The original repairer

Shi Chen is a graduate student studying ancient Chinese characters.

In April, he submitted his last academic paper before graduation, which was praised by Professor Lu and published in the magazine "Tonggu Heritage". He was only listed as a co-author.

The paper caused a sensation, and before Professor Lu went on a global lecture tour, he introduced him to a job to decipher ancient characters.

In two months, Shi Chen translated more than a dozen ancient Chinese texts and photos and received a reward of 3,000 yuan.

It was graduation season in July, and the scorching sun began to blaze at around 7 a.m. Shi Chen, wearing a simple shirt, beads of sweat already oozing from his forehead, stood at the bus stop, clutching a backpack filled with his resume, waiting for the bus to the city center.

There is a large job fair today, held in People's Park in the city center.

Facing the afterglow of the setting sun, Shi Chen walked into the alleys of the urban village exhausted. The lights were on, neon lights were flashing, and the various shops in the alleys began to become bustling.

I packed a bowl of noodles with gravy from the street corner and walked towards the rental house.

"Brother Shi, you're back. Come and buy some braised dishes from me. Auntie will give you a discount." Auntie Shen, who worked in the shop on the first floor of the rental house, was all smiles. She greeted him warmly while skillfully fiddling with the dishes on the stall with her hands, her eyes looking at Shi Chen eagerly.

Shi Chen raised his head, forced a bitter smile, looked at Aunt Shen's plump figure, and said awkwardly: "Aunt, I'm too tired today, next time, next time." After that, he walked into the corridor and headed towards the stairs.

"Hui'er," Aunt Shen nudged her daughter with her elbow, "Hey! Look there, you've lost your soul!"

Snapped!

He had only said half of his words when he noticed that his daughter was looking at Shi Chen's back like a fangirl. He got angry and slapped his daughter on the waist and hips.

"Ah! Mom~~" Hui'er whispered, rolled her eyes, and her cheeks flushed instantly. She muttered softly, "Mom, what are you doing? It's so embarrassing."

Aunt Shen glared and shouted at the top of her voice, "You girl, what do you know? What's so good about that guy? He's so poor that he can't even find a job. If you follow him, how can you have a good life?"

Hui'er bit her lip and whispered back, "Mom, don't say that about Brother Shi Chen. He's a graduate student and he's sure to have a bright future."

"Promising?" Aunt Shen snorted coldly, "He's just a bookworm from the countryside. After all these years of studying, he can only rent a shabby basement. I'm telling you, Hui'er, don't be silly. Mom won't hurt you. Stay away from him from now on. Mom will find you a rich man."

After that, Aunt Shen continued to busy herself with greeting guests, muttering to herself, "In this world, without money, nothing matters."

Shi Chen walked down the basement stairs and could no longer hear the voices of Aunt Shen and her daughter Le Hui. He opened the door of the rental house, which was dark and damp, with a faint musty smell.

This is a converted utility room of the landlord. It is only eight square meters and can accommodate a bed and an old-fashioned desk.

Putting down his backpack and sitting at the desk, Shi Chen opened the already somewhat lumpy noodle soup. The aroma of the stew filled his nose, and his hungry stomach rumbled in time.

This was the cheapest bowl of noodles with gravy. Shi Chen finished it in just a few bites. The aftertaste was still lingering, so he licked his lips and turned on his phone.

This afternoon, the employer sent a picture. Shi Chen was busy at the job fair, so he just glanced at it and continued to send out resumes. Only now did he have time to take a closer look.

Shi Chen once again scrutinized the image. The ancient text was blurry, seemingly adorned with complex textures and unique symbols. He frowned, his gaze focused, trying to find some clues from the blurred lines.

He picked up a pencil on the table, gestured on the draft paper next to him, and muttered to himself.

"What on earth does this mean?" Shi Chen muttered to himself, falling into deep thought.

Ring ring ring!

The phone on the bed rang, waking him up from his deep thoughts. He opened it and saw that it was a call from abroad.

Without answering the call, Shi Chen let it ring happily on the bed. He stood up and picked up the packing box beside the desk, wondering: These days, overseas fraud has become so crazy, and it is carried out through international long-distance calls.

Shi Chen shook his head helplessly. It was dark outside, but the alley was brightly lit, and the various street vendors were bustling with activity. He put his trash in the trash can at the entrance and returned.

Aunt Shen was still chattering away, persuading her daughter, and from time to time she would belittle Shi Chen, saying that he was ungrateful. While cutting the braised meat, she kept criticizing Shi Chen. Her mercenary look made the guests next to her look at her sideways.

Shi Chen returned to his rental apartment and closed the door. The noise outside had subsided considerably. He sat down at his desk again, looking at the picture of the ancient text, but his mood was a little irritated by what had just happened.

"Forget it, I don't want to think about these troubles. I'd better understand this ancient text first." Shi Chen took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, and focused on the fuzzy texture and unique symbols on the picture again.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the ringing of his cell phone once again woke Shi Chen from his deep thoughts. He glanced at the phone impatiently and found that it was the same number from abroad.

"This scam call is really persistent." Shi Chen muttered, hesitated for a moment, and pressed the answer button.

"Hello?" Shi Chen's voice was a little wary.

