Apocalypse Survival: Starting with a Shelter

With the shelter's internal affairs temporarily settled, Su Wu switched the control screen back to the convoy operating in Jianghe City and continued supervising the road-clearing efforts.

After more than two hours, exhaustion began to set in, and Su Wu decided to pause the monotonous work to get some rest.

At this point, the shelter's recorded contribution points had reached 3,500, placing it in the top ten of the contribution leaderboard among all participating shelters.

The next morning, Su Wu awoke to the sound of a pure, ethereal melody.

He didn't get up immediately. Instead, he lay in bed, listening to the soothing voice that seemed to cleanse his mind. Only after some time did he reluctantly get up and begin his morning routine.

Walking through the corridor to the control center, Su Wu felt a slight sense of alienation as he gazed at the expansive, silver-toned hall.

"It seems I've stayed inside this shelter for too long. I'm starting to develop psychological issues."

"Maybe I should consider building an artificial garden to relax and unwind."

The area Su Wu used daily was limited to the residential and control center zones, covering less than 300 square meters. Even with survival-point-enhanced central air conditioning and air purifiers maintaining optimal conditions, the lack of variety and confinement fostered a sense of oppression.

Without an outlet for this emotion, it wouldn't dissipate but instead accumulate over time, eventually becoming a significant psychological hazard.

Shaking off the thought, Su Wu refocused and sat down at the console to review the shelter's logs.

During his rest, no accidents had occurred in the shelter. Meanwhile, the specialized transport vehicle had been working tirelessly, accumulating a substantial pile of sand and gravel on the surface—enough to alleviate any shortage concerns for a long time.

In Jianghe City, however, the convoy's efficiency had noticeably dropped without Su Wu's direct supervision. Despite clearing a nearly 100-meter-long path through a 4-to-5-meter-high pile of building debris, the contribution points earned were negligible.

His shelter's rank, which had been in the top ten before he slept, had now fallen out of the top twenty.

"Do these people ever rest?" Su Wu muttered as he brought up the surveillance feed of the city. Other shelters' excavators and bulldozers were still working at full capacity, their operators seemingly unfazed by exhaustion.

It didn't take long for him to figure out the reason. Unlike Su Wu, who lacked manpower, most shelters were overcrowded. Both official and private shelters could rotate workers to maintain efficiency. In some cases, worker fatalities were even seen as a way to reduce the burden of feeding them.

After some thought, Su Wu suspended the task of sand and gravel collection for the second specialized transport vehicle and reassigned it to the city cleanup operation.

With enough sand already stockpiled and nowhere to store more, continuing the task would be futile, especially if another storm struck and rendered the effort meaningless.

Fifteen minutes later, the newly built specialized transport vehicle arrived to join the cleanup team.

Under precise AI control, the two specialized vehicles worked tirelessly to clear road obstacles at an exceptional pace.

Before long, the shelter's contribution points began climbing rapidly again, racing toward the top three rankings.

By afternoon, when Su Wu returned to the console after lunch, the shelter's contribution points had surpassed 10,000, second only to the first-ranked mid-sized corporate shelter.

"Owen Shelter," Su Wu read the name of the top-ranked shelter, finding it vaguely familiar.

After some thought, he remembered a mention of it in the local channel. The Owen Shelter was formerly a pharmaceutical factory notorious for exploiting workers with harsh conditions. It was also rumored to have ties to organized crime and employed numerous enforcers.

"They were unethical even in peacetime. Who knows what life is like for the ordinary people in their shelter now?"

Shaking his head, Su Wu sighed and pushed the grim thoughts aside. In a post-apocalyptic world, suffering was everywhere. He could barely manage his own survival, let alone worry about others.

"Still, given Owen Shelter's criminal background, they're likely used to being domineering. They won't tolerate anyone threatening their position."

This realization prompted Su Wu to reconsider his shelter's relationship with Owen Shelter.

He had no illusions about the potential reactions of the Owen Shelter. With the efficiency of his two specialized transport vehicles, it was only a matter of time before his contribution points surpassed theirs.

The difference in rewards between first and second place was a staggering 10,000 contribution points—an amount no one would overlook. The stakes were high enough to provoke retaliation.

Feeling a growing sense of urgency, Su Wu opened the shelter's armory inventory.

After a previous incident involving a hijacked cargo truck, the shelter's weapon cache had been steadily built up.

It now included:

Two K2-series agricultural drones equipped with rocket launchers

Ten foldable shooting platforms

Two automatic rifles

4,000 rounds of ammunition

While sufficient for a small skirmish, Su Wu wasn't entirely satisfied.

These weapons had been designed with small rogue groups in mind, prioritizing overwhelming firepower to neutralize threats quickly. However, facing a well-organized mid-sized shelter with a population of at least 10,000, this arsenal seemed inadequate.

In extreme scenarios, even exhausting all the ammunition might not guarantee victory.

Though Su Wu could seek assistance from official channels, relying on external help always carried risks. Delays or outright neglect could leave him to face the threat alone.

"This won't do. I need to strengthen the arsenal further."

Determined, Su Wu began planning upgrades to his shelter's defenses, preparing for the possibility of a confrontation with Owen Shelter.

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