Wasteland Survivalist: A Scientific Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Survival

"There's hope!" Gu Lang exclaimed excitedly upon seeing this.

Zhao Xun examined the fuel gauge more closely: "The diesel fuel is full! It seems that before we could even test and deliver the modified vehicle, a nuclear war broke out."

The two looked at each other and saw the ecstasy in each other's eyes.

"Do you know how to drive this thing?" Gu Lang asked.

"There are several ships of the same model in the safe zone. Before coming here, I learned how to operate them from the brothers in the navy."

Zhao Xun plopped down in the driver's seat and began pulling the control lever.

Gu Lang stood aside, carefully observing the other party's operating procedures.

After a brief silence, the deep rumble of the main unit gradually rose and stabilized.

With the boat in forward gear, the humming sound of the water jets spinning idly came from below the stern.

"Success!" Gu Lang was overjoyed.

After testing the steering function, Zhao Xun concluded that everything was working properly.

After the initial surprise, it was time to get into the water; the two quickly climbed off the boat.

Zhao Xun found a special lubricating grease container by the slipway. Although it was somewhat solidified, it was still usable.

They painstakingly scooped out the little grease left and spread it evenly on the slide.

"I'll steer the speedboat to shore!"

As soon as preparations were completed, Gu Lang was the first to climb onto the speedboat.

Zhao Xun had no choice but to stay below, find the mechanical brakes that served as anti-slip devices, and loosen them one by one.

"Ready!" Zhao Xun shouted from below, deactivating the last safety lock.

At first, the boat only moved slightly.

Immediately following, under the influence of its own weight and the inclined plane force, the speedboat, with a displacement of over two hundred tons, began to move slowly along the grease-coated slide, gradually increasing its speed.

The stern plunged into the water first, creating a large splash, and then the entire boat floated up lightly, swayed a few times on the surface of the water, and came to a steady stop.

Due to inertia, the speedboat is still drifting back into deeper water.

Gu Lang was in the wheelhouse and could see Zhao Xun running on the dock through the porthole.

For a fleeting moment, a thought flashed through his mind—if he steered the speedboat away right now...

But the next second, he suppressed that thought.

He had only learned a little bit about it; there were still many technical details about the speedboat that he needed to ask Zhao Xun for advice on.

Gu Lang pushed the throttle lever, and the water jet propulsion emitted an even louder hum, spraying a powerful jet of water from its tail.

The speedboat turned nimbly, tracing an arc, and came to a steady stop at the dock.

Zhao Xun circled back from the other end, jumped onto the dock, and watched Gu Lang walk out of the cockpit.

Both of them breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at each other.

"Okay, you didn't run away by yourself," Zhao Xun said half-jokingly.

"How can you be so heartless towards your comrades?" Gu Lang laughed, tossing the rope onto the shore. "What's next?"

Zhao Xun secured the cable to the mooring bollard and then pointed to the distance.

"The gyroplane is still usable; it's a shame to throw it away."

Gu Lang glanced back at the flight platform and understood what he meant.

The flight deck's load-bearing capacity and dimensions are designed for the take-off and landing of military drones.

It's not a problem to park a small gyroplane.

"Then we'll have to go find some gasoline."

The two searched the tool sheds and warehouses near the dock and found only a few empty portable oil drums and plastic hoses.

Unable to find gasoline inside the shipyard, they left the relatively enclosed area and made their way towards the surrounding streets.

Outside the factory area is a residential area, and many dusty vehicles are parked on the roadside, including some that look expensive.

Gu Lang specifically targets expensive cars, especially luxury brands with turbocharged engines of 2.0T or higher, or high-performance civilian vehicles.

These vehicles generally require 95-octane or higher gasoline due to their high-speed and high-load operating conditions.

He also skipped some of the newer cars and tried to choose older cars that were a few years old.

This is because many new cars have strengthened their anti-theft measures, such as installing mechanical locks, anti-theft grilles, and one-way valves.

The most common method is to install a mesh steel wire interception layer between the filler neck and the inner cavity of the fuel tank, which prevents the fuel suction pipe from reaching the bottom of the fuel tank to extract fuel.

Zhao Xun, with his sharp eyes, spotted a small truck named "Fifty Light" parked in a nearby alley.

The driver's side window was not closed properly, and the key was still in the ignition switch.

After successfully starting the engine, the two drove around the streets searching for a suitable spot to collect oil.

Although finding the car was slow, getting the fuel went relatively smoothly.

Gu Lang and Zhao Xun worked in perfect harmony, prying open the fuel tank cap, inserting a hose, and sucking out the pilot oil with their mouths.

Then, using the siphon effect, the oil was poured into the drums, successfully filling both hand-held oil drums.

Just as Gu Lang was working on an older Mercedes-Benz, trying to pry open its fuel tank cap.

"Beep beep! Beep beep! Beep beep—!" A sharp, piercing car alarm suddenly rang out across the silent street.

"Damn it!" they both cursed at the same time.

Gu Lang abruptly put away his tools, and Zhao Xun quickly covered the oil drum that wasn't full yet.

The piercing alarm echoed through the empty streets, sounding particularly alarming.

"Get in!" Gu Lang took off running and rushed over to open the door of the small truck.

Zhao Xun followed closely behind, threw the oil drum into the back of the truck, and climbed up himself.

Gu Lang turned the key, shifted gears, and stepped on the gas, and the 50 Light shot off.

Looking in the rearview mirror, he was horrified to see more and more figures appearing in the distance.

Inhuman roars began to converge, surging in from all directions like a tide.

"Damn it, another zombie horde! Hold on tight!" Gu Lang yelled at Zhao Xun behind him.

The small truck began to bump and speed along the streets piled with debris, smashing through the clutter and trash cans blocking its way.

Behind them, the "black dot" grew larger and closer; it was a terrifying torrent of rages drawn by the noise.

Gu Lang pushed his driving skills to the limit, weaving and twisting until he finally made it back to the shipyard entrance, speeding toward the open space where the gyroplane had made its emergency landing.

Behind them, the vanguard of the berserkers was about to surge into the factory gates.

"Go set sail! Wait for me at sea!"

As soon as the truck came to a stop, Zhao Xun grabbed a can of gasoline, jumped out, and rushed toward the plane.

See you at sea! Don't die!

Gu Lang roared and, without the slightest hesitation, turned around and returned to the gate.

They then kept honking their horns, leading the rioters to another road within the factory area.

After turning at the last intersection, I floored the accelerator and sped back to the dock.

He trusted Zhao Xun to handle it; now he had to make sure the speedboat was ready to provide backup.

Zhao Xun refueled the rotorcraft's fuel tanks as quickly as possible, glancing around frequently.

The gasoline in the oil drum was slowly flowing into the tank, a frustratingly slow process, but thankfully no berserkers were rushing towards him.

Gu Langchong returned to the dock, jumped off the truck, untied the mooring rope, jumped onto the speedboat, and started the engine.

The water jet propulsion roared again, and the speedboat nimbly steered away from the dock.

He looked back towards the shipyard, his palms sweaty.

At this moment, the Berserker had already rushed onto the dock and angrily pushed the Fifty Lights mini-truck into the sea.

He took a breath and steered the speedboat away from the coast, into the open sea.