Wasteland Survivalist: A Scientific Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Survival

The night was deep and all was quiet.

Two figures blended into the shadows of the trees, silently leaving the medical university and embarking once again on the perilous journey to the pharmaceutical city.

There were no wandering berserkers on the road, and no thermal imaging drones seemed to be visible in the sky.

The streets were eerily empty; yesterday's carnage and commotion seemed like nothing more than a nightmare.

Gu Lang and Li Zheng carefully moved between various buildings, trying to avoid being exposed to any open outdoor environment.

Based on the image data previously recorded by the Gulang drone, combined with the detailed military map in Li Zheng's hands.

The two men entered the production plant of a large pharmaceutical company with a clear objective.

Gu Lang led Li Zheng away from the factory's main gate.

They pried open an inconspicuous side door of a logistics channel and sneaked into the massive factory.

Passing through the semi-open loading and unloading workshop, flashlights illuminated the towering shelves and the stagnant conveyor belts.

"Why did you come here?" Li Zheng asked, turning around in confusion.

"Because there are nitrogen cylinders here." Gu Lang pointed to the parking lot outside the workshop.

Several medium-sized trucks were vaguely visible parked outside the loading and unloading platform.

Li Zheng walked slowly in the direction he pointed and saw rows of tall steel gas cylinders through the truck bed railing.

He walked quickly closer and, in the dim light, could clearly see the word "Nitrogen" written in white on the bottle.

"How come there's so much nitrogen here?"

"It's usually used to isolate oxygen, and it's probably originally meant to be poured into the equipment. It can prevent the raw materials from oxidizing and degrading during the production process, ensuring the purity and efficacy of the drug."

"How could you tell that the gas cylinder was filled with nitrogen when the drone was so far away?" Li Zheng's curiosity was piqued.

"Look at the color. According to the national standard for gas cylinder color markings, only nitrogen cylinders are painted with this black paint."

Gu Lang jumped into the car and skillfully checked the gas cylinder valves and pressure gauges.

"Look, there's a yellow ring painted around the neck of these gas cylinders, which means they contain high-purity nitrogen."

"Master, what do you do for a living?" Li Zheng couldn't help but ask softly.

"I guess I used to do live streaming and play with abstract concepts."

"Then how come you're so familiar with nitrogen?" Li Zheng patted one of the gas cylinders.

Gu Lang changed cars and continued the inspection, telling stories as he went.

"I used to work for an equipment installation company that mainly undertook outsourcing work for large monopolistic state-owned enterprises. My specific job was installing large oil-immersed power transformers."

"These transformers are too heavy to be transported with insulating oil. So, we usually evacuate the transformer body and then fill it with nitrogen to maintain positive pressure inside, preventing moisture and contaminants from entering."

"Once, the equipment was delivered to the site and ready for installation. A new colleague suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to do the inspection of a critical component. If the company found out about this mistake, he would be fined a lot of money."

"Then, in a moment of panic, he completely forgot about safety regulations, opened the manhole, and crawled inside..."

Gu Lang paused for a moment before continuing to reminisce about the past.

"I was organizing tools nearby when I caught a glimpse of his exposed feet out of the corner of my eye. I was terrified and quickly called my coworkers to rush over with me."

"It probably only took a few dozen seconds. By the time we pulled him out, he was completely limp and unconscious."

"Several of us worked together to carry him to a well-ventilated area and desperately performed CPR. Thankfully, we managed to save him in the end."

"Later, when he woke up, we asked him what happened. He said he didn't feel suffocated at all inside, but his mind went blank for a moment, and by the time he regained consciousness, he had already been carried outside."

Gu Lang jumped out of the car and looked at Li Zheng: "This is nitrogen asphyxiation. It has no taste, no color, and you'll lose consciousness due to rapid oxygen deprivation in your brain even before you feel any discomfort."

After listening, Li Zheng suddenly understood and realized Gu Lang's plan; his eyes were filled with excitement.

"I understand..." He took a deep breath. "You're going to use this batch of nitrogen to deal with those berserker armies."

"That's right," Gu Lang nodded, "These berserkers, in the end, are still human in terms of their physiological structure. They are carbon-based life forms, so they need oxygen."

Li Zheng had completely followed Gu Lang's line of thought: "As long as we find a suitable enclosed space, then release high-purity nitrogen to replace the original air, artificially creating an oxygen-deficient environment, and then lure the berserkers into it..."

"A silent massacre." Gu Lang grinned wickedly. "No explosions, no gunshots, only... silent death."

The two exchanged a glance, and without needing to say anything more, they had already reached a tacit understanding.

Next comes the step of putting the plan into practice.

They took the safety escape map off the wall and began looking for a suitable space.

"Nitrogen is slightly less dense than air, so when released, it will disperse into enclosed spaces. The amount of nitrogen is limited, so the ceiling height there cannot be too high."

How much nitrogen do we have?

"Those permanent gas cylinders outside are all 40 liters, 150 atmospheres, and when released to normal pressure, they are 6 cubic meters."

Gu Lang took out his phone and started calculating.

"I just counted, there are 120 cylinders in total, totaling 720 cubic meters. Assuming a floor height of 3 meters, it can fill an area of ​​240 square meters. If only the top 2 meters of space are filled, the area of ​​the trap zone can be expanded to 360 square meters."

"In that case, we should have quite a few locations to choose from," Li Zheng said happily.

"It's not that simple. The whole plan relies entirely on information asymmetry. Setting up a trap is not difficult in itself; the difficulty lies in how to prevent the enemy from noticing anything amiss and obediently walking into the trap."

"What's so difficult about that? Those berserkers will charge at anyone they see, howling. I'll be the bait and lure them into the room."

Li Zheng volunteered, patting his chest in confidence.

"Since the outbreak of the Berserk virus, I have encountered many special infected individuals, all of whom are extremely vigilant. We only have one chance; if we cannot eliminate most of the Berserkers in succession, the plan will backfire on us."

"Okay, whatever you say. So what kind of room do you want?"

"Nitrogen-induced hypoxia takes up to 15 seconds to take effect, and the greater the amount of exercise, the faster the loss of consciousness. Therefore, a long and narrow space like a train carriage is the best option."

"How's the factory's underground utility tunnel?"

"Do you think the enemy would willingly crawl into such a suspicious place and act like rats?" Gu Lang shook his head.

He directly retrieved a hand-operated hydraulic forklift from the loading and unloading area and directed Li Zheng to unload the heavy nitrogen cylinders from the truck.

The two of them worked together to move the gas cylinder to a corner of the factory.