American Landowners: Starting with Hunting in Alaska

Su Wei bent over, his body stiffening.

A few seconds later, he straightened up.

"Smack."

He raised his hand and slapped himself hard on the forehead.

The crisp sound echoed in the empty garage.

Suvi, Suvi, you are truly a genius.

He inspected the tracks and suspension, looked at the outer shell, and even tested the cylinder pressure of the engine.

But they forgot about the most crucial part: the fuel tank.

Inertial thinking is deadly.

When I rode this thing down the mountain, I must have twisted the throttle all the way to the floor in order to survive.

With that kind of high-speed engine consumption, it would be a miracle if the fuel tank wasn't empty.

What's more, he's been lying here for several days.

Suwei took off his gloves and threw them onto the worktable, which was covered in machine oil stains.

He leaned on the edge of the table, panting heavily.

White mist emerged from his mouth and quickly dissipated.

Those dozen or so hard pulls just now took up too much of my energy.

My arm is still sore, and the muscles are throbbing with pain.

It was all for naught.

Without oil, even if you break the rope, this Polaris won't budge.

Suwei took a piece of chocolate out of his pocket, tore open the wrapper, and put it in his mouth.

The cold chocolate melted in my mouth, giving me a slight boost of energy.

The problem has come full circle.

燃料。

The generator is diesel, but the snowmobile has a two-stroke gasoline engine.

Adding diesel fuel will only destroy the engine completely.

Gasoline is necessary.

Su Wei looked around the dimly lit garage.

The row of red spare oil drums on the shelf had already been added to his pickup truck or the lawnmower before winter.

At that time, I thought I could go to town to buy it anytime, so I didn't stockpile too much gasoline.

Who would have thought that a blizzard would seal this place off?

Moreover, it happened in Kodiak at the end of October.

Where can I get gasoline now?

Su Wei's gaze wandered around the garage, finally settling on the large vehicle parked in the center.

Dodge Pickup Truck.

Suwei's pupils contracted slightly.

Last time he went to town, he filled up his 100-liter gas tank at the gas station.

Although we drove a bit after returning, the fuel gauge needle probably didn't move much.

Suwei walked quickly to the pickup truck.

The car door handles were icy cold.

He pulled hard.

"Click".

It wasn't locked.

There's no need to lock your car here; aside from bears and foxes, nobody will bother you.

Su Wei climbed into the driver's seat, inserted the key, and turned it to the ignition position.

The dial lit up.

The fuel gauge needle remained steadily at the "F" position, barely moving.

enough.

Even if we brought ten more snowmobiles, this amount of fuel would be enough for them to make a round trip to town.

Su Wei pulled out the key and jumped out of the car.

The task at hand is simple: get the oil out of the pickup truck and pour it into the snowmobile.

There is no oil pump.

But this is no challenge for a skilled adult.

Siphon principle.

All you need is a tube, a container, and a little lung capacity to solve the problem.

Su Wei began rummaging through drawers and cabinets in the garage.

He found a clean plastic bucket in the corner of the tool wall, which was originally used to mix glass cleaner.

But this is not enough.

The key is the pipe.

Too thick won't work, it won't fit into the fuel tank opening; too thin won't work, the flow rate will be too slow and it will freeze.

Suwei pushed aside the cardboard boxes piled with miscellaneous items and rummaged through the dusty bottom shelf.

A roll of green garden hose?

Too thick.

A discarded brake line?

too short.

Until he pulled out a transparent PVC hose from a transparent storage box.

It is about two meters long and as thick as a finger. Although the material hardens at this temperature, it has not yet become brittle.

Suwei tugged hard.

The toughness is acceptable.

Holding the pipe and bucket, Suvi returned to the pickup truck.

He unscrewed the fuel tank cap on the pickup truck.

A strong smell of gasoline wafted out.

This smell reassured Su Wei a lot.

Next comes the technical part.

Su Wei inserted one end of the hose into the fuel filler neck.

The pipes rubbed against each other inside the pipe, making a "creaking" sound.

He kept adjusting the angle and pushing it in.

Until a slight "gurgling" sound came from the other end of the tube, it meant that the liquid had been touched.

Suwei pushed it in a little further to make sure the nozzle was completely submerged in gasoline.

The remaining step is crucial.

Establish a pressure difference.

Suwei placed the plastic bucket on the ground, knelt on one knee on the thick sole of his snow boots, and held the other end of the tube in his hand.

The pickup truck's fuel tank is positioned very high, about one meter off the ground.

Once the oil is drawn past the highest point, atmospheric pressure will help it complete the rest of the work.

However, this process carries risks.

Su Wei took a deep breath and expelled the waste gas from his lungs.

