Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness

Chapter 378: Chapter 376 Starting to Climb

Having found a common topic, the two conversed with much more ease.

As they inquired about each other’s future plans and discussed their similar life experiences, it was clear that the two hit it off quite well. Jerret, sitting on the side, felt a bit awkward, almost as if he had become the third wheel, and could only silently sip his coffee.

The live-stream audience was also witnessing such a scene for the first time. Although it wasn’t as dynamic and interesting as a wilderness live stream, it had its own charm, and the viewership surprisingly stabilized at over two hundred thousand people.

Many viewers even started asking when Sir’s next documentary would be released and how long he would stay at Mount Everest.

“That will depend on how smoothly the shooting goes. If it’s successful, maybe half a month will be enough; if not, it could take a month. You know, shooting a documentary is very time-consuming, from weather to angles, to timing, all these are crucial elements for an excellent documentary,” he said.

Watching Sir speak eloquently in front of the camera and recalling some of his own experiences, Bi Fang suddenly had a bold idea.

“Sir, would you be interested in climbing Mount Everest with me?”

Before Sir Edinburgh could answer, the viewers in front of their screens exploded in a frenzy. Were they serious? Asking a person near a hundred years old to climb Mount Everest?

Do they want Sir to die on that natural graveyard?

Bi Fang immediately explained, “Of course, I don’t mean reaching the summit. How could that be possible? Just to Everest Base Camp. I think Sir’s health is still quite good, even exceptionally healthy.”

Having sat opposite for so long, Bi Fang could sense that although the old man looked pale, his heart remained passionate and young.

Similarly, breathing is a powerful indicator of one’s health. Bi Fang, who placed great emphasis on breathing techniques, could acutely perceive that the old man’s breathing was still steady and strong. Perhaps climbing mountains wasn’t impossible for him.

As expected, after making the suggestion, Sir Edinburgh didn’t immediately reject it; instead, he seriously lowered his head in thought as if he was genuinely considering it.

Bi Fang was right—beneath the aged physique was indeed a heart ablaze with passion.

As a legendary figure who participated in World War II, witnessed humans’ first ascent of Mount Everest, and whose footsteps covered every corner of the world, it would undoubtedly be a regret not to have climbed Mount Everest.

Of course, reaching the summit was no longer possible unless God intervened or he was rejuvenated. However, climbing a section of the route was still feasible.

Bi Fang’s invitation was sincere; he truly wanted Sir’s footsteps to be left on Mount Everest. Even if Sir couldn’t reach the summit, if Bi Fang could achieve the ascent himself, the significance would be just as profound.

Moreover, lately, Bi Fang had begun to subtly feel that his live-streaming had reached a bottleneck—the usual solo acts were increasingly difficult to attract more viewers.

In his current live streams, viewership numbers could almost always stabilize at over three million during peak times, with over two million online viewers from Huaxia and more than one million from abroad.

It’s important to note that these were online traffic figures, not actual fans—those who would tune in to watch Bi Fang’s stream punctually. Due to the realities of day-to-day life and work, not all of Bi Fang’s fans could always be in front of their screens every time he went live.

Three million is already an exaggerated number, and if used for advertising to attract traffic, even with only a conversion rate of one-tenth, that would still exceed three hundred thousand in viewer traffic, which is nothing short of terrifying.

Regrettably, the potential upper limit of personal live broadcasts may have been reached. With continued broadcasting in the future, the number might still rise, but it’s certain that the growth curve has entered a period of plateauing. The previous world’s LOL championship finals had an overseas viewership of just over four to five million, owing to a naturally large and established fan base. For Bi Fang to achieve a viewership of one million within a year was already an incredibly unbelievable miracle.

However, if the personal show is full, introducing some fresh elements might change the curve and restore growth.

In a past life, Bear Grylls operated just like that, demonstrating basic skills to the audience with a guest on the previous day and then sending the guest away in a helicopter to venture alone, thus retaining both the intrigue and challenge.

Frankly, the appearance of the maximum oxygen uptake voucher gave Bi Fang a sense of urgency.

Was the appearance of the gold voucher happenstance?

