Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste
Chapter 61 Rescue Plan

Chapter 61: Chapter 61 Rescue Plan

Although Perfikot suggested using her maid puppet to detonate explosives and break the ice, this plan was ultimately not adopted.

On one hand, freeing the Morgan by breaking the ice is not as simple as just placing explosives and lighting the fuse; it requires highly specialized blasting knowledge.

Using too few or too many explosives won’t work, and the arrangement of the detonation points is also crucial. If something goes wrong, not only might the Morgan not be rescued, but the White Gem might also be affected.

Because the survey team members have already figured out that a powerful Arctic cold current is passing through their current location, with temperatures dropping below zero degrees.

It’s just that due to the movement of seawater, it hasn’t frozen yet. But once something disrupts this delicate balance, the surrounding waters will instantly freeze.

That’s how the Morgan became trapped here.

If the White Gem doesn’t want to meet the same fate, it must proceed cautiously.

"Does that mean we can’t even make any big movements?" The first mate felt a bit disheartened, as even a seasoned sailor like him struggled to find a good solution under such constraints.

"Breaking the ice indeed could rescue the Morgan, but if the Morgan can’t leave in time, it will still be frozen by rapidly solidifying seawater." Perfikot’s expression was solemn as she explained the environmental constraints they faced: "The temperature of this cold current is below zero, even though it’s still flowing, any external influence can cause the supercooled water to instantly solidify.

Whether moving the White Gem or detonating explosives would lead to the solidification of supercooled water, which is extremely dangerous.

I closely examined the Morgan; it should be like the White Gem, just a regular cruise ship, without any special modifications or reinforcements for navigating icy areas, and its hull can’t withstand the pressure and impact from ice layers.

If they act recklessly, both ships might be crushed by ice layers and sink here."

As she spoke, she purposefully took out a bottle filled with water, then used alchemy to lower its temperature below zero. With a gentle tap from her Golden Touching Rod, the water inside the bottle froze completely, causing the bottle itself to burst due to the expanding ice.

Looking at the broken bottle, both the captain and the others wore grim expressions.

"Do we just watch like this? It’s getting dark. If we can’t figure out how to save the Morgan, at least let’s rescue the people on board!" O’Connor urgently suggested, though he had previously proposed the ice-breaking plan, he was now desperate to save lives.

"We can’t rush. The ice formed from supercooled water isn’t stable, and we can’t confirm the thickness of the ice layers. If there’s any weak spot and someone steps on it causing the ice to crack, it would endanger those passengers’ lives." Perfikot continued shaking her head, appearing coldly rational, almost cruel in her demeanor.

Undeniably, Perfikot’s attitude was hard for O’Connor to tolerate. He couldn’t help but loudly question her: "What do you suggest then? We can’t break the ice, nor can we move the people on the ship—are we just going to watch them die?"

"Mr. O’Connor!" Dr. Jones quickly intervened, worrying that O’Connor would anger Perfikot.

However, Perfikot wasn’t upset by O’Connor’s attitude. She politely nodded to Dr. Jones before continuing: "If special means can effectively break the ice, then the Morgan could be rescued."

Perfikot was just about to explain her special rescue method when O’Connor impatiently interrupted her: "We know that already, but how can we effectively break the ice? Can you tell us something we don’t know?"

"If you had a bit more patience and didn’t interrupt, you’d know I was about to explain." Perfikot gave O’Connor a cold look before explaining: "Using explosives to break the ice isn’t advisable. Though we have an escort ship that could use naval guns to blast the ice if necessary, it can only be used for breaking the ice on the periphery.

If the fall point of the shells is near the Morgan, the fractured ice might damage it, not to mention the consequences if a shell hit the Morgan directly.

Similarly, using explosives to break the ice would lead to the same result—the fractured ice could crush and compact the Morgan’s hull.

Therefore, we need a method that won’t cause the ice to pressure and impact the Morgan, breaking the ice, and then blasting a path to free the Morgan."

"But Lady Perfikot, how can we break the ice without causing pressure and impact on the Morgan? We can’t just pour hot water on it, right?" The captain showed a troubled expression, then pondered a bit and added: "I’ve heard some sailors say that in the past, when a ship got frozen, they’d have crew members chisel a path through the ice, but this..."

"It would require enough manpower and is highly inefficient. You must break the ice before it refreezes, which is very dangerous for those chiseling the ice." The first mate added what the captain hadn’t finished saying, simultaneously shaking his head to dismiss that plan: "In the era of sailboats, when ships were lighter and slower, it might have been possible.

But modern ships are too large and heavy. Not only do we not have the manpower to chisel the ice, but even if we did, it would be hard to control the speed to a suitable level. If we’re not careful, it would be like Lady Perfikot said—the ice would crush the hull, causing it to fracture."

As professionals, the captain and the first mate understood why Perfikot didn’t agree with the ice-breaking rescue method.

Contrary to common perceptions about the solidity of large ships, they, as seasoned sailors, knew how fragile a ship could become when its hull collided with or was crushed by ice.

Whether in the past with wooden hulls or now with steel hulls, neither are particularly resilient.

And let alone their cruise ship, even the escort ship following alongside the White Gem couldn’t withstand the pressure and impact from ice layers; a warship might only endure a little more.

"So I have another way." Perfikot clearly had a plan and tapped the frozen bottle with her Golden Touching Rod, instantly melting the ice inside into water, which flowed everywhere from the broken bottle.