A familiar voice came from the other end of the line: "Shi Chen, this is Professor Lu. I need you to translate the pictures my employer sent me today as soon as possible. I will be returning to China in two days. I have a big project for you to participate in."

Hearing Professor Lu's voice, his guard immediately dissipated, and he said with anticipation, "Teacher, it's you! I'm studying the image, trying to decipher it. The ancient text on it is indeed quite complicated. I will finish the translation as soon as possible."

Professor Lu's pertinent voice came from the phone: "I believe in your ability, but time is tight this time, so you need to put in more effort. When I return to China, we can discuss this major project. I will then recommend you to join it."

Shi Chen said gratefully, "Thank you, Professor. I will work hard."

After hanging up the phone, Shi Chen took a deep breath, refocused his attention on the ancient Chinese text on the picture, and continued to study it.

"When I was young, I met a celestial being in the mountains. He enlightened me and taught me to cultivate... I blame the world for being devoid of spiritual energy and for having wasted my life..."

Opening his eyes, Shi Chen was startled by endless darkness. He woke up from his dream, rubbed his sore eyes, and fumbled to turn on the dim desk lamp to illuminate the entire basement.

At the foot of the bed, some books and materials were piled up in a mess. Outside, there were bursts of noise, the roar of passing vehicles, the clamor of people talking loudly, and the sharp sound of quarreling coming from nowhere.

Shi Chen picked up the translation paper on the desk, which contained the ancient text that had been translated at around four o'clock in the morning yesterday.

"When I was a child, I was on a mountain and met a man who came down from heaven. He taught me the art of cultivation. Unfortunately, there was no spiritual energy in the world for cultivation. Although I was able to enter the cultivation, I could not advance and was stuck at the third level. For a hundred years, I searched the world, but could not find a way to break through. I returned to Tianren Mountain and cultivated day and night. After a while, I discovered the cave of the Tianren. Unfortunately, I discovered it too late and could not solve the maze there, so I could only seal the cave. If future generations can successfully cultivate, find the cave on the mountain, solve the maze, and leave here."

Shi Chen couldn't help but feel surprised that the classical Chinese sentences in his dream had the same meaning as his own translation.

He glanced at the time. It was only a little after eight in the morning. Lack of sleep made him feel dizzy and irritable. He shook his head, took his toiletries, and went up to the kitchen on the first floor to wash up.

At half past nine, Shi Chen sat in a breakfast shop at the corner of the alley, eating buns, fried dough sticks, and soy milk while sending the translation to his employer.

Before he finished his breakfast, Shi Chen received a message on his phone. He opened it and was stunned.

‘您尾号4XXX的卡/账号20xx年x月x日9:35收入8000元，余额xxxx元。付方：隆金集团国际无限业务有限公司。摘要：译款。’

Eight thousand? The translation of a hundred or so words would cost eight thousand yuan, which was equivalent to the family's income for half a year.

At 7:30 in the evening, despite being exhausted from the international journey, Professor Lu called Shi Chen as soon as he got off the plane. His tone was filled with anxiety and urgency: "Shi Chen, come to my house right away. I have something important to discuss with you."

Shi Chen didn't dare to delay and quickly took a taxi to Professor Lu's residence. This kind of commanding tone was the first time he had seen it in his years of working as a mentor, which made Shi Chen a little confused.

When he arrived at Professor Lu's house, Shi Chen knocked on the door gently. After a moment, Professor Lu opened the door and let him in.

Before Shi Chen could ask, Professor Lu sat down on the sofa with a serious face and said, "I've recommended you for the major project. You'll start joining the team tomorrow. Once you join, all external communications and contact will be kept confidential until the project is complete. Get ready tonight and report in with me tomorrow. The project is expected to take six months, so be prepared."

Shi Chen's eyes widened in surprise, his confusion growing even more intense: "Professor, what kind of project is this? Why is it so secretive? Isn't the time too tight?"

Professor Lu took a deep breath and said slowly, "You'll know when you join the group. I can't tell you directly now, so I can only tell you a little bit about some literature translation. Time is a bit tight, and I'm rushing back from abroad. Okay, go back and prepare well, and I'll pick you up tomorrow."

Shi Chen said goodbye to Professor Lu and left with a heavy heart. He returned to the rental house in the basement, but his heart was not at peace. Thinking that all communication would be cut off for another six months, he took out his mobile phone and transferred 8,000 yuan to his mother's card.

A few minutes later, there was a call from home. Shi Chen could only explain that he was participating in a project and would be unable to communicate for half a year. Then he chatted about family matters for a long time before hanging up the phone.

After the closed training camp, we took a three-day train ride, transferred to a waiting minibus, and after a few hours' drive, we arrived at a small village.

There are no villagers left in this village, nor are there any iconic village signs or road signs.

There are more than a dozen earthen houses in the village where the early members of the expedition team are stationed. Most of the materials and equipment have been delivered to the expedition site. As soon as the expedition team arrives, they can start the expedition work.

The expedition team rested in the village for one night. Early the next morning, everyone put on mountaineering equipment and warm winter clothes and set off for the mountain.

This should be the central part of Kunlun Mountain, but the exact location is uncertain.

When they saw the towering mountains, the blue sky and white clouds, and the melting ice and snow, Shi Chen knew where they were.

Last month, a video of an avalanche in the Kunlun Mountains circulated online for a few days and then disappeared.

This is Mount K2.