Wasteland Survivalist: A Scientific Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Survival

On the third day after the cabin was built, the weather on the island suddenly changed.

Dark gray clouds pressed down, and the damp, cold sea breeze carried a strong, salty smell, foreshadowing an impending downpour.

Gu Lang was glad that he had planned ahead and completed the construction of the shelter.

When the large raindrops began to fall, he was already safely inside the "plastic greenhouse".

The rain quickly intensified, pounding against the layers of PE film and producing a dense, muffled sound.

Under the light of the headlamp, you can see fine water droplets condensing on the transparent membrane.

They continuously converge and elongate, eventually meandering down and forming streams in the drainage ditches that had already been dug below.

The interior of the plastic house is more spacious than it appears from the outside.

All the supplies salvaged from the yacht have been moved in.

Dozens of storage boxes were neatly stacked on a waterproof tarpaulin, and items susceptible to moisture were placed on top of diesel drums to protect them from ground moisture.

Gu Lang lay on a simple hammock made of bamboo poles, his body swaying slightly with the hammock.

The tension, labor, fighting, and the blow of losing the yacht over several days amplified the physical exhaustion.

He felt a dull pain deep in his throat, and swallowing his saliva felt like sandpaper was rubbing against it.

"Cough cough..." He couldn't help but cough a few times.

He propped himself up, pushed open the door, and spat a glob of phlegm outside.

He went back inside and took the aluminum cup that had been kept warm on the portable wood-burning stove.

They added a few more dry branches to the firebox and watched as the flames brightened again.

Gu Lang opened his medical kit, took out a strip of pills, and popped off one levofloxacin pill.

He swallowed it with a frown, using warm water as a guide.

The lack of sleep in the past few days, coupled with the unavoidable decline in hygiene, has weakened his immune system.

The common cold is usually caused by a virus, and most cold medicines on the market can only relieve symptoms such as nasal congestion, runny nose, and fever.

It only makes people feel better; ultimately, you still have to rely on your own immune system to overcome it.

You need to rest more, drink more water, and take your time to recover.

But this time it was different. The initial symptom was not clear nasal discharge, but it quickly became thick and yellowish-green.

After discovering he had a fever, Gu Lang used a mirror to examine his tonsils.

There was obvious redness and pus, all signs pointing to a secondary bacterial infection.

It is very likely that a virus attacks first, followed by invasion of common bacteria such as streptococci and pneumococci, causing more serious inflammation.

In the wilderness, where modern medical facilities are lacking, if an infection cannot be controlled, it may develop into pneumonia, otitis media, or even more serious systemic infections.

In this situation, one cannot simply tough it out; broad-spectrum antibiotics must be taken to control the condition.

After taking the medicine, he drank the remaining water in the cup, added some clean water, and put it back by the stove to keep it warm.

He then quickly crawled back into his sleeping bag and wrapped himself up tightly.

My body is burning up, my muscles are aching, and I'm getting headaches.

He forced himself to close his eyes, listening to the pattering rain outside, trying to calm his breathing.

Right now, rest is the best treatment.

The rain stopped before dawn, and the clear chirping of birds could be heard outside the shed.

When Gu Lang woke up, he felt the heaviness lessen somewhat.

He took out a thermometer and put it under his armpit.

The mercury level reached 37.8, and the fever finally subsided to the low-grade fever range.

My headache has also been relieved by more than half; it's no longer that throbbing, splitting pain.

My throat was still swollen and sore, and my muscles were still weak and sore all over, as if I had been crushed by a heavy object.

This is a sign of improvement, but the body remains weak.

Gu Lang carefully got up, washed his face with the stored fresh water, and cleaned his hands and mouth with particular care.

He now deeply regrets one thing.

That is, after visiting those centuries-old neighbors next door, they did not immediately and thoroughly clean and disinfect themselves.

After washing up, Gu Lang unplugged the fully charged individual communication terminal from the outdoor power bank.

After the noise subsided, intermittent conversations resumed.

"...Tank area No. 3 has been cleaned up, and no active targets were found. Repeat, area No. 3 has been purified."

"Received. Team Four, advance northeast. Be aware of areas with complex factory structures; there may be remnants."

"Drone reconnaissance indicates a large accumulation of heat sources in the residential area; requesting heavy artillery guidance..."

"Permission granted to use thermobaric warheads for suppression. Care must be taken to control the blast radius to avoid detonating storage tanks within the plant area."

"Patrol units outside the security zone reported that another unidentified vessel attempted to approach the warning line, and it has been sunk according to the contingency plan."

The sound was noisy, mixed with electrical interference, but it contained a huge amount of information.

Gu Lang held his breath and focused intently, trying to piece together the fragments of information.

The military is still engaged in a fierce battle for control of the island, using "acute heavy metal poisoning" to purge the rabids from the island.

After listening for more than an hour, Gu Lang confirmed his previous suspicions from the conversation.

For example, the so-called safe zone is probably located in the Shensi Islands, Qushan Island, and Dongji Island, which are all remote, isolated islands without bridges.

After the outbreak of war, the local area promptly cut off external transportation and was therefore spared from the spread of the rampant virus.

Further south are Jiushan Island and Dacheng Island, which are in the same situation.

The blockade at sea remains tight, and the measures taken are extremely severe.

There were no warnings, only "thermochemical" treatment.

This also temporarily ended his idea of ​​leaving the island and heading south.

Although the Lynx assault vehicle has amphibious capabilities, it has extremely poor seaworthiness in open waters.

It is slow, has poor resistance to wind and waves, and is an obvious target.

Attempting to cross the sea under the noses of a military with drone reconnaissance and naval patrols is tantamount to suicide.

Gu Lang turned off the communicator. The cold sweat from the fever brought a chill, so he wrapped his coat tighter around himself.

The situation is clear: Xizhai Island will be his relatively safe haven in the short term.

The military will focus its main efforts on recapturing resource islands and consolidating core security zones.

This remote, uninhabited island, lacking infrastructure and with no resource value, should receive very little attention.

As long as you don't actively expose yourself, the risk of being discovered is very low, but you need to be prepared for a long stay.

This means that survival strategies need to shift from "emergency refuge" to "sustainable presence".

After lying back down in the hammock, Gu Lang picked up his phone and watched "Robinson Crusoe" for a while.

This book can be considered his childhood enlightenment work on survivalism, but I never expected it to become a reference book now.

Three more days passed, and the cold symptoms subsided further.

Gu Lang got up early and cooked a bowl of noodles.

During this period of recuperation, he stopped consuming seafood and only ate easily digestible, light foods.

Even though the body is still recovering, the brain must start working at high speed.

With limited resources at hand, if we don't find a way to make progress, we'll eventually run out of money.

"There are still many unexplored areas on the island, and we must continue to search for resources."

He took out his notebook and made a table.