The massive block of ice falling from the glacier, hundreds of meters high, evoked a chilling sense of impending doom.
Anyone who sees such a huge block of ice would want to turn around and run away, but even if Xie Tianlang and Gou Fugui ran to the side at this moment, they probably wouldn't be able to completely avoid this rapidly falling block of ice.
Not to mention they have absolutely no way to escape from here.
Gou Fugui wanted to transform into a polar bear in that instant, but this place was different from Lord Long's wooden boat. There were at least dozens of people watching them from the captain's cabin. If he transformed into a bear in full view of everyone, even if no one would say anything now, there would definitely be hidden dangers in the future.
He hesitated for only two seconds before Xie Tianlang stepped forward and stood in front of him.
Gou Fugui's heart skipped a beat: "Are you sure you can do it?"
Xie Tianlang raised his eyebrows, made a Tai Chi rotation gesture with his hands, and the invisible aura around him suddenly expanded. Then, he took the initiative to catch the three-ton block of ice with the Tai Chi push-hands technique. With a sharp shout, he pushed the block of ice out of his hands with a forceful push, and the seemingly heavy and imposing block of ice was pushed directly outside the cruise ship by him with almost no effort.
As the massive iceberg crashed into the water, Xie Tianlang turned to look at Xin Shangyuan, then grabbed his hand, his eyes both smiling and serious, and said:
"Yuanyuan, a man shouldn't say no. Especially not when you say I can't."
Great White Bear Fugui: "..." Okay, shut up, you're making me sick of you.
Before Gou Fugui could roll his eyes at Xie Tianlang and say anything, Xie Tianlang suddenly grabbed his finger and put it in his mouth, licking it lightly twice.
The sensation of that soft, warm tongue touching his fingertips made Da Bai Xiong Fu Gui take a big step back as if he had been burned. He tried to break free, but Xie Tian Lang held his wrist tightly and licked it again.
If Fugui had hair, it would all be standing on end by now. Even so, his face was still red as blood, and he jumped up to slap Xie Tianlang on the head.
"You! You! You! You! You! Who gave you the right to touch me like that?! Not only did you touch me, but you even licked me! Is this the time for that?!"
The rich and noble human-shaped bear paw was firmly grasped by Xie Tianlang. He looked at Xinshangyuan's flustered appearance and laughed with great pleasure, finally shrugging with an innocent yet self-righteous expression:
"I didn't think about anything. I just wanted to lick a bear paw to replenish my energy. Isn't that the polar bear's innate skill that you told me about?"
"I just used up all the energy and strength I had stored up. If I don't replenish it, I probably won't even be able to stand up right now. You have to have some concern for me."
The wealthy beauty, her ears red and teeth grinding, said, "I felt sorry for you! Didn't I feel sorry for you three times and make you lick me three times?!"
Damn, just saying that makes me feel incredibly ashamed.
He decided to unilaterally give the wolf the silent treatment for an hour.
The wealthy beauty forcefully pulled her hand back, trying to calm herself down, but when she turned around, she saw Song Sanchuan and Si Wuyai staring at them both with blank expressions, their eyes also fixed on her hand.
In that instant, Gou Fugui felt as if his claws were on fire. He walked past the two men with a blank face, and finally, in a last-ditch effort, managed to offer an explanation:
"Would you believe me if I said we weren't doing anything lewd but just replenishing our energy?"
Song Sanchuan paused for a moment, then nodded with great understanding: "I believe it, of course I believe it. People say that love can give people strength, right? Fugui, you must have just given Boss the power to move mountains and fill seas."
"The emotion is truly moving, and the strength they regained is incredibly fast."
Si Wuyai adjusted his glasses and nodded: "Scientific research shows that stimulating hormones can indeed unleash the body's potential and energy in a short period of time. But I don't understand why it's a finger; shouldn't it be a kiss?"
The wealthy beauty: "..."
He shouldn't have explained that one more sentence!
The wealthy and beautiful woman walked expressionlessly into the captain's cabin. At that moment, the captain announced over the ship's intercom the good news that the cruise ship had restarted and everyone was heading towards the safer equator.
Although many people were injured, frightened, and fell ill during this turmoil, it was a great blessing that they were able to continue to survive.
Gou Fugui noticed that the captain and the others were looking at him with slightly evasive eyes, and even a little embarrassed. He gave a fake smile to stop himself from thinking too much, but in his mind, he only prolonged the cold war with that damned attack wolf.
"Now that the ship is safe, we can leave. After all, we came here to check on things, and it would be good if we could help."
"But before I leave, I'd like to ask the captain and Captain Zhang what your plans are?"
"Captain, what is your destination? Did Captain Zhang receive any special instructions from above when he uploaded this information?"
The captain was initially alarmed when he heard that Fu Gui and the other three heroes were leaving, but when Gou Fu Gui asked about their destination, his heart settled down, and he nodded almost without hesitation: "We do have a destination!"
"We started taking action after the Meteorological Bureau announced that a second major cold wave was coming. Our cruise ship was one of the evacuation ships requisitioned by the government. So our initial destination was the equatorial islands of Malaysia and Indonesia."
“Our country’s leadership has already made arrangements with these two countries, and our cruise ships from Washington State can dock at the ports of these two countries and seek refuge.”
The captain's expression turned somber and heavy as he said this: "...This was originally just the country's worst-case scenario, but now it seems we have no choice but to seek refuge in those two countries."
"Previously, although much of our country's territory was frozen, the government and most of the People's Liberation Army were still intact, so both countries were in good faith about our asylum request. But now... we can't be sure what kind of treatment we'll face if we go there."
The captain's expression turned somewhat bitter as he spoke, and the atmosphere in the cabin became heavy and stagnant.
