Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness

Chapter 373: 371: Maximum Oxygen Uptake

Chapter 373: Chapter 371: Maximum Oxygen Uptake

“`

The breath control Bi Fang had maintained for so long suddenly collapsed, his breathing became abruptly heavy, and his heart started to beat violently. His chest was filled with tremendous joy, and in a matter of seconds, his expressions nearly made the passersby on the side take notice.

Bi Fang’s wildness from living in the wilderness for so long was starkly distinct from the comfort of the city. This was due to the high pressure causing a surge in hormone secretion, often referred to as the scent of a man. Many special forces soldiers and frontline detectives possess a similar aura. It is for this reason that people with similar experiences and heightened sensitivity could exchange glances and immediately sense that there’s something extraordinary about the other person.

Such a man, when mixed into the city, is like a drop of red ink in a pool of plaster, naturally eye-catching. At this moment, Bi Fang was particularly noticeable.

This guy, he looks so familiar.

Is he a celebrity?

As passersby began to notice Bi Fang, the more they looked at him, the more familiar he seemed, and the more astonishing it became.

“Hahaha, sorry, I just thought of something happy,” Bi Fang touched the back of his head, laughed heartily, and quickly stepped out of line, his steps surprisingly sprightly.

Turning his back, the smile on Bi Fang’s face was almost overflowing. How long had it been since he’d had such a surprise?

It was as if someone offered a pillow when he was sleepy or a steaming, spicy bowl of noodles when he was hungry.

How satisfying!

“Oxygen Uptake Index Enhancement Coupon*1, redeem for 4600 Wilderness Points.”

“Gold coupons are different indeed, they cost over four thousand.”

Seeing the price of the Oxygen Uptake Coupon, Bi Fang’s excitement at encountering the gold coupon subsided slightly. The points he could earn from one mission were only a little over a thousand, never even reaching two thousand. This gold coupon was worth three times the points of his missions.

Over four thousand points. That was the most expensive voucher Bi Fang had ever encountered; he didn’t even know how much it would increase his index, but he knew he had to have it.

Oxygen uptake.

Many people have not even heard of this concept, yet it is a golden figure among professional athletes.

Maximum oxygen uptake, also, is the most direct data for assessing cardiovascular health in the field of exercise physiology.

It represents the amount of oxygen one can inhale when the body can no longer continue to support further exercise at the maximum intensity. Renowned as the gold standard for evaluating endurance levels, it is one of the crucial criteria for selecting endurance athletes.

A healthy male typically has a maximum oxygen uptake between 35-40, while for females it’s between 27-31. A maximum oxygen uptake value over 60 usually results in significant achievements in aerobic sports.

The average for international top male runners is an astonishing 85!

What qualifies as international top level?

It’s not something as simple as being a national team athlete, that would be undervaluing them. These people are treasures of humanity, representing those capable of competing for world championships, the pinnacle of human physical capabilities! Furthermore, good cardiovascular health even means such individuals are likely to live longer than the average person!

And those above ninety? They should no longer be called human but rather—monsters.

“`

Indeed, Bi Fang felt exactly that way, to him, anyone with a maximum oxygen uptake over ninety was a monstrous being, undeserving of the title “human.” Such individuals could even jog on Mount Everest!

To jog in the forbidden zone for humans at an altitude of over 8,800 meters, where oxygen is extremely scarce!

Just imagining this scene made Bi Fang’s face flush with excitement. A path he never envisioned, a scenario he never dreamt of, could he run on Mount Everest? No, there was no need to run, even walking, one step at a time, was his lifelong aspiration.

Compared to the population of humans, the number of people who have climbed Mount Everest is minuscule, and among them, over 90% could barely crawl after reaching the summit due to the thin air, standing being nearly impossible!

If that were all, Bi Fang wouldn’t be so excited, but the key point was that, according to medical research, maximum aerobic capacity could only be improved by 5-25% through training, with the remaining 72-95% being primarily influenced by genetic factors!

In other words, it was a talent! No matter how much ordinary people trained, they could not reach it!

Any enhancement through exercise also demanded continuous training to maintain. If training stopped for 2 weeks, aerobic capacity would significantly decline; 4-12 weeks without training could reduce cardiorespiratory function by 50%; and without training for half a year, the function would revert to the level before training.

Moreover, short-term training could not improve maximum oxygen uptake, usually requiring 10-20 weeks of training to be effective, with at least 2 sessions per week to enhance it substantially.

