Wasteland Survivalist: A Scientific Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Survival

On the morning of the third day, just as he was slowly pushing a piece of rubble and broken wood away from the road at the third landslide site.

Suddenly, a series of discordant metallic scraping and impacting sounds came from beneath the bulldozer.

"Clang! Bang!"

The bulldozer suddenly stopped, and the right side of the vehicle noticeably sank.

Gu Lang quickly stepped on the brakes.

"Zheng—"

A sharp, teeth-grinding crack rang out, as if some metal part had snapped.

Gu Lang turned off the bulldozer and jumped out to check.

Sure enough, the right track of the bulldozer had come off.

The broken track plate lay helplessly on the shattered road surface and among the rocks.

Several of the connecting pins were twisted, deformed, or broken.

There was no space between the right-side load-bearing wheel and the drive wheel, and part of the broken track chain was still wrapped around the drive wheel.

The fracture site shows obvious signs of metal fatigue and repair.

This machine was probably already in poor condition before the disaster.

The continuous high-intensity work and the complex and harsh working conditions on the ground finally exceeded its limits.

"Well, it must have been tough on you." Gu Lang sighed.

In places like this, there are no spare tracks and no maintenance tools.

Without any professional repairmen, it was clear that the machine had to be abandoned.

He got back on the vehicle and used only one track to push the bulldozer out.

The diesel fuel in the tank was then transferred into the excavator.

The excavator is in much better condition than the bulldozer, and it is also less old.

Five hours later, the last section of the road was finally dug through.

Gu Lang felt a wave of fear, but was relieved that the aftershocks had stopped and the landslide had not expanded.

Construction machinery are all oil-guzzling behemoths; the light truck was previously loaded with 800 liters of diesel.

It was almost completely used up, and we were just about to run out of supplies.

"From now on, the road ahead is clear, and we're finally free from this sea of ​​suffering."

Gu Lang patted the excavator, silently thanking the machine.

Now I only regret that I didn't awaken my spatial abilities and couldn't take it with me.

Two more landslides to the north have blocked the national highway.

In the short term, the rear has become a relatively safe buffer zone.

Since that's the case, there's no need to flee for your life like before to escape threats.

To save fuel, he temporarily shut down the range extender engine and turned the kinetic energy recovery to maximum.

Using the old method of moving stones downhill to absorb kinetic energy, it propels southward in pure electric mode.

The car maintained a speed of about 50 miles per hour, surrounded by mountains and forests.

After driving for more than 30 kilometers, the road ahead suddenly opened up.

A traffic sign stands at the fork in the road, which reads "Xiangyang State-owned Forest Farm".

Adhering to the principle of never overlooking any potential resources, Gu Lang went inside.

He parked his car in a secluded spot, took his weapon, and cautiously approached to investigate.

The rows of red brick bungalows were silent; the forestry workers had already left.

Most of the valuable equipment, fuel, and supplies were also taken away.

Having gained nothing, Gu Lang was so angry that he kicked the dog bowl on the ground.

Finally, he used a crowbar to open a tool shed.

They then found a chainsaw, a can of chain lubricant, two cans of two-stroke engine oil, and several spare sharp chainsaws.

"At least the trip wasn't in vain."

The chainsaw looks well-maintained, but the fuel tank is empty.

Whether it will work or not remains to be seen after testing.

The fuel used in chainsaws is a very special mixture of gasoline and special engine oil.

The label on the oil container says to add oil at a ratio of 1 part oil to 50 parts gasoline.

So Gu Lang found a clean empty bucket and poured in 5 ml of engine oil and 250 ml of 92-octane gasoline.

After mixing thoroughly, it was poured into the fuel tank.

Then he opened the cap of a small oil tank and added a little chain lubricant.

Cold starting a chainsaw is quite complicated.

Gu Lang first found a small transparent plastic ball at the tail of the chainsaw.

Press this part called "oil bubble" with your hand.

Fuel is pre-filled into the carburetor for easy starting.

Next, pull out the choke above the "oil bubble" to reduce the amount of air entering and increase the concentration of the oil-gas mixture.

He pressed the start switch and pulled the start rope.

"Crack—thud."

The engine emitted a muffled pop and then came to an abrupt stop.

This means the chainsaw is about to be started.

Gu Lang pushed the windbreak door back to its original position and continued to pull the starting rope.

"Click—putt-putt-putt..." This time the chainsaw was successfully started.

He didn't operate it immediately, but let the chainsaw run in place for almost half a minute to preheat it.

He could feel the engine temperature rising rapidly.

Once warmed up, gently press the throttle trigger with your right index finger.

"Buzz—!"

The engine speed dropped immediately, turning into a low rumble.

The chain started spinning at high speed, and lubricating oil sprayed a black line onto the ground.

"strong enough."

Gu Lang shut down the chainsaw and put it away, deciding to spend the night at the forest farm.

Compared to being exposed beside the national highway, this place is much more secluded.

Living in the workers' dormitory is much more comfortable than sleeping in the car.

In the dead of night, all was quiet.

"Bang!"

A dull thud as a plastic container overturned jolted Gu Lang awake from his light sleep.

The infrared alarm outside has not been triggered, indicating that danger has not yet approached.

He immediately held his breath, quietly got up and dressed.

Then I put on the infrared night vision goggles, and my vision instantly turned black and white, but the outlines became much clearer.

He picked up the air rifle and stealthily made his way towards the forest farm courtyard.

A chilling dark figure was rummaging through several large garbage bins.

Gu Lang realized that it was a black bear, scratching at the garbage heap with its paws.

He slowly backed away, attempting to escape.

"Bang!"

He accidentally stepped on and overturned a stainless steel basin.

"Which rude bastard litters and kills people?"

Gu Lang cursed inwardly.

The black bear was startled and turned its huge head toward where Gu Lang was, letting out a threatening growl.

It kept patting the ground with its forepaws and its ears were pressed back, which was a sign that it was feeling uneasy.

Gu Lang's mind raced as he recalled relevant wilderness knowledge.

You must not run away, as running away will trigger the bear's hunting instincts.

Black bears can reach speeds of up to 55 kilometers per hour over short distances, making it impossible for a human to outrun one.

You must always face the bear and never turn your back to it.

You should also avoid shouting, as high-frequency sounds can be easily interpreted as prey or a threat.

He forced himself to calm down, put on his night vision goggles, and turned on his headlamp.

I straightened my body and tried my best to appear taller.

"Hey, Big Bear. I don't want any trouble, I'm leaving now."

Gu Lang spoke calmly, his eyes fixed on the striking V-shaped white patch on the black bear's chest.

Looking directly into someone's eyes is easily perceived as a provocation, and this applies to most wild animals.

He didn't expect the bear to understand; he just needed it to recognize him as a human, not prey.