Chapter 172: Global Extreme Cold 15
All these biscuits were drawn by Chu Yian.
On the tenth day of the game’s blind box, Grandpa Treasure Box gave her a whole box of biscuits. There were too many; she and Lu Qingyuan couldn’t possibly finish them all.
These biscuits took up space, but it would be a shame to just throw them away. Chu Yian was agonizing over what to do with them when she happened to encounter that group of refugees.
She simply threw the biscuits onto the road.
This seemingly insignificant act for her became a life-saving ration for these refugees.
“Teacher Lu, if we cross the mountain ahead, will we reach the Oasis?”
Chu Yian carefully studied the map, looking at the destination marked in red pen next to a mountain range.
“Almost.”
After crossing this mountain and passing through a town, the Oasis would be ahead.
“We should have enough gasoline, right?”
Chu Yian checked their supplies; they still had four small barrels of gasoline left.
“Enough.”
Lu Qingyuan nodded. Based on their previous gasoline consumption, four barrels would be more than sufficient.
“Then we really will be there soon!” Hearing Lu Qingyuan’s affirmative words, Chu Yian couldn’t help but lie back, feeling victory was just ahead.
But was that really the case?
Lu Qingyuan’s gaze passed through the window and looked towards the horizon.
In twenty-below-zero weather, the sun was unusually bright, and the orange-red sunset dyed the land with a red glow. It was cold yet bright, carrying an extreme sense of contradiction.
Lu Qingyuan tightened his grip on the steering wheel, a stone-like feeling in his heart that wouldn’t settle. “I hope so.”
Tonight came earlier than usual.
Not long after the sun disappeared, the temperature plummeted!
They didn’t feel much inside the car, but Chu Yian clearly saw the car’s thermometer slide downwards. In just two hours, the temperature dropped from -23 to -28.
“Teacher Lu, the temperature is dropping a bit fast today.”
Chu Yian immediately told him about this problem. At this point, Lu Qingyuan had already driven their car to the foot of the endless mountain range.
Heavy snow had already covered the mountain roads, and most of the mountains were both high and steep.
Compared to the dropping temperature, how to drive the car to the other side was the more important question.
Lu Qingyuan looked at the map, driving along the edge of the mountains, searching for the lowest route based on the terrain and visual estimation. After several attempts, the vehicle finally climbed the mountain crookedly, crawling upwards like a snail.
9:00 PM, temperature -36 degrees.
9:30 PM, temperature -41 degrees!
In the short hour or so they had been climbing the mountain, the temperature had already dropped to its previous coldest point, and even more terrifyingly, a blizzard had started. Soft snow piled up on the mountain, and even though their car was specially modified for snow, moving became difficult.
The tires left thicker tracks on the ground than usual, and the vehicle’s speed was slow and consumed a lot of fuel.
When they reached two-thirds of the way up the peak, the vehicle got stuck.
The car tires spun in place, unable to go up or down, and the pit worn into the ground by the tires grew larger and larger.
“You hold the steering wheel, I’ll get out and push.”
Lu Qingyuan casually grabbed his jacket, put it on, and was about to go out. Chu Yian grabbed his hand and pointed to the thermometer next to them.
The outdoor temperature was currently -50 degrees.
At this temperature, wearing only three sets of fleece-lined underwear and a down jacket would freeze one to death. She made Lu Qingyuan put on two more layers of clothing and also stuck warming patches on his back, chest, and limbs.
Before Lu Qingyuan even got out of the car, he felt like a burning furnace, but after staying in the -50 degree temperature for only a short while, he couldn’t say he was hot; it was just right.
He took a military shovel and dug the snow from under the car wheels. The car’s engine operated rapidly, and he pushed hard from behind.
With their cooperation, the vehicle moved slowly, gradually inching out of the large pit.
After the car moved out of the pit, Lu Qingyuan didn’t get back in. He walked beside the snow vehicle with the military shovel. Whenever the snow vehicle stopped and showed signs of getting stuck, he would give it a push from the side.
They specifically chose a peak that looked easiest to climb, and only two-thirds of the journey remained. However, even this very short stretch of road took them more than forty minutes.
Finally, they reached the summit. The snow outside was already like goose feathers.
The thermometer showed the temperature had dropped to -58 degrees!
Lu Qingyuan’s eyelashes were covered with a layer of frost. The moment he pushed the door open and got into the car, it was as if an ice block had appeared inside the vehicle.
“Where’s the liquor?”
The first thing he did upon entering the car was ask for liquor. He snatched the expensive bottle of high-proof white spirits and gulped down several mouthfuls as if it were plain water.
With the liquor in his stomach, his internal body temperature began to rise, and only then did he start to take off his clothes.
The outermost layer of clothing was soaked, and water would freeze into ice crystals within seconds outside. These ice crystals not only lowered his body temperature but also made Lu Qingyuan’s every movement stiff.
The warming patches stuck inside only lasted for half an hour.
After thirty minutes, the effect of the warming patches diminished, and now they offered almost no warmth.
Compared to the insulation effect, the bigger problem was the gasoline.
“Oh my goodness, this gasoline might not be enough.”
Chu Yian stared intently at the fuel gauge.
They had only climbed one mountain, and the gasoline they had just filled the tank with was already nearly empty. The low temperature of fifty degrees below zero made the gasoline consumption unprecedentedly fast!
They had originally thought there would be enough gasoline, but they had celebrated too early.
The Oasis was built in a sparsely populated area, but there was still a town with a concentrated population ahead.
What else could they do but drive to find gasoline?
In the low temperatures, no one was willing to be out at such a time. They found an unused breeding farm outside the town and drove the car inside.
“Will you wait for me here?”
Lu Qingyuan looked at Chu Yian, planning to do as they usually did.
“I’ll go out with you.”
Staying in the car was certainly good, warm and comfortable. But with the current weather outside, if Lu Qingyuan had an accident, she might not be able to reach the Oasis either.
“What about the car then?”
Turning off the engine was definitely not an option; it had to keep running so it wouldn’t freeze up.
“We’ll make some small adjustments.”
Chu Yian found the toolbox in the car. “We’ll take off all the wheels.”
If the car had no wheels, who could drive it away?
Fly?!
Lu Qingyuan:…The two worked quickly, and the car wheels and steering wheel were removed. The wheels were hidden around the house, and the steering wheel was put into the treasure box by Chu Yian.
After doing all this, the two slowly made their way towards the town ahead. The streets of the town were empty, and the fresh heavy snow had re-covered the ground. There were no footprints on the road, only some exposed body limbs could be seen.
The doors of all the shops along the road had been smashed open, and inside it was pitch black.
Clothing stores, hardware stores, former small restaurants… They walked around more than half of the small county town before they saw the prominent building of a gas station. And the machines outside the gas station were almost two-thirds covered by ice and snow.
