Wasteland Survivalist: A Scientific Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Survival

Besides the victim's bloody footprints, other messy, fresh footprints could be seen around the area.

These are most likely traces left by attackers. Judging from the size and type of the shoe prints, there were at least five or more people involved.

The bloodstains fell closer and closer together, eventually pooling into a small puddle of dark brown liquid at the base of a large tree.

There were drag marks next to the tree roots, and a large area of ​​fallen leaves had been turned up, exposing the soil underneath.

The drag marks pointed deeper into the dense forest, but the vegetation obscured their final destination.

Gu Lang reached out to stop Bai Lang from continuing forward and shook his head.

"Drones cannot take off or land in the dense forest, the number of enemies is unknown, and chasing them would be suicide."

Bai Lang did not insist, and the two quickly retreated to the side of the road.

Back at the SUV, Bai Lang's expression was not good.

"I've seen these two bicycles before. They were ridden by the two people who came to the dock in the second batch to get vaccinated yesterday."

"So that means they went back to the mountains after getting vaccinated yesterday, and then they were ambushed here."

"Well, that's the only way to speculate."

"You look terrible..."

"If something happened to someone near your house, you wouldn't be able to stay calm either."

"Um, maybe so. By the way, how far is it from here to your house?" Gu Lang looked around.

"We still have to cross a few more mountains, it's probably less than ten kilometers away." Bai Lang pointed to the northwest.

"Get in the car." Gu Lang didn't say anything more and turned around to walk back to the Lynx assault vehicle.

Both cars restarted, and Bai Lang's speed decreased slightly compared to before.

After driving for nearly half an hour on the county road, we carefully avoided several landslide sections full of gravel and mud.

Then it turned onto a very secluded rural dirt road.

If Bai Lang hadn't slowed down and used his turn signal, Gu Lang would have almost never noticed this place.

At the entrance, the canopies of two large trees extend from both sides, forming a natural green archway above the dirt road entrance.

The area behind the archway was mostly obscured by weeds and bushes, and the tires of the Lynx assault vehicle kept crackling and snapping as they ran over the bushes.

Because it is a convertible, there are no side windows.

Thick weeds, taller than the car itself, stretched into the car's interior from both sides without any obstruction.

He kept slapping Gu Lang and He Ping's faces, making them look extremely disheveled.

The Lynx assault vehicle bounced violently for a while on the bumpy road before the road conditions suddenly improved.

Although the road was still a dirt road, it was now paved with gravel and sand, clearly indicating that Bai Lang's team had maintained it.

The bushes and weeds on both sides had also been trimmed, which greatly improved the riding experience for Gu Lang and his companion.

After walking for another half hour on the dirt road, and passing through a short section of moss-covered stone steps, a suspension bridge appeared ahead.

There is an iron chain on each side as a lifting device, and the bridge deck is made of steel plates and is currently being raised.

Behind the suspension bridge are two sturdy concrete piers, with two rotating wheel devices installed on top.

Gu Lang judged by sight that the iron chain was pulled from here.

There should also be a ratchet and pawl device such as a winch below, used for lifting and locking.

The entire suspension bridge setup looks very rudimentary, clearly having been erected recently.

In contrast, the two iron gates below the gate piers, with their rusty surfaces, look quite old.

The surface of the door pier is a layer of aged gray terrazzo, on which geometric decorative patterns are pieced together with broken glass.

This terrazzo mosaic technique was extremely common at the entrances of state-owned factories during the planned economy era.

The gate piers of old factories across the country seem to use the same design.

Gu Lang often encounters them while exploring the ruins.

There is also a noticeable color difference on the surface of the left door pier, where there should have been a long strip of unit nameplate hanging.

Looking at the mark, Gu Lang roughly made a judgment in his mind.

This place must have been a state-owned or collectively owned factory in the past.

Behind the iron gate is a low brick-and-mortar building that looks like the gatehouse of the old factory area.

A simple lookout tower was built on the top of the guardhouse using steel plates.

The building materials are exactly the same as the suspension bridge deck, clearly indicating that they came from the same batch of construction projects.

An old man stood on the watchtower, wearing a dark coat and holding a crossbow.

He was leaning against the wooden railing, looking towards Bai Lang's SUV, when he saw Bai Lang get out of the car.

The man put down his crossbow and began waving his hand in signal.

To avoid any misunderstanding, Gu Lang instructed He Ping to keep his distance and not to approach the suspension bridge rashly.

He Ping parked the assault vehicle at a bend in the dirt road, leaving the engine running.

Gu Lang adjusted the direction of the heavy machine gun, turning the muzzle to the side.

"Wait a moment, I need to tell you something."

Bai Lang greeted them via walkie-talkie, then walked alone to the front of the suspension bridge and began to talk to the old man on the observation deck.

The older man was a little nervous at first, but gradually relaxed.

After a while, Bai Lang's voice came through the walkie-talkie again: "The matter has been explained, you can come over now."

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man on the observation platform climbed down and started turning a winch.

The iron chains on both sides of the suspension bridge began to rattle, and the bridge deck slowly descended.

Then the two rusty iron doors were slowly pulled open, emitting a low, long metallic scraping sound.

When Gu Lang heard this sound, he subconsciously thought of background music from horror movies.

After the suspension bridge was completely leveled, Bai Lang returned to the car, started the SUV, and drove steadily across the bridge.

Seeing this, Gu Lang instructed He Ping to shift into low gear and follow.

He peered down and saw a newly dug trench beneath the suspension bridge.

The soil and bedrock of the ditch walls are exposed, and the cross-section is still very fresh.

The plant roots in the soil had white cut ends, indicating that the excavation had only recently begun.

The trench is estimated to be about four meters wide and about three meters deep.

A layer of gravel was laid at the bottom for drainage, and a whole steel mesh frame was placed on top of the gravel.

The mesh surface is welded with upward-pointing steel spikes, each about twenty centimeters long, with a chillingly cold glint at the tip.

"Awesome! If we tried to force our way through, we'd all be strung together if we fell," Gu Lang exclaimed.

"They're for preventing this," the old man said, pointing to the steel spikes at the bottom of the ditch.

"Look, there are still dark brown marks at the bottom of the ditch. Blood has been seen in this ditch."

After the Lynx assault vehicle passed through the iron gate, a bright and open space suddenly appeared before it.

Bai Lang had already parked his SUV in an open space, with several other vehicles of different types parked nearby.

There was even an excavator, which looked like a makeshift parking lot.

On the side of the parking lot facing the mountain, there is a row of temporary prefabricated houses that look like a food stall.

A large number of stones were neatly stacked on the open ground in front of the entrance, but their purpose was unknown.