The central and southern parts of Baffin Bay and Smith Strait are between 70 degrees north latitude and 80 degrees north latitude, and even in midsummer, the average daily temperature is only a few degrees above zero.

When I first entered the Smith Strait, the boatload was very happy, because the temperature rose rapidly due to several days of sunny weather, and the ice on the sea surface could even thin and melt at a speed visible to the naked eye, and some sea areas even showed a rare blue color.

Sailing in the polar waters for a long time is a great test for both the crew and the passengers. Because sailing here, you can't see any other colors except the blue of the sky and the white of the sea, which is very, very boring. And in the summer, you can't see the aurora even if you want to.

Gege wanted to see the aurora after she came out of Nuuk, but her wish was destined to be frustrated. At this time, the sun hardly sets, and the sky is bright all day, where to see the aurora?

Gege even stayed up for two nights to witness the aurora, but the result was extremely disappointed to her. Here, even when the sun sets, the sky is still very bright.

This situation was something Gege hadn't thought of before, and she originally said that she would go to the North Pole this time, and she wanted to see the aurora, but all her ideas fell through.

In addition to Gege's wishes, the joy of the crew and Captain Andrei did not last long.

The weather changes in the polar seas are comparable to the faces of children, and that is really changing. Just like today, the sun is still shining before lunch, and the warm sun shines on people's bodies, making people want to take a nap. But when lunch was over, the sky immediately changed.

In less than an hour, the warm south wind turned into a knife-like north wind, and the thick dark clouds rolled forward at a frightening speed under the impetus of the roaring north wind, and then, almost in a moment, the goose-feathered snow fell on the head and face.

Yang Jing and Gege swore that they had never seen such a big snowflake in their lives. The goose-feathered snow is so weak, have you ever seen a palm-sized snowflake?

The snowflakes that fall from the sky now caught in the north wind are the legendary palm-sized snowflakes......

Visibility was then much lowered, and the snow-capped mountains along the coasts of Ellesmere and Greenland could no longer be seen, and even the sun, which had been hovering overhead, had completely disappeared.

A super snowstorm came so suddenly.

Visibility dropped rapidly from a few dozen kilometers before the blizzard to only a few hundred meters, which forced Captain Andrei to carefully reduce the speed of the ship again.

Although the Blue Whale is a PC1 class icebreaker, this icebreaker is the highest-level icebreaker, which can travel in all polar seas all year round, and the Blue Whale also has the highest A5 class icebreaker level, which can sail in extremely severe ice waters all year round, but this ship is not omnipotent.

It's like last year, when the Blue Whale went on a scientific expedition to Antarctica, it encountered a strong snowstorm on the Ross Ice Shelf, which led to a rapid increase in the thickness of the ice on the Ross Ice Shelf, and finally trapped the Blue Whale in the ice shelf.

The Blue Whale's maximum ice-breaking capacity is to break through 3 meters of ice at a speed of three knots, or 1.8 meters of multi-year ice. Beyond this limit, even the Blue Whale is helpless.

This is the main reason why the Blue Whale was stranded on the Ross Ice Shelf last year.

And now, although the Blue Whale has not yet entered the Arctic Ocean, it is already infinitely close, plus this is the Smith Strait, which is very narrow, and there are constantly icebergs breaking off from the glacier and sliding into the sea, plus the visibility has become low, the temperature has dropped rapidly, and the ice that has begun to melt has thickened again, which makes Captain Andre have to reduce the speed of the ship to the safest three knots.

Only by driving at this speed can the safety of the Blue Whale be ensured.

André didn't want to repeat the mistakes of his previous boss, and he didn't want the Blue Whale to get stranded in the Arctic or run into an iceberg again......

Chris: They're well-informed, they've been to most parts of the world, but they've never seen such a violent blizzard.

"Oh Shet!Shet!" The tall Clark ran in from outside, wrapped in the cold, and just closed the door and began cursing, "Hell, this damn weather, this damn blizzard! There's no one standing outside, I almost got blown down by a gust of wind just now!"

John Bruno laughed and quipped, "Who made you so blind? Seeing that the snowstorm is rising, why don't you hurry back to the cabin, do you want to turn into a frozen sculpture outside?"

