We finally arrived at the Yangtze River, the dividing line between North and South China, which should have been a happy occasion.
After all, the temperature and climate south of the Yangtze River clearly show the characteristics of the south.
Even now, with the North and South Poles gradually freezing over and an Ice Age approaching, the southern regions will certainly be milder and more suitable for human habitation than the north.
But this once essential route from north to south has now become a "natural barrier".
Song Sanchuan used a high-powered telescope and his newly upgraded mechanical titmouse to survey the surrounding environment.
However, the result left everyone feeling uneasy—
"The Yangtze River within a few thousand meters on both sides of us is frozen over, and snow tornadoes are everywhere. There is no way to avoid it by taking a detour. Right now, the entire Yangtze River region is in this state of freezing over and snow tornadoes raging."
"In addition, the little tit observed two broken bridges, one five kilometers to the east and the other seven kilometers to the west. The breaks in both bridges were irregular and fragmented, suggesting that both bridges were destroyed by a snow tornado."
As Song Sanchuan spoke, he tapped the computer keyboard with his passive, somewhat stiff fingers, "Based on the state of the broken bridge, the current wind speed, and the rotational speed measured by the little tit barely getting close to the snow tornado..."
Between the three snowmobiles clustered together, everyone listened intently to Song Sanchuan's statistical analysis.
"If we were to be caught in a snow tornado while crossing the frozen Yangtze River, we would probably be torn to pieces on the spot. Even Brother Lu's snowmobile, which was modified from his luxury car, would be twisted into a pretzel during the several twists."
Lu Hao, Wen Boyuan, and the others all gasped in shock.
"What are we going to do? We can't go around it, and if we go straight, we might get caught in a snow tornado and die. Are we going to be trapped here and die?"
Zhou Ren frowned slightly. As he spoke, he turned his head and glanced at the frozen Yangtze River ahead, where the view was quite clear and all the snowflakes had been swept away by the snow tornado.
"I see that the distance between the snow tornadoes is not very close. Can't we just drive through them in one go if we're careful?"
To be honest, the section of the Yangtze River in front of them wasn't particularly wide; from their position, they could see the land on the other side covered by snow.
Is the river five thousand meters wide?
At this moment, Wang Xuan pushed up his glasses and said, "The width of the Yangtze River is not roughly the same in different areas. From where we are now, it is about 4,500 meters to the other side."
Song Sanchuan gave Wang Xuan an approving look: "The computer's statistics are 4,582 meters."
"At the speed of our snowmobiles, we should be able to get across in twenty minutes if all goes well!" Lu Hao was very excited, but his wife immediately dampened his enthusiasm: "Do you think we can get across those snow tornadoes so easily?"
"You've learned to drive these past few days. Who was driving all three times our car overturned? Was it me?"
Boss Lu Hao chickened out: "It's me."
These past few days, he and his wife have been taking turns driving. Even though he's been very careful, the strong winds and snow still make it difficult for him to control the car's direction and speed, especially when turning, where it's very easy for the car to overturn.
Fortunately, the snow was deep enough that even if the car overturned, the people inside wouldn't be injured. At most, everyone would need to stop and work together to pull the car out.
But Lu Hao glanced at the frozen Yangtze River and saw a husky that seemed very curious and stretched out its paw to run on the ice. After running only a couple of steps, it fell face-first into the snow and ran back howling. His face turned even uglier.
If a dog can control its paws like this, then those driving cars probably lost control as soon as they got on the ice.
The end result of losing control of the direction was that they couldn't avoid the snow tornadoes that were moving erratically across the ice in time, and everyone ended up in the air.
Lu Hao sighed, then looked at Xie Tianlang with expectant eyes: "Can't Brother Xie do it either?"
Xie Tianlang's car number one never overturned along the way.
Xie Tianlang had been watching the frozen Yangtze River and the snow tornadoes moving back and forth on its surface for some time now.
He tried to find the pattern in the movement of the snow tornado, but ultimately found it to be futile.
The movement of the eight snow tornadoes that stretched across the river in front of them was completely irregular.
They originally moved horizontally and left and right, but suddenly they could move up and down sharply.
The movement of these eight snow tornadoes was completely unpredictable, and crossing the river depended solely on individual reaction time and running speed.
Of the eighteen people in their group, only he and his beloved Yuanyuan were likely capable of outrunning the snow tornado on the frozen river. Song Sanchuan's reaction and physical condition probably depended on luck.
But they couldn't leave the others to fend for themselves in this situation.
The dumbest way would probably be for him to carry one person at a time across the frozen Yangtze River, but they couldn't possibly take their three snowmobiles with them.
This was clearly not a good method either. Xie Tianlang shook his head directly at Lu Hao's expectant gaze: "I can get through by myself, but none of you can."
“Driving on ice and making sharp turns will definitely cause you to skid. At least with the performance of our three modified snowmobiles, we can’t safely get through the snow tornado.”
As a result, everyone seemed somewhat dejected.
However, no one expressed frustration or gave up at this time.
They've already overcome so much just to get here. So what if a snow tornado is blocking their way? They can just stay here and figure out a solution. If everyone works together, they'll eventually find a way!
