Chapter 717 Frozen Hands and Feet
Watching the five people disappear on the ice field, Bifang turned around and looked at everyone present.
Three tourists, four sailors, and myself, these are the only remaining manpower.
There are eight people in total, and one of them needs to watch the engine and other equipment to prevent any failure or freezing, while also taking care of the safety of the rest of the people to avoid the accident just now.
The remaining seven people were responsible for two huge ice caves covering an area of more than ten square meters. Keeping them from freezing in an environment of more than fifty degrees below zero was an extreme challenge no matter how you looked at it.
Everyone was daunted and felt that this was an impossible task.
"Everyone, don't just stand there. Continue. Don't open the second ice box for now. Focus on maintaining the gray whale's breathing ." The second mate immediately gave up one of the whales and concentrated all the remaining manpower on one ice hole.
There are only seven people left. Even if they cannot guide the gray whale to the coast, they must at least maintain the basic situation and wait for the next group to come and take over.
"Just hold on a little longer, someone will come over soon!"
With the insistence of the second mate, everyone finally started to move in bits and pieces. Bifang ran a few steps and found the sledders who were rushing back.
Since there was no clear order to stop, Goudan led the dogs to rush out for hundreds of meters before realizing that Bifang had disappeared, and quickly rushed back.
What the Inuit said was absolutely right. Goudan's IQ was indeed rare. An ordinary sled dog would not notice the sudden disappearance of the driver and could even come back on its own.
Bifang patted Goudan's head, cut a piece of venison as a reward for him, and found some raw reindeer skin on the sled. As there was no time to tan it, he simply cut three holes in it with a dagger and made a simple coat to put on himself.
He picked up the electric saw that the sailor had just dropped on the ground, pulled the rope, and began to cut the ice. The hardness of the newly frozen ice was not too high, and the sharp steel could be easily inserted into it without pressing, and ice chips flew.
【Chainsaw Man Fang Qita is here! 】
【Do you want to be a dog too? 】
The extreme cold made people feel extremely uncomfortable physically. Even though their faces were wrapped in cloth strips, they still felt like they were about to crack from the cold. Their eyes, the only part that was in direct contact with the air, were extremely dry and had a strange swollen feeling. They needed to close their eyes from time to time, otherwise Bifang was really worried that he would be frozen blind.
"Our skin isn't the only thing that can freeze in extremely cold temperatures. If you're in extremely cold, windy weather, your cornea can also freeze. The protective layer of tears covering your cornea can make your eyes sensitive to light and cause blepharospasm."
"However, this freezing is recoverable in a short time. As long as you can get out of the cold environment in time, the cornea can recover. But if your cornea is frozen for a long enough time, it may cause permanent damage, so if you can, be sure to wear goggles."
Bifang closed his eyes and waited until he regained consciousness before opening them again and continuing to devote himself to the cutting task.
Cutting ice is more difficult than imagined. Under the capillary action, seawater will overflow through the cut gaps. It would be no big deal under normal circumstances, but in an environment of minus fifty degrees Celsius, the seawater will freeze into ice in a few seconds. The ice just cut will be connected to the ice field again, making it difficult to cut, and all efforts will be wasted.
Otherwise, the sailor would not have tried to kick it after cutting it open, which almost led to tragedy.
“It can only be cut into smaller pieces.”
Bifang pulled up his mask, took a step back, reduced the area of cutting, expanded the area little by little, and threw the broken ice into the center of the ice cave, creating ripples and preventing the sea surface from freezing.
Half an hour later, support still hadn't arrived.
Everyone was beginning to feel a little tired.
"Why hasn't he come yet? It's already half an hour later, there's plenty of time!"
"I can't cut it anymore. This thing is too heavy."
"If you can't cut it, take a break. Don't force it. It's too dangerous."
The second mate swallowed and felt his forearm aching. He looked up at the ice field, also wondering why no one had come yet.
Looking around, all the ice caves, whether newly dug or previously left, have been frozen, and there is no sign that there was ever a big hole here.
It was not until an hour later that two snowmobiles hurriedly arrived, and a total of eight sailors and two tourists took over the work of the crowd.
Several people immediately collapsed to the ground, drinking hot water in big gulps.
The second mate swung his arms and asked, "Why did you come just now?"
"Sorry, the snowmobile suddenly stalled halfway through the journey, and within half a minute, the fuel tank was frozen and we couldn't move it at all. We had to tow it back and then get another one and rush over." The leader was helpless.
“What a hell!”
This is the polar night in the Arctic. If the engine stalls for a moment, any mechanical vehicle is at risk of being scrapped.
Bifang let go of the chainsaw in his hand and handed it to another person, turning his tired arm. The others could take a temporary break, but Bifang had never rested in holding the chainsaw for more than an hour.
Turning his sore arms, Bifang returned to the sled and sat on it to rest for a while.
After recovering a little, Bifang came to an open space, poured out the peat soil, lit it with some tinder, and made a bonfire.
Then he took out two wooden bowls, put two light pink "half-circle stones" in them, and stuffed a little crushed ice in them.
【What is this? 】
[Is Lao Fang boiling stones? ]
[Have you ever seen a pink stone? (Eat melon)]
[If I'm not mistaken, this should be a deer brain (dog head)]
"Yes, the reindeer's brain."
Bifang knocked on the pink "semi-circular stone", and it made a sound just like a stone.
The soft deer brain does not need any special container to be stored. After one or two minutes in the natural environment, it will be frozen like a stone. You can just stuff it into a bag and it will be preserved very well. If it is in a normal environment, the brain may stink and rot in less than a day, and then it cannot be used to tan leather at all.
"Muskox skins are used as sleeping bags, which are not very convenient to use. My clothes are not warm enough now. The two reindeer skins must be tanned and softened as soon as possible, and then made into clothes to help us resist the severe cold."
"The hides of these big guys have the same effect as musk ox hides, they are also very hairy and can withstand temperatures as low as -50 degrees Celsius."
The crushed ice in the wooden bowl quickly boiled, melting the pale pink pebbles, making their color more prominent, and even the fine blood vessels exposed on the epidermis could be seen.
Mash it and spread it evenly on the reindeer skin. The audience was familiar with the same steps, so Bifang did not spend more time explaining it. He accelerated the process and continued to stretch and stretch it.
Soon the two pieces of raw hides were completely tanned, and the harder parts were all softened, leaving only the final smoking and roasting process.
