January 18th, the 28th day since the start of the "Ice Age," and the sixth day since the area outside the equator at 10 degrees north and south latitude was sealed off.
Two days after Long Ming discovered that floating ice and cold currents were spreading towards the equator, various forces gathered on the islands in the equatorial region also discovered this problem and began to worry about it.
Originally, due to the sudden drop in temperature, it was known that all the crops planted on the island had died and production had stopped. Even some plants with strong vitality that could withstand the extreme cold had not completely died, but only the roots buried deep in the soil still had some vitality, while the branches, leaves and flowers had no chance of survival.
There will inevitably be a shortage of food.
Even the native residents of Malaysia and Indonesia are unable to buy food in their own countries. All supermarkets and grocery stores in Malaysia and Indonesia are now completely empty. The entire country of Malaysia and Indonesia has begun to implement militarized management, with the national government distributing food daily.
According to information that Zhou Ren and Wen Boyuan specifically inquired about, people in Malaysia and Indonesia now only have one meal a day, two pieces of bread, a bottle of milk, or a bottle of water to sustain their lives. If they want more food, they either have to compete to take on work assignments issued by the government or go out to sea to catch fish and shrimp themselves.
For people living in these two countries, fishing for fish and shrimp is not a difficult task.
Tropics have always been a paradise for life, and the ocean is teeming with fish and shrimp.
But now, the seawater temperature has become extremely cold due to the cold current and the constant influx of ice floes. The seawater, which was originally a comfortable and warm 17°C, has now dropped to 2°C, 3°C, and even -1°C in areas where ice floes have drifted by.
It seems that the temperature of the seawater has not dropped as much as the temperature of the air, and seawater temperatures of 2°C and 3°C do not seem unbearable.
However, the sensation of cold water and the sensation of cold air are fundamentally different.
On land, you can withstand temperatures as low as -60°C as long as you wear enough warm clothes, but how can you go into the sea wearing thick clothes without getting wet?
When the icy seawater envelops a person from head to toe, it can chill them to the bone in just a few minutes, freezing them solid in the water.
Even the most skilled winter swimmers can only swim in cold water at 14 degrees Celsius for a dozen minutes.
When the temperature of seawater or river water drops below eight degrees Celsius, it will cause a strong cold stimulus to the skin, respiratory system and heart of people who enter the water.
Therefore, it is no longer possible for the people living here to go out to sea to swim and fish in a small boat like before; only medium-sized boats with fishing capabilities can go out to sea to fish.
However, the cooling of seawater not only affects people living on land, but also tropical fish that have always lived in tropical oceans, which are almost wiped out like plants.
The fish and shrimp in the shallow waters were almost all frozen to death, while the fish, shrimp, turtles and crabs in the middle of the sea were also affected. Fortunately, when their lives were threatened, these marine creatures knew to swim to the deep sea where the temperature was almost constant, and after being forced to adapt, they barely managed to survive.
However, this resulted in boats fishing for fish and shrimp in shallow waters catching almost nothing.
Only by casting fishing nets in sufficiently deep waters and ensuring that the vessels have sufficient resilience can one barely catch some fish and shrimp.
This is the case for Malaysia and Indonesia, both of which are located on their own soil; the situation is even more difficult for other countries that have fled to this region.
In just six days, Gou Fugui and his companions could feel the growing tension between the various factions as they fought over food.
Even though the Washington Navy has escort ships every time it goes to sea, there are still Japanese and Indian ships roaming around, casting nets, and robbing resources.
Not to mention Lord Long's dragon boat, which looks the smallest and easiest to bully.
In just six days, the dragon boat was robbed more than a dozen times by various forces, including local pirates from Malaysia and Indonesia.
If it weren't for Lord Long's anger leading him to reveal the eight hidden cannons and then engaging in a decisive battle that deterred some medium-sized ships from making any rash moves, the dragon boat would probably have been robbed three times a day.
Even though Lord Dragon showed his fangs and won the fight, there were still people who wanted to rob him.
If a medium-sized fishing boat can't rob, then switch to a large one. Is it just a modified boat made of flimsy wood? Under the overwhelming force and size, no matter how it's modified, it's useless.
Today, Gou Fugui, Xie Tianlang, and Long Ming went fishing together.