Therefore, the appearance of this gold coupon in the store caused Bi Fang to be so excited. Why did he want to climb Mount Everest?

The main reason was very simple, it was a dream, an aspiration, to put it in the words of New Zealand climber Hillary (actually, it’s Hillary, but you all understand), “because it’s there.”

The second reason was the breakthrough he sought after his own limits; the appearance of the enhancement coupon was also a kind of limit breakthrough. Through various training and breathing methods, Bi Fang had already reached the training limit of his maximum oxygen uptake. Naturally, any further improvement was impossible.

Only the system could help Bi Fang break through the limit, to reach domains that predecessors had reached and even those unattained.

4600 points, even if it meant smashing the pot and selling the iron, he would get them!

Bi Fang scrolled down his personal panel. The points brought by Ruins City weren’t much, only 1600, and he had never been one to save points, as that would be disrespectful to every mission.

However, fortunately, the system had been updated a long time ago, and aside from acquiring Wilderness Points through missions, they could also be generated by certain influences and fan bases. Furthermore, points could be directly exchanged with money.

Ten thousand for one point.

Aside from using it right after the update, Bi Fang hadn’t touched this piggy bank, almost forgetting about it. When he checked, he added the points from the missions.

“Still short by one hundred and twenty?”

Bi Fang was stunned. When production wasn’t enough, it meant resorting to conversion with money, which was 1.2 million.

To be honest, the club’s investments were like a bottomless pit, which made Bi Fang’s wallet constantly in a state of being both wealthy and poor. Apart from maintaining the basic expenditures, he had hardly any extra wealth, especially since renting various vehicles for each trip overseas was also a major expense.

Digging out the certificate of deposit from his pocket, Bi Fang was speechless and on the verge of tears. The gold bars Hask had given him hadn’t even had time to get warm before he had to give them up. But there was no choice, it would take some time for the coupon to be adapted to, the sooner the better. Bi Fang could only reluctantly choose to exchange.

The sound of gold coins falling to the ground resounded in his ears, a clear and crisp echo, bleeding the heart.

Although Bi Fang didn’t care much about money, he had the habit of saving it. Probably a mindset that came from poverty in a previous life, losing a large sum of money always caused him heartache for a long time.

“By the way, after completing the task on Everest, will the points increase? Otherwise, if I encounter a gold coupon in the future…”

“`

Bi Fang gasped at the cold air, and immediately felt a sharp pain in his liver.

But when he saw the gold coupon appear in his backpack, Bi Fang set aside the heartache and found a hidden corner in the lobby to click ‘Adapt’.

Every time he used the various enhancements provided by the System, Bi Fang would secretly record it with a camera on the side, reviewing the footage afterward to see if anything was amiss. The results proved that, aside from feeling sleepy on occasion, there were no other conspicuous external changes. Thus, at this moment, he was quite eager.

In the void, the gold coupon turned into fine powder and enveloped Bi Fang, merging into his body.

“What’s the matter, so sleepy?”

Bi Fang’s eyes were blurry as he looked through the plants at the corner toward the bustling lobby, slowly lowering his head.

In his sleep, Bi Fang had a dream where he found himself on a cold and freezing grassland. The weather was so cold that he was about to freeze, but soon, a warm gust of wind blew over. It started off cold, but gradually, it became warm.

The wind brought moisture and warmth; the massive armor of ice cracked, and streams of snow honeydew flowed through the crevices. The once dormant path was again exposed to the sunlight, breathing in the fresh air eagerly, and sprouts of green grass seemed like springs emerging from the deep earth, spilling over the undulating grassland all the way to the horizon.

The sky was a clear blue with white clouds, and herds of geese flew across, changing directions. He became a lone herdsman, riding freely across the plain, free to go wherever he wished.

“Mr. Bi… Mr. Bi, Mr. Bi!?”

“Hmm, ah!”

Bi Fang suddenly woke up and, by instinct, grabbed the man’s wrist, twisting it behind his back. However, before the man could cry out in pain, Bi Fang, realizing who he was, quickly let go and raised his hands halfway up.

At that moment, the security guard’s pain signals seemed to have just reached his brain; he cried out in pain, attracting the attention of the few remaining people in the vicinity.

“Sorry, sorry, very sorry, I didn’t mean to,” Bi Fang said with his hands half-raised, his face a mix of embarrassment and shame. He glanced around and instantly understood everything.

