But soon, this joy was replaced by a heavier look of worry. He squatted down and used the tip of his Hunting Knife to pry off a mussel with effort to closely observe it.
The shell was tightly closed, but not due to muscle strength; rather, it was because the internal tissue fluid and sea water had completely frozen.
"They're all frozen to death, which is both good and a huge problem."
"Although they're now frozen like stones and are absolutely safe. In such low temperatures, all decay processes have stopped."
"But the problem is, I'm not sure if they will stay in this state."
"For instance, when the temperature is a bit higher during the day, the mussels on the surface of the snow pile might partially thaw, which is the biggest danger."
"Mussels are filter feeders, containing a large number of microorganisms and digestive enzymes."