Because the fish around the island have been almost completely caught, and because there are too many people and too much activity around the island now, the fish will not come here anymore. If you want to fish, you have to go to a more distant place.
You have to travel to the uninhabited Pacific or Indian Ocean regions for a longer period of time to catch fewer and fewer fish.
Their harvest today was quite good. Long Ming truly lived up to his reputation as the outstanding successor raised by Master Long. He treated the ocean like his own kingdom, always able to find schools of fish and be the first to sense changes in the ocean and climate.
They caught a small school of fish precisely today, bringing at least 500 pounds of fish onto the boat.
Under normal circumstances, 500 jin of fish wouldn't be much of a sight, but under the current circumstances, it's a huge harvest.
It was this kind of catch that attracted the attention of two large fishing boats that were also fishing in the open sea.
Neither of the two fishing boats displayed any national flags or markings, making it impossible to tell which country they belonged to.
It seems that because of this, they became reckless. On the return voyage, the two ships followed the dragon boat one after the other, and then their speed increased, sandwiching the dragon boat in the middle and avoiding the position of the dragon boat's cannons.
Obviously, ordinary fishing boats could not be modified to be both fast and powerful like Master Long's dragon boat, nor could they have eight modified cannons.
However, taking advantage of their larger size, the two fishing boats sandwiched the dragon boat in the middle. When the dragon boat came to a complete stop, people from the two fishing boats were already hooking themselves onto the dragon boat's deck, ready to jump onto it.
"They're trying to board the ship for a battle."
The wealthy and beautiful woman clenched her wrist as she spoke, "Are they trying to win by sheer numbers?"
Xie Tianlang twirled the dagger in his hand, "I think I've been observing them for the past few days and noticed that each time only a few of us go out to sea, they always manage to win as long as we board the ship and engage in hand-to-hand combat."
Looking at the two eager-to-try swordsmen on either side of him, Long Ming felt deeply that he was unable to use the excellent swordsmanship he had inherited from Master Long.
After arriving on the island, he got bored one night and fought with Xie Tianlang. Let's not talk about the final result.
Sure enough, these two are grandsons that even his grandfather wouldn't dare to accept.
When the three men appeared on the deck unarmed, wielding daggers and carrying a gleaming longsword, dozens of thugs who had boarded the ship before and after them rushed over, carrying clubs and machetes.
Judging by race and skin color, one is a pirate fishing boat from Malaysia or Indonesia, while the other is quite puzzling—it's actually a South Korean boat.
Why are you so certain?
Of course, it's not because they all have the same plastic surgery faces, nor is it because they look like everything about us is asking for a beating.
It was because when the big white bear Fugui slapped the person who wanted to chop him up on the head, he subconsciously cursed, "Damn it."
He might not understand other words like "wealth" or "status," but surely he understands this famous Korean saying?!
So, the big white bear Fugui very decisively knocked him unconscious, possibly leaving him with the aftereffects of a concussion that nearly killed him, and then went on to slap other people one by one.
Besides being resistant to the cold, the great polar bear Fugui's powerful paws are indeed a formidable weapon for striking people!
The big white bear Fugui slapped each person with great satisfaction, while Xie Tianlang, who had almost killed one person with a single blow at first, put away his dagger and started kicking instead.
Using knives to deal with these weaklings is such a waste; let's just kick them into the sea and let them experience the joy of winter swimming.
Long Ming's longsword was the most stylish one to wield; with a single strike, he felled a whole group of enemies, as if Guan Yu himself had possessed him.
However, in the end, Long Ming also put away his long sword. This cool guy from the ocean, imitating Xie Tianlang, used his foot to kick a little trash away.
In less than ten minutes, more than forty Indonesian pirates and more than twenty Koreans were either knocked unconscious or kicked into the sea.
This immediately terrified the remaining pirates and Koreans who were disguised as fishermen on the two large fishing boats.
The two fishing boats were about to turn around and run away, but how could Fugui and the werewolf let the spoils that were delivered to their door get away?
The two men jumped into the two fishing boats one after the other. Twenty minutes later, they each packed up the food and any usable tools from their boats and returned.
The two fishing boats contained a total of over 500 kilograms of fish and grain, so they made a profit.
