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Chapter 225: 222 A Fruitless Endeavor
Chapter 225: 222 A Fruitless Endeavor
Chapter 225: Chapter 222 A Fruitless Endeavor
133 days.
That’s one-third of a year, over four months, a school term—it doesn’t seem like much. But what if it were spent surviving adrift at sea?
Surviving at sea for 133 days.
This is a number that sounds incredible to anyone, created by a person from Huaxia.
“His name is Pan Lian, an ordinary yet extraordinary person from Huaxia, hailed by Ugly Country’s National Geographic Magazine as the ‘World Survivor Champion.'”
What Bi Fang spoke of was a true event.
In fact, apart from some cultural differences, most of the world’s history is indistinguishable from the previous world’s, including its people.
When World War II broke out, the United Kingdom recruited a large number of Huaxia seafarers, among them was Pan Lian.
Four years later, Pan Lian was transporting wartime goods in the Atlantic Ocean when a German submarine spotted them and launched two torpedoes at the merchant ship.
What happened next can be guessed by all, when the second torpedo hit the ship it sank quickly, creating a powerful suction that pulled him towards the seabed.
In the chaos, Pan Lian grabbed a wooden plank and surfaced.
When he had been aimlessly drifting at sea for 2 hours and was about to despair, a miracle occurred.
A life raft from the merchant ship, which hadn’t been destroyed, floated over to him.
The life raft was a square wooden raft with masts at its four corners, and on both sides of the raft there were isolation compartments with metal boxes.
The metal boxes contained various canned goods and food, 40 liters of fresh water, sugar, condensed milk, etc., as well as several flares and a flashlight.
“Although many cargo ships at that time were equipped with life rafts like this, only Pan Lian managed to survive for an extended period. Because drifting at sea is not easy, it is a test of wisdom and willpower.”
The audience was amazed, such tenacity of life was almost unimaginably exaggerated.
Thereafter, Pan Lian’s predicament was somewhat similar to Bi Fang’s, though he too encountered a disaster in the Atlantic Ocean, he was at a lower latitude, and unlike Bi Fang, he wasn’t prevented from entering the water; however, the heat also meant that Pan Lian needed more fresh water.
“He collected rainwater using the roof, tied knots to count the days, and had an extremely strong will to survive. He even made a fishhook from the spring in the flashlight, twisted the mooring rope into a thin fishing line. He used the soft bodies of shellfish attached to the raft as bait… and even crafted a rudimentary knife out of a tin can.”
[Holy shit, that’s impressive!]
[Who says Huaxia people can’t challenge human limits?]
[Honestly, I think Master Fang has been challenging limits all along. I haven’t seen anyone more badass than him to this day!]
[Right! Master Fang is the best in the world!]
[Who says Huaxia people can’t challenge limits, isn’t Master Fang the very definition of a limit? Wherever he stands is the peak of humanity!]
The audience was fired up. Indeed, who says Huaxia people can’t challenge human limits?
Master Fang already had, wherever he stood was the peak of humanity!
If there was a summit, then he was the summit, and all others could do was chase after his shadow!
“No, you can’t say that,” Bi Fang interjected.
Even Bi Fang felt a little embarrassed by the praises from the netizens. The world was full of capable people, and there were countless wonders, it’s only that they hadn’t had the chance to stand in front of the public.
It was better to remain low-key. Although he had the System, it had only been half a year. To declare himself the world’s number one was premature; perhaps in a few more years, a few more years.
At least for now, Bi Fang felt there was still a significant gap between himself and Pan Lian—not in skill or experience, but in willpower.
In the later stages of survival, Pan Lian, due to prolonged exposure to sea water and the lack of fresh water to bathe, combined with a shortage of vitamins from vegetables, developed pustules and ulcers on his limbs’ skin, and his joints swelled.
His only belief was: survive.
Sometimes, amidst hunger, thirst, and pain, he would pinch his swollen muscles fiercely, preventing himself from falling asleep, lest it be a sleep from which he would never awaken.
During World War II, many sailors escaped on life rafts, but after two or three months, they would lose the will to live, eventually succumbing to despair and madness, and giving up on survival.
Bi Fang didn’t know if he could possess such a strong will if he found himself in such a desperate situation, but that didn’t stop him from expressing his admiration.
“It’s worth mentioning that one time, a merchant ship passed by. Pan Lian fired a flare. The merchant ship noticed and even approached, but when he could nearly see the faces of the people on the deck, the ship sailed away.”
As he reached this point in the story, there was a slight change in Bi Fang’s tone, “The reason was that he was a Huaxia person.”
The atmosphere in the live broadcast was a bit heavy, and even international viewers fell silent, with some feeling guilty.
Everyone understood the history of that time, and though it went unsaid, they comprehended the nature of such events; but everything has gotten better now.
Anyone who dares to look down upon this nation with a history of five thousand years will surely pay a bloody price!
“However, the ending is a good one. In the end, Pan Lian was rescued by fishermen and lived until he was 73 before passing away peacefully.”
The audience nodded involuntarily, but soon, some people realized a new problem.
The situation Bi Fang was in now seemed to be even worse!
[At least that person still had food and fresh water, could make fishing lines and hooks, but Master Fang really has nothing, and can this life raft even gather shellfish?]
Upon seeing this comment, viewers were taken aback; indeed, Master Fang’s current situation seemed even more difficult. At least the other had containers and materials, while Old Fang had nothing but his bare hands.
Catching fish? With what?
And without catching fish, where would food come from?
“Don’t panic, a healthy adult can go a day or two without eating without significantly affecting their mobility. We have plenty of time to prepare.”
“Don’t think it’s very cold here, but geographically, this is still considered a temperate warm sea area, and the variety and quantity of life are extremely rich.”
But staring at the vast ocean, viewers could only feel that Bi Fang was comforting everyone; they racked their brains but still couldn’t figure out how he would procure food.
Evening.
Bi Fang had put on his clothes, and with clothing, he felt much better.
After drinking the collected droplets of water again, he wiped his mouth and said, “Many people believe that in a water shortage, water should be rationed like food, used sparingly unless absolutely necessary, but this is actually a common misconception. You must never do that.”
“The negative effects of this water-saving method often far outweigh the positive impacts. Often, dehydration can quickly overcome a person, so quickly that one may not realize it, which is a very dangerous situation.”
“When dehydrated, it’s easy to faint without any warning signs. Many real-life cases have shown this to be true, with people dying of dehydration often having a whole bottle of water right next to them. Therefore, even when water is limited, it should not be conserved too much.”
“If the weather isn’t hot, and you are stranded for 2 to 4 days, you should still drink 400 milliliters of water daily. By the fifth day, when your body has adapted to the lack of water, the amount can be reduced again, but it should still be between 60 and 250 milliliters, depending on the weather and how much water you have, but never less than this amount!”
After drinking the last bit of water, Bi Fang didn’t moisten the towel again but used it as a cushion for the back of his head, preparing to rest for the night.
The wind outside the tent had died down a lot, and the life raft was no longer as unstable as in the beginning, which made it much more comfortable for Bi Fang.
Let’s hope for some luck in finding food tomorrow.
Recalling several methods in his mind, Bi Fang closed his eyes.
If not necessary, he actually didn’t want to use some extreme methods.
The first day at sea, drifting, yielded nothing.