Apocalypse Survival: Starting with a Shelter

July 12.

The average surface temperature reached 75 degrees.

All traces of animals that had occasionally appeared on the surface were now completely gone. Even humans, who once stood at the top of the food chain, could no longer operate on the surface without specially modified vehicles or heat-resistant suits.

On this sweltering yet otherwise unremarkable day, deep within the rocky outskirts of Jianghe City, an unassuming shelter marked a significant milestone. The small shelter transitioned from manual production to true industrial manufacturing.

A faint hum resonated as a pile of scattered scrap metal was slowly conveyed into a high-temperature furnace.

With this, the power consumption of the recycling center soared, drawing nearly 90% of the output from two geothermal generators.

Since the furnace posed potential risks during operation, Su Wu remained in the control center, observing this special "inaugural ceremony" via the monitors.

However, calling it a ceremony was an exaggeration. The entire process lasted only a few seconds. What followed was a 12-hour-long preheating phase before the first batch of refined iron ingots could be produced.

After the ceremony, Su Wu focused on the furnace's data displayed on the control console. He couldn't help but feel a bit pressured.

"The energy consumption in this state is staggering."

The active furnace consumed roughly 500 kilowatt-hours per hour, capable of refining approximately one ton of scrap steel per hour after preheating.

While this output was significant, the energy demand was equally enormous. At full capacity, the shelter could not power any additional industrial equipment.

And this was just one of several furnaces. The recycling center housed at least five other furnaces of varying types, each designed to process specific materials.

Given the current energy limitations, running all the furnaces simultaneously was impossible. Su Wu could only use them in rotation.

"The geothermal resources in this area are nearly depleted."

"Unless I drill deeper or expand into new regions, I can't add more generators."

Facing the energy shortage, Su Wu's first thought was to increase the number of geothermal generators. However, after surveying the area, cold, hard data proved this to be unfeasible.

Geothermal resources, like any other resource, had their limits. The vicinity of the shelter could only support two generators.

Other energy solutions Su Wu could think of either carried excessive risks or provided insufficient power to be practical.

"I'll have to make do for now."

"Once the shelter develops further, I'll explore new outposts and resource sites."

These outposts didn't necessarily have to be residential areas. They could function as automated resource stations, dedicated to collecting electricity, minerals, and other valuable resources.

Until Su Wu could build nuclear power plants or other advanced energy stations, establishing additional geothermal and coal-fired power plants in external locations was the best and only viable solution.

After addressing the power supply issue, Su Wu switched to the shelter's 3D map, using sensors throughout the facility to inspect and analyze each level's environment.

The recycling center's operations would inevitably produce large amounts of toxic gases and other waste materials. Despite implementing a comprehensive purification and filtration system during construction, the shelter remained a confined, limited space.

Even minor mishaps could escalate into catastrophic disasters. Precautions, no matter how stringent, were warranted.

After ensuring no issues were detected, Su Wu decided to enhance the safety measures further. He planned to construct an isolation wall and dual isolation tunnels around the recycling center, physically separating it from the rest of the fourth underground level.

Additionally, the recycling center's ventilation system was disconnected from the shelter's main air circulation, rerouted directly to the surface.

This effectively turned the recycling center into an independent module. Even if uncontrollable accidents or disasters occurred, they would be unlikely to affect the main shelter.

"Now, it's time to initiate the shelter's true expansion plans."

With the recycling center's matters resolved, Su Wu turned his attention to the temporarily idle CNC machine and 3D printer.

Since the furnace consumed about 90% of the shelter's power, these manufacturing devices lacked the energy to operate continuously.

For now, they could only run by drawing from the high-capacity battery reserves, which stored up to 10,000 kilowatt-hours—enough to keep both devices running at full capacity for several days.

"First, I need to redesign the vehicles used by the engineering team."

The current vehicles—excavators, transporters, and crushers—were stopgap solutions Su Wu had resorted to when resources were scarce.

Now, with access to advanced manufacturing capabilities and more material reserves, continuing to use these miniaturized vehicles felt wasteful.

Regardless of their size, all vehicles required the same critical components: control chips and high-capacity batteries, both of which Su Wu couldn't yet produce himself.

In other words, building larger vehicles consumed roughly the same survival points as smaller ones but offered exponentially greater efficiency.

After referencing a dozen design blueprints from the database and twea

king them with drafting software, Su Wu finalized the new vehicle designs.

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