Chapter 1364 Speculation and pleasure in suffering
Inside the "warehouse" cave, after some discussions between Wei Ran and Dr. Yog to determine the general direction, they invited Dr. Hanno and Dr. Cross over. The four of them sat around the red oil barrel fireplace burned by charcoal fire and began planning.
How to spend the next winter.
"Hannuo, is there any response from the radio?" Wei Ran asked first.
Hannuo shook his head when he heard this, "No, there is no response. I suspect two possibilities."
"What two possibilities?" Dr. Cross asked.
"Either the other party cannot receive our telegram at all due to signal strength or distance, or...or the radio station at the whaling station may have been completely destroyed,"
After a pause, Hanno continued, "Considering that we have been trying to re-establish contact with the whaling station while the major was alive, I guess the second possibility may be higher."
"Hannuo, we use medium wave communication, right?" Weiran asked abruptly, "80-watt medium wave transmitter."
"That's right"
Hanno subconsciously replied, "Whether we communicate with the whaling station at the outpost or we communicate with the whaling station here in the summer, we use an 80-watt medium-wave transmitter and supporting medium-wave transmitter.
Wave Receiver.”
"Can we communicate with the whaling station?" Wei Ran raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"sure"
Hanno, the radio operator, was obviously aware of Weiran's intention to ask these questions, but he still answered truthfully, "But the signal strength is not very good, and many times it is necessary to go to the top of the mountain to complete the transmission."
"Thank you for sharing this information"
Wei Ran said gratefully, he really needed to be grateful, because his conversation with Hannuo just now actually hinted at a crucial thing - the straight-line distance from the whaling station on the coastline must be within 300 kilometers!
The reason why he is so sure is related to the characteristics of the medium wave channel. Although this band can also communicate through ionospheric reflection at night, the communication distance is not particularly far most of the time, especially the one that was heavily equipped in Germany during World War II.
80-watt transmitter for reconnaissance vehicles.
Although radio is difficult to measure in terms of communication distance, even under ideal conditions, its communication distance is generally not used for communications exceeding 300 kilometers.
Undoubtedly, this is enough to prove that their straight-line distance from the coastline must be within 300 kilometers.
In other words, the reason why they are equipped with this medium-wave radio communication device instead of a five-watt global short-wave radio station is that such a station is less affected by the ionosphere, but it prevents them from communicating with other countries outside the Antarctic continent.
It is probably one of the purposes to prevent them from communicating with people further away.
Seeing that Wei Ran seemed to have nothing more to ask, Dr. Yog cleared his throat, took the pen Wei Ran lent him, and wrote on a piece of light yellow wrapping paper while saying, "No matter what the possibility, restore communication.
How about leaving the work to Hanno? Even if there is no way to communicate, at least we can listen to the broadcast, any channel."
"I will try my best to meet everyone's needs." When Hannuo said this, he couldn't help but glance at Wei Ran who was thoughtful.
"In addition to restoring communications, don't forget those sleeping bags."
Wei Ran, who noticed the other person's eyes, reminded him jokingly, "Those sleeping bags smell too bad, so if you have time, you might as well find a way to get rid of the smell of those sleeping bags."
"This job sounds much simpler than restoring communications," Hanno replied with a smile, accepting the extra job.
"Now that we've found a job for Hanno, who's next?" Dr. Jörg raised his head and asked.
"Let me be responsible for digging the cave."
Dr. Cross said impatiently, "If Carsten can...recover his health, he will definitely be willing to participate in the work of digging the cave."
"In this case, this hard work will be left to you."
After writing a few strokes on the thick wrapping paper, Jorg asked, "Victor, it's your turn. You also need to find yourself a job."
"My cold was cured by you"
Wei Ran said as if he was cheating, "So I'm willing to admit defeat and leave the job of chef to me. By the way, I will also repair the ugly and leaking fireplace, and find a way to make the cave warmer."
"What about you, Dr. Yoger, what kind of job are you going to find for yourself?" Dr. Cross asked.
