Arctic survival, starting in hell at minus fifty degrees Celsius

Cut the fish into small pieces to make it easier to put into the jar for cooking.

On the other side, Su Wanqing had already boiled the melted snow water in the iron can.

Sun Chengwu put the fish head and two sections of the fish body into the boiling water.

The remaining two sections were wrapped in clean, broad leaves and buried in the snowdrift next to the tent for preservation.

He also used the extra fishing line to set up a snare trap where the fish meat had been buried.

If an animal tries to steal food at night, its neck will be tightened, and the more it struggles, the tighter the noose will tighten.

The lack of salt is the biggest regret.

However, sea fish are naturally salty, and in this environment, it's good enough to have something to eat.

The fire continued to burn, and the water in the jar boiled again.

As the fish fillets are placed in hot water, they gradually soften from being stiff, and their color changes from translucent to pure white.

The clear hot water gradually turned milky white, due to the protein and a small amount of oil that had seeped out of the fish.

The aroma of fish began to fill the cold air, an irresistible temptation for the four hungry people.

The aroma of fish wafting through the air made everyone swallow hard.

Sun Chengwu used two simple chopsticks made from thin twigs to gently poke the fish meat to confirm that it was cooked through.

"It's ready to eat."

Everyone couldn't wait to get started.

Huang Shi slurped up a mouthful of fish, the hot meat making him hiss, but he couldn't bear to spit it out.

Su Wanqing ate much more elegantly, but that's why she ate the least.

The fish was tender and the fish soup was delicious; everyone quickly warmed up.

Finally, the cooked nut puree was shared and eaten.

Lin Can leaned against the tent, rubbing his stomach, and sighed, "It's been so long since I've eaten this much."

Sun Chengwu chimed in, "It seems we still have to live near the sea, or hunt an Arctic moose. It's very cold here, and we need to consume a lot of fat to keep warm."

Lin Can shook his head and said, "It might work in the short term, but do you remember Li Mu's lesson?"

It's too cold at the beach. If the temperature drops, the beach will freeze over quickly, and we will lose our food source.

There are no trees to block the wind at the beach, and the sea breeze will take away our body heat.

Moreover, polar bears can be found on the beach. If you see seals, polar bears will chase after you to hunt them.

We humans are on the polar bear's menu.

Sun Chengwu couldn't help but think of the time when they were still on the ice floes, when a group of them went hunting polar bears and almost all of them were wiped out.

He nodded. "Then we can only find a compromise: close to the sea, but not too close."

The warmth of the fish soup and the fullness of the nut paste filled the tent with a drowsy comfort.

The four men took turns on duty, with Huang Shi on duty for the first half of the night and Sun Chengwu taking over for the second half.

Lin Can and Su Wanqing squeezed into the innermost part of the tent, wrapped themselves up tightly in everything that could keep them warm, and soon fell into a deep sleep from exhaustion.

The night in the Arctic is truly silent, with only the sound of the biting wind and the distant sound of waves crashing against the shore, repeating monotonously.

Time seemed to stretch out endlessly in the silence.

Sun Chengwu huddled by the fire, adding a piece or two of firewood every now and then to keep the flames burning.

The firelight illuminated his calm and vigilant face, and also cast the shadows of a small circle of snow-covered rocks and jagged tree trunks around him.

The watch hands quietly slid past two in the morning.

Just as Sun Chengwu added more firewood to the fire and was about to get up to stretch his hands and feet, which were a little stiff from the cold, a very faint sound entered his ears.

It sounded like walking on snow, very soft.

But in the quiet of the night, it is exceptionally clear to someone with a tense nerve.

Sun Chengwu listened carefully, and the sound came from the place where he had hidden the two pieces of fish meat that evening.

Sun Chengwu's muscles tensed instantly, and his sleepiness vanished.

He quietly bent down and looked toward the source of the sound.

In the darkness, he could only vaguely make out the outline of a dark figure, which was cautiously approaching the patch of snow.

Judging by its size, it doesn't resemble an Arctic fox, and it's much smaller than a polar bear. It seems... to be a person?

The shadowy figure seemed to sense something, paused for a moment, and warily "looked" towards the tent.

Sun Chengwu held his breath and remained motionless.

A few seconds later, the shadowy figure moved again, quickly digging through the snow layer that had buried the fish.

They're here to steal food!

Sun Chengwu's heart sank.

Whatever it is, we must not let it succeed.

He jumped to his feet and roared at the top of his lungs, "Who?"

Startled, the shadowy figure turned and fled without hesitation.

This time, Sun Chengwu saw things clearly.

There were two figures.

Lin Can and the others had been awakened by his shout.

Sun Chengwu said, "Something's stealing the fish. I'll go check it out. You guys guard the fire and protect yourselves!"

Sun Chengwu picked up his military knife and chased after the fleeing figure without hesitation.

The snow crunched underfoot as Sun Chengwu quickly arrived at the spot where the fish had been buried.

The trap was not triggered, but a large hole had been dug in the snow pit where the fish were buried.

Two sets of human footprints, one large and one small, stretched into the distant woods.

Sun Chengwu's face turned cold, and he did not rashly pursue the matter, as it would be easy to be ambushed in this situation.

It's just unknown whether the fish thieves were survivors from another ice floe, or Li Mu's group.

Back at the camp, Su Wanqing looked over with a nervous gaze.

Sun Chengwu said, "There are two people. Judging from the footprints, it should be a man and a woman. Everyone should be more careful in the future."

He added some dry firewood to the fire and said to Huang Shi, "You keep watch, I'll take a nap."

It was only three o'clock, and the sky was already turning white. Sun Chengwu had only been asleep for a short time when it was already dawn.

Today was a cloudy day, the sky was gray and gloomy, and the biting sea wind kept blowing. The snowflakes in the sky seemed to be falling heavier and heavier, and soon they had accumulated almost five centimeters of snow around them.

Sun Chengwu slept until 10 a.m. before slowly waking up.

He glanced at his watch, then suddenly stood up, and everyone turned to look at him at the same time.

Sun Chengwu asked, "Why didn't you call me?"

Lin Can was using his military knife to carve a wooden stick into a wooden spear. Without looking up, he said, "You look too tired, so I'll let you sleep a little longer. Anyway, the weather isn't good enough to continue today, so let's stop and rest for a day."

If you're still sleepy, go back to sleep. We've all had enough sleep.

Sun Chengwu breathed a sigh of relief and got up to stretch his somewhat frozen body.

Su Wanqing was boiling water for him and didn't see Huang Shi.

What about Yellowstone?

Lin Can raised his chin, gesturing for Sun Chengwu to look towards the sea. "He went to the beach to catch fish. He said he was able to find fish last night, so he's going to try his luck today."

Sun Chengwu got up, wiped his face with snow to keep himself awake.

He went to the place where he had hidden the fish yesterday and took them out.

The footprints left by the fish thieves last night have been covered by snow and are no longer visible.