"Shet!" Clark patted the snowflakes on his head and body, "Am I not on duty? Safety first, do you know?"

Kevin Martin on the side laughed and said: "Clark, do you think that in this kind of weather, in such a sea area, there will be any pirates? Even if there are pirates, it is estimated that we will not be needed, and the weather here can kill all enemies! You see, I also came in early to avoid the blizzard." ”

A crowd of people around burst into laughter.

"Well, you win!" Clark McCann spread his hands helplessly, then cursed again, "This damn blizzard!" Chris handed over a steaming cup of coffee, and Clark smiled.

Yang Jing clapped his hands and said: "OK, guys, such a big snowstorm, you don't have to be on duty outside, let's come all the way, we can't even see a ghost shadow for a few days, everyone don't have to worry about safety." But if you want to go out of the cabin, you must be careful with your step. Don't get hurt by slipping, it's more than worth the loss. ”

The crowd all nodded. Including Carl Morris and his eight-man mercenary squad.

More than ten days have passed since leaving the port, and these days of getting along, Yang Jing, a bold and indiscriminate boss, has already won the favor of the eight-person mercenary team.

Vice-captain Kevin Martin said: "This is a damn blizzard, I've never seen such a violent blizzard in my childhood. When I was in my hometown of Montana, I thought that the heavy snow in winter in my hometown was the most terrifying, but compared to this, it was simply pediatric. By the way, Brian, did you ever see a blizzard like this when you were serving at Thule Air Force Base?"

Brian Scott is a communications soldier in the mercenary squad, and is very small, compared to Clark McCann, like a fawn standing next to an elephant. He was sitting behind a table in the dining room, holding a cup of hot coffee in his hand and staring at the heavy snow outside, when he heard this question, he nodded and said, "It's very common, but when I was serving at Thule Air Force Base, I would encounter at least dozens of such snowstorms a year. ”

As he spoke, Brian Scott pointed to the southeast and said, "Actually, we passed by the place where I served yesterday. ”

Gege asked curiously, "Brian, did you serve in that military base that is known as the northernmost military base in the world?"

Brian Scott smiled and nodded, "Boss, to be exact, that place is only the northernmost military base of the U.S. military in the world, I served in the 821st Air Regiment of the U.S. Army, and the place of service was indeed at Thule Air Force Base. ”

Yang Jing seems to have vaguely heard others say that this Thule Air Base seems to be a very awesome air base. So he smiled and said, "Brian, if you can, I mean, if there are no secrecy restrictions, can you tell us about that mysterious Thule Air Force Base?"

Brian nodded and said, "Actually, there's nothing to say, what should be said can be found on the Internet, and what shouldn't be said, I can't touch it." Boss, when I served there, I was an ordinary signal soldier. ”

Yang Jing raised his hand and looked at his watch, and found that it was almost eleven o'clock at noon, so he shouted loudly to the kitchen: "Garcia, let's have some hearty good things at noon today, and in addition, take out some of the Mexican tequila I saved, it's too cold today, I think guys need this thing to keep their blood alive." ”

"OK! You're the boss, you're in charge!" replied loudly from the kitchen. Garcia is the head of the Blue Whale restaurant, a Mexican chef who has been serving aboard the Blue Whale for ten years.

When a group of people heard these words, they immediately let out a burst of cheers. For these retired GIs, there's nothing better than a glass of high-altitude tequila on a cold winter day, and if anything, it's two......

Chef Garcia quickly brought tequila and some nuts and other things, Yang Jing personally poured a glass of wine for Brian, and after Brian thanked him, he said: "Actually, there is nothing mysterious about Thule Air Force Base, it is just a ground-based radar station." Now the 12th Space Early Warning Squadron and the 821st Air Regiment of the U.S. Army are stationed there. ”

Kevin Martin leaned into Clark McCann's ear and whispered, "Wait a little while and Brian will have two drinks, and he'll tell him everything he knows, I promise." Obviously, Kevin Martin doesn't know how many times they've been through it.

Clark McCann immediately poured wine into Brian's empty glass, Brian smiled slightly, raised his glass and touched it with Clark, and drank the glass again.

Sure enough, after a few glasses of wine, Brian's conversation box was completely opened.