Chapter Six: Convergence at Everest

[A Few Days Before the Meeting with Dr. Albrecht]

[Shey Phoksundo, Nepal]

Sherpa and his team were gathered at their house, a typical Nepali home but heavily renovated with modern tech and equipment. Outside, several Buddhist prayer flags fluttered in the wind. They were discussing something about the national park while Pasang was busy cooking for the team.

Tring... Tring... The landline phone rang. Pasang turned off the kitchen stove and went to answer it.

"Hello?" Pasang answered softly.

There was a brief moment of silence. "Hello? Who's there?" Pasang asked again, her voice gentle but firm.

Still, there was no answer from the other side. After getting no response, Pasang hung up the phone. As soon as she put the phone down, there was a loud bang outside the house. While everyone from the team ran towards the noise, Sherpa hurriedly went towards Pasang, fear evident in his eyes.

"Pasang! Where are you?" Sherpa screamed as he ran.

Seeing Pasang near the phone, Sherpa calmed down. He went towards her and hugged her, whispering, "Thank God you're safe."

Confused, Pasang asked, "Baba, what was the noise? I heard a loud bang outside."

"Nothing, my dear," replied Sherpa.

After a while, the phone rang again. This time, Sherpa picked it up.

"Why?" asked Sherpa angrily.

"Well, I already asked you earlier, and I warned you last time that next time I won't be very polite," a voice answered.

"Scavenger, if I find you, you're dead," replied Sherpa.

"Well, you know where to find me, don't you?" answered Scavenger.

"I very well know," replied Sherpa.

"Well, getting to the point, my liege decided that you'll represent us," replied Scavenger.

"I already declined," answered Sherpa.

"It's not up to you who decides, and yeah, Dr. Albrecht wants you to meet him at the southeast base camp of Mount Everest. And if you don't get there, I will assume you are not obeying us, and next time, it will be your daughter who will be involved in the blast," warned Scavenger before hanging up.

Curious, Pasang asked who was on the phone and what was going on. Sherpa took a deep breath, knowing he could not escape his past unless he put an end to it. Pasang looked at Sherpa's worried expression and realized what had happened.

"Baba, promise me you won't go," Pasang said as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Sherpa hugged Pasang tightly and wiped her tears. "I am sorry, my dear, but I've got no choice but to join, for your safety, for my team, and for this national park."

"Baba, my birthday is coming soon. Please promise me that you will be present there no matter what?" asked Pasang.

"I promise," Sherpa said to calm Pasang down, but deep down, he knew he might not fulfill the promise.

A few days later, a chopper landed in front of Sherpa's house. Knowing his time of peace had come to an end, Sherpa went inside, changed his clothes, and returned with a sealed letter. He hugged Pasang as if it were his last hug, then walked towards John.

"John, I want you to do me a favor," Sherpa asked.

"Anything for you, my friend," replied John.

"I want you to give this to Pasang if I am unable to fulfill the promise," requested Sherpa.

"Okay," said John in a sad tone.

Sherpa walked towards the chopper, pausing briefly before entering and looking back at Pasang and his family for the last time. He got inside the chopper, which took off, soaring into the sky. From inside, Sherpa took a last glimpse at his home, Shey Phoksundo National Park. From the ground, Pasang and Sherpa's team watched as the chopper slowly disappeared into the clouds.

[Present Time at Southeast Ridge of Mount Everest]

"This beast we have here, I am afraid to say, but this guy has yet to grow," said Dr. Albrecht.

"What do you mean by yet to grow, Doctor?" asked Sherpa.

"This guy here, looking at his DNA and other biological markers, is just a child. I am afraid of what a fully grown and evolved Yeti looks like," replied Dr. Albrecht.

"Well, we'll find out soon," replied Sherpa.

"Yeah, like us humans, when our child gets lost or goes missing, we do everything in our power to search for them. Yeti are also creatures; they too have souls similar to humans. I bet his parents will come looking for their child sooner or later," replied Dr. Albrecht.

[Khumbu Icefall]

The Khumbu Icefall is located at the head of the Khumbu Glacier and the foot of the Western Cwm. It lies at an elevation of 5,486 meters (17,999 feet) on the Nepali slopes of Mount Everest, not far above Base Camp and southwest of the summit. Four climbers, with heavy mountaineering gear, were seen trying to cross the Icefall. As they were crossing, a loud monstrous roar was heard.

"Hey, did you just hear it?" asked one of the climbers.

"Yeah, what was that?" replied the second.

"I think we are hallucinating," joked the third.

