Wasteland Survivalist: A Scientific Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Survival

After a hearty seafood meal, the hunger pangs subsided temporarily.

Gu Lang leaned against the rocks behind the camp, carefully feeling the feedback from his body.

My physical strength has recovered somewhat, but it's far from being at its peak.

My muscles are still sore and weak, and I can't concentrate.

"It's true, not having carbs is no good." Gu Lang got up and stretched his neck.

As a seasoned outdoor blogger, he naturally knows that relying solely on protein intake is an unsustainable survival strategy.

This is essentially an extremely monotonous diet, which may be enough to keep you alive in the short term.

However, in the long run, this will inevitably lead to serious health problems, and even chronic death.

Seafood contains almost no vitamin C. Long-term deficiency can lead to a sharp decline in immunity, slow wound healing, bleeding gums, and eventually scurvy.

In the wilderness, where medical care is scarce and the risk of injury and illness is extremely high, this can be fatal.

Furthermore, seafood contains no fiber, and long-term lack of fiber intake can lead to severe constipation, intestinal dysfunction, and gut microbiota imbalance.

It affects nutrient absorption and increases the burden on the body.

With its extremely low carbohydrate content, it is by no means a high-quality food for survivors who need to engage in a lot of physical activity.

Over-reliance on protein and fat for energy can lead to insufficient overall energy intake.

Symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, and ketosis may occur, affecting judgment and physical strength.

With this in mind, Gu Lang headed towards the supplies storage point.

Yesterday I was busy with the relocation and settling in, so I only did a rough sorting.

Now he needs to take a more systematic look and prepare for a long-term stay on the island.

The vegetables and potatoes that were previously grown on the yacht were not moved at the time and have now sunk to the bottom of the sea.

In the emergency, he only had time to salvage other essential supplies.

Various canned goods, compressed biscuits, and bear jerky are not only portable but can also be stored for a long time.

These were his most treasured supplies, which he kept as strategic reserves.

Various snacks, medicines, noodles, condiments, cooking oils, and vitamin tablets are all sealed in packaging, so there's no need to worry about storage issues for the time being.

The most worrying thing is that there are only a few opened bags of flour and sugar left.

In the damp and insect-infested environment of an island, it easily absorbs moisture, clumps together, becomes infested with insects, and even molds. It must be dealt with as soon as possible.

"It's not practical to eat them directly, and there's no way to preserve perishable noodles now."

It still needs to be transformed into a more stable and longer-lasting form.

The Chinese People's Volunteer Army's fried noodles? No, it's too damp here, and not portable enough.

After pondering for a few minutes, an idea popped into Gulang's head—cabin biscuits.

It has a more straightforward name—hardtack, which means hard biscuit.

This is an ultra-hard biscuit made from a mixture of flour, water, a small amount of salt and oil, which is repeatedly rolled, shaped, and baked at a low temperature for a long time until the moisture is almost completely removed.

The taste is bland and unremarkable, and the texture is so hard that it needs to be soaked before it can be chewed.

But its core advantage lies in the fact that it is almost never corrupted.

Capable of withstanding the humid environment of long-distance sea voyages, it was an important source of sustenance in the history of navigation.

"This is it!"

Gu Lang quickly began preparations, cleaning the stainless steel basin and entrenching tool.

The preparation method is also very simple; the main idea is to use whatever you have on hand.

He poured about 2 kilograms of flour, which had already been opened, into a basin, and added 30 grams of salt and 100 grams of white sugar.

Mix these dry materials roughly evenly, and dig a pit in the center of the powder pile.

Slowly pour in clean water, stirring with the handle of an entrenching tool as you pour.

The goal is to form a very stiff, dry dough, much stiffer than regular dough, almost impossible to knead.

Add water little by little, it's better to be a little too dry than too wet, because the purpose of baking later is to completely dehydrate the food.

By adding 50 ml of cooking oil to prevent sticking, he obtained a large, firm, slightly damp dough.

He covered it with a T-shirt and let it sit for about 20 minutes to allow the moisture to spread evenly.

Next came the shaping process. Gu Lang used a glass bottle he found as a rolling pin to roll it into a sheet about half a centimeter thick.

Then, like folding a blanket, fold the dough into thirds and roll it out flat.

During this process, dry flour is continuously sprinkled in, repeated up to six times, to simulate the industrial pressing, density increase, and air bubble removal process.

This makes the dough firmer, more layered, harder after baking, and less prone to absorbing moisture.

After rolling the dough into a uniform sheet 1 cm thick, cut it into 6 x 8 cm rectangles using an entrenching tool.

Then I shaved a thin stick and poked a dense array of small holes on the front of each cookie.

This step is crucial as it prevents the center from puffing up during baking and allows for thorough drying of the internal moisture.

Finally, it's time for baking and dehydration. To avoid burning, Gulang raised the earthen stove with stones.

Use the leftover charcoal from cooking seafood as a heat source to avoid direct contact between the stainless steel pot and the flame.

Baking at a low temperature for a long time, with frequent turning of the cookies, slowly forces out the internal moisture.

The small cubes in front of me gradually hardened and darkened in color.

It feels very hard to the touch and makes a crisp sound when tapped.

It took him most of the day to finally complete the first and second baking.

As night fell again, the campfire was filled with the lingering aroma of seafood, along with the subtle smoky fragrance of roasted noodles.

Gu Lang chewed on the first batch of experimental products. The taste was indeed monotonous, but the satisfaction derived from the carbohydrates quickly rose as he chewed.

Real shipboard biscuits should be as hard as a rock and require a hammer to break.

In theory, as long as moisture is properly prevented, it can be stored for a long time.

The freshly made cookies still have a high moisture content.

He planned to dry the food during the day and use the residual heat of the campfire at night to continue to drive away the moisture.

The second night on the island was also not pleasant.

The wind picked up during the night.

Gu Lang had to get up in the middle of the night to reinforce the ground stakes and windbreak ropes of the canopy, and various supplies were blown about.

After waking up in the morning, he, who hadn't slept well, finally made up his mind to build a decent house.

Upon arriving at the campfire, the semiconductor temperature difference heating system on the portable stove was still working.

He took his fully charged phone from the outdoor power source and opened a video titled "Making an Outdoor Hut with Plastic Sheet and Branches".

The author is still that Russian outdoor blogger, Yegorov.

After quickly reviewing the material, he took out the last roll of PE sealing film and began building the "plastic greenhouse".

The principle is basically the same as that of the kayaks made before; the only difference is the way the frame is built.

After he laid the waterproof tarpaulin on the ground, he inserted tree branches into the surrounding ground.

After bending it into an arched structure, secure it with transparent tape.

The eight arches are interlaced to form a sphere, and reinforced with three horizontal rings of tree branches from top to bottom.

Add two more circular frames at an angle using tree branches to increase stability and structural rigidity. Use a knife to carve a door frame shape into the frames.

At this point, the basic framework is complete.

Then Gu Lang wrapped the door frame with PE sealing film layer by layer and cut it open with a knife.

They then tied tree branches with ropes and used wooden sticks as supports to make a large gate, which was then sealed with sealing film.

Next, bend the nails into the shape of hinges with pliers and fix them to the door frame with wire.

Thus, the "plastic house" was perfectly completed.