Arctic survival, starting in hell at minus fifty degrees Celsius

The corpse was already soaked in cold air, stiff as a block of ice, pressing down on his shoulder with pain.

He walked heavily through the snow into the depths of the forest, sinking half a foot with each step, his breath instantly turning into fine frost in the night.

"I'll go with you," Lin Can's voice came from behind.

She caught up with me, carrying her hiking poles, panting, and said, "Hurry up, you two."

Sun Chengwu didn't turn around, he just nodded slightly.

After walking about a hundred meters, Sun Chengwu stopped. "That's enough, stop here."

Sun Chengwu gently placed Wang Hai's body on the snow and then picked up his trekking pole and poked it into the ground.

The surface was soft snow, but underneath was frozen, hard permafrost. When he struck it with the stick, his wrist went numb from the impact.

"We can't dig through the frozen soil, so we have to find another way."

Sun Chengwu squatted down and used stones to dig away the snow. Underneath was a layer of dry branches and decaying leaves, emitting a rotten smell. The moisture inside condensed into frost as soon as it came into contact with the cold.

Below this is a layer of humus that has accumulated over the years. Because the decaying matter releases heat, it has not frozen.

The two divided the work: Sun Chengwu used his hiking poles to clear away the snow, while Lin Can used stones to pry away the dead branches and decaying leaves.

Before long, Sun Chengwu's fingers were so cold that he couldn't feel them anymore. He breathed warm air on them, rubbed them, and then continued digging.

It took nearly half an hour to dig out a pit about half a person deep, with the bottom covered with small, dry branches.

The two were panting heavily and leaned against a tree to rest.

The reason is that they haven't been eating much lately, and their bodies aren't getting enough protein and fat. They can walk, but once they exert themselves, they experience symptoms of hypoglycemia.

Sun Chengwu's vision went black for a long time before the symptoms subsided.

After a short rest, they carefully placed Wang Hai's body into the pit, and then covered it with layers of withered branches and snow, piling it into the shape of a grave mound.

There was no tombstone, no last words, only a few withered branches peeking out from the snow, which served as a final farewell to their companion.

Lin Can remained silent as he stared at the mound.

Sun Chengwu squatted down, sprinkled some snow on it, and whispered, "Have a safe journey."

As the two walked back, the cold wind picked up again, whipping up snowflakes that had frozen into ice pellets that stung their faces, making it hard to open their eyes.

Back at the camp, the fire was almost extinguished by the wind.

Sun Chengwu rubbed his sore shoulders, picked up some dry firewood and added it to the fire. The flames rose again, and the warmth of the CD player dispelled some of the chill.

A wave of weariness washed over me, overpowering the pain in my heart.

The continuous physical exhaustion, coupled with days of hunger, made him want nothing more than to collapse and sleep.

He picked up his coat, covered himself with it, and lay down on the dry branches and pine needles, quickly falling asleep.

As night deepened, the fire crackled, and Huang Shi was already snoring softly.

Sun Chengwu had just fallen asleep when he heard a soft rustling sound beside him; someone had lay down next to him.

Sun Chengwu ignored him.

Waaah...

Su Wanqing carefully sat down next to him, covering her mouth to suppress her sobs.

She choked up and said, "I'm so scared... I'm scared that I'll be the next one to die, I'm scared that we'll never get out of here."

As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes again.

Sun Chengwu sighed, turned over, raised his hand and gently patted her shoulder, comforting her in a gentle voice, "Don't be afraid, we will definitely get out of here."

Su Wanqing, as if grasping at a lifeline, leaned closer to him, reaching out to hug his arm and pressing her body slightly against him, her voice tinged with humility, "I...I want to hug you, just for a little while..."

Sun Chengwu knew what she meant; in her desperate situation, she wanted to seek some comfort.

Sun Chengwu, who was calm, decisive, and capable of saving lives, became the object of this dependence.

After a while, Su Wanqing took his hand and placed it on her chest.

She clamped her legs around Sun Chengwu's thighs and rubbed them gently.

Sun Chengwu stiffened and sighed helplessly, "Sister Su, you don't need to do this."

Su Wanqing bit her lower lip, her eyes welling up with tears.

Sun Chengwu withdrew his hand and said, "I don't want to right now, and I'm not in the mood."

Sun Chengwu had expended too much energy today, and they were now short of food to replenish their strength. He didn't want to waste his energy on something meaningless.

The light in Su Wanqing's eyes went out instantly, leaving only deep despair.

After a moment, she propped herself up and sat up, head bowed, her voice choked with emotion, "I'm sorry."

After saying that, she stood up dejectedly, intending to leave.

Sun Chengwu could tell that her pride had been hurt. As a woman, she didn't have the solid professional knowledge that Lin Can had, nor the physical strength of a man. She could only rely on her own body.

She must have been mentally preparing for this decision for a long time.

However, Sun Chengwu rejected him without hesitation.

Sun Chengwu grabbed Su Wanqing's hand.

Su Wanqing turned around, her eyes devoid of light, and asked somewhat blankly, "Is there anything else?"

Sun Chengwu looked into her eyes and said sincerely, "Sister Su, I am very grateful that you are willing to believe me. My rejection of you is not because I don't like you. On the contrary, when I first saw you, I thought you had a great figure and were very beautiful."

Upon hearing this, Su Wanqing blushed, feeling somewhat shy from the compliment. "You... what nonsense are you talking about?"

Sun Chengwu replied sincerely, "I'm telling the truth. I just rejected you because I felt you didn't need to try to please me in this way."

If that day ever comes, I hope you, Sister Su, will do it willingly.

I think we'll all have a great experience then.

Su Wanqing pursed her lips and suddenly understood Sun Chengwu's intention.

She wasn't a stupid woman, she was just a little out of her mind today. She wiped away her tears, her voice barely audible, "Okay, I understand."

Seeing that she had emerged from the shadows, Sun Chengwu breathed a sigh of relief. "Sister Su, you'd better get up early tomorrow. The needle tea you brew is much better than the one Lin Can makes."

Su Wanqing agreed, "Okay, I'll get up early."

After Su Wanqing fell asleep, Lin Can finally couldn't hold back any longer. He grabbed Sun Chengwu's waist from behind and pinched it hard, his teeth itching with hatred.

She said irritably, "You're dating a married woman, why are you trying to put me down?"

Sun Chengwu said helplessly, "Isn't this the way to help her rebuild her self-confidence?"

You know what I mean.

Lin Can glared at him. "Then tell me, whose tea tastes better?"

Sun Chengwu quickly corrected himself, "It tastes good."

Lin Can looked at his fickle appearance and spat, "Pah! You're a scumbag. Honestly admit it, how many girls have you slept with?"

Sun Chengwu rolled his eyes and said, "I studied hard for ten years to get into university, a 5+3 system. I just graduated, studying medicine, and I've had my fair share of heart-to-heart talks with women."

Strictly speaking...

Sun Chengwu counted on his fingers, "A dozen or so, I can't quite remember."