Arctic survival, starting in hell at minus fifty degrees Celsius

Ma Di was once a professional sprinter. Athletes have much faster reaction speeds than ordinary people. Sun Chengwu had just picked up the wooden spear when Ma Di had already thrust it down.

Splash...

A pool of blood rose from the seawater. As the fish struggled, its tail slapped the surface of the water, splashing blood everywhere.

Their wooden spears are specially designed for throwing, with barbs that are perfect for catching fish. After piercing the fish's body, the spear is rotated, and the barbs trap the fish's body, preventing it from escaping.

Because the salmon were all huddled together, Maddie caught three fish at once.

These salmon have a light red tinge on their bellies near their fins; they are the most common freshwater fish in the Arctic, known as the Arctic red-spotted salmon.

Due to the thick ice on the lake, these salmon have difficulty finding food and suffer from prolonged oxygen deprivation.

After the bait was scattered, the salmon gathered in greater numbers.

In just over ten minutes, they scooped up eight palm-sized salmon.

These Arctic red-spotted salmon are not large in size and cannot be compared with salmon in the sea, but they are plentiful and can at least solve the problem of short-term food shortage.

With water and food, this area is considered a relatively good place to settle down.

Sun Chengwu looked around and gazed at the surrounding high places.

The residential area certainly cannot be on the ice, and this snowfield is actually not far from the bay, only about a five-day walk away.

If you have a sled or snowmobile, you can get around the complicated mountainous terrain and arrive in one or two days.

This is an ice lake. If Sun Chengwu put himself in the shoes of those smugglers, he would definitely search the surrounding area thoroughly if he found this ice lake during a search.

Especially when they migrate in large numbers, leaving behind a lot of traces, it is easy for the other side to find them.

Out of caution, Sun Chengwu pointed to the other side of the frozen lake and said, "Let's keep going and take a look ahead."

He wanted to see how big this frozen lake was.

If the land is large enough, living on the other side of the river is relatively safer.

If the area isn't large enough, they'll have to camp far away or continue searching for a new, suitable location.

The group rested briefly on the ice overnight, and the salmon they caught were grilled and eaten while still fresh.

They have no shortage of fat and food now, and they're not too particular about it; they just cook whatever tastes good.

Sprinkle with seasonings brought back from the Hadza people, which is actually a mixture of Sichuan peppercorns, salt, and a little bit of chili peppers.

In modern society, it would just be an ordinary condiment.

Here, however, it is an exceptionally rare and precious delicacy.

Each person received an average of one palm-sized fish, but it wasn't enough to fill them up, so they ate some dried meat as well.

After resting for a while, Sun Chengwu said, "It's too cold on the ice. We need to go ashore to rest. Let's hang in there and walk forward a little longer."

After walking for almost two hours, the group still couldn't see the edge of the frozen lake. The ice surface was covered with a thick layer of snow, and the snow powder, blown by the wind, formed a scene similar to snow fog. The temperature had also dropped considerably.

Even though he was wearing two layers of cotton-padded clothes and a bearskin coat on top, Sun Chengwu was still shivering from the cold.

He glanced back at the crowd. Ye Zhi Qiu's lips were frozen purple, and his eyebrows and scarf were covered in frost.

Ye Zhi Qiu hugged his arms and said in a trembling voice, "Brother Wu, let's find a place to rest. It's too cold."

Sun Chengwu glanced at his watch, wiped away the frost, and saw that it was a little after 11 p.m.

The temperature at this time had already dropped to minus forty degrees Celsius, and few living things could withstand it.

In the darkness, aided by the aurora, he could see the endless black forest along the shore. Pointing towards the forest, he said, "Let's rest over there."

The frozen lake was much larger than he had imagined, which surprised and delighted Sun Chengwu.

Maybe it really is possible to live nearby.

When they reached the shore, it was already late at night. Ye Zhi Qiu's nose was running from the cold, and no matter how much she wiped it, it wouldn't get clean.

This gave Sun Chengwu a bad feeling. "Xiao Ye, please don't let anything happen to you!"

With a stuffy nose, Ye Zhi Qiu said, "Brother Wu, I don't want anything to happen to me either. I still have my sister and my father to take care of. I can't die."

But if I can't go back, I'd like to ask you to take care of them for me. They don't need to be rich or powerful, just safe from being bullied.

Sun Chengwu raised his hand and slapped Ye Zhiqiu on the head. "Bullshit! If you want to take care of yourself, take care of yourself. I don't care."

If anything happens to you, I'll throw those two men into the sea to feed the fish.

I'm not a kind person. You have to live, you hear me?

Ye Zhi Qiu wiped his nose again and started coughing, "Cough cough cough... Brother Wu, it's so cold today, why is the fire not warm?"

They had just started a fire, and before the flames had even risen, Sun Chengwu filled it with all the dry firewood and said to Lao Ma, "Take them to gather some more firewood."

Old Ma took his men there.

The flames grew larger, but Ye Zhi Qiu continued to tremble.

Sun Chengwu touched his forehead; it was very hot.

You have a fever.

Ye Zhi Qiu was already delirious from the fever. "Brother Wu, I'm fine. I'm just a little cold. I'll warm myself by the fire."

Sun Chengwu immediately took off his bearskin coat and draped it over Ye Zhiqi's shoulders.

Ye Zhi Qiu declined, saying, "Brother Wu, I'm really fine. Don't catch a cold."

Sun Chengwu said coldly, "Just wear it because I tell you to. If something happens to you, who will I be able to trust then?"

Ye Zhi Qiu stopped speaking, tears welling up in her eyes, "Brother Wu, my life belongs to you. I can die, but you can't."

Sun Chengwu cursed, "Damn it, does someone have to die?"

"I haven't lived enough yet, so you shouldn't die either."

Sun Chengwu helped Ye Zhiqi wrap his coat tightly, opened his backpack, took out a tarpaulin, and threw it onto the fire.

Flames suddenly burst into flames.

Sun Chengwu took out the iron box, boiled some water, and made Ye Zhiqiu drink it.

In this situation, only hot water can warm the body.

After drinking water, Ye Zhi Qiu's runny nose finally stopped, but her body temperature still didn't come down.

The bearskin coat, combined with the flames, caused fine beads of sweat to appear on his forehead.

Sweating is a good thing; it means your body is dissipating heat.

Without a thermometer, Sun Chengwu could only rely on his experience to judge Ye Zhiqi's physical condition.

A fever of no more than 39 degrees Celsius does not cause significant harm to the body; in fact, it can accelerate the body's elimination of pathogens.

However, temperatures should drop above 39 degrees Celsius, because temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius can damage bodily organs and the brain.

At one point, it was difficult to judge using physical sensation.

Moreover, the temperature is very low now, so the perceived temperature is even less accurate.

Ye Zhi Qiu, still half asleep, drank some water and said, "Brother Wu, I'm so sleepy, I'm going to sleep for a while."

His voice was hoarse, like that of a desert traveler who had been thirsty for days.