Yao entered from outside, his face etched with fatigue, shaking off the snowflakes from his body.
He was wearing a brightly colored animal skin, which Jiang Fan had clearly made for him.
Jiang Fan had already guessed that there might be extreme cold weather outside, so he had hastily made a coat for Yao to wear first.
As it turned out, it had indeed come in handy.
Dai Xiaomei cheered and rushed forward, like welcoming a victorious hero, to help Yao take off his coat and shake it.
“It’s warm inside!”
Yao murmured.
The snowstorm had stopped, but looking at Yao, he seemed as if he had just returned from an icy, snowy wilderness.
His face was pale blue, his lips were frozen white, and his legs trembled incessantly.
His hair and face were covered in ice crystals, and his hands were as stiff as fish just taken from a freezer.
This showed that he had just been to an environment as cold and harsh as the polar regions.
Seeing Yao return, Jiang Fan, without a word, quickly rekindled the fire in the fireplace.
Under the warmth of the flames, Yao’s face gradually regained its color.
Once Yao had mostly recovered, Jiang Fan slowly began to speak.
“How was it?”
Yao took a deep breath and began to describe the external environment, using both words and gestures.
The wolf boy’s communication skills had gradually improved; his words were intermittent, but everyone understood.
According to Yao, when he went out to scout, the death flies had disappeared.
As he walked, he discovered a passage with a gate on it.
The gate was large but only partially open.
The gap was very narrow, only allowing one person to crawl through.
Yao hesitated for a moment before crawling in. Upon entering, the space opened up dramatically.
The interior was vast and damp, with the scent of fresh water.
It seemed this was the river channel that had swept away the green sea-maned lizards earlier.
At first, Yao didn’t feel anything unusual, but the further he walked, the colder it became.
Towards the back, the moisture in the passage had condensed into ice everywhere.
There were even very sharp icicles formed in the passage, so solid that Yao couldn't break them even by kicking them.
After walking a bit further, Yao finally emerged from the passage, and the sight before him astonished him.
He was looking at a world of ice and snow, and as far as his eyes could see, there was nothing but rocks covered in thick ice and snow.
The ice and snow stretched endlessly, with snowflakes flying everywhere, a desolate landscape where all beauty had turned to dust in the ice and snow.
Not a trace of vegetation was visible, and the tracks of animals were even harder to find.
In the distance stood a tall and majestic snow mountain. Because the mountain blocked the sunlight, the entire ice plain was dim and deathly still.
On the ridge of the snow mountain, there was a faint shadow cast by the sunlight.
Seeing that he could go no further, Yao retreated. Fortunately, he hadn't seen any sign of the death flies along the way.
After hearing Yao’s account, everyone fell into a deathly silence.
First, an endless expanse of volcanoes, and now a snow mountain.
From extreme heat to extreme cold, the problems all led to a dead end!
The passage led to a vast ice plain, devoid of any life. It seemed that collecting ingredients was also a futile hope.
In the live stream, the viewers were also silent.
They had initially thought that since there was a passage where water could flow, there must be another way out.
They had never expected that the exit would lead to an endless ice plain.
And it was a snow mountain, a place that instilled the most fear in people in treacherous environments.
“Going to the snow mountain, that’s certain death!”
“Right, in other environments, there were more or less some creatures, like rattlesnakes and lizards in the volcanic rocks.”
“If pushed, rattlesnakes and lizards could also be eaten, but there’s nothing on the snow mountain.”
“Don’t be afraid, our ancestors climbed snow mountains too.”
“Let me tell you, the first snow mountain the ancestors climbed was called Jiajin Mountain, only about thirty-five kilometers long, and many ancestors fell along the way.”
“Who knows if this snow mountain has an end, and there are two women in the team.”
The viewers in the live stream were generally pessimistic, believing that Jiang Fan and his companions were doomed.
Jiang Fan also understood that the current situation was extremely dire.
He was facing an almost unsolvable dead end.
If they stayed here, their supplies would dwindle, and they would eventually starve or freeze to death.
“Otherwise, should we go back through the original passage?”
Zhou Niannian suggested.
Go back through the original passage? Jiang Fan had considered this option.
The problem was that the passage was at a very high altitude, and climbing up would be extremely difficult. Besides, even if they got up, what then?
The oasis had been destroyed by the death flies and turned into a wasteland.
If they went back, they would still face the predicament of no food or drink, trapped in the rocky cave.
Moreover, the death flies could fly. They wouldn't climb the snow mountain. They might have already flown back to the original oasis and were waiting for them.
After much deliberation, Jiang Fan felt that their only option was to head towards the snow mountain.
“We can only go to the snow mountain, and we have to do it quickly. We can’t stay here any longer.”
Jiang Fan’s intention was clear: their supplies were limited, and there was nowhere to replenish them.
Every minute they stayed longer meant consuming more supplies.
Furthermore, they didn't know if the death flies would return. If they were trapped and died here by the death flies, it would be over.
Hearing that they were going to climb the snow mountain, Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei shivered.
Both Dai Xiaomei and Zhou Niannian knew the difficulty of climbing snow mountains.
When they traveled, they had climbed tourist attractions like Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.
These tourist spots had cable cars to take them up, oxygen tanks to carry, and numerous rest stops along the way.
Even so, Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei still found the climb arduous.
Now, to climb a potentially endless snow mountain wearing simple animal skin coats, what was the difference between that and courting death?
If they had to die, it would be more comfortable to die in an ice house, wouldn't it?
Jiang Fan immediately saw through the two women’s thoughts and encouraged them.
“We are not blindly crossing the snow mountain!”
“There is sunlight on the snow mountain. As long as there is sunlight, it is possible for plants to grow!”
“Since the mountain faces the sun, as long as we can cross it, the other side might be our way out!”
After speaking, Jiang Fan rummaged through his backpack and took out the climbing rope and some essential climbing gear.
“When God closes a door for you, he will surely open another window. There is always a way out.”
“Perhaps this snow mountain is the path to our future hope.”
After hearing these words, Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei’s eyes lit up, and they nodded heavily.
The viewers in the live stream cheered after hearing Jiang Fan’s words.
“As expected of Jiang Shen! This pep talk is absolutely awesome!”
“They’re really going to cross the snow mountain, how brave!”
“This adventure is getting more and more interesting with so many complex terrains!”
“By the way, do you still remember this is Chi You’s tomb? My goodness, a tomb actually has so many hidden wonders!”
“Go forth magnificently! Jiang Shen, we wish you well!”