Wasteland Survivalist: A Scientific Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Survival

After getting out of the driver's seat, Gu Lang went to the rear cargo compartment to take inventory of the supplies.

Level 3: Drinking water.

Basic survival needs, survival time less than 3 days.

Organs will fail after 72 hours of dehydration.

There is a 2-liter portable outdoor water bladder in the backpack.

After buying the car, he picked up nine more farmer's three-fist buckets.

Each container has a capacity of 13 liters, and there are currently about 100 liters of water remaining.

Gu Lang rummaged through his backpack and found a bag of alum, a bottle of water purification tablets, and a hand-operated RO reverse osmosis water purifier.

There is no shortage of usable water sources in the surrounding area.

Ranked by quality, the following are: flowing river water, still pond water, rainwater harvesting, and plant condensate.

Therefore, this is not a problem for the time being.

Level 4: Medical and Emergency Care.

Basic survival support, with a survival time of more than 3 days.

Injuries and illnesses can be fatal quickly, and a lack of basic medical skills can also reduce the chances of survival.

Gu Lang opened the emergency medical kit and carefully sorted and counted the items.

Commonly used items include: face masks, rubber gloves, alcohol wipes, hand sanitizer gel, cotton pads, alcohol swabs, iodine swabs, and bandages.

Emergency supplies include: broad-spectrum antibiotics, first aid bandages, elastic bandages, type 82 triangular bandages, non-stitched adhesive tape, and zeolite hemostatic gauze.

There are also some medical tools: medical scissors, medical tweezers, flexible splints, elastic bands, and breathable tape.

The selection is complete, but many items are nearing their expiration date.

I need to find an opportunity to update it.

Gu Lang has no illnesses and currently has no medical needs.

As long as you avoid serious injury, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Fifth level: Food.

Mid-term survival guarantee, survival time less than 3 weeks.

A person can survive for about 21 days without food, but the decline in physical strength will affect defense and search capabilities.

There wasn't much food on the bus: 6 rolls of noodles, 10 packs of 90-pack compressed biscuits, and a bucket of rice as a meal replacement.

There was a village nearby, and Gu Lang recalled the way he had come.

They immediately took action and rushed to the vegetable fields in the surrounding area overnight.

Elderly people in rural areas go to bed early; they're probably still dreaming at this hour.

They probably didn't even realize that the power had gone out.

If you wait until dawn, it will be difficult to go and steal vegetables.

After turning off the car lights, Gu Lang took a 205 entrenching tool and a woven bag and sneaked into the village.

As a result, they were discovered by a pack of dogs in the village.

The barking of the dog almost attracted the villagers, so he had no choice but to give up and run away on the spot.

Fortunately, there are many barren hills around, which have been reclaimed into large vegetable fields.

July is the harvest season for many crops, and there are many good things to be found.

After a busy night and returning home with a full load, Gu Lang did a quick inventory.

A total of 100 kilograms of potatoes, 100 kilograms of Chinese cabbage, and 50 kilograms of radishes were obtained.

These are all crops that can be stored for a long time, but Gu Lang dug them all up.

There were also dozens of kilograms of green beans, eggplants, cucumbers, and zucchini.

These vegetables have a relatively short shelf life.

Therefore, Gulang didn't pick much; he only used it to improve his meals.

There are no issues with food in the short term.

But the window of opportunity to scavenge for food is very short.

The village roads are all under surveillance cameras.

Normally, such a large-scale theft of vegetables would be easily caught once the police are notified.

By tomorrow, when the villagers realize what's happening, they will start guarding the fields.

Next, you may need to rely on gathering and hunting to get through the mid-game.

To sustain this in the long term, they must grow their own crops.

As dawn broke, Gu Lang hurried to continue his analysis.

Level 6: Weapons and Defense.

Long-term survival guarantee, with a survival time of more than 3 weeks.

Without weapons and a fighting spirit, one becomes someone else's granary, or even food source.

Gu Lang has four melee weapons in total.

Straight knife, entrenching tool, cement tamping stick, and boar spear.

Except for the pestle, everything else was newly bought.

Because the hand axe couldn't pass security, I gave it to a fellow traveler before heading north.

The ranged weapon is a crossbow with 12 hunting arrows.

He complained about the price when he bought it, but now it seems he made a great deal.

It can be used not only as a weapon, but also for hunting.

Because it is illegal, it will be confiscated if caught by the sheriff, so it needs to be used covertly.

The weapons program is extremely rich, and as long as covert operations are conducted and conflicts are avoided, there should be no major problems.

However, considering that social order may subsequently spiral out of control.

He also needs to find another crowbar to facilitate subsequent repairs and looting.

Level 7: Skills and Knowledge.

Short-term survival capability; lifespan less than 3 months.

Knowledge and skills underpin all of the above elements.

Gu Lang has been wandering for several years and believes he has a wealth of practical experience in survival.

The phone also contains a large amount of special data and videos.

Next, he prepared to thoroughly review the hand-made tutorial.

Level 8: Teamwork.

Medium-term viability, with a lifespan of more than 3 months.

The division of labor in society is key to improving efficiency.

Teaming up can effectively increase the chances of survival.

Referring to the Siege of Seraphim, it is very difficult for a lone wolf to survive.

Team members are ranked by trust level, with relatives being preferred over close friends, who are in turn preferred over strangers.

This is Gulang's biggest weakness.

For various reasons, he has completely broken away from his family of origin.

I've always been a loner over the years and don't have many friends.

Teammates are hard to come by, and random matchmaking can easily lead to infighting.

The situation is not yet at an extreme level, and continuing to act alone is clearly the best option.

Level 9: Sustainable Development.

Long-term viability, with a lifespan of more than 3 years.

The key is to establish a resource recycling system for shelters.

Examples include rainwater collection, sewage treatment, seed storage for planting, and animal husbandry.

This situation is not yet at the point where it needs to be considered, so it can also be ruled out.

None of the above nine levels are fixed.

Priority needs to be dynamically adjusted based on environment variables.

For example, during a pandemic, medical care becomes paramount.

In war-torn and chaotic times, it is necessary to prioritize weapons.

After completing the analysis, Gu Lang calmed down a bit.

There is another major problem: a severe lack of information.

Since last night, the car radio has stopped receiving any broadcasts.

Whether it's AM or FM, all you can hear on any frequency is a "hissing" sound.

Gu Lang searched through the saved information on his phone and learned the reason.

Solar storms can disrupt the structure of the ionosphere.

Shortwave signals that rely on ionospheric reflection, such as international broadcasting and maritime communications, will be completely disrupted.

AM (amplitude modulation) broadcasting uses medium wave signals, which are distorted due to the reflection path.

This will also cause signal offset, creating a "quiet zone".

FM radio, which only propagates in a straight line, is a type of ultra-shortwave signal and does not rely on ionospheric reflection.

It can be used normally even under the influence of solar storms.

The downside is that FM radio coverage is usually less than 100 kilometers and is also affected by terrain.

There are two possibilities why Gulang cannot receive FM signals.

Either the power outage has prevented the broadcasting equipment from being restored.

Or it could simply be due to its location in a remote mountainous area.