Apocalypse Survival: Starting with a Shelter

Sitting in the control center's sleek chair, Su Wu placed his hand on the console's fingerprint scanner to power it up.

Half a second later, the 40-inch curved monitor lit up, displaying a vivid 3D schematic of the shelter outlined in green lines.

Su Wu's eyes scanned the display, quickly identifying markers for the construction team. By analyzing their movement patterns, he deduced that this was a real-time map showing the shelter's current state.

"Amazing," he murmured.

Whether the underlying mechanism was simple or complex, the visual presentation was stunning, filling the room with a science-fiction ambiance.

Swiping his finger across the panel, Su Wu minimized the 3D schematic and moved it to the screen's right side. He then accessed the control software to check in on the medium-sized truck currently driving autonomously in the city.

The truck's camera feed displayed desolate streets.

Compared to his last trip to the city, the place now looked even more abandoned. Stores on both sides of the road were shuttered, and the windows of residential buildings were tightly sealed. Not a single person was in sight.

The truck's onboard thermometer showed an outside temperature of 52.3°C.

At such temperatures, most standard air conditioners would have failed, and even those still functioning would have little effect.

"For the average person," Su Wu thought, "life must be incredibly unbearable now."

This was just the beginning. In Jianghe City, the apocalypse hadn't truly started yet.

Taking a final glance at the temperature reading, Su Wu disconnected the truck's video feed and turned his attention to the surface situation.

The farmhouse courtyard, previously packed with 3,000 tons of scrap metal, had significantly emptied. Building the two underground floors had consumed about 800 tons, along with additional material used for constructing the drill, geothermal generator, vehicles, and robots. The once-crowded space was now noticeably sparse.

Under normal circumstances, constructing the shelter wouldn't have required such a massive amount of steel.

However, Su Wu's lack of a sense of security had led him to overengineer. In addition to the one-meter-thick concrete walls, he had added an extra layer of thick steel plates, ensuring the shelter could withstand even unprecedented earthquakes.

While this made the structure exceptionally sturdy, it also caused steel consumption to far exceed the original plan.

"It looks like the steel I got from the mill won't be enough," Su Wu thought. "I need to find more sources of raw materials."

This task wouldn't be difficult.

Unlike food, steel required no special storage conditions. After the apocalypse, abandoned buildings, vehicles, and even small, unused mines could become excellent sources of raw materials.

The real challenge was figuring out how to collect and transport them back to the shelter.

Shifting his gaze past the remaining scrap metal, Su Wu focused on the piles of old appliances and rubber.

Among these, the circuit boards from the appliances were especially valuable—more so than the steel itself.

The rare elements extracted from circuit boards were essential for upgrading the shelter's electronic systems. While it was possible to substitute survival points for these resources, the cost difference was staggering enough to deter Su Wu.

"Circuit boards don't take up much space," he mused. "I should dismantle them and store them in the rare materials warehouse on the second floor of the manufacturing center. I can also add some copper, aluminum, and rubber to the inventory."

The warehouse still had plenty of unused space, and moving valuable materials inside would ensure they were safe from external threats like storms.

However, dismantling circuit boards wasn't a quick task. Each one would take a construction robot seven or eight hours to process.

Currently, Su Wu only had two construction robots—one assisting the construction team with the shelter and the other handling steel deliveries. Neither could be spared.

"Looks like I need to build another construction robot."

Doing the work himself was out of the question.

With his remaining survival points barely sufficient, Su Wu decided to spend his last 5 points on a new construction robot. He assigned the engineering robot to prioritize building the new model.

Returning to the surface surveillance feed, Su Wu continued his inspection.

There wasn't much else worth noting. The remaining cement, sand, and the nearly empty farmhouse were all low-priority resources that wouldn't attract thieves or scavengers.

"It's time to shift my focus to the shelter's interior."

After taking stock of his remaining surface assets, Su Wu felt a weight lift off his shoulders. The nagging sense of urgency and insecurity that had plagued him was gone, replaced by a sense of stability and protection.

Now that most people and critical resources were secured underground, even an immediate apocalyptic disaster wouldn't threaten his safety.

For the first time, Su Wu felt like he had transitioned from a precarious existence to a well-prepared shelter owner capable of facing future risks.

Switching to the interior surveillance feed, Su Wu checked on the hydroponic farm on the first floor.

Ten days had passed since seeding, and the fastest-growing vegetables were already showing vibrant green sprouts.

"It won't be long before I can start a small harvest," he thought. "I should prioritize building a professional farming robot soon."

Due to limited survival points, the hydroponic farm had only received basic upgrades during construction. It could monitor and replenish nutrients, manage water circulation, and provide light—barely sufficient for sustaining crops like rice, vegetables, and fruits.

Advanced features like adjusting light and nutrient levels based on crop types, seed cultivation, automated harvesting, and maintenance were still absent.

With vegetables approaching maturity, delaying further upgrades was no longer an option.

Noting this in his mental to-do list, Su Wu switched to the second-floor feed.

The second floor housed the living quarters, control center, power room, water storage room, supply warehouse, and mechanical manufacturing center.

Most of these areas were functional, except for the manufacturing center, which remained an empty hall. The planned lathe, 3D printer, engineering robot, and rare materials inventory had yet to materialize.

"Another place that'll need a lot of survival points," Su Wu sighed.

Still, he wasn't in a rush. Building a well-equipped shelter was a

gradual process. With time and patience, everything he needed would eventually fall into place.