Apocalypse Survival: Starting with a Shelter

Looking at the materials required for mixing the anti-radiation coating, Su Wu noted that most were relatively common. Even the special fluorescent powder purchased from the official shelter wasn't outrageously expensive.

However, the massive loss and refinement required during production were what made the process so costly.

"No wonder the official shelters sell the finished product for 22,000 contribution points per liter. It's not about greed—it's all due to production costs," Su Wu realized.

This time, he acknowledged that the official shelter wasn't overcharging. With only a 10% markup over cost for such an essential product, it was a fair deal, even by pre-apocalypse standards.

Shaking his head, Su Wu summoned a construction robot and instructed it to take the newly mixed anti-radiation coating to the manufacturing center.

Given the coating's high value, he decided to prioritize its use for critical equipment. Robots, engineering vehicles, and other automated machinery only needed their core electronic components protected and coated to ensure operational stability under radiation exposure.

Large transport trucks, however, required comprehensive coverage. Both the driver's cabin and the enclosed cargo area needed full coating to accommodate future human transport needs.

"The outer walls of the shelter also need a layer of anti-radiation coating," Su Wu pondered.

Coating the entire shelter would be a massive undertaking. Just thinking about the total surface area of the walls was enough to make anyone's head spin.

At 10 square meters per liter, covering all four underground levels—including the first level's ceiling and the fourth level's floor—would require at least 180 liters of coating, costing over 3.6 million contribution points.

But it was unavoidable.

While the underground location, soil, rock layers, and thick concrete walls offered some protection against radiation, a sufficiently strong external radiation source could still affect the shelter's interior.

The shelter was Su Wu's home. If he didn't want to tread cautiously around radiated areas in his own space or jeopardize the output from his hydroponic farms and livestock, this expense couldn't be skimped on.

In fact, Su Wu briefly considered using survival points to enhance the anti-radiation properties of the coating after application. However, after careful thought, he held off on the idea.

The lessons from the last storm were still fresh in his mind. There was no guarantee that the upcoming radiation storm would only bring radiation-related threats. If unforeseen disasters arose and he had already depleted his survival points, he'd have no recourse.

Ultimately, having a reserve of survival points was key to maintaining control.

Still, necessary upgrades had to proceed.

Su Wu glanced at the three-dimensional map, focusing on the shelter's exit passage.

With the micro mech ensuring his personal safety, the exit passage, once the most critical security checkpoint, could now have its restrictions slightly relaxed. It would be used for routine material exchanges with the outside world.

To address radiation concerns, he planned to use the passage's unique structure to construct a multi-chamber purification room to eliminate residual radiation.

"Additionally, the external gate and the interior isolation door of the exit passage need to be reinforced with a layer of lead plating and coated with the anti-radiation material," Su Wu thought.

"The doors and walls near the elevator platform also need coating. The fifth underground level's waste disposal shaft requires modifications too, with a designated area for radiation residue removal nearby.

"And the drone launch platform, along with its access tunnel's multiple isolation doors, needs coating.

"Lastly, the ventilation system and air purification units must also be addressed."

Su Wu meticulously reviewed and updated the three-dimensional map of the shelter, reinforcing every possible point of contact with the outside world.

These adjustments significantly increased the workload for his engineering and construction robots, ensuring they'd remain busy for at least three to five hours.

"That should be everything. The raw materials for the anti-radiation coating should suffice. No need for additional purchases," Su Wu concluded after a thorough review.

The special fluorescent powder required for the coating, though crucial, accounted for only one-twentieth of the total production cost. Each liter of coating consumed just 1,000 contribution points' worth of fluorescent powder.

Even with all these upgrades, the powder consumption would barely deplete half of Su Wu's current stock.

"Next time I procure resources from the official shelter, I should consider purchasing plants capable of producing fluorescent powder. Setting aside an area on the fifth underground level or elsewhere for cultivation could ensure a self-sustaining supply of this critical resource."

With the new shelter plans finalized, Su Wu's role was largely complete.

All that remained was to wait for the radiation storm.

Switching the main control screen to a ground-level monitor, Su Wu observed the trucks and busy engineering vehicles at the flattened farmhouse ruins.

While most of the large engineering vehicles had returned to their shelters, a small number remained, ensuring that unloading operations proceeded smoothly.

Su Wu was fully prepared.

As for the workers still on the surface, how many of them would emerge unscathed from the radiation storm to live out their natural lifespans?

That was a question for the management teams of their respective shelters, not Su Wu.

As a beneficiary of this system, and with no direct connection to those workers, Su Wu felt no obligation to share his precious anti-radiation coating with them—no matter how bleak their future seemed.

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