"I can do some carpentry work"
Dr. Yog smiled and said, "I will make some furniture for you. In addition, leave those sled dogs to me to take care of."
“Sled dogs are a big problem”
Hanno frowned and said, "Although we have hundreds of kilograms of frozen meat in reserve, we have more than sixty sled dogs. The meat is probably not enough for them to eat for a long time."
"Is there a penguin colony near here?"
Wei Ran and Dr. Yog almost subconsciously asked two identical questions, "Are there weapons here?"
"Are you really not ready to let the penguin go?" Dr. Cross looked helpless.
"Those sled dogs are our hope of survival"
Yog reminded calmly, "No matter when, we must ensure that those sled dogs survive. Only if they survive can we survive.
As long as we survive this winter and wait until summer comes, even without rescue, we can return to the coastline through them."
"There's no way no one will come to save us," Hanno said almost subconsciously.
"So is there a penguin colony around here?"
Wei Ran had to ask the question again, "There are also weapons. Are there any weapons here? Weapons that can hunt penguins."
"Because Major Aigner, who was delivering supplies, gave Major Schubert a new shotgun, so the latter left his most used rifle here."
Hannuo had already stood up while speaking, and explained as he walked towards the airdrop box not far away, "As for the penguin habitat, when I went hunting with the major in the summer, I found many eggs left in the winter.
shell, but not sure if there are any penguins there now.”
"Do you know the road?" Wei Ran took the weapon that the other party took out from an airdrop box and asked while looking at it.
This is a VZ24 made in the Czech Republic. If it were a Chinese, it would be called the Mauser short rifle "Ma Si Huan".
"Leave the mountainous area and walk to the left while facing the mountainous area. When there is no wind, it only takes about an hour for the sleigh to find that area."
As Hannuo said, he took out another ammunition bag from the box and handed it to Wei Ran along with the only hiking bag for the five of them.
"Are you coming?" Wei Ran looked at Dr. Yog.
"I'll leave the hunting to you. My marksmanship is not that good, and I don't want to fall into the ice crevice again."
Doctor Yog waved his hand and said, "But if you need help, you can call me."
"Then it's settled"
As Wei Ran spoke, he threw the rifle, which was covered with strips of cloth, and the ammunition bag back into the airdrop box. He also put down his mountaineering bag and rummaged through the airdrop box.
Unfortunately, except for some miscellaneous items such as axes, hammers, nails, oil lamps, etc., there are no personal belongings here.
Although they have agreed on their next work, Wei Ran is not in a hurry to work. The next time may be long, so there is no need to rush at this moment.
"Why don't we take a group photo?"
After rummaging through and finding a kerosene gas lamp, Wei Ran suggested, "I forgot to tell you that I secretly brought a camera. Although there isn't much film, it's enough for us to take a group photo."
"It's really worth taking a group photo if we can escape here." Dr. Yog was the first to respond to Wei Ran's suggestion.
With the support of the first person, there will naturally be a second one. By the time Weiran lit the brighter kerosene lamp and placed it on the stacked airdrop boxes, Hannuo had also turned off the noisy generator and joined the rest of the people.
People gathered around Carsten's hospital bed.
Let Wei Ran take a group photo of them, Wei Ran handed over the task of pressing the shutter to Yog, and he stood where Dr. Yog was standing just now, and asked the other party to take a photo for him.
"We first need a door with good enough sound insulation."
After taking the photo, Dr. Jörg walked towards the wooden boards piled on the edge and said, "Whoever it is, help me guard Carsten. Now I have to make a door as a carpenter."
As he spoke, he had already pulled out a saw and an ax from a box full of tools, and then dug out a box of nails.
"In this case, I will make a new stove that does not leak smoke, so that we will not all be smoked to death in the cave after Dr. Yog fixes the new door."
After saying that, Weiran looked at Hannuo, "We still have empty oil drums, right?"
"If I remember correctly, there are only two empty barrels with a capacity of 200 liters, but there are quite a few empty iron barrels with a capacity of 100 liters. Those were previously used to hold flour."
