Apocalypse Survival: Starting with a Shelter

Su Wu meticulously refined the details and safety mechanisms of his shelter.

Before long, a near-perfect blueprint for a fully self-sufficient and isolated shelter materialized in his hands.

With anticipation, he uploaded the blueprint to the AI assistant's task list.

Half a second later, the system feedback came: completing the upgrades without interrupting ongoing expansions would take 1,227 hours—an unexpectedly long time.

"Why so long?"

Su Wu frowned at this unwelcome surprise. Upon reviewing the detailed report, he realized the primary delays were due to a shortage of suitable circuit boards, detector components, and, critically, chips.

"Circuit boards can be salvaged and modified from the old electronics pile. That won't take too long. The problem is the chips—manufacturing those from scratch is incredibly difficult."

The multifunctional engineering robot, while versatile, excelled at mechanical work, not fabricating advanced electronic components.

In the past, Su Wu had resorted to using survival points to bypass such obstacles. However, applying this costly method to relatively minor upgrades seemed like a waste, especially given his limited points.

"I'll have to buy them from someone else."

Determined not to squander his engineering robot's capabilities on low-end chip production, Su Wu posted a procurement notice online, targeting Jianghe City's local survivalist groups and forums.

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"Bulk chip order? That's a pretty niche request."

"It's not like there's much use for those right now."

The notice quickly caught attention due to Su Wu's attractive payment terms. Many approached him to negotiate trades for other goods instead.

Su Wu chatted briefly with a few but found nothing he urgently needed and politely declined. Now wasn't the time to trade freely.

Strictly speaking, the apocalypse was still in its early stages. Even with sporadic heat storms and surface temperatures over 50°C, the situation hadn't yet reached lethal levels. Most people, even unprepared, could survive brief surface activities by gritting their teeth.

As a result, most people hadn't fully adopted a post-apocalyptic mindset and were still pricing trades using peacetime valuations.

---

In the afternoon, Su Wu finally received a promising lead from a small merchant on a local forum.

"You've got a batch of L3 washing machine chips?"

"Roughly how many?"

Su Wu's interest piqued. While designed for home appliances, these chips were among the higher-quality items in Su Wu's inventory and had versatile applications. They were exactly the type of resource that could reduce both build times and survival point consumption.

"About 10,000 pieces," the seller replied. "They were part of a factory's material payment and are still in unopened packages."

"If the price is reasonable, I'll take the lot. What do you want in exchange?" Su Wu asked.

The seller responded cautiously.

"Ten pounds of fresh lettuce, some sugar, chocolate, vitamin tablets, and a few painkillers or hemostatics. Apart from the lettuce, you can decide the quantities for the rest, but I need at least a bit of each. Prices can be calculated at twice the current market rate."

The offer was astonishingly low. Fresh vegetables, the bulk of the request, cost Su Wu almost nothing. While the other items were valuable in the apocalypse, the small quantities requested were negligible compared to their worth.

"Deal. How do we trade?"

Knowing he was getting a bargain, Su Wu didn't haggle and moved straight to logistics.

"Well… the chips are stored in a warehouse on the outskirts. I'm stuck in the official shelter and can't leave. Can you pick them up yourself?"

The hesitation in the seller's message was obvious; they seemed worried Su Wu might refuse.

"You mean I have to deliver to your doorstep too?" Su Wu quipped.

"I'm sorry for the trouble. If transportation costs are an issue, the warehouse also has some tools and metal sheets you can take as compensation."

After a brief exchange, Su Wu agreed. He'd anticipated something like this.

Under current conditions, most people couldn't leave their shelters, let alone travel across the city for trade. Su Wu had expected he'd have to handle the logistics himself.

Reviewing the seller's list of requested items, he could vividly picture an ordinary person with no influence or connections, hurriedly evacuated into the official shelter.

"Fine. I'll deliver the goods to the shelter entrance."

With the deal finalized, Su Wu saved the warehouse's address and access code.

He walked to a corner cabinet, retrieving a black, metallic hand crossbow—his only weapon. Since he planned to head out, he wasn't taking any chances.

Even so, this alone didn't feel secure.

After some thought, Su Wu used the control console to summon one of the construction robots working on the third underground floor.

---

A few minutes later, the summoned robot arrived at the control center's entrance.

"Take this crossbow and quiver of bolts. Wait for orders in the cargo truck's cabin," Su Wu instructed.

Handing over the weapon, he watched the humanoid robot leave before closing the door and returning to his console.

No rule stated that he had to physically leave the shelter for the trade.

A fully autonomous medium cargo truck, a construction robot capable of manual labor, and a remote communication and monitoring system were more than sufficient for the task.

Of course, there were drawbacks. A robot lacked the flexibility of a human operator, and diverting one of his three construction robots from its work would inevitably slow the shelter's progress.

"Once the second underground floor upgrades are complete, and I save up more survival points, it might be time to add another construction robot."

At just 5 survival points per unit, the benefits were well worth the cost. Construction robots weren't just essential for building and maintenance—they also served as security assets, enhancing the shelter's defenses.

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While Su Wu pondered his next steps, the construction robot reached the surface and entered the ca

rgo truck's cabin.

Sitting upright at the console, Su Wu established a remote link with the truck's systems.