Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei's War Journey

"Cansesa, look at my shoulder, what's wrong?" Lu Mingfei found Cansesa and asked about the condition of his shoulder. People always like to seek help from those who have helped them before.

Cancesa examined the alarming bruise on his face, shook his head, and said frankly, "I'm sorry, Lu, without an X-ray, I can't tell if the bone is really broken. The only thing I can do now is to apply snow or ice to the swollen area, hoping to help reduce the swelling and relieve some of the pain. But be careful not to let the skin come into direct contact with the snow or ice for too long, as it may cause frostbite. It's best to put a thin cloth between the skin and the ice."

Left with no other choice, Lu Mingfei could only resort to this most primitive method. He grabbed a handful of clean snow, wrapped it in a cloth, and carefully applied it to his swollen and painful shoulder. The icy coldness that came instantly numbed some of the pain.

He then joined several other able-bodied men to begin handling the bodies of the victims. To conserve their precious energy, they decided that four people would work together to lift each body.

But the frozen corpse was far heavier than they had imagined, like carrying a large, human-shaped block of ice.

Taking advantage of the fact that the ice crust on the snow had not completely melted in the morning and that it was relatively easy to walk on, they carried the bodies of the five victims to a gentle snow slope some distance from the plane wreckage and laid them out neatly side by side.

Then, with mixed expressions, some people began to remove the relatively intact clothing from the deceased's body.

Of course, they didn't want to do anything to the corpses; they just needed the clothes on them to keep warm.

Lu Mingfei was initially very uncomfortable, since wearing clothes worn by the dead was considered very unlucky in his traditional view.

But in the end, Lu Mingfei still lost to reality. He was still wearing those cheap flip-flops, his toes were frozen purple from walking in the snow, and he was also wearing shorts.

He silently walked to the bodies, avoiding the obvious bloodstains and wounds, and laboriously removed two pairs of seemingly sturdy sneakers and two pairs of trousers from the feet of the two victims of suitable build.

He changed into sneakers and trousers, holding another pair of shoes and trousers in his hand. He hadn't forgotten that Nuonuo was also wearing similar high heels, and a skirt at that.

Whether the deceased had athlete's foot is no longer a consideration.

After changing into the new shoes, although the inside of the shoes was still cold, at least they provided basic support and protection, which was infinitely better than flip-flops.

He trudged back through the softening snow, his steps uneven.

As the sun continues to rise and temperatures increase, the ice crust on the snow surface melts rapidly. Before long, the thigh-deep snow will once again confine them to a very small area around the plane, making it impossible for them to move.

Just this one round trip left Lu Mingfei breathless and feeling like he was about to collapse. Walking in the snow was like walking in mud, with tremendous resistance. Coupled with altitude sickness, he almost breathed his lungs out.

However, he didn't have time to rest. He took the sneakers he had pulled off the corpse and went to Nono's side.

At that moment, Cancesa also came over to check on Nono's condition. He gently removed the temporary bandage on Nono's abdomen, carefully examined the wound, touched her forehead and limbs, and then said to Lu Mingfei.

"Her wound doesn't seem to show any obvious signs of infection or worsening, which is fortunate; it may heal naturally, but..."

He quickly changed the subject, pointing seriously at Nuonuo's cold hands and feet, and continued, "Her blood circulation in her extremities is very poor. If this continues for a long time, she may suffer from severe frostbite and tissue necrosis, which could lead to... amputation. We don't have the tools or facilities to amputate her here."

He looked at Lu Mingfei and gave a simple but crucial piece of advice: "You need to massage her hands and feet as much as possible, continuously, to promote blood circulation, especially her fingers and toes. This is the only thing you can do right now to prevent the worst from happening."

In cold environments, the human body reduces blood circulation to the limbs to prioritize the temperature and function of core organs such as the brain and heart. Therefore, in extremely cold conditions, the limbs will die faster than other parts of the body. This is a choice made spontaneously by the body's mechanisms.

Lu Mingfei looked down at Nuonuo's feet. He remembered that he had caught a glimpse of those feet before the plane crashed. They were wearing exquisite high heels, with beautiful lines and fair skin.

But those feet had turned a chilling bluish-purple.

"I understand, thank you..." Lu Mingfei thanked Cancesa solemnly.

"Hmm." Cancesa patted him on the shoulder, said nothing more, and turned to check on the other wounded.

After Cancesa left, Lu Mingfei sat down next to Nuonuo. Looking at her bluish-purple feet, he hesitated for a moment before reaching out and carefully touching them. He then felt as if he were touching a piece of ice or a stone that had been frozen in an ice cellar for a long time, hard and cold.

Startled, he no longer hesitated. He took off Nuonuo's exquisite high heels and then rubbed her feet, which were frozen and bluish-purple, in his arms.

As Lu Mingfei rubbed her feet, the temperature of Nuonuo's feet began to rise and the color became less frightening. He then dressed Nuonuo in the trousers and sneakers he had pulled from the corpse.

Then he started massaging Nuonuo's arms and fingers, holding Nuonuo's hands and rubbing them continuously to promote blood circulation.

This was the first time he had ever touched the hands and feet of a strange woman, and she was a stunning beauty at that, yet he felt nothing.

His hands and feet were as cold as ice. How could he possibly be aroused by ice? He was somewhat disappointed. He felt none of the excitement that protagonists in novels and anime experience when touching beautiful girls.

After giving Nuonuo a massage, Lu Mingfei was really tired, hungry and thirsty. He climbed out of the plane again to try to get some snow to quench his thirst.

They fell into a white desert. There was nothing around them except black rocks, mountains, and snow. There were no trees, no bushes, no shrubs, not even a blade of grass.

The biggest difference between it and the desert is that there is snow all around to quench your thirst.

But when he scooped up some clean snowflakes and put them in his mouth, Lu Mingfei quickly realized that this was a mistake.

The chill rushed straight to the top of his head, and he felt as if his head was completely frozen. It was as if countless ice needles were piercing his palate and throat, and his lips were burning with pain.

If he ate a few more bites, Lu Mingfei felt his mouth would freeze to a crisp, and the snow he ate would require him to burn calories to digest it and turn it into water.

Well, it's not much different from the desert now, and Lu Mingfei is starting to feel really desperate.