He put the cold tube tip into his mouth.

The pipe walls had a strange smell of stale plastic and dust.

He didn't care about any of that.

The tongue presses against the edge of the tube opening, and the cheeks contract.

Take a deep breath.

A pale yellow liquid instantly gushed up from the transparent tube.

The speed was much faster than Soviets had anticipated.

"Gurgle..."

A pungent, spicy liquid suddenly rushed into Suwei's mouth.

"puff!"

Su Wei suddenly flung the tube away, spitting what was in his mouth onto the ground.

The smell went straight to the top of my head.

His tongue, mouth, and even the back of his throat felt a burning, stinging pain.

gasoline.

If swallowed accidentally, this thing can burn through the stomach and cause chemical pneumonia.

"Cough cough cough!"

Su Wei was bent over, coughing violently, tears streaming down his face.

He grabbed a handful of snow from the garage door, stuffed it into his mouth, rinsed his mouth vigorously, and then spat it out.

Stuff one more in.

Spit it out again.

Until the burning sensation in my mouth subsided slightly, leaving only a metallic and bitter taste.

He wiped his mouth and looked at the plastic bucket on the ground.

The pipe he had flung away was dangling over the edge of the bucket.

Pale yellow gasoline was flowing steadily from the pipe, creating small ripples at the bottom of the container.

It became.

Su Wei looked at the rising liquid level and a forced smile appeared on his lips.

It wasn't for nothing that I suffered.

After collecting about five liters, Su Wei pulled out the tube.

The residual oil from the pipe dripped onto the ground and quickly evaporated.

He carefully carried the half-bucket of precious fuel to the snowmobile.

There is no funnel.

Su Wei found a piece of cardboard, rolled it into a funnel shape, and inserted it into the motorcycle's fuel tank opening.

He picked up the bucket and poured it out steadily.

The gasoline flowed down the cardboard into the dry fuel tank.

"Gulp, gulp."

Su Wei did not stop until all the oil in the bucket was emptied.

He tightened the fuel tank cap and casually tossed the cardboard into the trash can.

Next, we need to start it up.

Su Wei mounted the motorcycle again.

With fuel, the machine can come to life.

Even if the battery is dead or the casing is damaged, as long as the engine can run, it can take him out of the snow.

Su Wei readjusted the air choke.

Press the oil pump.

One, two, three.

This time, he felt the resistance of the liquid under his fingers.

The fuel has already entered the carburetor.

Su Wei stood up and stretched his aching right arm.

The dozen or so empty pulls he just did have made his hands a little shaky, but he has to overcome it.

He gripped the T-shaped starter handle.

Take a deep breath.

The breath I took in was of cold air and a faint smell of gasoline.

"Give it to me!"

Su Wei let out a low growl, exerted force from his waist and abdomen, and pulled hard with his arms.

"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat—"

The engine roared sharply.

This time it was a real, deafening explosion.

A thick plume of blue smoke billowed from the exhaust pipe, instantly filling the garage.

The car body shook violently, and the backlight of the instrument panel suddenly lit up. Although it was dim, it looked exceptionally bright to Su Wei.

It's on fire!

It really happened!

The vibrations from the mechanical operation traveled through Suwei's entire body via the seat and handlebars.

Su Wei felt a chill run down his spine, and his tense nerves finally relaxed.

With this car, he can get out of the snow even if it's a meter deep.

He can go to town and bring back a few barrels of diesel fuel.

He can keep the generator running.

He could even go and see Emily, who was still munching on dry bread.

Su Wei subconsciously wanted to step on the gas to raise the engine speed and warm it up.

His fingers rested on the accelerator paddle and he pressed it lightly.

"Buzz—"

The engine speed spiked instantly.

The sound of the two-stroke engine was particularly loud in the enclosed garage.

But in that very instant...

The originally high-pitched voice suddenly changed tone.

"Buzz... Puff... Throat..."

The sound seemed to be choked by something, rapidly diminishing and becoming intermittent, weak, and muffled.

Su Wei's heart leaped into his throat.

He quickly released the accelerator, trying to bring it back to idle.

But that didn't work.

"Click, click, puff."

After the last soft sound.

The vibrations disappeared.

Blue smoke was still slowly dissipating from the exhaust pipe, but the roaring sound had completely disappeared.

The garage fell silent again.

The only sounds were Suwei's rapid breathing and the faint noise from the old generator in the corner.

The entire process takes no more than three seconds.

Su Wei remained gripping the handlebars, his entire body frozen in the seat.

The backlight on the dial flashed twice and then went out completely.

The machine that had just been started has now turned back into a cold piece of scrap metal.