From humble beginnings to the pinnacle of life

At that moment, the heart that had been in my throat instantly settled down.

The extreme fear and the ecstatic joy of regaining what was lost instantly intertwined, impacting my mind and soul.

I quickly composed myself and seized the opportunity to ask, "Luo Peng! Where are you now? Are you injured? How's the car?"

But as soon as he finished speaking, the signal in the walkie-talkie instantly weakened, becoming weak and intermittent.

Su Wan frowned and said, "The signal is still unstable. He hasn't left the fog zone. He should be on the edge of the fog zone right now, just barely able to get a signal."

She paused, then suddenly asked, "Did he just say... he found something?"

I nodded immediately: "Yes, he only said 'found' before the signal dropped. Could it be that he found the exit?"

Su Wan shook her head slightly and frowned, saying, "That's unlikely. If we find a safe exit and get out of the fog, the signal will be fully restored and won't be so intermittent."

Her eyes flashed, and her tone suddenly changed: "We previously speculated that this foggy area was caused by underground hot spring currents. Do you think... he might have found an underground spring?"

My heart skipped a beat, and in an instant, I realized what was happening. I immediately grabbed the walkie-talkie and shouted:

"Luo Peng! If you can hear me, don't make a sound! If I'm about to ask you a question, honk once if you can hear me, and twice if you're sure!"

I gripped the walkie-talkie tightly; those few seconds felt like an eternity.

The next second, a faint but clear horn sound came from the depths of the white fog in the distance.

"Beep!"

I instantly breathed a huge sigh of relief; he could hear me!

I immediately pressed, "Have you found the hot spring source? If so, honk the horn twice!"

"Beep! Beep!"

Two crisp horn blasts came from the foggy area.

As expected, I immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

I then said to him, "Luo Peng, stay where you are and don't wander off. Honk your horn every five seconds to give us your location! We're coming in to find you right now!"

From deep within the fog, two more horn blasts responded.

I put down the walkie-talkie and turned to Su Wan urgently, saying, "Quick, get in my car, let's go inside and find someone!"

Without hesitation, Su Wan immediately opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat.

I stepped on the gas, turned the car around, and drove back towards that deadly white fog zone.

Meanwhile, I kept shouting into the walkie-talkie: "Luo Peng! Keep honking! Don't stop! The signal gets worse the further into the fog. If you can't hear us, use the loudspeaker to give us your location! We're coming right away!"

Scattered echoes occasionally flashed through the walkie-talkie, but Luo Peng's response could still be felt.

The sound of a horn coming from deep within the fog became increasingly clear.

Thankfully, no one was hurt.

Following the intermittent honking sounds from within the fog, the car slowly approached the edge of the white fog.

The closer you get to the heart of the fog, the more the biting cold wind gradually weakens, and a faint wisp of moist, warm steam drifts into the air.

This aura is so unique, completely the opposite of the biting, dry wind of the glacier.

It's like suddenly entering a warm space in a snowy landscape—it's both abrupt and incredibly comforting.

Wisps of white steam rose from the gravel ground beneath their feet, and layers of thin mist swirled around the surface, no longer the oppressive, dark atmosphere that had enveloped the sky and made it impossible to see one's hand in front of one's face.

The sound of the horn grew clearer and clearer, coming from right in front of us.

I controlled the car's speed and slowly drove around a giant ice rock several meters high.

Suddenly, the view opened up before my eyes, revealing an incredible scene.

Deep within the frozen wasteland, there lies a natural spring that continuously emits steam.

Warm spring water gurgles out from the cracks in the rocks, flows down the terrain, and gathers into a shallow pool of clear water.

Large amounts of warm white mist rose continuously, enveloping the entire small area.

Luo Peng's off-road vehicle was parked on a gravelly open space not far away. He stood by the hot spring pool, staring intently at the entrance to the foggy area.

Upon seeing our headlights piercing through the white fog, he instantly raised his arms excitedly and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Brother Lin! Sister Wan! I'm here!"

I breathed a sigh of relief, slammed on the brakes, and before the car door was even fully open, I jumped out and rushed over.

Luo Peng also quickly came forward, his face full of joy at surviving the ordeal.

I stepped forward, opened my arms, and hugged him tightly.

"You little rascal, you almost scared us to death!"

At this moment, I was overwhelmed with emotions.

The panic of getting lost, the despair of losing contact, the fear of imagining all sorts of unexpected events...

All of these emotions intertwined and surged into my heart at that moment.

Luo Peng hugged me back tightly, panting heavily, his voice trembling slightly.

"I'm fine, Brother Lin, I'm really fine! That thick fog came so suddenly, I couldn't see anything for a second, and it was like your two cars disappeared into thin air."

"I kept honking the horn, but there was only static on the walkie-talkie. I panicked, thinking I had fallen behind and was completely trapped in the fog."

He raised his hand to wipe the ice and cold air from his face, and recounted his harrowing experience in rapid succession.

"I figured I couldn't stay put. Staying in the fog would only make me completely lost, so I just drove forward in the general direction, trying to break through this thick fog."

"As we drove, we smelled a humid and hot odor and saw this hot spring. I originally wanted to continue on my way to catch up with you, but when I got out of the car to investigate, I found that the road was full of slippery ice rocks, and further ahead there were continuous invisible ice cracks, making it impossible to pass."

"I could only park the car here and kept pressing the walkie-talkie to call you, and it was only with great difficulty that I finally got a signal. When I heard you speaking just now, I almost cried. It was so reassuring!"

At this moment, Su Wan also walked over slowly, with a faint smile, and said, "It's good that you're alright. It's a blessing that everyone is safe and sound."

Looking at the steaming hot spring in front of me, and thinking about what we had experienced along the way, an incredibly strong thought suddenly popped into my mind.

We endured harsh weather and survived so many near-death experiences in the no-man's-land, and were completely exhausted.

Now, having escaped a desperate situation, we've stumbled upon this natural geothermal hot spring. Isn't this an opportunity specially sent by God?

I immediately said, "We've traveled a long way, and we're all dirty and tired. Since we've come across a natural hot spring, why don't we take a nice soak and a hot bath to recover our strength?"

Luo Peng immediately slapped his thigh, his face beaming with excitement, and said, "I've been thinking this for ages! We've been freezing the whole way through the snow and ice, our bones are aching, we never even dared to dream of soaking in hot water!"

After saying that, he couldn't wait to rush to the main pool of the hot spring and reached out to test the temperature of the water.

But as soon as his hand touched the water, he abruptly pulled it back, wincing in pain and shaking it repeatedly.

"Holy crap! This water is way too hot! I can't even bring myself to touch it!"

I was a little curious, so I went over and reached out to test it.

It was scalding hot to the touch, with a temperature of at least 60 or 70 degrees Celsius, making it impossible to take a bath in.

At this moment, Su Wan said in a calm tone, "The water temperature at the source is already high. You can only go downstream with the stream, where the temperature will gradually decrease, and the water temperature in the shallows downstream will be suitable for the human body."

"Then let's hurry downstream and look!" Luo Peng immediately suggested.

But Su Wan gently shook her head: "You go ahead, I'll wait for you here."

"Let's go together!"