Before tonight, they were all proud of their country and civilization, but in just one night, everything has changed, and they have lost what they were most proud of.
Captain Zhang pursed his lips after hearing the captain's words, but still spoke up and said some things he knew.
"The military and the national leadership are not inactive. After the meteorological observatory issued the forecast, 200,000 naval troops along the entire southeastern coastal region were ready to move towards the equator, accompanied by 20,000 naval aviators."
"If the troop movement goes smoothly, at least half of the naval force should have already headed to Malaysia and Indonesia."
“Even if the navy encounters any delays along the way due to needing rescue…” Zhang Guoming paused here, as they all knew what these so-called delays meant.
"A conservative estimate would be that at least 50,000 to 60,000 naval personnel, at least one aircraft carrier-class warship, and five or six other naval warships would be stationed there in advance."
"So, there's no need to worry too much. As long as we can locate our naval forces in Huazhou, we can establish a safe base."
After all, although it sounds a bit unfair, the combined naval power of both Malaysia and the Indonesian archipelago is no match for the Washington Navy.
However, with almost all of Huazhou's territory frozen over, it is temporarily unable to survive in its own homeland. No matter how strong Huazhou's navy is, it needs to restrain itself and develop cautiously on someone else's homeland.
Hearing Zhang Guoming say that the Huazhou Navy had already stationed itself in the waters near the Malaysian and Indonesian archipelago, the cruise ship captain and crew were indeed relieved of their anxiety.
"Our country is so reliable! Captain Zhang, you should have said this sooner, otherwise I was just thinking about whether to skip the port and dock the ship on a nearby island to avoid being controlled by others after landing."
"But now that our Huazhou army is here, I feel at ease."
Captain Zhang smiled, and Gou Fugui, Xie Tianlang, and the other three also felt slightly relieved.
Indeed, in the face of such a major disaster, without strong military support, they would likely face discrimination or even oppression in other countries.
Gou Fugui even chuckled to himself, realizing that what Liu Laosan said wasn't entirely wrong—
At least in the current situation, it really is a case of whoever has the bigger fist gets to listen.
After the captain was relieved, he looked at Gou Fugui and his three companions: "Now that you four heroes know our destination, will you be coming with us? I wonder what kind of ship you are on? Although our Lucky and Auspicious Cruise Ship is not the most advanced international cruise ship, it is still a well-balanced and safe ship in all aspects."
"It's sturdier and safer than a regular boat."
"Moreover, we have a lot of food and supplies stored on our ship, enough to feed the people on the shopping ship for at least a month. If the four heroes were on our ship, we would definitely treat them like honored guests."
Gou Fugui laughed when he heard the captain's words. It seemed that the captain really wanted them to stay.
Perhaps he was filled with unease?
However, the most dangerous situation has passed, and he really doesn't think this cruise ship is any better than Master Long's "Dragon Boat".
With more people involved, things get complicated; he should go back to his own team.
"Thank you for your kindness, Captain, but we also have our own ship and crew. Although it's a bit small, the people in our crew are all sworn brothers, and we trust each other completely. They should be waiting for us now, and we can't abandon them."
"That cruise ship has plenty of space."
"It's precisely because it's so big and there are so many people that disputes are more likely to occur. Captain, the situation is different now than before. Even if we can safely set up a port in Malaysia or Indonesia, it will probably cost us much more money and effort to obtain food later."
"I even think that, given the current disaster, money has gradually lost its value, and in the days to come, the most precious thing will be food."
“Right now, areas beyond 10 degrees north and south of the equator are mostly frozen over, and we don’t know how many people are still alive. But at least people and animals have legs to escape, but what about plants and crops? They have no way to leave the soil where they are deeply rooted.”
"Although the land of Malaysia and Indonesia is not blocked by glaciers and the seawater in the equatorial tropical zone within 10 degrees north and south latitude has not yet frozen, you have to look at the temperature."
Gou Fugui extended his wrist, and the exquisite watch displayed a deep blue number indicating -28°C.
"Even with braziers and heating on, the indoor temperature is -28 degrees Celsius. The outdoor temperature is at least -60 degrees Celsius. Even if the land of Malaysia and Indonesia is not frozen, can the plants growing on the ground adapt to such cold temperatures and produce a normal harvest?"
The captain and the crew in the cabin grew increasingly somber as they listened to Gou Fugui's words, until Gou Fugui uttered his final sentence:
Even so, do you still think the food stored on the cruise ship is sufficient?
The captain let out a sharp breath, a bitter smile on his face: "You little rascal, you really know how to stab people in the heart."
It's not that the captain hadn't considered this enormous crisis and problem; it's just that most people would subconsciously avoid thinking about that terrible future. But now, Gou Fugui has made things clear, and no one in the captain's cabin can ignore this "food crisis" that may be coming soon.
"...That's definitely not enough."
That's far from enough.
The frigid temperatures would inevitably lead to crop failure in Malaysia and Indonesia, forcing them to rely solely on their own national food reserves. If the local inhabitants are forced to survive on these reserves, it would be virtually impossible for these outsiders to obtain them unless they resorted to force.
If they want to buy at high prices, how can they afford to buy food when money and even precious metals have no value?
Therefore, they will only have one way to survive in the future—
They obtain food from the sea.
However, looking at the sea ahead, which appeared especially cold and biting in the night, and the fish and shrimp floating in the ice, the captain did not believe that they could easily obtain enough food at sea.
"...The future will be a tough battle."
Gou Fugui also looked at the ocean in front of him and added a sentence in his mind.
It's still a tough battle in the race against the apocalypse.
But first, we need to dock and go ashore, and then find the core of the world.
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