Apocalypse Survival: Starting with a Shelter

Jianghe City's Shelter No. 1.

As the highest authority in Jianghe City, Bai Ruian also watched the news broadcast.

Sitting alone in his office, he quietly observed the stable and prosperous environment inside the shelters shown in the footage.

By the end, he felt a heavy, indescribable pressure weighing on his shoulders.

Ordinary people might not realize the implications, but Bai Ruian knew them all too well.

Su Wu had taken over Jingyuan Shelter just two days ago.

In such a short time, he had managed to quell the chaos, implement numerous reform policies, and organize a massive shelter with tens of thousands of people into a state of smooth operation.

Su Wu's administrative capabilities could no longer be described as excellent—they were terrifying.

Having wealth or even immense military strength didn't scare Bai Ruian.

But a faction that had a stable foundation, could act in unison, and was paired with overwhelming firepower—such an entity could not be ignored.

If allowed to develop further, this opponent might genuinely be capable of replacing him.

"Unbelievable."

With a long sigh, Bai Ruian found himself feeling a tinge of regret.

Perhaps it would have been better to suffer the losses and go all-out against Su Wu from the beginning, rather than facing this current predicament.

The news broadcast prepared by Chen Xin made its debut before millions of people in Jianghe City that day.

Subtly, it planted seeds of aspiration in many hearts.

On August 22nd, the rain over the surface showed no signs of stopping.

The dense, heavy clouds and the unrelenting downpour enveloped the entire world in darkness.

Day and night ceased to exist as distinguishable concepts.

After relentless repairs by the official shelter, two railways within Jianghe City were finally restored on this day.

A loud horn echoed as a heavily armored train emerged through the rain, moving slowly closer.

Through a camera mounted near the tracks, Su Wu observed the train approaching from the south.

It was unlike the trains commonly seen in the past.

Each car of this train was outfitted with thick armor, and one or two heavy machine guns were mounted on every carriage.

The battle damage on the exterior of the cars suggested that these weapons were not merely for show.

The train had clearly seen action.

"Has it gotten this bad out there?"

"They're even targeting federal trains now?"

Su Wu's surprise showed on his face as he adjusted his mental assessment of external threats.

This wasn't good news.

If even the federal government's authority was being challenged, then the state of law and order at the grassroots level was likely in complete disarray.

The situation might deteriorate into a widespread revolt at any moment.

If that happened, Su Wu's position in Jianghe City would hardly guarantee his safety.

Watching the train fade into the distance, Su Wu suppressed his concerns and turned his attention back to reviewing the shelter's trade accounts.

Over four days, especially after the stabilization of the shelters with schools and hospitals fully operational, the population of 300,000–400,000 people under Su Wu's control unleashed their immense productive power.

Not only had they completed the construction of planned plantations and poultry farms, but they had also finished setting up new pharmaceutical and small-goods production lines.

These additions allowed Su Wu to manufacture cold medicine, pain relievers, and bandages, as well as small, high-demand items like hand-crank generators, power banks, lighters, and flashlights.

Together with the food produced in the shelters and surplus vegetables from the Farmstead Shelter, these goods were enough to stock an entire shopping mall.

This gave Su Wu the resources to implement his envisioned trade network across Jianghe City.

"The trial sales went well."

"Today alone, we earned over 500 grams of gold and slightly more than 2,000 grams of silver."

"Once sales agents are fully in place and goods are widely distributed, daily revenue should double or even triple."

At first glance, 500 grams of gold might not seem like much for a shelter of Su Wu's scale.

But when converted into nuclear fuel for power generation via the Golden Balance System, the value became staggering.

If daily earnings multiplied by two or three times, the returns would be nearly equivalent to the energy output of tens of thousands of tons of coal.

To put this into perspective, Qingning Shelter—a medium-sized facility capable of housing thousands—had coal reserves of just over 10,000 tons.

Su Wu, on the other hand, was earning an equivalent amount in just a day or two of trade, all by selling low-cost pharmaceuticals, small goods, and food products.

The profits were astronomical.

Su Wu's eyes lingered on a document titled "Gold and Silver Exchange Rates" displayed on the screen.

After a moment of thought, he decided to make it public on the internal network.

With this unrestricted exchange table available and backed by Su Wu's shelter's reputation and goods, gold and silver would likely regain their status as preferred currencies in Jianghe City.

This strategy might increase Su Wu's procurement costs, but it would also encourage more people to part with their previously hoarded gold and silver.

This would allow Su Wu to accumulate these resources faster.

"The cost doesn't matter. Paying a bit more is fine."

"Saving time in procurement is the most important thing."

In the apocalypse, no one knew what calamity the next moment might bring.

Securing resources sooner rather than later ensured control. Otherwise, valuables left in someone else's hands might vanish forever in a disaster.

After reviewing the trade accounts, Su Wu took a moment to inspect the shelters' internal management affairs.

These primarily involved significant disputes among residents and complex criminal cases.

For matters that artificial intelligence couldn't adjudicate, Su Wu had implemented a new system over the past two days: tribunals and a jury system.

The tribunal consisted of six to nine elite members from other shelters who voted on cases not involving their own shelters.

The jury system involved publicizing case details and verdicts to all residents. If more residents opposed a verdict than supported it, the case would automatically be forwarded to Su Wu or Chen Xin for a second review.

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