Wasteland Survivalist: A Scientific Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Survival

Gu Lang sighed, put the bottle back in its original position, and pressed down the surrounding soil firmly.

He straightened up and saw that Zhao Xun had already found the location of his family.

Zhao Xun knelt on the ground, wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, and solemnly kowtowed three times to the four bottles.

Then he stood up and took the entrenching tool from beside his backpack.

He didn't ask Gu Lang for help, and Gu Lang didn't go over on his own initiative.

Some things are destined to be redeemed by only one person.

The sound of the entrenching tool cutting into the ground is rhythmic: it goes in, pries up, dumps the soil, and then goes in again.

Gu Lang leaned against a pillar at the entrance of the exhibition hall, listening to the monotonous and repetitive sound, his gaze sweeping across the entire white ground.

The rows of mineral water bottles seemed to be silently watching the two of them.

The song unconsciously began to play in his mind.

"Living in experience until the edifice collapses..."

After playing the song in his head for a while, Gu Lang suddenly remembered something.

He returned to the Lynx assault vehicle and retrieved the body bag from the storage compartment.

These bags were obtained from the basement of that abandoned health clinic in Changchun.

I've been following him around as a waterproof bag all this time, and only now am I doing my job properly for the first time.

The number was exactly four, not one less, which gave Gu Lang a sense of destiny.

He gently placed the body bag next to Zhao Xun, who nodded gratefully.

About an hour later, the digging stopped.

Zhao Xun put on protective clothing, collected the remains from the pit, and put them in a body bag.

He moved slowly, pausing for a moment after each piece was placed in, as if checking something.

He also took the mineral water bottle, which served as a unique tombstone, with him.

As the last body bag was zipped up, the two prepared to leave.

Zhao Xun had just stood up when he saw something suddenly fly past him.

Several butterflies, as if they were the embodiment of the victims, fluttered in the air above the burial site for a long time.

Zhao Xun looked up at the butterflies, his gaze shifting from calm to dazed, and then from dazed to moist.

"Dad! Mom! Tingting! Shihan, is that you? I've come to take you home."

Zhao Xun put down the body bag, raised his hands, and stumbled after the butterfly in the direction it had flown.

He tried to catch those light wings, but his fingertips missed by just a few centimeters each time.

The butterfly always flits away just before we touch it, flying to a higher place.

He chased after the butterflies, which fluttered above the cemetery, as if waiting for him, or perhaps hiding from him.

The previously silent and suppressed sobs could no longer be contained and turned into loud wailing.

Wandering through the empty mountain park, my thoughts were scattered into fragments by the sea breeze.

Gu Lang turned around and walked silently to the entrance of the mountain park.

I jumped onto the Lynx assault vehicle and aimed the heavy machine gun at the road outside.

There's only one way in and one way out, and the field of vision is wide enough to cover all possible approaching directions.

Crying could attract danger, so he needed to remain vigilant and ensure safety.

The sea breeze blew up from the mountainside, carrying a salty, fishy smell, which made Gu Lang's thoughts drift away.

He knew that butterflies would land on corpses, and therefore were often mistaken for the souls of the deceased.

The legend of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai turning into butterflies has been passed down since ancient times, embodying people's beautiful fantasies.

But as a pure materialist, Gu Lang did not believe in such romantic notions.

He knew very well that butterflies are carrion eaters. Although they usually feed on nectar, they also need to find other food after the flowers wither.

The corpses and decaying flesh are rich in nutrients such as high protein and inorganic salts, which are a good supplement for butterflies.

Butterflies have a very keen sense of smell and are attracted by the smell of decaying flesh, landing on the corpse in search of nutrients.

There are many victims buried in this area, so it's perfectly normal for butterflies to appear.

It's not that the deceased have transformed into butterflies to bid farewell to their loved ones; they are just lepidopteran insects searching for food.

Like the hair and nails in those bottles, they are all matter, operating under the control of natural laws.

Matter is indestructible; it is merely pulverized.

Life is only once, and the atoms that make up the human body temporarily aggregate into a specific form during the time a person is alive.

Then, when the time came, everyone went their separate ways.

Some are broken down by bacteria and turned into carbon dioxide that floats into the sky; some are absorbed by plant roots and grow into leaves; and some sink into groundwater and flow into the ocean.

These atoms will eventually form something else—a blade of grass, a fish, or even another person.

But that has nothing to do with the original person anymore.

Death is the only common end point for all life; this is the greatest misfortune, but also the greatest justice.

Gu Lang has always felt that this understanding is simple and clear, requiring no embellishment or beautification.

But he never felt that others had to think the same way he did.

What he hates most is people who like to preach and forcefully instill their worldview.

I especially dislike those who treat their own ideas as universal truths, such as those highly exclusive religions.

There are very few things in a person's life that they can completely decide on their own.

How one views life and death is probably one of the few truly private matters.

Whether you believe in reincarnation, the soul, or materialism, it's your personal freedom to do whatever you want, and it's nobody else's business.

When Gu Lang first started his life as a homeless man, he was once abducted into a pyramid scheme.

After discovering that he could freeload food, drinks, and women, he pretended to be a fanatical believer for a period of time.

Because of her young age and good acting skills, she even worked as a follower for a pyramid scheme leader before she escaped.

This leader made some very memorable remarks in an internal speech.

He said, "We should not give up 'missioning' to some people just because they are highly intelligent, highly educated, of high social class, or reject us."

Everyone has vulnerable moments, and no one's life is always smooth sailing. Just because he is immune to our communication now doesn't mean he will be immune forever.

When he encounters a major setback, when he is at his most vulnerable, that is when we take him down.

The hardest thing in the world is putting your ideas into someone else's head, and that's what we're doing.

It's difficult, but the rewards are enormous if you succeed.

After learning the essence of brainwashing experts' methods, he never exposed his vulnerability in front of others again.

Later, after witnessing a pyramid scheme leader being stabbed in the neck by a victim who was emotionally distraught, he also developed the habit of immediately distancing himself from others when they were vulnerable.

The crying on the mountain gradually stopped, replaced by the rustling of the wind blowing through the withered grass.

About ten minutes later, I heard footsteps behind me.

Zhao Xun carried four body bags on his shoulder, his eyes red as if they had been rubbed raw by something.

He placed the body bags one by one on the back seat of the assault vehicle and secured them with seat belts.

After doing all this, Zhao Xun walked around to the passenger seat, opened the door, and got in, saying only two words: "Thank you."

Gu Lang silently started the car, the roar of the engine breaking the silence of the mountain park.

The last few butterflies that were still hovering in mid-air were startled and scattered.