Wasteland Survivalist: A Scientific Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Survival

Just as Gu Lang was piloting his small boat through the sand ridge waterway, preparing to return to the yacht.

Suddenly, a crisp and rhythmic "creak-crunch" sound faintly reached his ears.

The sound was not natural; it had a mechanical quality, like the dull thud of a bearing turning.

This immediately alerted him, and he promptly shut off the engine.

Let the small boat glide towards a shallow bay on a sandbar using its inertia.

Right at the entrance to the shallow bay, a peculiar device appeared before him.

This is a yellow, strip-shaped structure that is about five or six meters long.

Floating on the sea surface, rising and falling with the waves.

Upon reaching the side, Gu Lang finally saw that it was made up of dozens of floating planks connected together.

On one of the boxes at the top, it is also labeled "Pendulum Wave Energy Generation Experimental Device No. 2".

After careful examination, he discovered that the water flow would push these floating boards whenever the waves came in.

This causes it to swing back and forth like a pendulum around the hinge axis at the top.

The floats are connected to hydraulic cylinders via connecting rods.

Hydraulic oil is then supplied to a hydraulic motor on the platform, which drives the motor to rotate, thereby powering a generator to produce electricity.

The ingenious thing about this wave energy power generation device is that it can generate waves from any direction.

As long as it can cause the water to move back and forth, it can drive the pendulum, thereby achieving omnidirectional power generation.

Realizing he had struck gold, Gu Lang immediately steered his yacht to the device.

He didn't act rashly; he first conducted a comprehensive inspection of the device.

The wave energy generation device is fixed in place by being connected to the submerged base by steel cables.

The power transmission cable is fixed to another floating platform and connected to the battery pack there.

Gu Lang directly untied the steel cable used for fixing and removed the excess support on it.

His goal is to transform this stationary "wave generator" into an external mobile power source that can power his yacht.

The float device weighs several hundred kilograms, but fortunately, the boat can be towed with the help of a winch at the stern of the yacht.

After dragging the long wave energy generator back to the temporary base like a gluttonous snake, he immediately began his research.

Because the force of the waves varies greatly, the frequency and amplitude of the alternating current generated by the generator are extremely unstable.

Voltage and current are constantly changing and cannot be directly used by most electrical appliances.

Therefore, it is equipped with a rectifier that can convert irregular alternating current into direct current.

Once the direct current is delivered to the battery pack, it can stably output the set voltage.

Gu Lang tested it with a multimeter, and the output voltage was 12 volts.

The yacht's battery is achieved by connecting two 12-volt lead-acid batteries in series to reach a working voltage of 24 volts.

This means that with simple circuit modifications, wave energy generators can directly charge batteries.

After resolving the electricity demand, the next issue to address is the water supply.

Gulang obtained a number of solar-powered desalination devices from the life rafts.

However, under the current circumstances, these devices are too inefficient.

The principle is to use sunlight to heat the seawater inside the black container, producing water vapor.

Water vapor condenses into droplets on the transparent lid and flows into the water collection tank.

It has extremely low efficiency, low water production, and is heavily dependent on sunlight.

In today's nuclear winter environment, even if multiple units are used in parallel, it is still impossible to meet daily needs.

Large ocean-going vessels are typically equipped with high-pressure reverse osmosis membrane desalination plants.

Its weight and energy consumption are also beyond the reach of small yachts.

In the end, Gu Lang decided to build his own seawater distillation desalination unit.

Obtaining fresh water by boiling seawater is very easy; it can be done using common kitchen utensils like pots and pans.

Prepare a large stainless steel pot and place a water collection bowl in the middle.

Wrap the pot opening with plastic wrap and place a small weight in the center of the wrap.

Make the center of the plastic wrap form a downward-sloping cone-shaped tip, aligned with the water collection bowl below.

Next, heat the seawater and collect the steam condensate.

However, this simple device consumes a lot of fuel and can only be used in emergencies.

Gu Lang plans to build a coil-cooled still.

Improve water production efficiency and facilitate long-term use.

The core component requires a long, flexible metal tube.

Copper pipes, which have the highest thermal efficiency, are the best choice, but non-toxic materials such as aluminum or stainless steel pipes can also be used as alternatives.

The most suitable material for the renovation is obviously the refrigerator that is equipped in the yacht's kitchen.

However, Gulang will be carrying out a lot of "cooking activities" involving hazardous chemicals, which will require the use of freezing technology.

In the end, he decided to go ashore to search for supplies.

At 6 a.m. the next morning, as the starter crank turned a few times, the small boat's engine made a "putt-putt-putt" sound.

The orange, modified life raft made its first combat deployment.

As they approached the shore, Gulang shut off the engine.

The first high tide, which he had calculated in advance, arrived as scheduled. He let the inertia and the tide push the small boat silently toward the seemingly endless coastline.

There's no need to specifically choose a fishing port or dock; the mudflats in front of us are all usable landing points.

After tying the small boat to the rocks on the shore with ropes, Gu Lang climbed up the breakwater.

What appeared before him was a typical landscape of the North Jiangsu Plain.

The horizon was unusually distant and straight, as if the earth had been smoothed out by a giant hand.

Occasionally, there are only low ridges or roadbeds, and the plastic sheeting of some greenhouses is torn, like huge white flags wailing in the wind.

Endless grid-like farmland stretches into the distance, and neat, uniform two- or three-story buildings line both sides of the road.

Gu Lang tightened his tactical vest, put on his mask, picked up his air rifle, and slipped into the shadows of the roadside trees.

The wind carried faint sounds of gunfire and explosions from afar, making it impossible to tell whether it was the military and police clearing out the rioters or vice versa.

In addition to the salty smell of the sea breeze, there was also a faint, rotten odor in the air.

Passing through state-owned farms, family farms, and ecological farms, the irrigation ditches were filled with corpses.

The former farmland was burned black, and some even had bomb craters.

Upon entering a village, makeshift fortifications can be seen everywhere.

After climbing over the barricades, through the broken windows, you could see splattered bloodstains on the walls.

As they went deeper, some text appeared on the large GG sign by the roadside.

"Violence is virtue, and devouring is sublimation."

"We are not monsters, we are the world's cleaners!"

"The era of the old humans has ended; welcome to the new era!"

These slogans were written in charcoal ash or blood.

Gu Lang only saw two words between the crooked and twisted characters: "cannibalism".

Realizing he might have stumbled into the brutes' lair, he quickly turned back the way he came.