Apocalypse Survival: Starting with a Shelter

In the new version, the mini excavator's length increased from 1.5 meters to 4.4 meters, and its bucket capacity grew from 0.04 cubic meters to 0.2 cubic meters. Its construction efficiency was boosted by approximately five times.

This new excavator could no longer be called "mini"; it had evolved into a small-scale professional construction tool—a true industrial-era marvel.

The upgrade for the mini transporter was even more dramatic. Its overall length expanded from under two meters to six meters, capable of carrying up to 20 cubic meters or 50 tons of material.

Named the "Ore Type 1 Transporter," this vehicle could carry the same amount in a single trip that would have required seven or eight trips for the smaller transporters. Its larger size also allowed for a more powerful electric engine, increasing its top speed to 50 kilometers per hour.

With this speed and capacity, the Ore Type 1 Transporter could become the primary vehicle for long-distance material transport, freeing the large truck from tasks such as hauling scrap metal and construction debris from the ruins.

Since these materials were essentially waste and not vulnerable to extreme heat or other harsh conditions, using a fully enclosed, insulated truck for transport felt overly luxurious and wasteful. In contrast, the open-bed design of the Ore Type 1 was perfectly suited for this purpose, minimizing costs.

As for the rock crushers, they were simply scaled up proportionally, resulting in higher efficiency for breaking apart rocks.

"Start by producing two new rock crushers," Su Wu instructed. "Then manufacture four units each of the small excavator and the Ore Type 1 Transporter."

Handing over the finalized blueprints to the AI, Su Wu carefully assigned the first batch of manufacturing tasks to the CNC machine and 3D printer.

While the new vehicles boasted increased size and efficiency, they also demanded significantly more resources. With nearly all usable metal materials already allocated to building the recycling center, there were limited resources available for vehicle production.

Thus, Su Wu prioritized manufacturing based on task importance and efficiency, ensuring optimal use of the available materials.

"Once these are completed, the rock crushers will join the engineering team to expedite excavation of the fifth underground level," Su Wu planned aloud.

"At the very least, we need to carve out space for a large warehouse first. The small excavators and Ore Type 1 Transporters will be split: half will join the engineering team, and the other half will assist the scavenging fleet in the city ruins."

Given the recycling center's limited capacity, with its primary furnace able to process only 10 to 20 tons of scrap metal daily, and other furnaces further reducing efficiency when active, Su Wu knew the bottleneck was significant.

Meanwhile, the scavenging fleet brought back at least 40 tons of scrap metal daily, with plans to expand its operations to compete with other shelters for the resources in the ruins.

The discrepancy between collection and processing capabilities was only growing. Before the stockpiled scrap metal overflowed the shelter's small surface fortress, a new warehouse was urgently needed to store it.

"Even scrap metal has considerable value and can't just be left exposed on the surface."

Feeling confident in his plans, Su Wu handed them over to the AI for execution. He leaned back into his chair, exhaling softly in relaxation.

At that moment, a flicker of unusual purple light caught the corner of his eye on the monitor wall.

Looking up, Su Wu traced the source of the light to the sky outside the shelter.

The purple glow pierced through several kilometers of thick smog and clouds, cascading down like woven strands of fabric draped across the heavens.

"Aurora?" Su Wu wondered.

Yet this wasn't a typical aurora. The purple light resembled an abyssal chasm, radiating a chilling sense of dread and despair that gripped Su Wu to his core.

The feeling was primal, like an animal instinctively recognizing a predator—or like encountering radiation, triggering a visceral fear for survival.

Even without any evidence, Su Wu was certain this phenomenon was far from benign.

Straightening his posture, he switched the main screen to a surface-level monitoring feed and adjusted the camera angle to capture more of the horizon and sky.

In this expanded view, the endless purple light spilled across the wasteland, faintly staining it with an eerie hue.

Suddenly, near a distant mountain range, a flock of unknown birds took flight.

They ascended briefly before succumbing to the intense heat of the air, their strength drained as they plummeted back to the ground.

More birds followed, seemingly oblivious to the fate of those before them. They too flapped desperately toward the sky, only to meet the same tragic end.

Watching this unfold, a shadow of unease clouded Su Wu's expression. A growing sense of foreboding coiled tightly around his thoughts.

After a long, heavy silence, Su Wu finally moved.

He adjusted the surveillance cameras to sweep across the shelter's surface. From piles of construction debris to the quiet, imposing fortress and the camouflaged entrance, everything seemed normal.

At last, he spotted a miniature transporter hauling excavated soil out from the shelter's exit. His gaze lingered slightly.

"This setup still isn't secure enough," Su Wu mused, pulling up the 3D map of the shelter and highlighting the exit tunnel.

The frequent transport of excavated material required the shelter's entrance to be opened repeatedly. Although the door was always closed promptly afterward, the cumulative open time each day was far from negligible.

This posed a significant vulnerability in the event of unforeseen incidents, such as an armed team bypassing surveillance to launch a sudden attack, or unpredictable na

tural disasters.

An open shelter door could quickly become a fatal flaw.

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