Hannuo also became more energetic and said as he walked towards the entrance of the cave, "If you need it, I will go and bring you all the empty barrels."
"Pack flour?" Wei Ran looked at Hannuo doubtfully, "Does a lot of flour be consumed here?"
"It was used as a container when the coal was transported here from the mine."
Hanno stopped and explained, "Of course, last summer, the people in the mine also sent a few barrels of flour. These are not in the record books. The major paid for them with wine."
“This is really good news”
Wei Ran smiled and said, "Five, bring me five watertight flour buckets. Also, where are the flours you just mentioned?"
"It's buried in the coal pile."
Hanno pointed to the pile of coal not far away, "I don't know why the major exchanged those flours, but they must be in those piles of coal."
"It seems we have bread to eat again, Hannuo, go move the oil drums." Before Wei Ran finished speaking, he had already walked to the side of the pair of coals.
"Since you all have jobs, I will take care of Mr. Carsten." Dr. Cross passively chose the laziest job.
"Victor, have you determined our location just now?"
Dr. Yog waited until Hannuo left the cave, then approached Wei Ran and asked while helping to shovel away the coal. Obviously, this smart doctor had realized something.
"Unless we can determine which coast the original outpost was..."
"Enderby Land" Dr. Yog gave a straightforward answer without waiting for Wei Yan to come up with the conditions.
Wei Ran was stunned when he heard this, dropped the coal shovel in his hand, and motioned for the other party to hide with him on the other side of the cave. Then he took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and gave one to the other party.
While lighting up his cigarette, he recalled the satellite map of Antarctica that he had studied carefully before entering this period of history. Wei Ran asked in a low voice in the swirling smoke, "How did you know?"
After a moment's hesitation, Dr. Yoger took out a glass medicine bottle from his pocket, which was only the size of a later toothpick tube.
This transparent glass medicine bottle is plugged with a thick rubber stopper and wrapped with thick medical tape for reinforcement.
Taking the glass medicine bottle, Wei Ran couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. There was a piece of moss growing inside the medicine bottle - green, vibrant moss. The piece of moss was only a circle larger than the bottle cap.
On the edge, there is a small blood-red stone the size of a quail egg.
"What is this?" Wei Ran asked as he returned the small ecological bottle to the other party.
"Moss from Enderby Land"
Dr. Yog lowered his voice and said, "Victor, our outpost at that time was near the coastline of Enderby Land. It took about an hour for a sled pulled by 16 Greenland sled dogs to run at full strength.
"
"Probably around 20 kilometers, not more than 30 kilometers."
After speaking, Wei Ran frowned and asked again, "How are you sure it's Enderby?"
"Although there were no windows in our cabin on the way here, we were blindfolded even when we got off the boat."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Doctor Jorg spread his hands, "But I am a doctor. On the way, I listened to him while treating the frostbite of the chief mate of the Norwegian whaler that sent us here.
I accidentally mentioned that they were returning immediately after sending us to Enderby Land."
"So that piece of moss..."
"When I went ashore blindfolded, my suitcase accidentally fell off."
Dr. Yog said frankly, "I accidentally packed the moss and the small stone together when I was packing my suitcase. I also took a look at the surrounding environment. There were a lot of moss and penguins there."
"Accidentally?" Wei Ran looked at the other party suspiciously.
"Dr. Cross is a naturalist and Carsten is a geologist."
Dr. Yog ignored Wei Ran's suspicion and said while putting away the small ecological bottle, "They all know much about Antarctica, and they have all told me that in Enderby, the most beautiful scenery is in the summer.
Moss and penguins.
Okay Victor, it’s your turn, I’ve told you the most valuable information I know.”
"The communication distance of our radio stations is about 300 kilometers."
Wei Ran whispered, "Considering the terrain here, its actual communication distance is probably even shorter."
"So we're about 300 kilometers inland from Enderby Land?"
Dr. Yog asked excitedly in a low voice, "With our sleigh, if the weather is good, it only takes up to 12 hours to reach the coastline?"
