Chapter 164: Global Extreme Cold 7
“It’s over, there’s no chance to pass directly.”
Chu Yian felt a pang of regret, but quickly cheered up.
Even without the chance to pass directly, getting information about the Oasis was always good.
The two split up; Lu Qingyuan took out his laptop, found a battery pack from who-knows-where, and began receiving and printing map information.
Chu Yian wasn’t idle either; she found two large backpacks and started packing.
Food definitely had to be high-calorie.
She didn’t bring instant noodles, instant rice, or mini hot pots, opting instead for high-sugar, high-calorie chocolates and malt sugar biscuits. They were small and easy to carry.
Medicine was essential; she even brought several extra pieces of ginger and brown sugar.
In low temperatures, warmth was the top priority.
Two boxes of hand warmers definitely had to be brought! Chu Yian tore off all the box packaging to prevent them from taking up too much space.
Clothes were also a must. Chu Yian counted the clothing she had prepared: six sets of thermal underwear for each person, three down jackets, three pairs of windproof pants, and three pairs of thickened, fleece-lined waterproof shoes for each. Besides these, there were also several pairs of gloves, scarves, hats, and earmuffs. Some of these clothes would certainly be worn, and the rest were all to be brought!
Thickened sleeping bags: two.
Fuel: five barrels of gasoline, two portable natural gas canisters (with a small stove), two alcohol lamps. Additionally, she bought a handful of lighters, about six or seven of them.
Batteries: several dry cell batteries and three power banks.
Electronics: one radio and three flashlights.
Besides these, she also bought weapons: two entrenching tools.
Chu Yian piled the items to be taken in the living room, with other miscellaneous items placed to the side. When Lu Qingyuan came out with the printed map, he paused at the messy living room, “Do we need to bring this many things?”
“Can we even carry them?”
Although all these were very useful, there were only two of them.
“Yes.”
Chu Yian took out her treasure box.
This was the third time she had taken out her treasure box, and seeing Lu Qingyuan’s startled expression, she was already quite calm. She didn’t even want to explain to him, but rather motioned for him to pack, “Come on, let’s pack the important things into the box first.”
After its last upgrade, the treasure box’s volume had increased to 1.5 cubic meters. But fitting all the items they needed to bring was still a bit difficult. The clothes were too fluffy and took up some space.
Lu Qingyuan then went to a room and took out a vacuum pump.
The vacuum-sealed clothes instantly became smaller in volume.
They turned into dry, hard cloth blocks, saving a lot of space.
Seeing this, Chu Yian brought out two thick down quilts, “Teacher Lu, let’s pack these in too, they’re thick.”
Lu Qingyuan only packed one quilt, because he told Chu Yian to leave space for other items to be put inside.
Chu Yian followed him all the way to the villa’s basement, which contained a wine cellar filled with various types of alcohol. Lu Qingyuan selected four bottles of high-proof liquor from it, “In extremely cold weather, strong spirits are more effective at warding off the cold.”
Chu Yian had no objections.
Most of the items were packed into the treasure box, while their backpacks contained a few hand warmers, thermos bottles filled with water, and some cash, valuable watches, and gems.
“Teacher Lu, we’re fleeing for our lives and you’re still bringing these?”
Chu Yian said teasingly, surprised that Lu Qingyuan could occasionally be so superficial.
“These are for saving our lives.”
Lu Qingyuan casually grabbed a handful of his collectibles from the safe, “In special times, if you encounter problems on the road that can be solved with money, they are not problems.”
That makes so much sense.
It was so comfortable to team up with such a smart person.
Chu Yian nodded and also started packing jewelry and watches into her backpack, then went out to put away the treasure box.
The moment he reached out and touched the large box, it vanished. Even as composed as Lu Qingyuan was, he was stunned when he saw this, “What new technology is this?”
Upon hearing this, Chu Yian, for once, put on an air of superiority, “It’s not new technology. I’m just a chosen one.”
Lu Qingyuan was silent for a moment, not wanting to respond to her, “Will this thing malfunction, or is there a chance it could be stolen?”
“It won’t malfunction. As for being stolen… it’s never happened.”
Only she could open the treasure box; its security was top-notch.
Lu Qingyuan looked at the pattern on her right palm, “What if someone cut off your hand?”
Chu Yian, who had just been gloating, felt a chill rise from her back the next second because of his words, “I won’t give anyone that opportunity.”
Lu Qingyuan looked at her sudden fear and finally moved his gaze from her palm, “Good that you know. Don’t tell anyone else.”
The two were about to set off with their backpacks.
Almost all main roads in the city were blocked; vehicles couldn’t get out, so they could only travel on foot.
The outside temperature had already reached minus sixteen degrees Celsius.
The snow on the road had become thicker, but fewer and fewer people were clearing it. The fresh snow on the road felt light and airy underfoot.
Because she was prone to falling, Chu Yian still held onto Lu Qingyuan’s arm as they walked forward.
However, the current mode of transportation made her a bit worried, “Teacher Lu, are we walking all the way to M City?”
“No.”
They were going to his residence in the suburbs.
Lu Qingyuan made Chu Yian deeply realize what it meant for a wealthy person to have many hidden abodes; he had houses everywhere.
The two hurried along and finally arrived at his other residence at four in the afternoon.
It was sparsely populated here, and the heavy snow was almost blocking the main gate. Lu Qingyuan opened the garage, revealing several off-road vehicles inside. Chu Yian didn’t recognize the brands of these cars, but she could see that their tires were wider and larger than ordinary tires.
“Come help me.”
Lu Qingyuan found iron chains from a pile of tools and placed them next to the vehicle with the widest tires. He took off his gloves, seemingly intending to modify this vehicle.
Yes, he was going to put chains on the vehicle’s tires.
Chu Yian imitated him, taking off her gloves, shivering as she assisted, and then asked curiously, “Teacher Lu, wide car tires can reduce pressure, preventing the vehicle from getting stuck in the snow, but what are these iron chains for?”
“To increase friction and give the tires more grip on icy surfaces.”
He said, then carried several barrels of oil from the garage, “Do you still have gasoline there?”
“Yes, I bought four barrels.”
Now, with the gasoline Lu Qingyuan brought up, there were a total of ten barrels.
Chu Yian thought he would say ten barrels of oil were enough, but Lu Qingyuan frowned slightly, “A bit little. We’ll have to see after we get out.”
Ten barrels of oil still too little?
The distance from S City to M City, that was entirely more than enough. After changing cars later, the remaining oil should last for a long time, right?
Lu Qingyuan didn’t explain to her and directly got into the car and started the engine.
However, Chu Yian quickly realized why he said ten barrels of oil weren’t enough: in low temperatures, vehicles were extremely fuel-inefficient!
