Apocalypse Survival: Starting with a Shelter

The feed crop area, the largest section of the shelter, was thriving. Many of the carefully cultivated grasses were ready for their first harvest.

Within the planting zone, a small section had been cleared to house a few lambs with snow-white fleece. These lambs, gifted by the Chaoyang Shelter, were valuable.

Due to the limited space for livestock, a temporary area in the planting zone was used to accommodate them. Once the fifth underground level was completed, a proper space would be assigned.

In the second underground level, Su Wu's main living and activity area, there was little need for a detailed inspection due to his familiarity. After a quick glance at the air quality report showing normal conditions, Su Wu shifted his attention to the first level.

The hydroponic farm was serene and brightly lit. Rows of vegetables, fruits, and flowers brought vibrant greenery to the level. This lush sight offered a refreshing contrast to the grim reality of the apocalypse.

In these times, when the world was in ruins, no jewelry, ornaments, or other luxuries could compare to the brilliance of the farm's greenery. It was a true treasure in the post-apocalyptic world.

Beauty has a way of uplifting the spirit.

After surveying the farm, Su Wu felt his heavy heart lighten. It filled him with a protective urge—this home, built with so much effort, was worth defending against any disaster.

Finished with his inspection, Su Wu turned to the manufacturing center.

After completing the equipment for the chemical lab, the manufacturing center resumed its usual tasks—prioritizing projects to develop and expand the shelter's capacity.

Currently, it was producing small excavators and stone crushers, based on Su Wu's latest designs. With the available production capacity, excluding the resources dedicated to radiation detector manufacturing, the center could produce one small excavator or one stone crusher every eight hours.

According to Su Wu's plan, after completing two units of each type, the older models of vehicles in the engineering team, including stone crushers, excavators, and transport trucks, would be recalled for retrofitting at the manufacturing center.

The upgrades would improve both their size and performance, aligning them closer to the new engineering vehicles. Since the retrofitting wouldn't involve altering the vehicles' intelligent chips or high-energy batteries, it wouldn't require any survival points—essentially making it a free upgrade.

"By the day after tomorrow, the engineering team will complete this phase of expansion and upgrades. At that point, their excavation speed will increase two- to threefold, roughly 15 times faster than before acquiring the CNC machine and 3D printer."

A fifteenfold efficiency increase was staggering. Before the CNC machine, it took the engineering team 12 days to excavate a standard 600-square-meter level.

With the new efficiency, they could complete an entire level in less than a day. Even for the fifth level, with its 12-meter height—twice that of the earlier levels—and an expanded 3,000-square-meter area, the new team could finish in just eight days.

At that stage, the main bottleneck for the shelter's expansion wouldn't be excavation speed but the supply of raw materials—specifically, cement.

"Trading alone won't meet the shelter's construction demands. It's time to consider mining limestone and producing cement myself."

Su Wu recalled the small limestone quarry he had discovered deep in the mountains while setting up the monitoring network. Although challenging to access and mine due to a lack of roads, it had become a necessity given the looming cement shortage.

Even if it meant relying on drones to transport the limestone piece by piece, it had to be done.

However, it might not come to that extreme.

Su Wu pulled up a recent map of the mountainous region, captured by drones, and began analyzing potential routes to the quarry.

The first six kilometers leading into the mountains were straightforward, following existing roads. The mountain's outer regions had numerous paths, widened by those who had built shelters there. Despite recent wildfires, many remained passable.

After some careful examination, Su Wu identified a route approximately seven kilometers long that led to a point 3.7 kilometers from the limestone quarry.

From there, the terrain became treacherous, marked by cliffs and gorges.

"This area is tough to access—steep cliffs, no paths," Su Wu muttered, deep in thought.

His gaze shifted to the mountainside. If there were no paths, one could be carved. The road didn't need to be wide or high—just enough for a single mining transport vehicle to navigate.

For a quicker solution, a suspended walkway could suffice.

Supports could be made from existing steel bars and angles, with the walkway constructed from salvaged metal sheets.

If more materials were needed, Su Wu could dip into the stockpile of finished steel recently acquired from other large shelters. Once the limestone quarry was depleted, these materials could be recycled, with minimal energy lost during re-smelting.

For the gorge, Su Wu planned to use drones and steel cables to construct a suspension bridge. It didn't need to be elaborate—just functional.

The road-building plan was relatively simple on paper, though its execution would require significant resources and manpower. The operation might also draw attention.

However, Su Wu no longer needed to remain in the shadows. With his current capabilities, he could confidently undertake such a project without fear of having the quarry's fruits snatched away.

"It's decided. Once the engineering team's expansion is complete, we'll begin assembling a team to carve out roads and build bridges."

-Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there 

patreon.com/LegendaryTL

Thanks!