"Unless Antarctica is a flat plain without any elevation changes, but look at our surroundings."
Wei Ran added some conditions to the other party's idea, "In fact, it took us many days to get here. If we want to get back to the wooden house, considering the headwind factor, it may take longer."
“There are also terrible crevasses and blizzards.”
Dr. Cross, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation just now, also joined the conversation, "Staying until the summer and then leaving here is the most realistic way. Yog, in this season, and the whaling station is likely to have been destroyed.
Now, what if we can return to the coastline? It may not be as comfortable there as it is here."
"That's right." Yog sighed, "Dr. Cross is right."
"Victor! Yog! Come here and help!"
Before Wei Ran could say anything, Hannuo's call came from the door. Then, amidst the clanging sound of knocking, a big red slender empty iron bucket with ice and snow stuck to it was also knocked by Hannuo from the outside.
Pushed in.
Seeing this, Wei Ran and Yog immediately put down the tools in their hands and ran over, helping Hannuo, who was still outside, to move in one by one the five empty barrels he had pulled back with the sleigh.
At the same time, Dr. Cross also rushed back to Carsten's bedside before Hanno came in.
In the next few hours, Dr. Jorg called on Hanno to help him and made an airtight "cave door" using the wooden boards and canvas piled in the cave and the sleeping bag that originally belonged to Major Schubert.
On the Weiran side, closer to the inside of the cave and away from the coal pile, one of the oil drums was transformed into a fireplace with an oven and no smoke leakage.
In the following time, he worked tirelessly to fill the other four 100-liter oil drums that were being heated on three sides of the stove with ice and snow brought in from outside.
When the additional four oil barrels were finally filled with melted snow water, the cave, which was only 100 square meters, was not only equivalent to four oversized radiators that could store heat;
Hot water is available at all times.
This is undoubtedly a huge encouragement, especially when Wei Ran suggested that after the meal, everyone could set up a tent in the cave that was probably no longer needed, and then take a good sauna in the tent, everyone said
gave a cheer full of anticipation.
You know, even in that wooden house, Major Schubert never allowed them to do such a luxurious thing for the sake of saving fuel.
Perhaps because of the temptation of the sauna, the bread baked by Dr. Yog and the canned meat mixed with vegetables seem to have become less important.
After hastily filling their stomachs, everyone placed their lunch boxes containing leftovers on the hot water tank that was already burning by the fire to keep warm. Then, together with Wei Ran, they set up a thick canvas tent near the entrance of the cave.
Under the expectant gazes of the other three people who had taken off only their shorts, Wei Ran took out pieces of red-hot coal from the furnace and threw them into a leaky iron bucket, and then piled extra layers on top of the bucket.
A bucket was placed, and pieces of iron-rich red stone were taken from the oven that was converted from two 20-liter oil drums and filled with the bucket above.
Carrying the simple sauna stove into the tent, Wei Ran scooped up a cup of scalding hot water from another bucket and poured it on the burning stones.
"laugh--"
Amid the pervasive smell of oxygen, rich water vapor immediately filled the tent that had followed them all the way. Hannuo and the three people in the tent who had been waiting for a long time also let out a burst of joy along with this water vapor.
Like cheers.
Glancing at Carsten who was still lying on the hospital bed outside the tent, Wei Ran sighed secretly and tried to let go of his worries about Carsten. After closing the tent door, he scooped up half a cup of water and poured it on the hot
on the rocks, and not surprisingly attracted a second wave of cheers.
“That’s not bad!”
In the tent filled with water vapor, Dr. Cross said with a smile that could not be concealed, "Frankly speaking, this is probably the happiest day since I came to Antarctica. God testifies, I almost forgot the last time I steamed."
When is the time for the sauna?"
"This is just the beginning," Wei Ran said, scooping up another half cup of water and pouring it on the still hot stone.
"Yeah... this is just the beginning..." Dr. Yog, who was also shrouded in water vapor, muttered in a voice that only he could hear.
