Wasteland Survivalist: A Scientific Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Survival

Just as Gu Lang was preparing to return to the oil tanker alone, Jiang Peng proposed a cooperation plan.

"I will bring people back to the lighthouse three days from now."

"What do you mean? Are you planning to go back to refining oil on the tanker?"

"Yes, if possible, could you please continue to protect us around the tanker?"

We can supply you with the refined diesel oil until you are satisfied.

Upon hearing this, Gu Lang realized that the other party intended to obtain a large amount of energy through this oil tanker.

"So, you have channels for international transactions?"

Jiang Peng did not give a direct answer, but instead gave a knowing look.

Therefore, Gu Lang agreed to the other party's proposal without hesitation.

Anyway, the tanker isn't his, so he can't just drive it away.

With so much crude oil, he couldn't possibly refine it all on his own.

One person's strength is extremely limited. Rather than starving to death while guarding a gold mine, it's better to let others dig for it and take only what you need.

Consumables like fuel are considered hard currency in the apocalypse.

You can trade with other survivors for a lot of supplies, such as food, medicine, weapons, ammunition, equipment and information.

The crude oil on tankers is virtually unlimited; as long as there is manpower to continuously extract and refine oil, this supply chain can continue to operate.

However, there were some things he didn't say aloud.

This gold mine is not so easy to defend; the oil tanker is anchored on the sea and is enormous.

The location where it ran aground is not a secluded corner; anyone passing through this area could easily spot it.

Burning crude oil for refining inevitably produces black smoke.

He was eager to finish the first day of oil refining, but he also considered waiting for the fumes to dissipate.

Jiang Peng's plan to refine oil on a large scale and profit from this oil tanker in the long term carries enormous risks.

However, these are not things that Gu Lang needs to worry about; talking about them too much would only make him seem petty.

It can easily cause misunderstandings, as if you're afraid someone is taking advantage of you.

In any case, during the time the speedboat was stationary, ordinary armed groups at sea would not be able to defeat a 30mm rapid-fire cannon.

In the worst-case scenario, if regular troops arrive, then we should simply "make a run for it."

In the end, Gu Lang only gave the other party one practical suggestion: prepare more empty oil drums.

It can be modified to be used as an oil refining device, or it can be used to load refined oil products.

After agreeing on a three-day deadline, Jiang Peng and his family boarded a small boat and headed towards the coast.

Gu Lang didn't watch them leave; he drove off in the opposite direction.

We stopped at a remote, uninhabited island and anchored in a sheltered spot.

For most of the next period of time, Gu Lang slept, catching up on all the sleep he had missed due to his previous non-stop work.

Three days later at 7 a.m., Gu Lang sailed back to the lighthouse on time.

There were already six people standing on the dock—Jiang Peng and his father Jiang Yong, as well as four men I had never seen before.

The small wooden boat that used to be moored by the dock is gone, replaced by an iron-hulled fishing boat.

There were a large number of empty oil drums piled on the deck of the fishing boat, no less than sixty or seventy.

Gu Lang had to admire Jiang Peng's execution ability; the fact that he had gathered so many oil barrels in such a short time showed that he indeed had a team with strong organizational skills behind him.

Despite the sharp decline in population during the apocalypse, as long as the survivors are willing to organize, the efficiency of resource mobilization will far exceed that of a lone wolf.

Jiang Peng stood on the dock and gave a brief introduction to both sides; the four newcomers were all his relatives.

The specifics of their relationship were not elaborated upon; it was only emphasized that they could be absolutely trusted.

Next, the six of them were responsible for the specific oil refining work on the tanker, and Gu Lang did not need to lift a finger throughout the process.

Gu Lang only needed to patrol and keep watch around the oil tanker in his speedboat, eliminating any threats that tried to approach it.

Gu Lang noticed that Jiang Peng was carrying a homemade gun, which looked quite old.

The four new men, who were unarmed, all turned their attention to the bow of the 022 submarine.

The six-barreled 30mm close-in weapon system reflected a dark metallic luster under the light.

When Gu Lang assured them that he would guarantee everyone's safety, the four of them smiled with relief.

Gu Lang handed Jiang Peng a walkie-talkie and tuned it to the same channel for easy communication between the two.

The transmission power of ordinary civilian walkie-talkies is less than 0.5 watts, and the effective communication distance is at most one or two kilometers.

Compared to shortwave radios, which are easy to expose, it is relatively safe.

After explaining some safety precautions and communication codes, Gu Lang returned to the cockpit and started the thrusters.

The speedboat and fishing boat sailed away from the lighthouse one after the other and returned to the stranded oil tanker at 8 a.m.

Gu Lang anchored the speedboat one kilometer south of the oil tanker.

It can cover the surrounding waters of the oil tanker within the visual range without being obstructed by the huge oil tanker.

He did not activate the ship's search radar, as the radar signal was too easily monitored by passive receiving equipment.

It's like shouting "I'm here" in the dark with a flashlight; there's a chance it will attract anti-radiation missiles.

He only activated the photoelectric fire control equipment, using optical lenses and infrared thermal imagers to aim at the sea surface surrounding the tanker.

It monitors abnormal targets and heat sources in real time and enables automatic alarm functions.

Then he launched the drone, which flew in a circle around the oil tanker, with a radius of five kilometers.

Just like on the first day, there were no other ships on the sea, only various kinds of garbage floating around.

"Calling the two oil giants, this is Hua Gaiwei, no price increase, over."

"Two barrels of oil received, all done."

After confirming that the surrounding area was safe, Gu Lang put down the walkie-talkie, climbed down to the base of the mast, and used binoculars to observe the situation on the other side of the oil tanker.

The fishing boat was already moored below the port side of the oil tanker, in the same spot where he and Jiang Peng boarded the ship last time.

The empty oil drums on the deck of the fishing boat were being hoisted up one by one.

The gantry originally used for maintenance on the side of the tanker was modified and used as a crane.

Gu Lang and Jiang Peng agreed to maintain regular communication even if they didn't encounter any danger.

So the two of them would contact each other via walkie-talkie every hour.

At 10 a.m., Jiang Peng reported that he had completed the assembly of the improved oil refining equipment.

He has made thorough preparations over the past few days.

When I left the tanker last time, I specifically took the sampler with me and modified two new oil sampling containers according to the size of the sampler.

The original stainless steel sampling cage was disassembled, and two longer cylinders were re-rolled from thin steel plates.

The bottom oil inlet valve retains its original design, and the length of the cylinder has been extended to more than three times its original length.

The amount of oil dispensed at one time has increased from less than 2 liters to 6 liters.

The original stainless steel soup pots were also phased out, and 200-liter metal oil drums were used directly as distillation vessels.

The previous six oil drums were all old drums.

It was severely damaged and deformed, with rust stains all over its surface.

For safety reasons, Gulang only uses them as containers.

This time, Jiang Peng and his team brought only new barrels, the paint on the barrel walls still glossy, so their safety was naturally incomparable to what they used to be.

The condensation equipment has also been fully upgraded, and the copper pipes in the refrigerator have been replaced with galvanized steel pipes that run directly across the iron drum filled with seawater.

After upgrading their equipment, the oil refining efficiency increased fivefold.