"That's why they say war is the easiest way to make money! Looting is so enjoyable!"
Gou Fugui nudged Long Ming with his elbow as he spoke: "Hey, Brother Ming, can you secretly tell us if Master Long pulled off a big heist back when he was a hero, and if he stored up a lot of gold and silver on some island?"
Long Ming, the cool guy, twitched his eyebrows. "We need to hurry back; everyone must be getting impatient."
Seeing that this second-generation pirate didn't give him a direct answer, Fu Guiyuan's eyes lit up: "So it is! Oh my, no wonder Lord Long is so awesome, he's a pirate king with countless treasures!!"
Long Ming twitched his lips: "It's not that exaggerated."
Then this second-generation seafarer said, "The biggest heist he ever committed was just robbing a gold transport ship."
Even the worldly-wise rich kid gasped on the spot: "A gold transport ship?!"
Long Ming: "However, half of it was donated to the country."
Fu Guiyuan slapped her thigh: "But there's still half left!!"
Long Ming: "We've used quite a bit of that half too."
Gou Fugui was still very excited: "That's a lot! And I'm not excited because Lord Long robbed the gold transport ship, I'm just excited because Lord Long is awesome!"
Xie Tianlang twitched his lips beside him. "You don't seem to be like what you said at all."
Anyway, this voyage was a great success.
After exchanging the fish they caught with the Washington Navy for some rice and flour that could be stored for a long time, they wouldn't have to worry about food for at least the next month.
Because of this foreseeable month of peace, even Gou Fugui felt that the pace of the apocalypse had slowed down a lot. Apart from searching for the core every day in a routine manner, he even had a feeling of living on an island and enjoying a peaceful life.
However, on the tenth day, reality slapped him awake—
First, the Washington Navy ships went out to sea for ten consecutive days without catching any food and returned empty-handed.
Secondly, the island's energy resources for heating are dwindling, lasting only three to five days at most. There is no wood, no oil, and not even electricity. Soon, the islanders will be unable to light fires for warmth or cook.
And finally, the most terrifying one—
Glaciers have spread to the region at eight degrees north and south latitude, and it seems that freezing the entire planet and the equator is only a foreseeable timeframe.
Gou Fugui stood on the island, listening to the distant rumble of cannon fire, his expression heavy.
"So, will we starve to death first, or freeze to death?"
Song Sanchuan, standing to the side, propped his chin up and stroked the dog's head.
"Let's just freeze to death first, since we still have enough food to last. But we really have nothing to keep warm."
"But the others... will probably starve to death first?"
"That's not necessarily true." Si Wuyai pushed up his glasses. "Perhaps there will be a sudden third wave of cold air, and then before we even starve to death, uh!"
Si Wuyai was slapped on the head by Gou Fugui and his mouth was covered by Song Sanchuan.
"Can you please stop jinxing me?! When did you start having this problem?!"
Si Wuyai: "..."
At that moment, Gou Fugui's ears suddenly twitched.
He thought he heard something.
Just as he was concentrating to listen carefully, he saw a round, black-and-white head suddenly emerge from the sea in front of him. Then, the head happily turned around twice, shook itself, and threw a large fish weighing at least a hundred pounds, which it was carrying in its mouth, onto the beach.
"Waaaaah~"
Gou Fugui blinked as he looked at the orca.
What is this? Is it a whale repaying a debt of gratitude?
However, Gou Fugui soon narrowed his eyes as he looked at the big fish.
When almost all fishing boats are unable to catch any fish, where did this fish that the orca is carrying come from?
Once such thoughts appeared in Gou Fugui's mind, they couldn't be erased, and they became increasingly important to him.
It was as if an instinctive intuition was clamoring for help.
Gou Fugui paused for a moment, then activated the Orca Fugui bloodline enhancement and plunged into the ocean.
"I have to go with this guy. Ah Lang, you stay home and wait for me to come back!"
Xie Tianlang pursed his lips and withdrew his step forward, finally suppressing his anger as he replied with a single word: "Okay."
At this moment, Gou Fugui had already ridden on the back of the orca and was riding away on the ice-covered sea.
After that, he and the orca dived into the deep sea together to explore that sliver of possibility.
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