83: Preparations before climbing Mount Everest

The next morning.

The sun in Lhasa was still dazzling.

Jiang Yuan leaned against the massive black wheel arch of the "guardian," waiting for his companion for the day.

Not long after, a new Range Rover Autobiography slowly drove into the parking lot.

Dorje acted as the driver himself, bringing his daughter over.

However, when that Range Rover, which represented top-tier worldly luxury, parked next to the "guardian," the scene became quite awkward for a moment.

The usually imposing Range Rover looked like an undersized toy car in front of this black-and-white behemoth.

Dorje pushed the door open and got out, but the moment he looked up, he froze on the spot.

"Th-this car..."

This Lhasa businessman, who had seen it all, was incoherent at this moment.

He pointed at the behemoth before him, with its aerodynamic design that looked like it had just driven off a sci-fi movie set, and felt a gap in his perception.

Could it be that he had stayed on the plateau for too long and was disconnected from the outside world?

Had recreational vehicles evolved to this extent now?

"It's a custom version I got a friend overseas to help me acquire."

Jiang Yuan smiled and walked up to him, casually making up an excuse:

"Currently, there's only one of these in the country... no, in the world."

This wasn't an exaggeration; as a product of the System, it was truly one of a kind.

"You really are something, Brother Jiang."

Dorje swallowed hard and gave a thumbs up, his eyes full of shock and envy.

"Here, give me the luggage."

Jiang Yuan took the suitcase from Kelsang Lhamo's hand.

Walking to the back of the vehicle, the 360-degree sensor detected him, and the cabin wall panel slid open silently, revealing a huge storage space.

This wasn't a traditional trunk, but an independent storage room with magnetic retractable doors, which could even connect directly to the master bedroom inside.

This ingenious spatial design once again refreshed Dorje's perception.

At Jiang Yuan's invitation, Dorje cautiously boarded the vehicle.

Upon entering the cabin, the overwhelming sense of futuristic technology completely shattered the middle-aged man's worldview.

There was no grease of leather, only extreme minimalism and luxury.

To avoid scaring the older man, Jiang Yuan did not wake up the AI "Xiao Jiu," but simply demonstrated the facilities in the living area.

"Alright, Abba, don't worry about it. This car looks much more comfortable than home."

Kelsang Lhamo, seeing her father's uninitiated expression, couldn't help but smile and nudge him.

Dorje got off the car, looking back every few steps, and stood by the roadside waving goodbye, a lingering sense of bewilderment still in his eyes.

Jiang Yuan sat in the driver's seat.

"Let's go."

With a slight shift of his thoughts, the vehicle started.

There was no roar of a combustion engine, nor the hum of a traditional electric vehicle.

The "guardian," equipped with a micro cold fusion reactor, was as quiet as a lurking ghost.

The wheels turned slowly.

The specially made solid polymer tires rolled over the road, not only explosion-proof and puncture-proof but also filtering out all subtle vibrations from the road surface.

Watching the back of the vehicle slowly pull out of the parking lot, Dorje stood rooted to the spot for a long time, feeling as if this car were driving into another dimension.

After driving out of the Lhasa urban area, traffic gradually thinned out.

Jiang Yuan tapped the center console with his finger, directly activating the "Smart Brain Autopilot" mode.

The steering wheel adjusted automatically, and the vehicle glided as smoothly as if it were sliding on ice, even more precisely than if Jiang Yuan were driving it himself.

With his hands freed, Jiang Yuan leaned back in his seat, enjoying the scenery outside the window.

In the passenger seat, Kelsang Lhamo was still wearing that black-and-white Tibetan robe today, appearing wild and purely beautiful.

But at this moment, the Tibetan girl was waving her hands in the air like a curious baby.

In the holographic projection area in front of her, miniature stars were slowly rotating.

"Wow! This actually has a tactile sensation!"

She stretched out her finger and poked a blue planet, her face full of surprise.

The ancient Tibetan robe and the futuristic holographic image formed an extreme visual contrast at this moment.

Outside the window, the altitude gradually increased.

Habitation became increasingly sparse, and the desolate Gobi and snow-capped mountains began to dominate the view.

The destination: Tingri County.

The "guardian" displayed terrifying cruising capabilities on the road.

Without the roaring growl of a combustion vehicle, it was like a maglev spaceship flying close to the ground.

The interior was so quiet that one could even hear breathing, while the scenery outside stretched into blurred lines due to the extremely high speed.

The long journey that would originally take over seven hours was completed in just four hours under the precise control of the Smart Brain.

At this moment, it was just in time for a meal.

Jiang Yuan found an inconspicuous little restaurant in the county town.

Two steaming bowls of beef noodles were served, topped with a thick layer of yak meat.

Kelsang Lhamo was not reserved and refined like the urban girls from the mainland.

She picked up her chopsticks and ate the noodles in big mouthfuls, her movements bold and natural, yet not rude at all, instead revealing a cute frankness.

Although she couldn't match Jiang Yuan's whirlwind speed, she didn't fall far behind.

"Delicious!"

Wiping the oil from the corner of her mouth, Lhamo evaluated with satisfaction.

"Are you full? If not, have another bowl."

Jiang Yuan asked, looking at her clean bowl.

"Full, full, I ate even more than I do at home."

Lhamo smiled and waved her hand, using her fingers to gesture the amount she usually ate, which was like a cat's portion.

"Alright, then let's go back to the car to rest for a while. In the afternoon, we'll go straight into the base camp."

Jiang Yuan stood up to pay the bill.

Although Lhamo's Mandarin had a slightly stiff accent, communication between the two was already completely barrier-free.

Returning to the car, Lhamo went to the large bed in the rear cabin to catch up on sleep.

Jiang Yuan sat in the cockpit and set the destination.

However, when the vehicle arrived at the official ticket checkpoint of the Mount Everest scenic area, they encountered trouble.

"Private cars are prohibited from entering the base camp; you must transfer to the eco-friendly bus."

Facing the staff's obstruction, Jiang Yuan felt a bit helpless.

A bus? That was out of the question.

"Xiao Jiu, replan the route."

"Received. Terrain scanned; it is recommended to bypass the official road and cut in from the side through the wilderness no-man's-land, which can lead directly to the foot of Mount Everest."

The Smart Brain instantly provided a plan.

It was a road that didn't exist on any map, filled with gravel, glaciers, and frozen earth; for a normal off-road vehicle, entering it would be suicide.

But in front of the "guardian," this was just another form of road.

The vehicle turned around and plunged into the wilderness.

After traversing a complex terrain that would make even an experienced driver's heart skip a beat, the "guardian" stopped steadily in an open river valley area.

This was closer to Mount Everest and avoided all the tourists and that famous check-in monument.

Through the holographic screen of the car window, one could even clearly see the commercial mountaineering teams crawling like ants on the distant ridge.

"We're here."

Jiang Yuan walked to the rear cabin living room.

By now, Lhamo had woken up and was staring blankly at the snow-capped mountain that was within reach outside the window.

"Are you going to stay here and wait for me, or shall I have Xiao Jiu drive you back automatically?"

Jiang Yuan poured two glasses of water and handed her one.

"Climbing Mount Everest is too dangerous; I will wait for you here."

Lhamo took the water glass, her tone unusually firm.

Having witnessed the magic of this car, she felt that staying here was the safest option.

If Jiang Yuan encountered any danger, this vehicle might just be the last lifeline.