The skiff moved slowly, with Iron Slag standing at the bow, and Old Amp and two sailors paddling their oars, carefully avoiding the ice floes along the coast.

The beach here has no sand, only ice and snow. The closer you get to the shore, the more ice floes there are, and the dinghy gets slower and slower, and when you get to the shore, you can't move forward. Two young sailors got into the water and pushed the dinghy on.

In less than thirty seconds, both sailors were frozen and turned purple. Seeing this, the iron slag also jumped into the water and helped them push together.

Soaking in cold ice water, my whole body hurts as if I have been cut by a knife. The shell of the iron slag grew naturally, but the shell has not fully recovered, and there are some places that have not yet grown, only a thin layer. With the addition of iron slag, the three of them quickly brought the boat to shore and pulled it ashore with a cable.

Both sailors shivered with cold, and the iron slag, though not shivering, was much better. Old Amp was the most experienced, and first took out the flasks and poured spirits into each of them, then took out the kerosene stove from the supplies and lit the campfire.

The three men who went into the water were baking clothes around the campfire back to back, while Old Amp was sorting out the supplies.

As far as the eye could see, it was a barren place, and there was no sign of any living creatures, only a white expanse of ice and snow.

"Brother Tie, this is the snowy night ice field, and if you go north, the time during the day will be shorter, and the time at night will be longer, but only in winter." Old Amp introduced. Feng Yun sent him here to see that he was old and experienced, and asked him to be a guide.

"You...... You've been here...... Over here? "The iron slag is so cold that it is a little difficult to speak.

"I've been here several times when I've been younger, and I've ......done the math," said Old Amp, thinking for a moment with his fingers pinched, "this is the sixth." ”

"Go...... Ever been further afield? Iron Slag asked.

"I've been to the Fikris mountains, but I've only been at the foot of the mountain for two days, and I didn't go up the mountain before I went back." Old Amp replied.

Iron Slag nodded, didn't say anything more, and Old Amp continued to sort out the supplies. The kerosene stove burns quietly, radiating heat outward. After about half an hour, the three of them had their clothes dry and their bodies warmed up, and they began to march towards the ice field.

The snowmobile is not big, except for four large wheels, it looks like a large locomotive no matter how you look at it. Once you've got your stuff full, tow a sled. Old Amp arranged to carry the red comet in a sleigh to save fuel and electricity. When they had found the snow bears, they carried them in sleds, while the iron slag continued on the motorcycle.

The terrain of the snowy ice field is very flat, there are no ups and downs, only an endless sea of snow, except for snow, it is still snow.

Snowmobiles are difficult to drive through the ice fields, often getting stuck in the snow, and can only drive and push forward. Most of the time, one of them drives the snowmobile, and the other three people step on the snow with deep feet and shallow feet, and move forward with difficulty.

On the first day of entering the ice field, Iron Slag felt the hardships of the road ahead.

There are no people, no plants, no animals, nothing in the white expanse. Compared to the wasteland, the environment here is more harsh, at least there is no need to worry about starving to death in the wasteland, and occasionally you can hunt gerbils to satisfy your hunger, and you can dig some wild grass to eat no matter how bad it is. However, to survive here, in addition to food, you must also have a source of heat. The fire must be baked at night, otherwise the iron beaters will not be able to stand it.

The four of them walked in the ice field all day, and only after night did they set up camp to rest.

Iron Slag had wanted to camp under a snow hill because it would keep the wind out. But the experienced Old Amp immediately denied it, citing the fact that the underside of the snow dunes was prone to avalanches, and the only way to find them was large rocks or cedar forests.

However, when you first enter the snowy night ice field, you will not have these places. Only in the middle of the snowy ice field will there be cedars. It is only in the northern part of the snowy night icefield that large rocks roll down from the Phyllis mountains.

Eventually, they set up camp on a flat, open field.

The north wind is very strong, mixed with granular ice slag, which is cold and wet, and if you are not careful, you will be scratched. It took half an hour for the tent to be erected, and a total of more than 20 fixed ropes were pulled and more than 30 bindings were nailed. Even so, under the cold north wind, it was still blown away.

A kerosene stove was lit in front of the camp, and four people gathered around to keep warm. While sipping spirits, small talk is made. On the first day of entering the ice field, everyone seemed to have no appetite to eat, only felt so cold that they forgot to be hungry.

After a while, under the baking of the kerosene stove, the four of them gradually warmed up. At this time, they felt unspeakable hunger, and only felt their stomachs twitching. It's too cold in the ice field, and calories are consumed very quickly, so people can easily get hungry. However, the premise is warm, otherwise under the erosion of the extreme cold, all other sensations will be lightened.

Iron Slag took out the canned meat of the garrison of the Central Continent and wanted to share it with everyone, but Old Amp hurriedly stopped it, saying, "You keep these, you have to go a longer way, and these must be left for the most critical time to eat." ”

"Yes, Brother Tie, keep it." "We're not hungry, just eat something else." Two honest sailors followed suit. Although they haven't known each other for a long time, they have experienced the battle of the institute together, and they have fought together in life and death, so the distance between them has narrowed a lot.

