Apocalypse Survival: Starting with a Shelter

That night, a routine system update flashed before Su Wu's eyes.

[Significant changes detected in living environment.]

[Reevaluating parameters.]

[Update complete.]

Current Territory: Standard Personal Shelter (27%), Daily Survival Points +3

Achievements:

Constructed a Standard Personal Shelter, Survival Points +20

Upgraded Air Circulation System, Survival Points +5

Upgraded Central Air Conditioning, Survival Points +3

Remaining Survival Points: 31

"It's updated," Su Wu muttered in surprise as he examined the new territory classification. The most notable addition was a ranking system for shelters, with terms like "Standard" and "Personal" indicating the level, while the percentage in parentheses showed progress toward the next tier. The update had also tripled his daily survival point income, increasing it by 2 points—a significant improvement. This bonus alone could fund the construction of a diesel mini excavator every day or, with a bit of saving, double the size of his engineering crew.

"From now on," Su Wu thought, "I need to focus on upgrading my shelter's level. But I wonder how the system calculates it." Examining the new ranking system, Su Wu felt he was uncovering hidden mechanics within the survival system. By exploring them, he might unlock substantial rewards.

The next day, Su Wu's good mood from the survival point windfall was shattered by an urgent news broadcast.

"Federal Government Emergency Directive No. 1:

"All continents, provinces, cities, districts, and counties are to immediately cease all surface-level activities and evacuate to the nearest shelter."

"Repeat: All tasks must be abandoned, and evacuation to shelters must begin immediately."

Within hours, increasingly severe warnings were broadcast through every available channel—TV, radio, the internet, and more—reaching every corner of the world.

In Jianghe City, streets that had been deserted except for government supply trucks suddenly came alive with activity.

Despite the sweltering 50-degree heat, people poured onto the streets under the urgency of official orders and piercing alarms. Families packed into vehicles, heading to city shelters or mountain bunkers. Even in the rural outskirts near Su Wu's farmhouse, he could see cars packed with villagers speeding toward the city or nearby shelters.

In the Jianghe City Doomsday Survival Group, panic rippled through the chat.

"Terrifying! Just ten minutes—ten minutes was all it took!"

"Everyone within hundreds of kilometers of the African Rift, except those already in shelters, is dead."

"That's tens of millions of people!"

Armored Knight posted a voice message, his voice trembling with fear. He quickly followed it with satellite images of cities near the Rift Valley, now consumed by flames.

Curious, Su Wu opened the images. The once-bustling cities were eerily silent, engulfed by fire, with no sign of human activity. It was as though they had been abandoned long before the disaster struck.

"I heard the heat wave that caused this reached temperatures above 200 degrees Celsius," said Master Zhuang, a typically nonchalant group member now shaken to the core. "It's hell on Earth."

For the first time, the pampered scion of a wealthy family grasped the fragile distance between his privileged life and total annihilation—a distance bridged only by the shelter beneath his feet.

Then, Falling Leaves and Frost, a usually quiet group member, shared grim intelligence:

"The heat wave hasn't dissipated. There's a high probability it will appear on other continents within the next 24 hours. That's why the Federation issued the emergency directive."

"Judgment Day is truly upon us."

The heavy tone of his words reflected the severity of the situation. Even Su Wu, usually calm, felt a chill run down his spine. He closed the group chat, deciding to observe the situation outside.

With the medium truck having completed its final delivery run the previous night, it was now parked in the farmhouse courtyard, unable to provide real-time updates from the city.

Driving it out again wasn't feasible—not because of safety concerns, but because it would mean competing for scarce road space with desperate evacuees.

Instead, Su Wu turned to another solution.

From a bedroom cabinet, he retrieved several boxes containing consumer-grade drones he had purchased in a coastal city. Though inexpensive, they were equipped with decent cameras.

Using 3 survival points, he upgraded the drones for extended range and formed a small fleet. Returning to the control center, he powered up the drones through the console.

"Initializing."

"Connection established."

"Activating collision-avoidance system."

"Maintaining altitude: 1.5 meters. Speed: 0.5 meters per second."

Through the live feed on the console's screen, Su Wu carefully piloted the drones indoors, navigating them toward the second underground floor's exit.

While the extreme heat outside made venturing out dangerous, remote operation offered a safer alternative. With the AI assistant ensuring precision, even the shelter's confined interior posed little risk of accidents.

After about 30 seconds, the drones reached the exit.

The final isolation door slid open, and the drones ascended to the first underground floor before following a sloped passage to the surface.

Once outside, Su Wu increased their altitude and speed, sending them soaring into the sky.

From above, the scope of Jianghe City unfolded before him.

The drone feed revealed multiple buildings engulfed in flames.

Zooming in, Su Wu saw no signs of firefighters or rescue teams. In these extreme conditions, with the government focused on evacuations, even urban fires had become a secondary concern.

Or perhaps the authorities simply lacked the capacity to address such crises.

"Fires are breaking out everywhere," Su Wu muttered.

The drones continued to provide a bird's-eye view of the city, showcasing its descent into chaos. Official shelters were overcrowded, streets were clogged with vehicles, and plumes of smoke rose in the distance.

For now, Su Wu had the luxury of safety in his underground

.refuge. But the images on the screen reinforced a chilling reality: the apocalypse had truly begun.