Wasteland Survivalist: A Scientific Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Survival

At 11 a.m., Gu Lang flew the drone around again.

The sea was still empty, with only billowing black smoke visible from the tanker's deck.

The winds at sea have weakened today, which has slowed the spread of the smoke and dust.

With the expansion of the oil refining scale, a column of smoke almost formed above the oil tanker.

From a distance, it looks like smoke rising from the sea, making it very conspicuous.

So he immediately picked up the walkie-talkie and contacted Jiang Peng.

"Calling the two oil giants, this is Hua Gaiwei. The pollution is too great, it'll attract environmental inspectors! Over."

"Received from both oil companies. Production will be suspended for rectification after this batch is completed. Over!"

After discussing it with his family, Jiang Peng decided to rest during the day and start refining oil at night.

They also surrounded the oil refinery with a fence and secured fire blankets to it.

It can both increase safety redundancy and block light.

Smoke and dust are relatively concealed at night, and the increased wind speed at night can accelerate their spread.

Gulang confirmed this after testing with a drone at a distance of five kilometers.

The smoke was quite visible in the thermal imaging camera footage.

When viewed up close from the air, the firelight appears very conspicuous on the sea surface.

It's much better than the plumes of smoke that can be seen from dozens of kilometers away during the day.

But there was no better way; it was impossible to completely conceal the crude oil refining process.

By daybreak the next day, the first batch of 4000 liters of diesel fuel had been shipped out.

Gu Lang drove the speedboat over, and with Jiang Peng's help, filled the tank with fuel.

"Are there any other boats around? Have we made too much noise?"

Jiang Peng asked, looking exhausted.

"Don't worry, the drone is keeping an eye on things all the time, there shouldn't be any problems in the short term."

But if this continues indefinitely, it's only a matter of time before it gets exposed.

"The military is still the best; they can still use drones even now."

Gu Lang was taken aback when he heard this.

"What about civilian drones? Your rescue team should have some too, right? Are they no longer flying?"

"For ordinary ginger drones, an account must be logged in once every ninety days to renew the application activation status."

If you do not log in within the specified time, the flight controller will determine that the activation has failed and automatically trigger the security restriction mode.

With a height limit of 30 meters and a distance limit of 50 meters, it's basically no different from scrap metal.

Jiang Peng sighed helplessly and continued to add.

"After a nuclear war breaks out, there will be no network, let alone running servers."

All brand-new aerial drones in stock cannot be activated because activation requires online real-name verification.

All activated machines will be forcibly grounded after the 90-day countdown ends.

Now, more than five months after the outbreak of nuclear war, there are only three possibilities for civilian drones that are still flying.

It's either an old drone from many years ago, whose flight control has already been hacked.

It's either an overseas version brought back from abroad, where foreigners don't need to connect to the internet regularly.

Alternatively, you could build your own racing drone with an open-source flight controller that doesn't rely on a manufacturer's server.

In recent years, after the implementation of new regulations on drones, the management of civilian drones has become unprecedentedly strict.

These three types of machines are rare in the private sector, and are now practically unavailable; among survivors, they are considered non-saleable.

Gu Lang glanced down at the screen-equipped remote control in his hand.

The screen was still lit, and the flight interface appeared normal.

The Matrice 4T aircraft, seized from the perpetrators, is a traffic control model procured by the government.

It should have been equipped with special legal permissions built in at the factory, and is not subject to the flight restrictions of ordinary civilian aircraft.

That's why it's been able to fly normally until now.

But just to be on the safe side, he quickly picked up the remote control.

I opened system settings and manually adjusted the system time.

The date was reverted to several months ago to ensure that the drone operation application would not become inactive over time.

As for the old Mavic 3 Pro that he got from the thugs, he wasn't worried at all.

The fact that it can easily exceed the 500-meter altitude limit indicates that the flight control program has already been cracked.

After Jiang Peng climbed back onto the tanker, Gu Lang checked the fuel gauge and found that the remaining diesel fuel had increased to 9800 liters.

This quantity is sufficient to cross the Qiongzhou Strait.

At this rate, waiting another day will not be a problem to detour around Hainan Island.

If you wait 7 days, you can even fill up the entire tank.

Of course, this is all on the premise that Jiang Peng and his family are physically able to withstand it.

Judging from the situation just now, Jiang Peng, who was in charge, was covered in oil and looked extremely disheveled.

Presumably, the other five "black slaves" are not in much better condition either.

The speedboat returned to its sentry position, and Gu Lang removed the drone's battery and inserted it into the charging dock.

It's almost dawn, and the laborers need to rest and sleep.

Although I don't have to do heavy physical labor, I also don't have time to rest. I have to be a "security guard" on duty 24 hours a day.

Another day passed, and the speedboat's fuel gauge read 13800 liters, with the mark now at two-fifths full.

Jiang Peng's sixty oil drums were all filled, yielding a total of 2000 liters of kerosene and 10000 liters of gasoline.

"Calling for a clearance sale. This is Sinopec and PetroChina. Inventory is full. Ready to clear out stock. Over."

"The price adjustment has been received, and this round of price adjustment cycle has been successfully completed. Over."

After the walkie-talkie call ended, Gu Lang stood below the mast and watched the fishing boat leave the oil tanker.

The fishing boat's waterline was much deeper than when it came, and it headed towards the coast.

Last night, while refueling the speedboat, Jiang Peng climbed down the rope ladder to the speedboat's flight deck and told him about the follow-up plans.

He hoped that Gu Lang could stay here and watch the oil tanker, and then meet again in the afternoon three days later to continue the oil refining business at sea.

Gu Lang calculated the time and agreed to the other party's proposal.

If all goes well, the speedboat will have more than 20000 liters of diesel fuel after just five more days of stay.

Whether we force our way through the Qiongzhou Strait or detour around Hainan Island, we have enough fuel in the tank to deal with any emergencies.

The extra diesel fuel is all survival redundancy, and redundancy in the apocalypse is equivalent to fault tolerance.

Before parting, he called out to Jiang Peng and handed him a black shoulder bag.

That was the storage bag for the Mavic 3 Pro drone; he had removed the self-destruct device that had been previously installed on the drone.

Besides the drone itself, the package also includes a remote control, a charger, and two spare batteries.

To ensure the safety of Jiang Peng and his group, he lent them the hacked drone.

A pair of Sky Eyes can significantly increase the chances of survival, something Gu Lang himself has experienced firsthand.

Jiang Peng was very excited when he received it, saying that Gu Lang would be his half-brother from now on.

Back in his secluded anchorage, Gulang resumed his carefree and comfortable life.

Every day consists of eating, sleeping, playing with equipment, and studying materials.

Every few hours, we would launch a drone to scout the surrounding waters, and three days passed quickly.

On November 17th, the appointed day arrived, and Gu Lang returned to the vicinity of the oil tanker at noon sharp.