The fourth remained silent. The other climbers asked the fourth climber why he was silent as he pointed them towards his back. As the three climbers turned around, they saw a large 9ft tall, gorilla-like creature covered in thick white fur. It was the Yeti, and it was charging towards them. The four climbers hurriedly tried to run away from the creature. The Yeti roared and took a huge leap, trying to catch the climbers. As it landed on the ground, a huge snow smoke was created.

[Beijing, China]

In a luxurious club in Beijing, the heart of China, the triad bosses of high-level triads, The Sun Family, OneFour-Fourteen, and the YanTee, had organized a meeting. It was believed that these four triad groups had merged into one triad group called, Three Realms and Six Paths and had participated in the tournament. Their goal still remained unknown, as to why the bloodthirsty rivals suddenly agreed and formed an alliance.

"Well, since the tournament has been postponed, we have more time for preparation," said Wang Lee, boss of the YanTee.

"Yeah, by the way, how's the preparation going for the battle?" asked Zhang Sun, the boss of the Sun Family.

"It's going well. Since we have been given more time, the training and research have been extended," replied Wei Fuk Chen, of the OneFour-Fourteen.

As the bosses were discussing, the door of the club room opened. A young man in his mid-20s, roughly around 5ft 11 inches, with eyes covered by a bandana and a muscular body, entered the room.

"Talk about the devil, and here the devil comes," said Wang Lee.

"What brings you here, Zhu?" asked Zhang Sun.

"I am sorry to disturb your meeting, but I am here to ask you for a request," replied Zhu.

"What is it?" questioned Wei Fuk Chen.

"I request you to allow me to travel to the northeast ridge of Mount Everest," answered Zhu.

Everyone puzzled, asked the same question to Zhu, "But why?" Zhu explained that their agent in Nepal had reported the incident on Mount Everest, the sighting of the Abominable Snowman. After hearing the news, the triad bosses were in disbelief.

"But it was found on the southeast ridge. Why do you want to travel to the north?" questioned Zhang Sun.

"To travel to the southeast ridge, we have to go through Chengdu, and then we'll arrive at Kathmandu, the capital city. After reaching Kathmandu, we have to take a flight to Lukla, and we need to cover 65 km from Lukla to the camp," replied Zhu.

"Also, the main problem is that in Chengdu, other triads are already aiming for us. As soon as I land in Chengdu, they will be notified, and I have to go through all the hassle. Also, in Nepal, the monarchs will surely know about my arrival and will confront me. I know they can't do anything to me, but I don't want to go through all this hassle. The best possible route is through the northeast ridge," added Zhu.

"For now, we are excusing you from the preparation for the tournament. Go to the northeast ridge and find out more information on this abominable snowman," ordered the bosses of the triads.

Zhu nodded and left the room.

[Everest Base Camp]

Back at the base, Dr. Albrecht and Sherpa were already notified about what happened to the hikers. Dr. Albrecht quickly ordered his team to gear up, as they were going to the Khumbu Icefall to investigate. The assistants ran across the tent, collecting oxygen masks and other mountaineering gear.

"Sherpa, go get geared up," said Dr. Albrecht.

Sherpa smirked and said, "I am already geared up."

"Well, as expected from the legendary berserker," replied Dr. Albrecht.

Everyone was fully equipped with modern technology and equipment. But Sherpa was just wearing a thick coat, huge boots with spikes, and gloves. Dr. Albrecht's team was in disbelief at how a mere human could dare to climb Everest with no equipment. Sherpa, Dr. Albrecht, and his team left the base camp and marked their journey towards Khumbu Icefall.

Upon reaching the Icefall, they found the headless corpses of the four climbers. Upon inspection, it was believed that the Yeti had eaten the heads of the climbers. Not far from the corpses, the team found large footprints matching those of the Yeti at Dr. Albrecht's camp. The footprints led to the northeast ridge of Mount Everest.

"Well, it's not looking good," said Dr. Albrecht.

"Nah, it's only getting interesting," replied Sherpa.

Sherpa asked Dr. Albrecht to follow the footsteps and find the beast, but Dr. Albrecht hesitated and said that the footsteps led to the northeast ridge, and it was impossible to cross over from the southeast ridge to the northeast ridge.

"Well, I don't care," said Sherpa and started walking towards the northeast ridge.

Dr. Albrecht sighed and said that he would only accompany him to the humanly possible route and would not move past it. Sherpa agreed, and the team embarked on the journey.

From the northeast ridge, Zhu, and from the southeast ridge, Sherpa. Who will find the Yeti? What will happen when both of them meet? Zhu, known as the fiercest blind fighter in China, nicknamed the "Son of the Dragon," and Sherpa, the legendary berserker, known to have slain beasts with his bare fists. And between them, the Yeti, the guardian of the mountain.