflected the icy blue glow of the glacier.

She, too, was drawn to the beauty of these blue ices.

It really is beautiful!

Glacial ice is composed of firn.

Firn is snow that has melted and refrozen, forming granular snow.

As firn accumulates over time, the granules press together, tightly embedding themselves.

Their hardness and density increase continuously, while the pores within shrink until they disappear.

In this process, the transparency and brightness of the snow layers gradually diminish, eventually forming the deep blue glacial ice.

This process takes a long time.

After explaining the formation of glacial ice to Chen Wen,

Hua Yun stopped Chen Wen from trying to lick the blue ice.

"This stuff sticks to your tongue and might be harboring ancient viruses."

As someone from the south, Chen Wen’s reaction to the sight of snow was rather normal.

But these beautiful blue ices made him somewhat excited.

After returning to his senses, Chen Wen smiled awkwardly.

"I can relate. I had the same urge the first time I saw blue ice; it always seemed to be clean and sweet."

Hua Yun chuckled merrily and said, "But once I learned where they come from, I didn’t have that thought anymore."

After discussing the blue ice, Hua Yun continued to lead the path.

She reminded Chen Wen, "Watch your step, we’re currently in a crevasse, and there are smaller crevasses at the bottom that can lead directly to an underground glacial river."

"If you fall in, best case scenario, you’ll wait for rescue, worst case, you’ll be swept away by the river."

Chen Wen nodded and began to pay attention to his footing.

The two of them proceeded cautiously along the ice crevasse.

The Golden Eagle no longer stood on the mountain sheep.

The area below was too dangerous, so it chose to perch atop Chen Wen’s backpack, curling into a ball.

...

While Chen Wen and Hua Yun were walking in the ice crevasse,

on the production side,

with a sudden exclamation, the entire recording hall fell into chaos.

Lin Jiawei and Luo Yao looked up in confusion, only to see two assistants from one of the contestant teams with expressions of fear.

They were shouting loudly for help.

By the time Abel arrived, one of the two had already collapsed on the ground.

"What happened?"

Lin Jiawei came to inquire about the situation.

A staff member whispered, "There was an accident. This team chose to proceed through a very wide ice crevasse, and as they advanced, one side of the glacier suddenly collapsed."

"They were quite unlucky, getting buried directly in the ice crevasse by the collapsing glacier!"

Gasp!

Lin Jiawei shuddered, thoroughly frightened.

A glacier collapse could occur?

At this moment, someone more knowledgeable dismissively said, "It’s not bad luck; it’s their incorrect response."

"During a glacier collapse, one should curl up and use something sturdy to form an angle to hide in, which can prevent being buried by the glacier and preserve breathing space."

"These two clearly didn’t know. At the moment of collapse, they were still running chaotically, leading the person in front to get hit on the head by a higher falling ice block, fainting, and the person behind tripped, eventually getting buried below."

Lin Jiawei asked, "Is it dangerous?"

"Hard to say, it depends first on whether they can save themselves, and second on how timely the rescue is."

The knowledgeable person said, "The glacier that collapsed on their side is small. If the person on top hasn’t fainted, they can use the tools they have to clear the ice and crawl out, but if they’ve fainted, it’s uncertain."

Lin Jiawei nodded and returned to his spot to inform Luo Yao of what had happened.

On hearing this, Luo Yao couldn’t help but feel worried about Chen Wen and Hua Yun.

Knowing that they, too, were advancing in an ice crevasse.

...

After walking over two hundred meters within the crevasse,

Chen Wen asked in a low voice, "How long have we walked?"

"More than halfway, we’re almost out."

Hua Yun also replied in a low voice.

Chen Wen looked at the ice glaciers on both sides, his heart pounding.

The glaciers here differed from those they had just passed.

They were melting!

Yes, melting.

Water was dripping continuously from the top of the glacier, and the blue ice on both sides had diminished significantly.

Most notably, the blue ice was riddled with cracks.

Hua Yun didn’t need to explain this; Chen Wen could tell.

The glaciers here were unstable!

They were at risk of collapsing at any moment!

"Wait!"

As Chen Wen’s heart was racing, Hua Yun suddenly stopped.

"What’s wrong?"

"Did you hear something?"

Hua Yun asked slowly.

Chen Wen was taken aback, immediately focusing his attention.

Besides their breathing, there was a creaking sound.

Like the last sip of an iced cola, crunching on ice cubes.

"I hear it, that creaking sound, it’s... isn’t that the sound of ice cracking?"

Chen Wen swallowed hard, nervously.

Hua Yun’s face was grave: "If nothing unexpected, it is the sound of ice cracking!"

She quickly urged, "Move faster! Get out of here quickly!"

With those words, Hua Yun quickened her pace.

Chen Wen immediately followed suit.

The two dared not speak, swiftly advancing along the crevasse.

As they pressed on, the creaking noises in the crevasse grew louder, turning into cracking sounds.

The glacier was definitely fracturing!

They both thought to themselves.

The Golden Eagle also seemed to sense something was wrong.

It quietly warned Chen Wen, "Hurry, I sense danger around us!"

Chen Wen remained silent, promptly activating [Swift].

And at that moment, with a resounding crack,

Chen Wen and Hua Yun both felt a sharp pain in their eardrums.

They looked up simultaneously to see the sky seemingly getting smaller!

It wasn’t the sky shrinking; it was the glacier looming overhead!

The thought of such a massive glacier about to crush them made Chen Wen shudder.

After the deserted island ordeal, he once again felt the threat of death!

"It’s over! The glacier is collapsing, find a place to hide quickly!"

Hua Yun acted decisively, having Chen Wen pick up the mountain sheep’s carcass.

She quickly scanned the surroundings, motioning Chen Wen to join her, hiding in a narrow gap.

Chen Wen squatted down immediately, holding the mountain sheep’s carcass over their heads.

The sturdy carcass shielded them from many falling ice blocks.

"What do we do? Just wait for the glacier to collapse?"

Suppressing his panic, Chen Wen asked Hua Yun.

Hua Yun was on edge as well.

Slapping herself to regain composure, she said, "If the glacier buries us, we’ll just have to wait for rescue. The collapsed glacier part is small; as long as we can breathe, we can survive."

However, contrary to their expectations,

the imagined glacier collapse did not occur.

After the ice had fallen, outside gradually became quiet again.

Chen Wen blinked, cautiously poking his head out.

Outside had darkened a bit, as the collapsed glacier blocked the overhead sunlight.

But the glacier hadn’t entirely collapsed; instead, it lodged up high.

Chen Wen quickly relayed this news to Hua Yun.

Once Hua Yun confirmed this, she felt a sudden relief!

She quickly said, "Go, while there’s still a path!"