Wasteland Survivalist: A Scientific Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Survival

Gunshots and shouts echoed throughout the factory area, indicating that the army of berserkers was closing in.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and a flashlight beam shone in, followed by several stun grenades exploding in the visitor corridor.

"They're here!" Gu Lang and Li Zheng gripped their rifles and oxygen tanks tightly.

The berserkers who rushed in initially let out bloodthirsty roars.

But as they ventured deeper into this death tunnel filled with high-purity nitrogen, the situation rapidly changed.

Exercise exacerbates the process of oxygen deficiency. With each additional step, the proportion of nitrogen inhaled into the lungs increases, while the oxygen content decreases rapidly.

The increased nitrogen concentration creates an oxygen osmotic pressure difference within the alveoli, which quickly displaces a large amount of oxygen from the blood.

In just a few dozen seconds, or even a dozen seconds, their consciousness was silently stripped away.

The first group of berserkers who rushed in lost their footing after running a short distance.

Due to the unique structure of the "8"-shaped corridor with multiple corners, coupled with the cover of darkness.

The berserkers who followed could not see their fallen comrades immediately.

They rushed into the corridor one after another, their movements gradually slowing down.

Then, like felled wheat, he silently collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness.

There were no screams, no fierce struggle, only a series of dull thuds as bodies fell to the ground.

This quiet situation greatly confused the berserkers behind them.

Some of the more vigilant rioters changed direction and rushed into the visitor corridor from the other end of the exit, but they still fell victim to the attack.

About 35 minutes later, the footsteps outside stopped, and the corridor fell silent.

All that could be heard were the suppressed breathing of Gu Lang and Li Zheng.

Gu Lang took a deep breath from the oxygen tank and cautiously poked his head out.

The scattered flashlights on the ground illuminated the area.

As far as the eye could see, people lay sprawled out, stretching all the way to the corner in the distance.

Judging from their clothing, the personnel were extremely diverse, including those in military uniforms, white coats, and work clothes.

He roughly estimated that at least several dozen berserkers had died in the corridor, and none of them made any difference in the face of nitrogen asphyxiation.

Air naturally contains 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and the remaining 1% is composed of other gases.

Nitrogen gas is not irritating and its presence cannot be detected by the human body.

At the same time, people cannot directly perceive the oxygen concentration in their bodies; the feeling of suffocation only comes from the carbon dioxide receptors in the body.

Inhaling large amounts of nitrogen gas without knowing it will not cause any discomfort, and the victim will be completely unaware that danger has befallen them.

In the initial 15 to 30 seconds, the oxygen content in the blood begins to drop rapidly.

The brain is most sensitive to oxygen deficiency, and the body may trigger some instinctive reactions, such as feeling dizzy, weak, chest tightness, and even a slight euphoria.

At this stage, a person's logical thinking ability and judgment begin to be impaired.

Unable to recognize the danger they are in, they miss their last chance to escape.

During the middle phase, from 30 to 60 seconds, the brain experiences severe oxygen deprivation.

A person can suddenly faint and lose consciousness without any warning.

The process is so fast that the person involved doesn't even have time to react or call for help.

In the final two to four minutes, the heart rate accelerates due to lack of oxygen, then becomes erratic, and eventually stops.

If the person cannot be rescued within 5 minutes and given CPR and oxygen, they will die from brain death and cardiac arrest.

This is what makes nitrogen, this silent killer, so terrifying.

Other toxic gases at least cause discomfort symptoms, but nitrogen asphyxiation has absolutely no warning signs.

Humans' senses of sight, smell, and touch, which they rely on to judge their environment, have all become ineffective.

Because it happened so suddenly, it was difficult for people outside to notice in time.

Without self-contained breathing apparatus, any companions who rashly enter to attempt a rescue will meet the same fate, let alone the berserkers.

But all of this has one prerequisite: it cannot be known in advance.

As far as Gu Lang knows, the first attempt at nitrogen-based executions in the United States almost ended in failure.

Knowing that they were being executed, death row inmates deliberately held their breath out of fear of death, and thus endured the ordeal for a long time before finally dying.

Due to the intense feeling of suffocation, this person experienced extreme pain before death, and in the end, it was no different from drowning.

After confirming that all the berserkers were dead, Gu Lang turned back and gave Li Zheng an "OK" sign.

The trap has been set.

Using industrial common sense and tactical deception, the two carried out an invisible killing that could be described as an art.

Gu Lang pressed the oxygen tank mask and took another deep breath of compressed oxygen.

Finding that the injection pressure had dropped significantly, I held my breath and opened the second canister.

The portable oxygen tank has a capacity of 1.4 liters and an oxygen purity of 99.7%.

A pressure of 1 MPa is equal to 10 atmospheres, and the total amount of oxygen is about 14 liters.

At rest, an adult consumes approximately 0.25 liters of oxygen per minute.

Theoretically, this bottle can support Gulang for 56 minutes. After deducting the portion that was not fully absorbed and the extra energy consumed due to nervousness, it is actually enough for more than 30 minutes of use.

Because Li Zheng didn't control his breathing rhythm well, he had already used up the first can 5 minutes ago.

Feeling that it was about time, Gu Lang pointed towards the exit of the corridor, signaling Li Zheng to go out and investigate together.

Li Zheng took the initiative to step forward and set up the firing line, while Gu Lang followed behind to provide pre-aiming cover.

Lying on the ground were the last of the berserkers to enter the trap, lying there in an almost peaceful posture.

Their poses were varied, as if a carnival party had been paused.

The ferocious expression was frozen on his face, yet strangely mixed with a sense of calm.

Under the blinding beam of the flashlight, bright red lividity could be seen on some of the corpses.

In cases of extreme oxygen deficiency, hemoglobin is converted into reduced hemoglobin after the oxygen in the blood is rapidly depleted.

It then further transforms into bright red carboxyhemoglobin, making the livor mortis an unusually bright red color.

Upon reaching the front, a tall, berserker lay on the threshold, still in the position he had just died.

His feet were stuck in the airtight door, and his right hand was stretched forward, leaving him less than a meter away from the fresh air outside the fire door.

Gu Lang recognized the man as the leader of the Berserker army from the conspicuous cloak.

He kicked the man's arm; the joint was already showing signs of mild rigor mortis.

But just in case, he kicked the leader back into the corridor.

After closing the airtight door, Gu Lang took out a flame signal transmitter from his bag, unscrewed the cap, and gripped the bottom ring.

Li Zheng nodded, then gently opened the fire door, revealing a crack.

Then a conspicuous red signal flare was launched and landed on the ground outside the factory.

After closing the door again, the two returned to the hallway.