From humble beginnings to the pinnacle of life

He sighed heavily at this point, then continued:

"Even if there are even more dangerous situations ahead, so what? Now that we've embarked on this path, there's no reason for us to give up easily."

"Brother Lin, I know you're under the most pressure. You're worried about what might happen to me and Sister Su Wan... But I, Luo Peng, am not afraid. At worst, I'll leave my life here. I will never regret it!"

Listening to his heartfelt words, I felt a mix of emotions, including a touch of shame.

Just then, Su Wan, who was beside him, spoke slowly, her tone calm and composed.

"The word 'give up' has never existed in my dictionary."

Without any unnecessary sentimentality, a single sentence was enough to summarize her thoughts.

I turned to look at the two people in front of me, my heart filled with mixed emotions.

Su Wan is always calm and composed, never losing her composure in the face of danger; Luo Peng is loyal, righteous, and courageous.

These are my teammates; even in such dire circumstances, they did not give up.

As the team leader, what gives me the right to give up so easily?

Yes, Luo Peng is right.

We've survived life-or-death battles, what else is there to be afraid of?

If we back down now, all that bloody battle and near-death experience we just went through will have become a joke.

Once I understood this, my timidity gradually turned into determination.

I took a deep breath, looked at the two of them, and said firmly, "Alright! If you don't give up, I will never back down! We'll persevere to the end and complete this journey through the no-man's-land!"

"I believe that if the three of us work together, we will definitely reach the finish line safely!"

Luo Peng nodded emphatically, his eyes incredibly sharp, as if he had undergone a complete transformation.

"Brother Lin, don't worry! I will never make any more silly mistakes in the future! Even if I work myself to death, I will never let anyone sneak into our camp again!"

Having survived this life-or-death ordeal, he has shed his former impetuousness.

He is no longer the boy who would make careless mistakes and then feel guilty, depressed, and self-destructive.

Desperate situations are the most challenging, but they also shape us the most.

A brush with death completely transformed him into a tough guy capable of handling anything.

Su Wan looked at the two of us and added calmly, "A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit. Having experienced darkness, we understand better than anyone the preciousness of safety. From now on, just be cautious and move forward steadily."

After resting, we packed up our gear and prepared to continue our journey.

But the moment I opened the map to check the route, my heart sank.

We were in such a panic when we left the research station that we were only focused on escaping, we didn't have time to check our route or location.

Only after carefully checking the coordinates did we realize that we had already deviated significantly from the original route, by nearly two hundred kilometers.

What does 200 kilometers mean in a no-man's-land?

If we turn back now and retrace the original route, it will take at least three more days to cover the journey.

The extra three days of consumption was a huge burden on our already meager food supplies.

I stared at the map and pondered it repeatedly. I also opened the wilderness exploration notes left by Wang Ge and carefully checked the terrain and road conditions.

After several comparisons and calculations, I found a completely new route.

The original plan was to cross southeast, but I'm going to change my route and continue north.

The route detours northwest of Purogangri Glacier and then connects to the original destination route.

However, the drawbacks are also obvious.

No one has ever successfully crossed this route. There is only a faint, blurry line on the map, with no landmarks or road condition references. The road ahead is full of unknown risks.

No one knew the road conditions and weather inside the glacier; the potential dangers ahead were completely unknown.

I told Luo Peng and Su Wanhou about the risks and advantages of the new route.

The two of them did not hesitate; they trusted my judgment.

Even so, I still dared not move forward rashly.

The lives of three people are at stake; any negligence could be fatal.

After much deliberation, I took out my satellite phone from the car and dialed Brother Wang's number.

Wang Ge didn't have a cell phone, but he bought one after returning to Jiangzhou specifically to contact us in emergencies, so that he could take care of us.

The satellite phone signal was not stable, and the receiver was filled with crackling static.

As soon as the call connected, Wang Ge's concerned voice came from the other end.

"Lin Ye? How's it going over there? Was the journey smooth?"

I skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point.

He briefly recounted the entire process of our encounter with the robbers, our desperate breakout, and our current deviation from the planned route.

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a heavy sigh from Brother Wang.

"Brothers, you've suffered. There are indeed many criminals roaming deep in the no-man's-land, who have been robbing expedition teams for years. I never thought you would actually run into them."

I didn't have time for sentimentality; I immediately explained my current predicament and my solution.

"Brother Wang, we've deviated 200 kilometers from our original route, and turning back would take too long. So I'm planning to head north directly and rejoin the route via the northwest of Purogangri Glacier. What do you think of this route?"

"Please wait a moment while I check the map."

The sound of turning pages came through the receiver; it must be Brother Wang looking through a paper topographic map.

Several minutes passed before Wang Ge's voice came again, his tone noticeably grave.

"The route you chose has never been taken before. It's full of crevasses of all sizes, and the weather on the Purogangri Glacier is unpredictable, with blizzards possible at any time. It's too risky."

I immediately chimed in, "I know there are risks, but this route saves 300 kilometers and greatly reduces resource consumption. Is there a way to avoid the high-risk areas of the glacier?"

Wang Ge fell silent again for a brief moment, then said cautiously:

"Following your route will indeed save a lot of time, but I'm not familiar with this route and don't know the specifics of the area..."

He paused, then said seriously, "In my opinion, you should go back the way you came and follow the original route. It's safer that way. If you don't have enough supplies, the three of you can reduce the number of supplies a bit. What do you think?"

After listening to what Brother Wang said, I hesitated for a moment and then looked at the map carefully again.

If you change your mind about the original route, the extra distance won't just be two hundred kilometers.

We are now returning to the place where we lost the supplies the night before last, which means that we have lost almost a week of time traveling back and forth.

The shortage of supplies is too great!

While this approach is indeed more prudent, the future remains uncertain, and we are still proceeding cautiously, feeling our way across the river.

After a brief moment of consideration, I decided to take the risk and give it a shot.

I immediately said to Brother Wang, "Brother Wang, could you please use the satellite map to carefully check the details of the route I mentioned?"

Wang Ge knew what I wanted to do. He was silent for a moment, then asked me again to confirm:

"Lin Ye, are you sure you want to take this risk?"