Apocalypse Survival: Starting with a Shelter

From the moment the deployment program began, every 20 seconds a general-purpose drone, equipped with several monitoring devices, was loaded into the lift platform of the shelter's surface bunker and ascended into the air.

[Environmental temperature: Normal.]

[Wind speed: Below warning threshold.]

[Drone lowering altitude, deploying monitoring device.]

The segmented drone camera feeds displayed on the control panel revealed the drones circling the skies for a few minutes before descending to an appropriate location. Once they hovered about a meter above the ground, the drones deployed their devices.

Behind the scenes, the AI detected when each device touched the ground, immediately activating it and integrating it into the shelter's expanding surveillance network.

Sitting at the control panel, Su Wu observed as one by one, green dots began appearing on the central 3D map, marking the deployment of the monitoring devices. Slowly but surely, these dots expanded outward from the shelter's location.

The green dots varied in brightness. The brighter dots were sparse, evenly spaced, and formed a grid-like pattern, radiating outward from the shelter in concentric circles. These were signal relay nodes responsible for transmitting data from the surrounding devices back to the shelter. With these nodes, Su Wu could extend his monitoring network far beyond the immediate vicinity, even reaching the distant city of Jianghe.

The dimmer dots, which were far more numerous, represented devices like wireless cameras, anemometers, geological activity monitors, and specialized equipment for analyzing air, soil composition, and radiation levels. These devices monitored the skies, ground, and underground environments, sending their data to the nearest relay node for transmission back to the shelter.

Together, this network of green dots provided comprehensive surveillance of the shelter's surroundings. With the AI processing the massive influx of data, Su Wu could receive alerts for any abnormal activity in real-time.

After two hours, thousands of monitoring devices successfully blanketed a 10-kilometer radius around the shelter. Beyond this range, the cost of maintaining comprehensive coverage increased exponentially.

To address this, Su Wu directed the network to extend along three primary lines, resembling railway tracks, heading toward the northern mountains, the eastern city of Jianghe, and the southwestern plains.

In the city-facing line, signs of human activity remained evident. Despite the collapsed ruins and overwhelming destruction, the scavenging teams—including Su Wu's own—maintained a semblance of vitality amidst the desolation. For Su Wu, the sight of human activity was oddly reassuring.

In contrast, the plains and mountain-facing lines were eerily silent.

The roads were buried under debris and dust, while nearby homes were either crumbled or vanished entirely. Though it had only been a little over a month since humanity retreated to underground shelters, and only one major storm had passed, the remnants of human civilization were vanishing at an alarming rate.

When the monitoring network reached the mountains, the footage captured by the drones painted an even grimmer picture.

The ground, a mix of charred rock, scorched soil, and ash from burned vegetation, stretched out as far as the eye could see. Strange, fire-etched patterns occasionally adorned the landscape, evoking an otherworldly and unsettling atmosphere.

Despite the foreboding imagery, Su Wu knew it was an illusion born of the silence. The high temperatures of the air ensured that no predators—or even prey—could survive here. Nature itself was the enemy of life.

"Mountains in the apocalypse… not ideal places," Su Wu muttered, discomforted by the oppressive visuals.

He turned his attention to the data transmitted by the sensors deployed in the mountains. While he couldn't interpret much of it himself, the AI's analysis provided a clear summary:

Human activity was detected within a kilometer of the surveyed area, deep inside the mountains.

"People are surviving this close to me?"

The discovery eased Su Wu's tension slightly. He took a deep breath but chose not to initiate contact with these survivors. For now, he preferred to monitor quietly.

By evening, the furthest monitoring device from the shelter had reached 40 kilometers into the mountains, while a camera on the network had begun capturing images of the outskirts of a neighboring county.

The expanded network provided Su Wu with a wealth of data, including the location of a previously untapped small limestone deposit.

Limestone, the primary material for cement production, could significantly ease the shelter's future construction needs if extracted.

"Too bad it's in the mountains without proper access roads," Su Wu noted, already contemplating the challenges of extraction.

Still, the find was promising enough for him to mark the location prominently on his map. For now, though, he shelved the idea and turned his attention to other matters.

Logging into both his private internet and the official satellite network, Su Wu hoped to glean any useful information.

On his private network, things were as lively as ever. Players immersed in games, users shared tips for passing the time, others uploaded glimpses of their shelter lives, and of course, there were the inevitable forum arguments

.

The apocalypse had done little to change human nature.

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

patreon.com/LegendaryTL

Thanks!