Li Yu told Da Pao to stop the vehicle but not to turn off the engine.
Thump, thump, thump.
The vehicle remained running. Li Yu thought for a moment and said, "Turn around. Later, we'll use a steel rope to pull it out. Otherwise, digging it out by ourselves will take too much time."
"Alright," Da Pao said.
Immediately, the Unimog turned around. Li Yu got out of the vehicle, took a steel rope, and hooked it to the front of the truck.
Once both ends were hooked, Li Yu thought for a moment, then directly opened the truck door and sat in the driver's seat.
"OK. Let's go!" Li Yu shouted.
Hearing Li Yu's call, Da Pao put the vehicle into first gear and pressed the accelerator to the floor.
Rumble, rumble, rumble~
Because the truck was covered in snow and already very heavy, this pull didn't move it.
Da Pao kept pressing the accelerator, and the tires were slipping a bit.
"Keep going!" Li Yu shouted.
Da Pao once again pressed the accelerator to the floor.
Boom, boom, boom~
The Unimog slowly started to move forward, and the truck behind it was also dragged slightly.
Then, whoosh~
The truck was already pressing down on some snow, nearly 50 centimeters above the ground. This pull was from the ground upwards, making it much more efficient.
As the truck was pulled, Da Pao saw the situation, continued to press the accelerator, and drove forward.
The truck behind clanked twice.
It slid from the flattened snow onto the ground.
"We succeeded!" Li Hang shouted excitedly from inside the vehicle.
Li Yu took out the walkie-talkie in the vehicle and said, "Da Pao, keep driving. This truck has stalled and is probably frozen. If we want to thaw it, it will take a while. Let's leave this valley first. We'll talk about it when we get to a flat area ahead."
"Okay," Da Pao replied.
They were not far from the flat area ahead, so with Da Pao clearing the way with the Unimog while pulling the truck behind, they reached the flat road in a short while.
Li Yu sat in the truck, shivering from the cold.
But to grip the steering wheel, he still had to extend his hands to hold it.
Fortunately, this truck was also equipped with a snowplow. The snow in this valley was over two meters deep. The snow that had just been cleared from the front fell back down from both sides before the truck behind could even reach it.
Everyone arrived at the flat National Highway, where the snow depth was no longer as deep as before.
The truck stopped less than two meters from the Unimog. Li Yu got out of the truck.
With a pull of the handle, he directly got into the Unimog.
"Lao Lü, Xiao Hang, please go clear the exhaust pipe of the truck behind and thaw it," Li Yu said, rubbing his hands, his nose red from the cold, as he climbed into the vehicle.
The stretch of road they just drove out of didn't look long, but they drove extremely carefully. It took them almost twenty minutes back and forth, and he had been frozen for so long inside the vehicle without heating.
Returning to the Unimog and feeling the warmth, his body shivered.
Such cold weather was simply unbearable for humans.
"Alright." Captain Lü carried a bucket of freshly boiled water and walked down.
"Oh, right, Lao Xie, go get some engine oil from the back compartment of the truck and fill up the Unimog," Li Yu suddenly said.
Watching the three get out of the vehicle, Li Yu sat in the warm Unimog, took off his gloves, and saw that his fingers were already purple from the cold. So he got out, rubbed some snow, and massaged it onto his fingers.
This kind of frostbite cannot be directly washed with warm water; once it's damaged, direct contact with warm water will cause it to fester immediately.
Li Yu quickly did it a couple of times and then got back into the vehicle.
Feeling the warm air blowing from the heater, Li Yu couldn't help but pull out a cigarette. He suddenly felt two gazes from beside him, and Li Yu smiled.
He seemed to remember something; after all, they were inside the vehicle. He glanced at Shang Xue'er, and she waved her hand, indicating she didn't mind.
Li Yu tossed one to Yang Tianlong and another to Da Pao.
Click~
The flame burned the cigarette. Li Yu took a deep breath, and his body slowly relaxed. For the past two hours, he had been surrounded by snow, his entire body remaining tense.
Now, with a puff of cigarette, both his body and mind felt much more relaxed.
Slowly exhaling a puff of smoke, Li Yu stood up, looked at Yang Tianlong's bent arm, frowned, and said, "Your arm is injured now, and it can't be delayed. Let's send you back for treatment first."
Upon hearing this, Yang Tianlong almost choked on his cigarette. "Impossible, absolutely impossible. This is a minor injury. Finding the inverter is a big deal, and there are so many people waiting for us at the base. I already feel bad about being injured; don't let me affect the important mission!"
Li Yu pondered for a while, then rolled up Yang Tianlong's sleeve, seeing that his arm was black and blue, and it seemed to have frostbite.
However, almost everyone now had more or less frostbite.
"Seriously, I'm fine. It's fine if I deal with this in a day or two. Besides, Xue'er already helped me bandage it up. It's not a big problem."
"Xue'er?" Da Pao suddenly said.
Then he let out a snickering laugh.
Shang Xue'er's expression immediately changed. She reached out to hit Yang Tianlong, but seeing his uncomfortable state at the moment, she quickly withdrew her hand.
Li Yu saw Yang Tianlong's persistence, and the matter of the inverter was of great importance. Now that they had finally made it this far, they were only one-fifth of the way to the City Center. Giving up like this would be too much of a pity.
"Alright, then you rest well. You're not going anywhere next; just lie on this bed," Li Yu said.
"I can still move."
"We don't need you for now."
"Oh."
Lao Xie and Xiao Hang were thawing it for a long time, taking about twenty minutes to get it done. The exhaust vent had been completely blocked when it was buried by snow.
Li Yu and Lao Lü both got into the truck. Lao Lü tried to start it, but it didn't catch.
He tried again.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
It finally started, which was incredibly difficult. The moment it started, Lao Lü almost cried. While thawing it, he and Xiao Hang had almost frozen into stupid dogs.
After the truck started, Lao Lü's first action was to turn on the heater.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~
The warm air blowing made both of them feel comfortable and warm.
Li Yu checked his watch; it was 3 PM.
His heart sank. It seemed they wouldn't be able to return today.
It was already difficult to walk during the day, easily falling into pits. At night, when it was dark, even with headlights, problems could easily arise in the pitch-black conditions.
It seemed they would have to spend a night in the City Center tonight. He just didn't know what the situation was like in the City Center now.
With a heavy heart, Li Yu took out the walkie-talkie and said to Da Pao, "It's started. Let's go. Hurry up; we must reach the City Center before dark, or it will be troublesome. Xiao Hang, help watch the road ahead."
"Okay, Ge."
"Okay, Yu Ge."
Li Yu hadn't removed the steel rope that was previously attached. In such a blizzard, with such deep snow, it was easy to get lost, so he just left it. Anyway, it was long enough, over ten meters in length, which was sufficient.
Outside the car window, snowflakes danced and scattered, falling to the ground, increasing the snow's thickness inch by inch.
Inside the vehicle, amidst the roar of the engine, the anxious hearts of the people hoped for a safe journey ahead.