Of course not. Before each expedition, Bi Fang could keenly sense the shop’s bias whenever it updated its inventory; when encountering a desert, there would be more camouflage clothing and desert boots, and when in the mountains, there would be more climbing boots and quick-dry sweatshirts.

The emergence of the gold voucher was no accident; it might be interpreted as a form of sympathy from the shop.

But the requirement of over four thousand points left Bi Fang feeling somewhat like a Muggle; unable to save points, he almost couldn’t afford the purchase. Aside from earning through tasks, money and fan influence were also means to acquire them.

It was only by expanding the latter two that one could avoid the embarrassment of almost not being able to afford items like this time.

Only by seizing every opportunity to become stronger could one aspire to truly achieve boundless travel. The orange Wilderness Traveler was not the end; above it, there might be even more powerful skills.

Rock climbing, swimming, knotting, escaping, animal identification—I still have a long way to go!

Sir, who recorded ‘Animal World’ and ‘Nature,’ was naturally beloved by the audience. Moreover, he was my idol, sitting right in front of me. With so many reasons, Sir was undoubtedly the best choice.

Countless people’s childhoods and youth have been accompanied by a familiar voice rising over the African Savanna—when it comes to fan numbers, Bi Fang couldn’t catch up with Sir Attenborough even if he tried.

After pondering for a moment, Attenborough didn’t rush to answer, but instead asked Bi Fang, “Do you think it’s still possible for me to climb a snow mountain now? Even if just a few thousand meters? I’ve been to many places and seen many animals, but in terms of human survival, perhaps you are the real professional. So I’d like to hear your advice, Adventurer.”

Bi Fang didn’t confirm it outright, as he could only deem the plan feasible from a superficial standpoint: “Just judging from the surface, I believe your climb is feasible. Merely two to three thousand meters of ascent is not a problem at all. One of the bigger challenges in climbing is altitude sickness.

In fact, compared to women, men and compared to the elderly, the young, have faster metabolisms and energy consumption, hence their bodies consume more oxygen and experience stronger altitude sickness. Some older people and long-term smokers, on the other hand, experience a noticeably smaller reaction than others when they enter high altitudes, mainly because they’ve been in a state of mild hypoxia for a long time due to smoking and aging, and thus have greater tolerance to oxygen deprivation. After entering altitude, they’re often able to ‘adapt’ more easily to the hypoxic condition.”

“Of course, this adaptation is predicated on the absence of other severe diseases in your body, like asthma, heart disease, etc. If there was a medical checkup report, I could possibly make a more accurate judgment.”

Having experienced countless wilderness adventures, if asked who understands exotic environments best in the world, Bi Fang believed he had the confidence to be among that very top echelon.

It wasn’t just Bi Fang himself; his viewers thought so too.

[Holy crap, that actually sounds feasible!]

[Amazing, seriously amazing, is Sir planning to become the oldest climber ever?]

[A ninety-year-old climber, isn’t that a bit exaggerated? Feels like something out of a novel]

“Not at all,” Bi Fang said with a smile, “There are many miracles on Mount Everest, and the advancement of modern human technology has greatly reduced the difficulty of reaching the summit. In fact, the oldest person to summit Everest is Japan’s Mr. Yuichiro Miura, who was eighty years old. Although Sir is over a decade older, what he aims to do is not to reach the summit, an endeavor which is much less challenging than Mr. Miura’s.”

Despite the delicate relations between Huaxia and Japan, this did not affect Bi Fang’s love for his homeland or his admiration for those passionate about challenging human limits.

“Moreover, because of companions and the issue of route selection, we opted for a commercial guide to help us with the preparation and training before reaching Everest Base Camp, and that will certainly be effective in helping Sir. After arriving at base camp, I will climb alone, adopting the alpine climbing style to complete this live broadcast and challenge.”

The methods of climbing differ. The mainstream styles are commercial climbing and alpine climbing.

With a filming team involved, choosing a commercial climbing team was inevitable. A commercial climbing team, unlike ordinary teams, involves a lot of collaboration, and climbing large peaks is more like a complex system engineering project, far too complicated.

However, some climbers like the Sherpas or Western experts such as Messner, climbing solo and lightly, or without collaboration, manage to summit and return in just a few days. This is known as the alpine style of climbing.