"Oh, don't worry if you can't think of a solution right now. You kids have already done a great job getting here. Let's take out the simple tents and set them up for a bit, so the children, girls and wives can come inside and warm up. Then we'll make you all something nice to eat."
Grandma Lu, the oldest of the group, spoke up with a cheerful smile. She was a strong and optimistic person by nature; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to raise three children on her own and still decide to go with her second son when it came to the final choice.
It wasn't that she believed her second son had made the right choice, but she herself possessed the same resolute courage and determination to never regret her decision.
Grandma Lu's words eased the atmosphere slightly, and everyone took out the thickened, multi-layered felt tents, similar to Mongolian yurts, from the large wooden or iron boxes being towed from the back of the car and began setting them up.
The tent was found in a grassland exhibition area in a provincial capital city. Originally, the tent was intended as a decoration and was to be sent to a museum, but it was spotted by a wealthy convoy that was passing by, and they took it for themselves.
While everyone else was setting up tents, cooking, and maintaining and repairing snowmobiles, Gou Fugui walked onto the frozen river.
He stepped onto the frozen river surface, which was covered with a little snow, and felt the hard texture beneath his feet.
Then he took two steps and felt a bit slippery.
As the former leader of the stray pet team, Alaska followed the new leader with great seriousness after noticing his actions.
In addition, a German Shepherd, a Border Collie, and two furtive Huskies followed Gou Fugui.
At this moment, the cats obviously refused to walk on the river with their paws, but the most responsible one, the yin-yang cow cat Taoist, squatted on the German Shepherd's back, his beautiful cat eyes fixed on Gou Fugui, ready to stop this leader who had turned into a human from doing something foolish.
"Hey! Why is Fugui heading towards the river? There are snow tornadoes swirling around there, it's very dangerous!"
Wen Boyuan's wife patted him with some concern. He first looked at Gou Fugui, who was still wandering aimlessly on the river, and then quickly glanced at Xie Tianlang. Seeing that Xie Tianlang's expression was very calm, he calmed down as well.
"Don't worry, it's alright. Fugui probably has his own reasons."
From the moment they met this group of people, they showed something different, and this difference has only grown over time, never stopping.
"Just don't treat them like ordinary people."
After all, there's no way an ordinary person could bring them here.
The others in the team were initially worried that Gou Fugui was in danger, but after hearing Wen Boyuan's words, they realized that they were worrying for nothing.
The strongest members of the team are Gou Fugui and his three companions. Even though the long-haired youth has hardly ever shown his fighting prowess, just by looking at how he is the one who makes the decisions in his team, it's clear that he is definitely not weak.
In that case, let's hope he can find a way to cross the frozen Yangtze River.
At this time, Gou Fugui was indeed looking for a way to cross the frozen Yangtze River.
Entering this enormous, towering snow tornado, it's clear that there is indeed a considerable distance between each two snow tornadoes.
When viewed from the riverbank, the snow tornadoes appear relatively close together due to the lack of a point of reference. However, up close, a person beneath a snow tornado looks like a tiny ant.
Therefore, the relatively short distance between two snow tornadoes is a wide enough distance for a person to pass safely.
"Awoo!"
As Gou Fugui tried to walk between the two tornadoes, the Alaskan Malamute that had been following him finally couldn't help but nudge him with its big head, and then firmly bit his sleeve with its mouth to prevent him from going any further.
"It's okay, I'll give it a try. Don't worry, my physical condition is pretty good right now, and besides, I also have the bloodline bonus, right?"
As he said this, Ge Fugui lightly patted his wrist, instantly exuding the powerful aura of a leader, Ha Fugui. With just one glance, the eyes of the large and medium-sized dogs following behind him shone with admiration.
"Awoooooo!"
The two huskies, whose intelligence hadn't been "rehabilitated," even let out a particularly excited howl.
The leader, Ha Fugui, glanced at them speechlessly, then exhaled softly and suddenly accelerated, rushing towards the gap between the two snow tornadoes in front of him!
He was wearing a heavy down jacket and cape, but it couldn't hide his agile and nimble figure at all.
And then there's that speed that seems to chase the wind and snow as it runs wildly through the snow; even though it's human, it runs with the grace of a king.
As he ran between the two snow tornadoes that were swirling around each other, Gou Fugui clearly felt the resistance of the winds from the two different snow tornadoes. His feet tilted slightly in one direction, but he quickly stopped and ran through the two snow tornadoes.
However, he soon arrived at the position between the third and second snow tornadoes. This time, because the two snow tornadoes were rotating in the same direction, he felt suction from both sides. Unlike the resistance he had felt before, this force made it even more difficult to maintain his balance.
However, this still doesn't have much impact.
Then came the fourth and fifth snow tornadoes, and each time he passed between them, he could feel the difference in the force of the wind and snow.
However, after experiencing it firsthand, he had a basic understanding of the situation. By this time, he had already run across most of the frozen Yangtze River, and if he went any further, he would have to run across the Yangtze River alone.
He spun around and quickly turned back.
