Apocalypse Survival: Starting with a Shelter

"If only the specialized transport vehicle were still here," Su Wu muttered, troubled.

The recent storm, while not significantly altering the river's course, had wreaked havoc on the terrain. With the engineering team relying on the toy-like micro excavators and transport vehicles, traversing the now rugged landscape seemed almost impossible. One wrong move could easily result in a vehicle overturning.

But difficult as it was, the task needed to be done. Progress on the shelter's construction couldn't stall because of this.

After some thought, Su Wu devised a solution: equipping the micro excavator with a detection radar.

Currently, the engineering team's machines relied on cameras to identify their surroundings. While this method was simple, it lacked the ability to detect hidden hazards. Adding a radar system would compensate for this deficiency, allowing the excavator to identify dangers ahead. Whether by filling in hazards or taking a detour, this addition would greatly reduce the risk of accidents.

However, installing a radar was no small task.

The radars Su Wu had on hand were among the cheapest from the batch he'd purchased from the official shelter—ten commercial-grade laser and ultrasonic radars.

The laser radar had a detection range of 25 meters and could identify uncovered pitfalls, but its accuracy was only slightly better than that of a camera. The ultrasonic radar, while capable of detecting hidden pitfalls and assessing ground stability, had a limited range of just 3.5 meters and significant blind spots, only covering a 60-degree fan-shaped area directly in front.

Both types had other limitations, including temperature constraints below 50 degrees Celsius and fragile, precise components.

After nearly 20 minutes of research, with assistance from the AI and the shelter's database, Su Wu finalized a solution:

Install both radars, encase them in waterproof and dustproof shells, mount them on a freely rotating base, and add an independent cooling system.

This setup wasn't ideal, but it ensured the radars would function. In practice, they would perform similarly to the terrain radars integrated into his upgraded cargo and transport vehicles, minus the precision and speed.

Two hours later, the construction robots, having completed the first phase of the bunker's build, returned to the shelter. 

They underwent decontamination in the first underground level's cleaning chamber, routine maintenance in the manufacturing center on the second level, and were then reassigned. Two robots armed themselves with rifles and took up guard positions near the shelter's elevator platform, while six rejoined the engineering team to resume excavation on the fourth underground level.

Meanwhile, a micro excavator and transport vehicle, detached from the construction team, ascended to the surface. Activating their headlights, they slowly headed toward the distant, darkness-shrouded horizon.

"Let's hope nothing goes wrong," Su Wu thought as he monitored the small convoy through the shelter's surface cameras. A vague sense of unease crept into his mind, as if this might be the last time he would see the vehicles.

Shaking off his thoughts, Su Wu switched the main control screen to display the micro excavator's camera feed.

Seeing lines of operational data indicating normal status and faint highway markers illuminated by the headlights calmed him slightly.

The recent storm hadn't been all bad. It had cleared away much of the ash from global wildfires and volcanic eruptions, leaving the landscape near the highway resembling a drought-stricken rural area rather than the oppressive, alien wasteland it had previously been.

Limited by their small size and the debris-strewn roads, the micro excavator and transport vehicle advanced at a sluggish pace of less than 10 kilometers per hour.

It took nearly 15 minutes for them to leave the highway and turn onto an overgrown rural path.

This path led closest to the river.

In the past, it was home to two or three rural houses and abandoned farmland. Now, nothing remained.

"They must have been at the storm's center," Su Wu thought grimly, observing the total destruction.

He directed the excavator's camera toward the location of one house.

All that was left was a sunken pit filled with storm-scattered rubble, devoid of any sign of human construction.

Su Wu remembered the family that once lived there—a cheerful man named Miao Yijun, his wife, and three children. When Su Wu had first arrived in the area, Miao had helped him procure gasoline and sugar and proudly boasted about his spacious, sturdy root cellar, claiming it would make an excellent shelter.

Now, both Miao's house and his cellar were gone, swept away by the storm.

"I hope they made it to the official shelter in time," Su Wu sighed, refraining from investigating further.

After leaving the highway, the micro excavator moved even slower, occasionally stopping to clear rocks or hazards. By the time the convoy reached the river's edge, nearly another half-hour had passed.

At that moment, an alert came from the cargo truck and specialized transport vehicle working on road clearing near the city outskirts.

Wind speeds were increasing.

The reconnaissance drone squadron, unable to remain airborne, had been forced to land in the cargo truck's cabin, effectively suspending aerial surveillance.

"Another storm?" Su Wu's heart skipped a beat. But when he checked the official forum, there were no disaster warnings.

Su Wu quickly analyzed the situation.

The increasing wind wasn't severe enough to warrant immediate evacuation but was enough to make work hazardous. Any further escalation would put both the vehicles and their operators at significant risk.

He issued new instructions to the clearing team: halt operations and seek immediate shelter if conditions worsened.

Turning his attention back to the convoy near the river, Su Wu noted that they had reached their destination but had yet to begin work.

"Let's finish this quickly," Su Wu muttered, feeling the growing tension.

With the post-apocalyptic climate growing increasingly unpredictable, every moment outside felt like tempting fate.

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