Wasteland Survivalist: A Scientific Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Survival

My notes end here.

Gu Lang closed his notebook, a layer of cold sweat seeping from his back.

This "collector" is clearly not a madman.

He was a psychopathic killer hiding in normal society.

The end times were not a disaster for him, but rather a paradise.

This person likely suffers from antisocial personality disorder (ASPD).

As far as Gu Lang knows, this disease has a clear hereditary component.

It is actually quite common in humans, with a prevalence rate ranging from 0.5% to 3% depending on the region.

Most of them do not show obvious symptoms due to their upbringing and the suppression of social order.

People with this condition have lower levels of activity in the prefrontal cortex of their brains and are unable to learn from punishment.

The amygdala is extremely small, making it difficult for the body to feel fear and compassion, thus making it easier to commit cruel acts.

Most importantly, their mirror neuron system is abnormal, which leads to a loss of empathy.

In a sense, they are "asymptomatic carriers" of "rage syndrome".

Thinking about this, Gu Lang seemed to understand the working principle of the "Rage Syndrome" virus.

He quickly rummaged through the drawer and found more "souvenirs".

The victim's ID card, jewelry, and even knots woven from hair.

The shovels and hoes placed in the corner indicate that the cellar is where the bodies were buried.

This discovery sent a chill down Gu Lang's spine even more than the sight of hordes of berserkers.

If such people were to infiltrate the ranks of survivors, it would obviously lead to terrible consequences.

He left the incriminating evidence behind and prepared to leave the suffocating basement.

I suddenly remembered the conspicuous black spots on those photos.

Some of the victims had marks on their limbs caused by strong acid corrosion.

Even with the headlamp turned up to its maximum brightness, there were still traces of strong acid burning on the ground.

Gu Lang determined that it was either sulfuric acid or nitric acid.

Both of these strong acids are basic raw materials for chemical engineering, and can be considered the lifeblood of industry.

They are also highly controlled items, and are extremely difficult to purchase under normal circumstances.

To him, using it as an instrument of torture to inflict extreme pain was a complete waste.

So he quickly opened a few cabinets and soon found a white plastic bucket.

It contained a colorless, viscous, oily liquid, with about 20 liters remaining.

"It really is concentrated sulfuric acid. Now we can make gunpowder ourselves."

Gulang has purified a large amount of potassium nitrate powder, which can be used to produce nitric acid when combined with sulfuric acid.

With nitric acid, it became possible to produce nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose.

The shortage of explosives and gunpowder can also be easily solved.

The next day at daybreak, Gu Lang removed the camouflage netting that covered the outside of the hut.

Then, carrying all the collected supplies, they set off for the forest farm.

After finding a place to hide the radio and sulfuric acid with camouflage netting, they traveled lightly back to the mountain road.

After carefully surveying the surrounding area, he safely retrieved the light truck.

Back at the forest farm, Gu Lang immediately began studying the newly acquired radio.

Judging from the label on the bottom of the machine, this is a Yaesu multi-band all-mode radio.

Seeing the standard holes at the bottom for fixing the bracket, he found the radio box he had obtained earlier.

The radio was fixed to the passenger side using a car mount, and the power cord was connected to the car cigarette lighter socket.

The radio is powered by 13.8 volts DC, which is compatible with vehicle power supplies.

Next, the antenna needed to be reinstalled. Gu Lang used self-tapping screws to fix the antenna base to the plastic air deflector on the roof of the car.

After tightening the antenna, connect the feed line.

The feeder cable is secured with hot melt adhesive and introduced into the vehicle through gaps in the vehicle body, connecting to the radio host.

When the power is turned on, the radio indicator light dimly illuminates.

After turning the power knob to turn on the device, he switched the mode to LSB (low-sideband).

This is a common mode for long-distance communication in shortwave voice communication.

Gu Lang put on his headphones and began to slowly turn the VFO master tuning knob.

The largest knob is used to precisely adjust the transmit and receive frequencies; it is also known as a variable frequency oscillator.

He began slowly scanning the commonly used amateur radio bands, such as the 20-meter and 40-meter bands.

The main sound coming through the headphones is a hissing white background noise, which is a mixture of cosmic background radiation, atmospheric noise, and the receiver's own noise.

Around 14.230MHz and 7.185MHz, he heard some extremely faint, intermittent communication fragments, but none of them could be received stably.

Gu Lang kept fine-tuning the knob labeled SQL (mute), trying to filter out some noise.

However, the results were still minimal, and all that could be heard were various distorted audio fragments that were difficult to distinguish.

He had no choice but to give up for the time being and took out the notebook from the glove box.

I noted down these frequencies that might have weak signals, and plan to try them again tomorrow from a high vantage point.

"We can no longer swagger around during the day."

Gu Lang put down his pen, looked at the smoke and dust below the mountain, and muttered to himself.

As we approach the coastal areas, the danger level of the journey increases significantly.

The stealth capabilities of light trucks must be enhanced.

Upon returning to the forest farm, he immediately began a new round of vehicle modification work.

There are many surveillance cameras installed in the forest area.

Gu Lang disassembled them all and used a heat gun and soldering iron to remove the internal infrared LED supplementary lights.

Then, the headlight assembly was removed, the lens was unscrewed, and the original LED bulb base was revealed.

He removed the white LED beads and replaced them with infrared LED beads by soldering them on.

After reinstalling the headlights, a wide-angle night vision camera was installed in the center of the front of the car.

The camera feed is transmitted via a data cable to a display screen fixed to the sun visor on the driver's seat.

Next was sun protection, so Gu Lang cut out a piece of car sunshade.

As a blackout curtain, it is installed in the driver's cabin using a curtain track.

Even the scraps cut off weren't wasted.

The brake lights, license plate lights, and even the reversing lights at the rear of the vehicle are completely covered to ensure that no visible light leaks out.

Gu Lang originally planned to remove these lights directly, but he found that this would cause the car's infotainment system to keep malfunctioning, so he had to give up.

Finally, the camouflage netting was covered over the vehicle, and all preparations were complete.

As night fell, Gulang began test driving.

Although the screen image is black and white, the roads, trees, and obstacles are clearly visible.

The field of vision is basically equivalent to that of low beam headlights.

However, this is visible to any living being outside the vehicle that does not possess infrared night vision capabilities.

The car was a silent, moving black silhouette, without any light source markings, like a real ghost.

Gu Lang stared intently at the screen in front of him, his hands firmly gripping the steering wheel.

The only sounds were the faint hum of the motor and the rustling of the tires on the road.

He began his nighttime journey in an unprecedentedly secretive manner.

After descending from Phoenix Ridge, the car proceeded as planned along National Highway G229 to Xiuyan County.