Chapter 1

When our national scientific expedition team attempted to summit Mount Vyrthar, we were caught in a blizzard and suffered from hypothermia.

My consciousness blurred from the cold. I reached into my backpack for the custom-made thermal blanket I'd had ordered from abroad—only to find nothing but an ordinary chemical fiber blanket inside.

I was just about to demand who'd stolen my gear when my fiancé, Alex Turner, grabbed my arm. "I'm sorry, but I gave your custom thermal blanket to Olivia. She's freezing so badly she can barely stand. Use this for now."

I clutched the chemical fiber blanket that offered no protection against the cold, my lips stiff from the frost.

"You expect me to freeze to death on this mountain with this? That custom blanket was for saving lives—I had it made specially from abroad. Hypothermia can kill me!" I said.

His brows furrowed tightly. "How can you say that? Olivia's a reserve member. It's her first time climbing this high, and she's not as strong. You can't be so heartless."

"Summiting Vyrthar is about strength, not showing off your fancy custom gear," I said.

Alex said, "My mom was right—you have to fix this stubborn streak of yours."

He continued, "If we're really going to partner up in the future, you can't refuse to take even a little loss, or be unwilling to give up a piece of gear."

I stopped talking to him, summoning my last bit of strength to turn on the satellite phone. "Send a helicopter to the 7,800-meter camp immediately to pick me up. Also, terminate the expedition project that I'm collaborating on with Alex."

*****

After I sent the signal, Alex snatched the satellite phone right out of my hand.

When Alex saw what I'd sent, he deeply frowned. He then sneered, "Quit being such a baby, will you? You can't resort to the institute just because of this tiny trouble."

"Do you even know how much mountain rescue costs? Emily, can't you act like an adult?" he added.

He reached out, ready to hurl the satellite phone down the snowy mountain.

I clung to him tightly. The bitter cold and numbness from hypothermia made it nearly impossible for me to stand.

I wrapped the synthetic blanket tighter around myself, but it did nothing. Instead, the wind and snow rushed in harder, making my bones ache with cold.

Hypothermia already clouded my mind, and now the fierce struggle only made things worse for me.

Olivia walked over, my custom-made foreign thermal blanket draped over her shoulders. She looked at me weakly, "Emily, don't blame Alex. My hands and feet are frozen stiff—if this goes on, I might lose my hands."

Right in front of me, she pulled the thermal blanket tighter around herself. Even the way she tucked in the edges was slow and deliberate.

She even purposely turned the custom foreign label toward me, every move dripping with pride, as if afraid I might miss it.

My vision went dark for a moment. That was a professional cold-resistant blanket I'd asked a friend to customize from Norway. The shipping alone cost two thousand, and it was made specifically for extremely low temperatures.

It was the only one in the entire team—a lifesaver for the summit push. And now, right in front of me, she was using my lifeline like a regular shawl.

Alex gently helped her adjust the blanket, "Olivia, you're just too kind. Someone like her won't appreciate it."

He turned to look at me, his eyes filled with a condescending contempt, as if doing me a favor.

"Emily, stop. I'm a pro mountaineer—when you're hypothermic, just move more, tough it out. That blanket of yours is just a gimmick, nothing that amazing. Olivia's weaker; she needs the warmth more than you do," he said.

I struggled to pull out the backup heating pads from my hiking bag, only to find the pouch empty.

Meanwhile, Alex pulled my heating pads from Olivia's pocket, tore one open, and stuck it to the back of her hand.

Alex said, "I gave yours to Olivia. You can still stand and talk, so don't act so delicate. Our mountaineering team can't afford to keep such high-maintenance members."

His sense of entitlement made my heart sink into complete despair.

My custom thermal blanket, my emergency heating pads—they'd taken everything. And here I was, slowly losing my body heat in the blizzard.

"Alex, I really will freeze to death out here." I forced the words out with all my strength.

"Freeze to death? Quit being so dramatic." "Olivia's shivering way more than you, and she hasn't said a word."

Olivia leaned into his arms, her voice weak, "Emily, I know you don't want me to use it, but I'm really freezing stiff. Alex says you're experienced—you'll definitely make it through."

After she spoke, she pulled the thermal blanket even tighter around herself. She even snuggled closer into Alex's arms on purpose, looking so coddled. This time, she even smiled at me, her eyes full of defiance.

Watching her triumphant face, I trembled with anger. "Enough."

I reached out to take back my thermal blanket. Alex shoved me hard, "Emily, have you lost your mind? Olivia's fragile, and you're gonna fight her for gear?"

I stumbled backward and hit the icy rock, a sharp pain shooting through my back.

Olivia hugged the thermal blanket tightly, looking up at Alex with tears in her eyes. "Alex, should I even have come mountaineering? Emily, do hate me that much?"

"You did nothing wrong—she's just being selfish." Alex patted her back gently, "She's used to being the team leader, thinking everyone has to revolve around her."

Listening to their conversation, my heart felt as heavy and cold as a frozen stone.

This man—my partner who once said he'd stand with me at the top of Mount Vyrthar—was now watching me freeze in the blizzard, doing nothing.

I mustered all my strength, grabbed the ice axe beside me, and swung it hard at them. "People like you don't deserve to be in my expedition team."