These people either make a living from collaborative climbing or see it as their life’s pursuit. In recent years, Huaxia has started to develop some commercial climbing organizations and commercial climbers, a necessary stage of development.

Upon reaching Everest Base Camp, Bi Fang will begin an oxygen-free ascent, using the alpine climbing method to engage in a physiological challenge and a brave man’s game.

After listening to Bi Fang’s explanation, Edinburgh seemed to ponder, then suddenly stood, glanced at the stars outside the floor-to-ceiling window, casually picked up the top hat on the armrest and placed it on his head, then turned to extend his hand to Bi Fang.

“Youth truly brims with life force. Listening to your words, looking at your plan, I feel as though I’ve grown much younger myself. So, I hope to receive some good news tomorrow when I see my medical report, Mr. Adventurer! I look forward to our joint climbing journey. It’s getting late and the elderly need their rest, goodbye.”

Watching Sir’s departing figure, Bi Fang and Jerret looked at each other and burst into laughter.

“Sir! Forever Godlike!”

…

At dawn, Bi Fang sprang up from bed, pulled back the curtains, letting sunlight pour in, and gazing at the city that resembled the medieval era, he experienced a surreal feeling of traveling through time once again.

After the meeting with Sir the night before, Bi Fang and Jerret went to inspect the filming equipment. True to Discovery Channel’s reputation, they were set to film Bi Fang’s ascent. Considering the previous successful collaboration, Discovery Channel brought out their prized equipment.

Two drones worth millions, with a maximum altitude of 5800 meters and documental image quality, would be operated from base camp once the climb started. There were also close-up mini cameras that could be worn on the chest, with pin design—the image quality goes without saying—if it were even slightly blurred, it wouldn’t be brought out.

Several positions would simultaneously record to capture the most complete and shocking footage of an oxygen-free summit.

There’s also the matter of checking Sir’s medical report.

In the hall, everyone gathered around Bi Fang, watching him scan the document with tense expressions. Nearly everyone present was an industry insider and recognized the famous Sir.

Therefore, they all shared a sense of anticipation and anxiety for the possibility of climbing together, with Yao Jun and Wang Yongbo being no exceptions. The former was a fan of the animal world, while the latter was tense and excited about the potential collaboration. Wolf Fang and Bi Fang could be called a community of shared fate, with benefits for one resulting in a win-win situation.

“This medical report is from this March, just before I left, not even a month ago, so there shouldn’t be any problems. Of course, if it’s not alright, just tell me directly—it’s all about age, after all,” Sir said calmly, yet the whitening knuckles gripping the teacup revealed a more complex state than his tone suggested.

At over ninety years of age, nearly a centenarian, could he truly attempt to climb the world’s highest peak and leave his own footprint?

Even if just two or three thousand meters.

Having traveled so far and wide, Mount Everest remains an everlasting desire.

After a thorough review of the report, Bi Fang rubbed his nose bridge and sighed.

Edinburgh put down his teacup, forcing a bitter smile: “No good…”

“Sir, this medical report of yours makes me wonder if you got the wrong one or stole someone else’s,” Bi Fang, sighing, changed his worried expression to a smile, “From what I can tell, as long as you’re fully equipped, it’s not just about two or three thousand meters—if even six thousand meters at Everest Base Camp is not out of the question. Your actual physical age does not seem to be ninety, but rather more like eighty, no, even less than eighty. It should be between seventy-five and seventy-eight. It looks like we’ll be seeing more documentaries from you.”

Jerret looked at Bi Fang tensely and asked, “Can he climb?”

Bi Fang nodded assuredly and absolutely: “Yes!”

“Wu Hu!”

The crowd in the room immediately cheered.

Even Sir burst out laughing: “More documentaries? That would indeed be an honor!”

Just then, the climbing guide Rob arrived at the hotel in a taxi, took out his phone, and called Bi Fang. After a few seconds, the call connected.

“Guys, all the climbing gear and tents are ready from our company, may I ask if we can set off now?”

Bi Fang zipped up his backpack, checked all the details, nodded at everyone in the room, and energetically pushed open the doors of the hall, excitedly declaring.

“Mount Everest, let’s go!”