Without oil, the heating and lights in the house will all go out within a day or two.
He will completely return to the most primitive way of life.
Lighting relied on flames, water was obtained by manually collecting snow, and warmth came from the fireplace...
Everything will become relatively complicated.
It's fine in the short term, but in the long term...
For a modern person, life without electricity would be incredibly inconvenient.
In particular, his phone would often run out of battery.
That was when we were completely cut off from real contact with the outside world.
So, next...
Su Wei needs to seriously plan his life during the blizzard.
Chapter 39 Food Shortage, Ice Fishing as a Possible Solution
Su Wei put her phone away and placed the Cotton Candy aside.
"Waaaaah~~"
Cotton Candy let out a disgruntled whimper, but still obediently stayed to the side.
"A pen... and paper..."
He stood up and rummaged through the wooden shelf beside the fireplace.
He left his backpack and belongings here when he returned from Anchorage.
Soon, he found paper and pen as he wished.
The black pen spun twice between my fingers before finally striking the blank page of the notebook heavily.
The pen tip glides across the paper, leaving a striking ink mark.
To weather this sudden blizzard safely, the first hurdle must be overcome: taking stock of our resources.
Su Wei closed the pen cap, got up, and walked towards the kitchen.
The old-fashioned double-door refrigerator emitted a low hum in the wooden house.
It's winter now, and energy is scarce.
Actually, turning off the refrigerator is perfectly fine.
Su Wei first unplugged the plug.
Grip the handle with your fingers and pull it open.
The cold air, mixed with the pungent smell of raw meat, wafted over.
The refrigerator compartment was half full.
"Three steaks and two lamb chops."
He fiddled with the few decent-looking steaks.
The deep red muscles had snowflake-like marble patterns; this was something I bought during my last shopping spree at the big supermarket in town.
Normally, frying a piece of potato until it's seven-tenths cooked and serving it with buttered mashed potatoes makes a good meal.
But that's only enough for five meals.
What happens after five meals?
His gaze shifted downwards.
A heavy piece of bone-in pork shoulder lay in the freezer compartment.
Scattered around were several packets of American bacon and chopped chicken breast, and a few bags of frozen mixed vegetables were stuffed in the corner.
Su Wei quickly did the math in his head.
This amount of meat, in a city with adequate heating and cars, would certainly be enough for him and Cotton Candy to eat comfortably for a week.
But this is the Alaska wilderness.
It was a frigid temperature of minus thirty degrees Celsius.
In this kind of awful weather, the body consumes a sharp increase in calories to maintain its temperature.
Add to that heavy physical labor like chopping wood and shoveling snow, and the calorie deficit will more than double compared to usual.
Not to mention, there was a bottomless pit right at your feet.
"Waaah!"
Cotton Candy keenly detected the aroma emanating from the frozen meat.
Its two front legs eagerly tugged at Su Wei's trouser legs, and its pointed beak desperately tried to squeeze into the crack of the refrigerator.
Its fluffy white tail swept back and forth on Su Wei's instep, and it even nuzzled his ankle with its head in a flattering manner.
"Stop looking, our current inventory can't withstand your spending."
Su Wei gently nudged the greedy little creature away with his toes.
This guy is at the age where he's growing, and ever since he followed Su Wei, his palate has become quite picky.
It won't eat regular canned pet food; it only eats it when it's mixed with broth and minced meat.
If left unchecked, this meat probably won't even last a week.
Once you stop eating meat, the decline in physical strength at such temperatures means danger.
Su Wei closed the refrigerator door, blocking the longing gaze of the Cotton Candy.
Back on the sofa, he wrote down a few calculated numbers in his notebook.
After staring at it for a few seconds, he drew a heavy cross on it.
We need to find a way to get some food.
Diesel fuel depleted, power lost.
He can still live.
But if he loses his food, he'll be left to die.
Su Wei walked to the window and wiped the frost off the glass.
After a brief period of sunshine in the morning, it started snowing heavily again.
The outside world was completely covered by a blizzard; everything was white.
The once clearly defined edge of the coniferous forest is now just a blurry gray line.
Going hunting in the mountains in this weather is practically suicide.
The snow was deeper than knee-deep; if you didn't wear professional snow boots, you could sink up to your thighs and be unable to pull yourself out.
This is freshly snowed snow, not the old snow that has already frozen solid in low temperatures.
Furthermore, blizzards will cover all scents and footprints, severely impacting the tracking capabilities of the Hunting Module.
Not to mention those equally starving wild beasts, still roaming outside at this hour, they're definitely not to be trifled with.
Su Wei didn't want to risk his life against the brown bear just for a bite to eat.
My gaze passed through the swirling snowflakes and landed on a spot not far from the house.
What used to be a small lake is now frozen over with thick ice, merging with the land and only its outline can be seen from the flat terrain.
lake.
Su Wei tapped his fingers lightly twice on the cold windowsill.
Although this lake is not large, it is connected to the Pilan Creek tributary that leads to Pillar Mountain.
Pilan Creek, on the other hand, connects to the sea.
The migrating king salmon may be gone, but Arctic grayling and rainbow trout should still be overwintering under the thick ice; both are delicious.
Compared to fighting a hungry bear in the forest, digging an ice hole in front of your own house is obviously much safer.
If you're lucky, you might catch a few large Arctic graylings, or some fatty rainbow trout...
Su Wei's apple bobbed.
Fresh fish is rich in fat and protein, making it a good source of warmth and protection against the cold.
Make it into a steaming, creamy white fish soup, or roast it directly on the fireplace until the skin is crisp and the flesh is tender, then sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper...
Not only can it solve the food problem, but it might also unlock a Fishing Module.
This is even more anticipated than going to the supermarket.
Thinking about this, his anxiety lessened considerably.
He didn't have a professional electric ice drill, nor an expensive sonar fish finder.
But he remembered that the original owner's father loved fishing.
Especially ice fishing; I often take them ice fishing at Chena Lake in Fairbanks.