The return journey was even easier, and Gou Fugui closed his eyes to feel the power of the wind and snow.
Crossing the frozen Yangtze River isn't actually that difficult; as long as you're fast enough and turn precisely enough, you can do it.
But there are no shortcuts either; even just the issue of turning around can only be understood and discerned by themselves.
By this time, Gou Fugui had already passed through the third snow tornado with ease. Just as he reached the position between the third and second snow tornadoes, the first snow tornado, which had been in front of him, suddenly changed direction at an unpredictable speed and appeared directly in Gou Fugui's path.
!!
Gou Fugui's boots swerved sharply, and his body slid half a meter away on the ice in another direction. He suddenly felt a powerful suction from the second snow tornado on his left, as if he was about to be sucked in at any moment.
However, before that, he leaned his body forward and a sharp dagger appeared in his hand. The dagger pierced the ice and, using the force of the dagger, the leader Ha Fugui leaped up and broke out of the encirclement of the three snow tornadoes.
The series of actions was very dangerous, but it only lasted for a few seconds.
Upon seeing their leader, Fugui, emerge unharmed, the twenty dogs guarding the frozen riverbank and the nine cats that had somehow crouched on the dogs all barked and meowed as they charged toward him.
They surrounded their leader directly.
"Awoooooo!!" How could you run around like that?! What if you can't come back?!
"Woof woof woof woof!" The leader is awesome! The leader is amazing! Leader, take me flying!
"Meow!!" Even the leader can't act recklessly. If you die, we won't listen to those dogs!
Surrounded by the warm, fluffy creatures, the long-haired youth chuckled, reaching out to hug them and stroke their now softer, smoother fur, then whispered:
"I have a way to lead everyone across the Yangtze River."
"However, we will have to train for the next two days."
As he spoke, his eyes looked diagonally upwards, where Xie Tianlang was standing with his arms crossed. He had already come over when Xie Tianlang ran back.
God knows how much effort he used to avoid being surrounded by three snow tornadoes when he saw himself almost being caught in one.
"Have a meal."
“Since you’re going to train these cats and dogs, I can’t let other people hold you back. They have to train them too.”
So, during the meal, Gou Fugui suggested a way for everyone to cross the Yangtze River together.
"We'll stay here for the next two days. I'm going to train Ala, Haha, and Maomao to pull the sled."
"Mechanically controlled sleds on ice have difficulty making timely and powerful turns and responses, but animals can keenly sense danger and change direction."
"After that, I will take them to run back and forth between the snow tornadoes first. Once they are familiar with the training, they can leave directly."
A bright light shone in everyone's eyes.
Before they could even rejoice, Xie Tianlang spoke up: "For the next two days, everyone except Wen Xingxing will have to train with me on reaction time and physical fitness, in case something unexpected happens while crossing the river and you are unable to cope."
"As human beings, we should not be a burden to animals."
A group of people: "..."
Okay, sorry. As human beings, we must strive to make humanity proud.
So for the next two days, both the animals and the convoy members began a gradual training program to cross the river.
Everyone ran back and forth along the riverbank in the ice and snow, constantly preparing for a kick from Xie Tianlang or a snowball that would suddenly appear under their feet and cause them to slip.
The twenty medium to large dogs were all dressed in high-end fur vests specially designed for pulling carts. Each dog was tied with a rope, and the ropes were tied together, dragging a block of ice as they followed Gou Fugui through the snow tornado.
Three of the nine cats, the larger ones, also ran off.
The remaining six smaller ones followed behind, keeping watch for changes in the wind and the approaching danger.
At first, the animals were prone to tripping over each other, but later, all twenty-nine animals worked together and followed their leader, Fugui, wherever he pointed. These stray animals completed the journey in just one and a half days.
Even though some of their claws were already red and swollen from the cold, not one of them stopped or retreated.
The animals' efforts represent a truly selfless and all-out commitment to giving their lives.
On the morning of the third day, it was time for them to cross the Yangtze River. The three vehicles had already been sent to Sanchuan and chained together with iron chains. The only driver was Xie Tianlang, who was at the very front.
The drivers of the two cars following behind were also on high alert. They couldn't use the accelerator during the entire river crossing, but they had to execute Xie Tianlang's steering and braking commands immediately. The other passengers in the cars were also prepared.
After two days of training, everyone's eyes shone with an even sharper, more determined light.
Just before they were about to set off, Gou Fugui suddenly fell ill. Xie Tianlang wrapped him in a thick blanket, and Si Wuya and Song Sanchuan came from the second car to the first car to take care of him.
Wang Xuan temporarily became the driver of the second car.
Then, no one noticed that the number of the twenty-nine sled cats and dogs ready to go changed from an odd number to an integer.
The group, which originally consisted of only two huskies, now includes a husky with silver-gray fur, a tall and straight posture, and ice-blue eyes.
The wind and snow howled before his eyes, and the ice raged beneath his feet.
He stood at the very front of the sled team, right in the middle, with his ears perked up.
That's the leader's position.
"Awooooooo—"
At the command, all the animals straightened their bodies, and the next second they rushed into the ice and snow like arrows!
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