In addition to the supplies on the surface,
the large trucks that were still outside performing transportation tasks were relatively less concerning for Su Wu.
The massive steel behemoths, weighing more than 20 tons when fully loaded, were even safer and more stable than most houses.
However, out of caution, Su Wu also suspended the transportation tasks of the large trucks, instructing them to find a sheltered alley in the city to stop temporarily.
Three hours after the storm began,
the raging wind not only showed no signs of stopping but became even more violent.
Not far from the alley where the large truck had stopped, a four-story house collapsed under the pressure of the wind. Countless debris poured down, instantly blocking the street. Then, a large amount of lighter rubble was carried into the air by the powerful gusts, slamming into the surrounding buildings like a storm of projectiles.
Meanwhile, in the suburbs outside the city,
Su Wu was in the control center beneath the farmyard, exchanging information with other shelter owners in a chat group when he suddenly noticed the network becoming unstable. The delay increased until, eventually, the connection was lost entirely.
"It must be that the signal tower was blown down by the wind."
Su Wu quickly checked and confirmed the issue.
Signal towers were not fortresses.
In a storm powerful enough to threaten brick and stone buildings, it was unsurprising that a fragile structure like a signal tower had collapsed.
"This is bad," he muttered.
Under normal circumstances, a damaged signal tower would simply mean post-disaster repairs. However, in the apocalyptic conditions of today, ordinary workers could barely step outside their shelters, let alone restore critical infrastructure.
How much manpower and resources could the authorities spare for something that didn't directly affect survival?
The answer was obvious.
Barring a miracle, this network outage would likely last indefinitely—perhaps even until the extinction of humanity.
That evening,
Su Wu sat alone in the silent control center, staring at the rocky wasteland being ravaged by the wind on the monitor.
For the first time, he felt an overwhelming sense of isolation.
Yet, there was no one he could talk to about it.
The farthest point he could reach was just a few hundred meters away, captured by the surveillance cameras.
Late at night,
under a pitch-black sky devoid of light,
the storm weakened.
According to an official report on the radio, Jianghe City had entered a brief respite from the storm. However, a stronger one was expected within the next two to three hours, with wind speeds potentially reaching over Level 17.
A Level 17 storm.
It was already the highest classification on the Beaufort scale—
a true natural catastrophe.
Su Wu's two-story building on the surface likely wouldn't survive winds of that magnitude.
"I need to move the supplies underground immediately."
Drowsiness vanished from Su Wu's mind as he jolted upright at the news.
He halted all underground construction work and mobilized the engineering team from the fourth level, along with the newly manufactured transport vehicles and all available construction robots, dispatching them to the surface to retrieve as much as possible.
At the same time, he sent an order to the large trucks taking shelter in Jianghe City, instructing them to return to the farmyard.
There was some risk in making them travel now, but compared to the impending disaster, it was still within an acceptable range.
"First, retrieve the old household appliances, pipes, cables, and rubber tires."
"Next, collect the toilet paper, soap, and plastic products stored in the residential buildings."
"Finally, gather the cement and steel."
Opening the list of surface-stored materials, Su Wu quickly determined the priority of each item.
His choices may have seemed odd at first glance. Old household appliances and used tires—despite their relatively low value—were given top priority.
However, there was a reason for this.
Firstly, their irregular shapes and lightweight nature made them highly susceptible to being swept away by strong winds. Secondly, they contained rare metals essential for manufacturing precision machinery in the future.
Without these components, producing even a single construction robot would be far more difficult—not impossible, but significantly more expensive in terms of survival points.
Toilet paper, plastic products, and other consumables were next. These items took up considerable space and didn't require special storage conditions, which was why they had been left in the surface buildings until now.
But that didn't mean they weren't valuable.
Given the urgency of the situation, even if they had to be piled up in the corridors of the underground shelter, they had to be salvaged.
The cement and steel, however, were a different issue.
There was simply too much of it.
Su Wu knew he wouldn't be able to transport all of it before the Level 12 storm arrived. The best he could do was move as much as possible.
On the surface,
the shelter's steel doors slowly opened.
Five construction robots emerged, their metal bodies gleaming under the dim passage lights.
The howling wind, mixed with sand and gravel, lashed against their frames, producing sharp clattering sounds. Their movements wavered slightly, but they pressed on.
Even in this temporary lull, the wind still averaged around Level 8. It was a death sentence for any human attempting to walk outside.
Adding to the danger, despite the storm, the ambient temperature remained above 70 degrees Celsius—
a scorching inferno reminiscent of an alien world.
For ordinary people, moving under these conditions was nearly impossible.
But for robots, as long as the heat didn't overwhelm their cooling systems and damage their internal circuits, it made little difference.
Activating their searchlights, the construction robots scanned the ground.
Before long, they converged on the pile of discarded appliances.
Behind them, two mini transport vehicles, two mini excavators from the engineering team, and the newly built special transport vehicle followed closely.
Three minutes later,
the first mini transport vehicle, fully loaded with old appliances, began its return trip.
Weaving through stacks of cement, steel, and scattered debris, it entered the downward passage of the shelter and descended via the underground lift to the fourth level.
With the breeding factory on the third underground floor now fully operational, space was at a premium.
For now, the partially excavated fourth level would have to serve as a temporary storage area.