50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 846 Preparations Before Entering the Polar Regions
As soon as Sun Zhiwei stepped off the plane at Moscow airport, the cold air outside sent shivers down his spine. It was already December, and Moscow was about to enter its coldest period.

When he left Beijing, Sun Zhiwei specially wore a thick down jacket.

This was bought at the Friendship Store. It was very expensive. Because he didn't have enough foreign exchange certificates, he had to ask Xu Yimin for a receipt and exchange several thousand foreign exchange certificates at the bank opposite the Diplomatic Building before he could buy it.

But even the thicker clothes couldn't keep out the cold. He then realized that he had seriously underestimated the low temperatures in the far north.

This forced him to temporarily purchase a "polar suit" in US dollars at an airport shop.

This "polar suit" includes a complete set of cold-weather gear from head to toe, inside and out, and cost him several thousand dollars.

However, he felt that the equipment was really worth the price. After changing into the gear in the hourly room of the airport hotel, he felt as if he were wrapped in a quilt, and his body was particularly warm.

A major conference is currently being held in Moscow because of a series of accidents in Russia this year, including the bombing of Chernobyl and the sinking of a nuclear submarine. Allies have also run into trouble, and the conference is now in an uproar.

To avoid trouble, Sun Zhiwei didn't even leave the airport hotel and stayed in his room for two days before finally getting a flight to Oslo.

The distance from Moscow to Oslo, Norway is not far. Although the journey involves crossing several small Nordic countries, it only took two hours to fly there.

Oslo is the capital and largest city of Norway, serving as its political, economic, cultural, and transportation center and main port.

Although this city is small, it was actually founded a long time ago. It is said that people lived here before 1000 AD.

In game novels, the combat unit we often hear about, "Vikings," refers to the Norse Vikings of the 9th to 11th centuries in the Norse region.

That was the height of the Kingdom of Norway, when the rampant Viking raiders wreaked havoc on the entire European coast.

At that time, people all over Europe would tremble with fear at the sight of the distinctive horned helmets, long-handled battle axes, and Viking longships of the Vikings.

Although Oslo was founded a long time ago, it has only been the capital of Norway for a few years, with a population of only 10,000 in the early 19th century.

It wasn't until the discovery of large amounts of oil in the surrounding area in the 1970s that people from all over the world were attracted to settle here.

Many people don't know that Norway is actually a constitutional monarchy. Norway began establishing a constitution and implementing a constitutional monarchy in 1814.

In 1905, they chose a prince from Denmark as king, known as Haakon VII.

The current King Olaf V is the grandson of King Frederick VIII of Denmark, which shows the close relationship between the four Nordic countries.

After landing at Oslo Airport, Sun Zhiwei discovered that the temperature there was lower than in Moscow. Considering that he still had to travel another one or two thousand kilometers north, he began to worry about the clothes he was wearing.

So instead of heading north immediately, he found a hotel and checked in first.

One reason is to get used to the cold weather here, and the other is to make some adjustments to my previous plans.

Especially when it comes to travel gear, he needs to find someone knowledgeable to help him prepare it all over again.

The next day, he found a large outdoor equipment store on a main street in Oslo.

The shop owner was initially lazy and didn't want to talk to anyone, but when he heard that Sun Zhiwei was preparing some equipment to go on an expedition to the Arctic wilderness, he immediately perked up.

Seeing that he looked like a newbie, the shop owner took the initiative to give him a list of polar expedition equipment, listing everything that might be needed in the polar environment.

First, there was the clothing. Sun Zhiwei showed the shopkeeper the "polar suit" he bought at the airport, and the shopkeeper almost died laughing. The shopkeeper said directly that if he wore that suit into the Arctic Circle, he would probably die there.

The clothes I wore in Moscow, while warm, were not waterproof.

That outfit would definitely be fine to wear in Moscow, since it's a city, and even if it gets wet, you can immediately go back to the hotel to change.

But it's different in the Arctic. There are no people there, and you can't even buy toilet paper to wipe your bottom. If your clothes get wet and can't be dried in time, you can only wait to die.

Then, the shop owner started searching through his shop for various equipment for him.

When it comes to outerwear, three essential elements must be ensured: warmth, windproofness, and waterproofness.

Underwear must be quick-drying, and you should have several sets as spares, otherwise, if you sweat and the sweat cannot be wicked away in time, it can lead to catching a cold or getting sick.

After that, there are also cold-weather hats, goggles, face masks, polar non-slip boots, and so on.

Clothing is ready, along with tents, sleeping bags, high-energy food, thermos flasks, first-aid kits, sunscreen, and more.

Sun Zhiwei didn't know much about these things, so he was very obedient and bought whatever the boss told him to buy.

He didn't know when he would need these things, but he figured it was the right thing to do to listen to advice. Anyway, he didn't need to worry about the weight, so he just had to buy what the shop owner recommended. He didn't care about the small amount of money anyway.

After selecting all the equipment, Sun Zhiwei said to the shop owner, "Give me ten sets of this."

It's rare to meet someone knowledgeable like him, so naturally he'll buy more to keep on hand. With so much space, why not fill it with useful things?

The equipment shop owner was stumped by his arrogance, because most of the equipment he introduced to Sun Zhiwei this time was the best stuff in the shop.

Yes, it's also the most expensive. He can't even sell a few pieces of this kind of high-end equipment in a year, but Sun Zhiwei wants ten sets, and he simply doesn't have that many in stock.

Fortunately, these outdoor enthusiasts are all connected, so finding suppliers in the same industry is not a problem.

Afterwards, the boss made a few phone calls, and within a day, many people from all over the country sent him equipment.

Two days later, Sun Zhiwei was in his hotel room when he received 10 sets of advanced Arctic survival gear prepared for him by the equipment shop owner.

After paying, Sun Zhiwei kept asking the shop owner a lot of questions about what to be careful about during the adventure before letting him leave.

It was from his boss that Sun Zhiwei learned that the place he wanted to go could not be reached directly by sea.

Because the ship will encounter ice floes halfway through the journey, and there will be thin ice further ahead, but the ice is not thick enough to walk on.

Further afield, icebergs may appear, and one could easily get stuck inside.

The boss suggested that we fly directly to the northernmost landmass, Svalbard, and then continue our journey from there.

Because the Svalbard archipelago was completely frozen at this time, the surrounding waters were covered with a thick layer of solid ice, enough for people to walk on.

(End of this chapter)