Apocalypse Survival: Starting with a Shelter

By evening, Su Wu, tired from gaming, decided to treat himself to a lavish meal.

Before shutting down his laptop, his eyes casually scanned the screen and noticed a private message from the user named Chen Xin, thanking him. It seemed Chen Xin had made a decision based on his advice.

Su Wu smiled, feeling unexpectedly uplifted.

In the following days, the excavation for the underground shelter gained momentum. After adding a cement mixing and pouring machine to his construction crew, progress accelerated.

The 10-meter-deep entrance passage was completed, and the first underground layer of the shelter was partially excavated, creating a space of roughly 50 to 60 square meters.

According to the plan, the full first layer of the shelter would be a rectangular cuboid, 30 meters long, 20 meters wide, and 6 meters high.

The ceiling and outer walls would be reinforced with concrete and steel to form a 1-meter-thick protective shell. The floor, connecting to the second layer below, required less protection and would only be 30 centimeters thick.

Though it might not seem like much, Su Wu's former 6-million-yuan coastal apartment had an indoor area of just 100 square meters and a ceiling height of under 3 meters.

The first layer of the shelter would be equivalent to six of those apartments combined, and with the added height, it offered over ten times the usable space.

It was spacious enough to comfortably house a dozen people without feeling cramped.

As construction advanced, unforeseen challenges from inadequate preparation began to emerge.

"You really don't know until you start building," Su Wu muttered. "It's only when the work begins that you realize a standard shelter is a bottomless money pit."

"This is nothing like building a rural house."

On May 15, Su Wu sat at his laptop, watching bags of cement being fed into the mixer on the surveillance feed. He couldn't help but feel a headache brewing.

Despite leveraging survival points to cut corners—much like he had when manufacturing the robots—he had already minimized costs wherever possible.

For the outer shell, he used discarded steel and construction waste, like fragmented concrete, to fill the structure. Only the outermost layer was coated with a thin layer of cement for temporary reinforcement.

Even so, the consumption of cement and sand had far exceeded his expectations.

At the current rate, it seemed unlikely that the first layer of the shelter could be completed without running out of materials.

"Sand isn't too hard to deal with, but cement… I can't buy it from regular suppliers anymore."

Su Wu opened a secondhand trading platform online and searched for terms like "cement" and "building materials." After filtering out fake listings and unreliable sellers, he finally found someone with available stock.

"300 yuan per bag of cement, not including delivery fees?"

Despite bracing himself for bad news, Su Wu was still shocked by the quote. The price was nearly 15 times higher than usual, bordering on outright robbery.

Worse, the seller was located over 400 kilometers away. Su Wu would have to arrange transportation himself.

"Don't complain about the price," the seller replied. "You should know how things are now. Cement is a controlled commodity. Most of the stock has been requisitioned by the government. Anything new is seized right out of the factory. What I've got is hidden inventory, and even I don't have much left."

The seller's attitude was casual, even dismissive, with no intention of offering a discount.

"Fine. You've got 1,000 bags, 50 tons, right? I'll take them all," Su Wu decided, rubbing his temples. He might as well clear out the seller's inventory.

As money would lose value over time, Su Wu figured it was better to spend it now. He emptied his remaining funds, knowing he could always barter with his excavator for future needs.

After finalizing the deal, Su Wu arranged for two large trucks to pick up the cement. Though hiring strangers was pricier than using connections, it saved time, and Su Wu didn't want to bother negotiating further.

"Let's just hope nothing goes wrong on the way."

Transporting goods from over 400 kilometers away made Su Wu uneasy, but aside from hoping for the best, there was little he could do.

On May 16, the sky darkened, and rain began to pour without warning. The two trucks carrying the cement were naturally delayed, and their arrival became uncertain.

Su Wu sat in his second-floor bedroom, inhaling the faint moisture drifting in through the window. Feeling restless, he opened a map and repeatedly calculated the remaining distance for the trucks, hoping they'd arrive soon.

Instead of a call from the drivers, Su Wu unexpectedly received an official phone call.

"You want to requisition my cement?" Su Wu's mood sank. He hadn't anticipated that the cement he had painstakingly secured would attract the government's attention.

"This isn't a mandatory requisition," the official on the line said politely. "We're working on an urgent city project and are short on cement. If possible, we hope you can support us."

The official's tone was courteous, devoid of arrogance or coercion.

"Sorry, but this batch of cement is crucial for me as well. I can't give it up," Su Wu replied firmly, sighing.

"We're not requisitioning it for free," the official clarified. "Once the project is complete, you'll be compensated with contribution points. I assure you, you won't regret it." 

The voice on the other end remained calm and sincere, subtly implying that Su Wu's contribution could earn him better treatment in a government shelter later on.

"I understand, but my shelter construction depends on this batch of cement. I can't compromise," Su Wu said, making the purpose of the cement clear.

"I see. Best of luck with your construction," the official replied after a brief pause, ending the call without further persuasion.

Su Wu turned off his screen and fiddled with his phone, feeling a mix of emotions.

His decision might seem selfish, but he was just an ordinary person. He co

uldn't change the world—he could only focus on improving his own chances of survival.