Apocalypse Survival: Starting with a Shelter

The next afternoon, at the 055 Security Warehouse in the No. 9 Official Bunker, the two geothermal generators were successfully integrated into the bunker's power grid under the precise operations of Su Wu's construction robots.

At the same time, Su Wu had just finished a call with a resident of the official bunker. From her, he obtained a data file containing a batch of recorded songs.

After quickly downloading and saving the file, Su Wu added all 29 songs to his music player and began playing them.

The soft female voice filled the control room, breaking the silence and evoking memories of a vibrant summer full of greenery, life, and peace.

"This song is pretty good," Su Wu murmured as he felt a wave of nostalgia.

By this time of year, it should have been the early days of summer. Normally, there would have been cool, sweet watermelon, lush green leaves filtering the sunlight, and a gentle breeze lulling people into midday naps.

But now, all of that was a distant memory, a dream buried under the oppressive heat of a world with temperatures doubled, reaching 60 to 70 degrees Celsius.

In such extreme conditions, almost all vegetation had withered. The global super-fires, coupled with widespread drought and an impenetrable smog layer ten kilometers thick, had left the world's remaining plant life at less than 1% of its original coverage.

After a moment of reverie, Su Wu noticed the geothermal generator installation had been completed.

Shortly after, Ye Xi sent him a link, along with a username and password.

When Su Wu logged in, he found himself on an online marketplace filled with dozens of pages of goods available for trade. His account displayed a balance of seven million credits, perfectly matching the proceeds from the sale of his geothermal generators.

"Time to reap the rewards," Su Wu thought, sitting upright and focusing intently.

This was a critical moment—the potential growth of his bunker depended on how well he spent this windfall.

He spent some time browsing the entire catalog, noting the inventory and prices. After careful deliberation, he drafted a plan.

His bunker, now complete with three levels, had a solid foundation:

The first level, a hydroponic farm, ensured a steady supply of rice, vegetables, and fruits.

The second level served as the living quarters, with basic utilities and a small-scale facility for manufacturing and repairing mechanical parts.

The third level, the livestock factory, was fully constructed but required inputs—livestock and feed—to start producing fresh meat and eggs.

For now, his most pressing need was to get the livestock factory operational.

The first round of purchases included:

5,000 hatching chicken eggs.

2,000 hatching duck eggs.

2,000 fish fingerlings of various species.

Five tons of emergency feed.

Eggs were far cheaper than live chicks, though they required a longer incubation period to reach maturity. But Su Wu could afford to wait—his cold storage was well-stocked with frozen meat and canned goods, providing ample protein in the interim.

This batch cost a mere 30,000 credits—a drop in the bucket compared to his multimillion-credit budget—but it solved a key bottleneck for his bunker's growth.

"Next, I'll need a lot of fertilizer," Su Wu thought.

Both the hydroponic farm and the livestock factory's feed-growing area required vast amounts of fertilizer. Although Su Wu had some reserves, he considered fertilizer a cornerstone resource for his bunker's sustainability.

Additionally, fertilizer had dual-use potential: it could be used for making explosives. Even if he never needed to resort to such measures, simply having the option could mean the difference between survival and defeat.

"Better safe than sorry," Su Wu mused, doubling his original order of 50 tons to a staggering 500 tons, clearing out nearly half of the marketplace's stock.

The cost? A hefty one million credits.

"Now for construction materials."

Primarily, Su Wu needed cement and rebar. While he had been using construction debris and stones for most of his bunker's expansions, a thin layer of cement was always required to reinforce the outer walls.

However, the marketplace's cement inventory was surprisingly limited—only 500 tons were available.

"Not ideal, but better than nothing," Su Wu reasoned, buying up the entire stock for 200,000 credits.

Rebar, on the other hand, was plentiful. He ordered 1,000 tons without hesitation.

"That leaves about 1.7 million credits," Su Wu calculated.

To maximize the value of his remaining balance, Su Wu turned his attention to essential consumables:

Sugar: He ordered 20 tons to satisfy a personal regret from a previous, smaller purchase.

Salt, gasoline, and diesel: He ordered 10 tons of each.

Hygiene products: Large quantities of toilet paper, soap, and similar items were also added to the list.

Thinking long-term, Su Wu also stocked up on critical components for his bunker's automation:

Various drones.

High- and low-grade chips.

Electrical wiring and light fixtures.

Piece by piece, Su Wu's purchases whittled away his balance until only 400,000 credits remained.

"Almost done," Su Wu thought.

He decided to allocate the remainder to two categories:

Alcohol and cigarettes: Though he didn't personally indulge, he recognized their high trade value in a post-apocalyptic society. These items could serve as a de facto currency.

Medicines: Essential for survival, though their shelf life was limited.

With his shopping spree complete, Su Wu

leaned back, satisfied. Every credit had been strategically spent to prepare his bunker for the long haul.