Then Old Amp took out the marching pot from the supplies, filled it with some snow, and boiled it on the kerosene stove. After a while, the snow slowly turned into water, and Old Amp took a few white radishes and cut them into the water one by one. It was boiled for a while, and the marching pot was steaming. Old Amp brought another large piece of frozen beef ribs and poured them all in.

Next, the four of them stared at the pot like this, smelling the gradual smell of meat, desperately suppressing their appetite. The environment here is harsh, and there is no seasoning, but this boiled beef rib smells like the ultimate delicious, making the mouth water almost flow out.

After tossing for more than two hours, it wasn't until late at night that the four of them had a beautiful meal. Taking advantage of the heat of dinner, the four of them got into the tent, opened their sleeping bags and got in, and began the first night in the snowy ice field.

In the second half of the night, it suddenly snowed heavily. The iron slag was woken up by the howling north wind, and when he got out of the tent, he saw that the whole world was covered with snowflakes, and he couldn't see his fingers, and the kerosene stove in front of the camp was swaying in the wind and snow, as if it was about to be extinguished.

In order to prevent the camp from being buried by the wind and snow, Iron Slag did not dare to sleep anymore, and woke up Old Amp to discuss countermeasures. Old Ample got out of the tent and observed for a while, and said, "It's okay, continue to sleep, the snow in the ice field looks big on a snowy night, but in fact the snowflakes are very fluffy, the water content is very low, it looks like the snow is big, but in reality there is not much." ”

With the instructions of the old guide, the iron slag went back to sleep with peace of mind.

Early the next morning, the four of them woke up one after another, packed their bags, and continued on the road. The sun shines on the snow, but there is no warmth, and the sun on the ice field on a snowy night is like a ray without temperature.

The whole world is only snow and cold, and they keep walking north, and the scenery is exactly the same every day, making people feel suffocated and unspeakably afraid, as if they have been spinning in place, trapped in a great labyrinth of boundlessness.

It wasn't until noon on the ninth day that they finally came to the middle of the snowy night ice field, where sparse cedars grew along the way, and although the leaves of the cedars were gray, their presence brought a touch of life to this pale world.

One person drove a snowmobile listlessly, and the other three struggled to move forward in the snow with their heads down.

At this moment, Old Amp suddenly raised his head and exclaimed excitedly, "Look, ice crystal berries! ”

Looking in the direction pointed by Old Amp, they saw a cluster of dwarf shrubs under a cedar tree. The bushes bear small, bright red fruits.

Old Amp plucked one, put it in his mouth and tasted it carefully, and then showed a very satisfied expression, and exclaimed, "Hmm...... Refreshing! Refreshing! ”

The slag was plucked, and the ice crystal berries were smaller than cherries, with a crystal clear surface that seemed to be translucent. Put it in your mouth, bite it with your teeth, and the sticky slurry squirts out, sweet and cold, as if there is liquid ice slag in it. It tastes sweet and refreshing, and it has an endless aftertaste.

They quickly divided the rest of the berries. It's only a little bit, but the taste is unforgettable. So, from this day on, they were much more active, and their eyes were always sweeping under the cedars, hoping to find such a good thing again.

However, for the next two days, they did not find any more ice crystal berries.

As we move forward, the cedars become denser and denser, and patches of cedar forests begin to appear.

Old Ample said snow bears are active in this area. However, they do not have a fixed territory, nor do they have a fixed nest, and generally eat and sleep wherever they go. Snow bears are solitary creatures, sometimes alone, sometimes a male and a female.

As time passed, they walked through one cedar forest after another, but they never found any trace of the snow bear. One can't help but wonder if this creature exists or not.

It stands to reason that there is a lack of food here, and snow bears are large creatures that are several meters tall, so what kind of food can support their survival? Amp said that the snow night ice field is divided into polar day and polar night, polar day is always day, and polar night is always night.

During the polar daylight season, snow bears migrate to the seashore to catch and eat the creatures in the sea. When they are full, at the time of the polar night, they will return here and eat a small amount until the next year's polar day. Therefore, during this season, snow bears are very dangerous and will attack any creature they see and then eat them.

By the fifteenth day, they had not found a snow bear, but they did see a snowy elk along the way. Iron Slag said that he would catch it and stew it, but the elk was extremely sensitive, and Iron Slag had just thought about it, and it ran away. It was unimaginably fast, flashing left and right in the cedar forest, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Old Amp said that if the snow bear could not be found any further, they would have to go back. Feng Yun said that he could only wait for forty days, and if this time was exceeded, the Beidou would return.

I don't know if it's God's favor or God's cruelty, the day after Old Amp finished speaking, they met a snow bear, and there were two of them!