Wasteland Survivalist: A Scientific Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Survival

Seeing that it was past midnight, Gu Lang put down his phone and lay back down in the freezer.

Force yourself to sleep to regain your strength.

In the harsh environment of the basement, under immense mental pressure, even the method of falling asleep quickly failed.

He tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, and it took him a long time to finally drift off.

In a half-dream, half-awake state, I seemed to dream of my long-deceased mother.

I tried to look closely, but I still couldn't make out the other person's face.

Just as he was about to reach out and touch it, a piercing alarm woke him up.

He had a terrible headache when he woke up and it took him a long time to get up.

The air raid siren sounded continuously for three minutes without any pause.

Gu Lang realized that this was a sign that the alarm had been lifted.

It seemed that the surrounding air defense stations were still operational, which reassured him quite a bit.

The watch shows the time as 1 p.m.

The radiation readings on the Geiger counter dropped to 8.53 microsieverts per hour.

Numerically, the basement maintained good airtightness, blocking the initial radiation damage.

Based on this downward trend, you can try going out after 48 hours.

Gu Lang took off his protective suit, opened a pack of compressed biscuits, and started eating.

After sorting through the supplies, he opened the map.

The most urgent task now is clearly to plan an evacuation route as soon as possible.

Under the same conditions, the further south you go, the easier it is to survive.

Due to the terrain obstructed by the Yanshan Mountains, there are not many options available.

There are only four geographical routes from the Liaodong Plain into the Huabei Plain.

First is the busiest coastal road, which runs along the Bohai Bay and passes through the Sugihai Pass.

This route is the flattest, and it was also the route the Qing army took when they entered the pass.

Today, major railways and highways are also built along this route.

However, the coastal passage is only 16 to 30 kilometers wide and has an extremely narrow and long terrain.

What's even more terrifying is that Jingzhou, Huludao, and Qinwangdao along the route are all key targets for nuclear strikes.

In 1959, they would have been hit by no fewer than 30 nuclear bombs.

Gu Lang ruled out this route first.

The second route is the Lulong Road, which requires traveling south along the Daling River and the Laoha River.

After crossing the Luanhe River Valley, we climbed over Xifengkou, an important pass on the Great Wall.

The river valleys along the way are narrow, and it is also necessary to cross the heart of the Yanshan Mountains.

The altitude varies between 200 and 1,000 meters, and the terrain is extremely undulating.

This road was a major passage during the Han and Tang dynasties, and Cao Cao took this route when he led his northern expedition against the Wuhuan.

The Battle of Xifengkou in 1933 also took place here. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Panjiakou Reservoir was built here.

Parts of the route were flooded, making it even more difficult to traverse.

The third route is the Gubeikou Road, which requires starting from Chifeng and heading south along the Chao River.

After crossing Gubeikou, we arrived at Miyun District in Beijing.

This route became a vital thoroughfare during the Song Dynasty due to the rise of the Khitan.

However, the road is very rugged and is the longest route.

The fourth route is the Wuzhong Road, which requires cutting into the Yanshan Valley along the Qinglong River Valley.

Finally, we entered Yanzhao Province from Lengkou Pass in Qian'an County.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Huan of Qi marched north beyond the Great Wall to attack the Shanrong people, passing through this area.

This route is the least popular and also has the worst road conditions.

All three mountain routes are located in treacherous terrain, with only narrow passes as passages.

After some thought, Gu Lang decided to wait until the radiation dissipated.

We immediately set off south, avoiding the major city of Shenyang.

After passing through Siping City and Fuxin City, we arrived at Chaoyang City, a major transportation hub.

That's the intersection of three routes, a place you have to pass through no matter which route you choose.

Gulang is currently located nearly 500 kilometers away from Chaoyang City.

He needs to check the current status of the light truck immediately.

Gu Lang looked around and immediately made up his mind.

There were many wooden tables and chairs scattered in the basement.

He took out a screwdriver, disassembled the table and chairs, and cut them apart with a wire saw.

After rough processing, two frames were erected at the exit.

After cutting the plastic bag open, connect it with tape and finally cover it onto the frame.

It took a day to set up two simple airtight chambers.

This way, even if the iron door is opened, radioactive dust will not directly enter the basement.

Gu Lang glanced at his watch; it was 8 a.m.

More than 50 hours have passed since the nuclear explosion.

He put on his protective suit and checked the tape on his trouser legs and wrists.

Pushing open the iron gate, a layer of fine dust was suspended in the air under the beam of a flashlight.

Upon reaching the first floor, the Geiger counter reading surged to 36.15 microsieverts per hour.

At this value, the stay cannot exceed 5 hours.

The outside light was extremely dim, and the sky had an eerie dark red hue.

Every few steps in the corridor, Gu Lang would stop and glance at the Geiger counter.

A strong wind was blowing outside, and Gu Lang picked up a medical record from the ground.

They tore off a piece of paper and threw it out of the window frame, which had no glass.

"North is up, south is down, west is left, and east is right."

Gu Lang silently recited the incantation, based on the north-south orientation of the inpatient area.

He determined that the wind blowing was from the southwest.

The nuclear explosion likely occurred in the city, several tens of kilometers to the east.

Radioactive dust can form strips of pollution depending on the wind direction.

Even if it's downwind, hundreds of kilometers away from the epicenter, it's still dangerous.

I am currently in a relatively safe crosswind zone.

Back in the garage, the situation was a little better than I had imagined.

Because it was far from the epicenter, the shockwave only damaged the roller shutter door; the concrete garage itself remained intact.

The light truck sat quietly in the parking space, its body covered with a layer of gray-black substance.

This is a deadly powder formed from the condensation of surface material after being vaporized by the fireball.

When the Geiger counter was brought close to the car's surface, the reading spiked to 300 microsieverts per hour.

Startled, Gu Lang immediately withdrew his hand and took two steps back.

Fortunately, the tires did not flatten and the cab window did not shatter.

The cargo compartment was intact and in good overall condition.

Gu Lang searched the vicinity and found the red fire extinguisher box.

According to the provisions of the "Fire Protection Law of China".

Public facilities must have at least two fire hydrants on each floor, with a spacing of less than 50 meters.

Fire water tanks should contain enough water to last for at least 10 minutes.

Fire safety inspections are extremely strict for densely populated places like health centers.

Even if a fire extinguisher has been abandoned for three years, it will expire and become ineffective.

However, the water in the fire water tank usually doesn't leak out so quickly.

He opened the cabinet door and rotated the water hose to secure it to the fire hydrant.

Turn the valve hard, and a metallic vibration can be heard from the thick water pipe.

Gu Lang was overjoyed; there was indeed still water in the high-level water tank.

He picked up the silver-white water gun nozzle and rotated the nozzle end and the hose connector 90 degrees clockwise to connect them.

The water gun has a switch handle that can be turned on when it is aligned with the gun body.

By adjusting the angle between the handle and the gun body, the range and flow rate of the water gun can also be controlled.

Dragging the fire hose back to the garage, Gu Lang sprayed the light truck.