Apocalypse Survival: Starting with a Shelter

Following his habit of planning for the worst-case scenario, Su Wu quickly decided to add another batch of weapons to the shelter's arsenal.

Considering the likelihood of facing a larger number of enemies this time, simply increasing the stockpile of firearms or rockets would not be cost-effective, nor would it provide a decisive advantage.

After scouring the shelter's database for options, Su Wu came up with a new plan: producing thermite.

Thermite, a mixture capable of burning at over 2,500 degrees Celsius, could melt through steel in seconds. Its primary components—aluminum powder and rust—were both cheap and abundant. Despite its simplicity, its destructive power was terrifying.

No matter how strong the protection, once thermite ignited on a surface, it would inevitably burn through. The only drawback was its limited range.

However, this limitation could easily be overcome by embedding small explosives or fireworks into the thermite, increasing its effective area of destruction.

As for deployment methods, Su Wu decided on two options: drones to drop thermite charges and thermite shells fired from howitzers.

Both options were inexpensive. The drones could be repurposed from the K2-series agricultural drones, while the howitzers, though requiring fabrication from scratch, were structurally much simpler than automated excavation equipment. Engineering robots could construct them entirely without using valuable survival points.

"When the small bunker is complete, I can install a 120mm howitzer on it," Su Wu mused.

"I'll stockpile 20 crates containing 160 thermite shells of the same caliber. For drone-deployed thermite charges, I'll produce 50 units in two specifications: 20 kilograms and 40 kilograms."

Given the low cost and abundance of thermite's raw materials, Su Wu planned the ammunition reserves generously, aiming for sustained saturation strikes lasting over 10 minutes.

With these upgrades, the shelter's firepower would be overwhelming—enough to handle even a fully organized military company, let alone the mid-sized Owen Shelter.

But Su Wu still didn't feel entirely secure.

His gaze fell on the shelter's 3D map, specifically on the vertical drone lift shaft connecting the shelter to the under-construction bunker.

A thought took shape in his mind.

"We already have a vertical launch shaft. Why not go bigger?"

Opening the database, Su Wu found blueprints for a 240mm diameter rocket. Adding rocket production to the engineering robots' task list, he reviewed the progress on the surface bunker.

The first layer's concrete should have hardened sufficiently.

Su Wu redirected all eight construction robots, along with a concrete mixer and a micro-excavator, from the fourth underground level to continue work on the second layer of the bunker.

Unlike the nearly 6-meter-high first layer, the second layer was only about 3 meters tall, significantly reducing the workload.

With the coordinated efforts of eight construction robots, the second layer would be completed in two to three hours. After another eight hours of curing, the third layer could be built and sealed, marking the completion of the small bunker.

Once the shelter's internal affairs were in order, Su Wu resumed directing the city cleanup operation.

By evening, after the large transport truck had made more than five trips and hauled back over 100 tons of construction debris, the first road leading to the nearest official shelter entrance was finally cleared.

Su Wu immediately dispatched a construction robot to the official shelter's warehouse to retrieve his stored supplies.

"You've stored 220 tons of steel and 300 tons of fertilizer here," the warehouse administrator reported, though his tone carried some hesitation.

"What's the problem?" Su Wu asked, his voice transmitted through the construction robot's speakers with a steely edge.

"It's nothing. I'll fetch your goods right away." The administrator seemed to realize his misstep, quickly adopting an apologetic expression.

He printed out an inventory list and handed it to Su Wu's robot but hesitated again before speaking.

"You'd better retrieve all your supplies by tomorrow morning. Word is, due to severe shortages, the higher-ups are considering temporarily requisitioning private shelter resources to cover the gap. If you're slow, all you might get is an IOU."

Su Wu wasn't surprised. His eagerness to clear roads in the city was precisely to preempt such scenarios.

In a centralized, post-apocalyptic system, especially in the early stages of societal collapse, tearing up agreements and exploiting the weak was common. The fact they would even offer an IOU could be considered an act of mercy.

"I understand. Thank you for the warning," Su Wu replied, deciding not to trouble the administrator.

"I'll retrieve the rest of the supplies by 7 a.m. tomorrow."

"That's good. As long as it's before seven, you should be fine. The supervisor won't arrive that early." The administrator visibly relaxed, relieved to have one less problem to deal with.

With the inventory list in hand, Su Wu watched as forklifts operated by the official shelter's workers loaded 20 tons of fertilizer into the large transport truck.

As the truck began its journey back to Su Wu's shelter, he fell into deep

thought, contemplating how best to handle this unexpected development.

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