Chapter 692 - 22: Fever
It’s said that without windfall, one can’t be rich, without night grazing, a horse can’t be strong.
After a life-and-death struggle, Chen Zhou and Paul harvested a large amount of essential supplies, the most useful of which was the military high-pressure cooker.
Unlike ordinary iron pots, this pot also serves as a pressure cooker, which can tightly seal water and create an environment with pressure higher than 1 atmosphere, forcing water to boil at over 100°C, cooking food inside more quickly.
Moreover, the pressure cooker is suitable for high-altitude mountains where the air pressure is below 1 standard atmosphere, making it perfect for Chen Zhou who intends to build a shelter on the mountains.
As for other items such as windproof lighters, Swiss military saber, a compass with temperature and humidity display interface, sewing kits, purification tablets, hand axe, and paracord, they are all considered useful.
Equipped with a hand axe and Swiss military saber, and carrying two shuriken in his pocket, Chen Zhou has some metal weapons on him, which can help him deal better with thick-skinned beasts.
...
On the night after the battle, Paul was much more silent than usual.
After bringing back the Serrated Tiger Cub and some Beaver meat and fat to the Challenger Camp, he kept his head down, sitting by the campfire, mechanically cutting cooked beast meat to feed the three cubs whose eyes glowed green with hunger, as if he’d lost his spirit.
Chen Zhou guessed Paul might have been stimulated by his words and couldn’t accept the cruel reality all at once, so he didn’t offer any comfort.
At this time, Paul needed some solitude, his own time and space to think and reassure himself.
He was no longer a child, nor were the Slavs weak and immature, sheltered in honey pots. Moscow’s snow and wind have long witnessed the courage of this nation, and Chen Zhou believed he would soon adjust himself.
...
After a simple dinner, Chen Zhou gathered all the spoils, including the clothes and shoes of the ninja and the American soldier, and distributed them.
As the main combat prowess between the two, Chen Zhou immediately claimed all the weapons.
The American soldier’s hand axe, the Japanese ninja’s Swiss military saber, shuriken, and the transparent plastic bottle containing venom were all his.
Moreover, Chen Zhou also took the windproof lighter and the small compass—
Paul had his ignition tools and compass, keeping these two things for him would clearly be wasteful.
The remaining items, including sewing kits, purification tablets, the clothing of two challengers, the military high-pressure cooker, paracord, magnesium rod, and gloves went to Paul.
Being clear that he hadn’t contributed much in the raid nor played any critical role in determining the outcome, Paul did not object to how the spoils were allocated.
After grilling some beast meat and brewing a pot of soup with Beaver oil, he accompanied Chen Zhou by the campfire to finish their meal and fed the three Serrated Tiger Cubs, then retreated to their semi-permanent shelter with his spoils—
Tonight, as usual, Chen Zhou would guard the first half of the night, and he would do the second half.
Thanks to the shelter set up by the challenger team, they were able to sleep much more peacefully.
...
When Paul was asleep, using the ninja’s clothing as a pillow, the three small Serrated Tiger Cubs stayed beside the campfire.
Their bellies were rounded with fullness, each showing signs of drowsiness, curled up in a row near Chen Zhou.
Their memory isn’t as strong as that of an adult Serrated Tiger; eating and sleeping alongside Chen Zhou and Paul, they gradually forgot about their mother and their slain kin—
Perhaps in the minds of the Serrated Tiger Cubs, kinship was merely a vague concept.
Driven by the idea that whoever provides milk is the mother, they exhibited closeness and trust towards Chen Zhou and Paul, alleviating the fear-induced distance from them substantially.
Especially the largest cub, which sometimes would leave its siblings to come to Chen Zhou’s feet, resting its head on his shoe like there was some enticing scent to it.
...
The temperature along the riverbanks late at night was far colder than other parts of the grasslands.
During his watch, Chen Zhou went to the riverbanks to measure the temperature, finding that even just stepping into autumn, the nighttime temperature on the grassland was only 17°C, and strong winds frequently blew, possibly bringing the body temperature down to single figures.
In such an environment, ordinary people camping out in the wilderness for the night were highly likely to catch a cold, even seasoned outdoor enthusiasts couldn’t rest long under such temperatures.
The environment’s brutality had bared its fangs.
Chen Zhou could predict what scenes awaited when the long winter arrived—
Large numbers of animals from mid and low latitudes would die en masse due to their inability to adapt, with only animals from Northern Europe, North America, and the northern part of Eurasia, accustomed to the cold, surviving.
But that’s not necessarily a good thing.
Compared to hunger and unending crises, an early release via death might actually be a preferable choice.
Once covered in snow, the grasslands would offer only withered grass, moss, and lichen for herbivores to eat; they would have to burn through fat accumulated in the autumn to survive the harsh winter.
Those with poor physical conditions, too young or too old among the herbivores, would die first, followed by those unlucky ones caught by predators.
Carnivores currently restrained by ample food supply would reveal their truly vicious side in winter.
When starving and crazed, they might even dare to attack Mammoths, hunt Hairy Rhinoceroses, Giant Ground Sloths, and other massive creatures, with smaller humans naturally included in their menu.