Compared to the crowded lobby during the day, it was now eerily quiet, where even a small noise could echo far. Not far off, the man’s colleagues were already rushing over.

Obviously, he had accidentally fallen asleep after using the gold coupon and had slept into the night. The kind-hearted attempt to wake him had unexpectedly resulted in Bi Fang reflexively using a martial hold, possibly even spraining the joint.

But there was no helping it; he had just returned from Yemen, and his nerves had not fully relaxed yet, coupled with his wild instinct, many actions were made subconsciously.

“I am truly very sorry, maybe you should go to the hospital to have it checked out. I will cover all expenses, including lost wages and the like, I really apologize.”

“No, no problem, it just hurts a bit,” the security guard winced in pain but still waved his hands repeatedly.

“Hey, Old Huang, are you okay? You there, step away from him!”

The man’s colleague was already hurrying over. The man quickly stood up and waved his hand: “It’s fine, just a misunderstanding, I accidentally took a fall.”

His colleague looked skeptical: “Really?”

“Really! Don’t worry about it.” The man stood out more, took a few steps forward to show his colleague, said a few words, and only then did his colleague let down his guard and leave.

The man turned back to look at Bi Fang again, who was now even more embarrassed. He hadn’t expected to hurt the man’s arm only for him to then cover for him. He felt terribly sorry. However, the man’s attitude led Bi Fang to some speculation: “Do… do you know me?”

“`

The man moved his shoulders, grimacing in pain, but still managed to laugh, “Right, I’ve seen your livestream, Master Fang!”

Bi Fang was even more embarrassed, not expecting the other person to casually wave his hand, “No worries, I understand. You’ve just come back from Yemen, being tense is normal. And it’s my fault too, I shouldn’t have gotten close to you, always thought Cao Mengde’s ‘I delight in killing people in my dreams’ was fake, but today I was really schooled.”

With a joke, the tense atmosphere immediately loosened up.

Bi Fang also breathed a sigh of relief. Compensating for the damage and apologizing were minor; he was in the wrong to begin with. His worry had been that the other party would be unyielding and make a big deal out of it, which could tie him down, and he couldn’t afford that right now. Every day was precious and could not be wasted. Today, he was giving a perfunctory apology gift, and tomorrow he would set off for real.

“It’s all my fault, a thousand times over. You should hurry to the hospital for a checkup, and I’ll take care of the costs,” Bi Fang offered.

“Eh, no need for that, you let go quickly and I’ve had some training myself. Look, it’s almost nothing now, worst case I just slap on a plaster tonight and it’ll be all good,” Huang Tianming declined repeatedly, swinging his shoulder in circles to show he was fine, and gave Bi Fang a thumbs-up.

“Master Fang, I watched the entirety of your livestream a few days ago, you are really made of iron. Damn, you really make Huaxia proud, those beasts dared not act humanely, doing things that defy nature and heavens. And who says only foreigners have the guts to take risks and strive? Be it a behemoth in a river or a rainforest expedition, we don’t have such shows, they only want those sissies to dance and sing. But in truth, we Huaxia people are no less, we can do it better and more badass!

What’s the big deal with editing? It’s all fake. Livestreaming is the ultimate badassery, who dares call it fake? Sadly, I don’t have much ability or money to help out. What’s a little twist? It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it,” Huang Tianming ended up comforting Bi Fang instead, patting him on the shoulder.

“This…” Bi Fang still felt bad about it.

“It’s really okay, really. Look, if you can’t get over it, why not tell me about where you’re planning to go next? When’s the next livestream starting?”

At this topic, Huang Tianming’s eyes lit up.

He was truly Bi Fang’s fan. Unless he was tied up with work, he would follow every episode, and he sincerely thought so too. Watching Bi Fang survive and explore in various dangerous territories abroad through a screen was damn thrilling, way better than any movie!

Especially after Jerret’s survival show aired, it made Master Fang’s bravery and fearlessness, as well as his outstanding skills, more prominent – rightfully the number one wilderness survivor!

Making us proud!

Genuinely making us proud!

“For the next episode, I do have something prepared.”

“Hey, come on, spill the beans, or I really won’t let you off,” Huang urged.

Bi Fang looked around, leaned in, and whispered, “I’m going to climb Mount Everest!”

“Hiss! Mount Everest? My dear mother!” Huang exclaimed.

Bi Fang scratched his head, seeing that the passersby he had finally walked away from had gathered around again, somewhat speechless.

Why does everyone have such a big reaction?

I haven’t even started the climb!