The flying gravel on the road was so dense that it blocked the vehicle's headlights, making it impossible to see beyond two meters.
Then, the stones struck the high-speed transport vehicle and the truck one after another.
They created a crackling sound, forming a wave of noise that drowned out all other sounds.
The special transport vehicle, limited by its size and weight, was the first to show signs of losing control in this extreme environment.
Its body began to sway from side to side, with the amplitude gradually increasing. In the end, if it hadn't been pulled by the tow hook of the large truck in front, it would have likely fallen into the dry canal on the side of the road.
At the control console, Su Wu turned off the real-time images transmitted by the special transport vehicle and the large truck.
On the wide screen in front of him, the main view shifted to a three-dimensional terrain map, modeled from scans conducted by the large truck's onboard radar.
Because of the sheer amount of debris blown up by the strong wind, the terrain map was filled with light spots obstructing the view, making it almost impossible to discern the original landscape. Only by cross-referencing the 3D panoramic map recorded before the disaster could he barely reconstruct parts of the terrain and determine the convoy's current location.
Next to the topographic map were various driving data for both vehicles, including speed, steering, center of gravity, and tilt.
Su Wu only needed to do some quick calculations in his mind based on the constantly changing data.
With that, he could roughly gauge the convoy's current status and the external pressures it was facing.
But that was all he could do.
The current situation was beyond his ability to control. It had essentially turned into a race between a primary artificial intelligence system operating early-era doomsday vehicles and the full force of a natural disaster.
"We're almost home."
Powerless to intervene, Su Wu could only watch the map and silently pray for the convoy's safety.
On the surface of the wasteland, the roaring hurricane had transformed into an unstoppable torrent, sweeping from the horizon toward the mountains.
Occasionally, one or two less stable hills trembled under the force of the extreme storm. Then, at a certain moment, they collapsed like piles of snow kicked apart. Countless fragments of soil, broken rocks, and dead tree roots were swept up and carried away by the wind.
And yet, in this perilous landscape, two vehicles—one large and one small—remained connected by iron chains, silently pushing forward on a road covered in gray sand and gravel. With the boundary of the road no longer visible, they pressed on through the storm's relentless waves.
Small, but unyielding.
Finally, the wall of the farmyard came into view.
Without slowing down, the two vehicles crashed through the locked yard gate, racing toward the shelter entrance against the fierce wind.
At the same time, the heavy shelter gate began to open.
Seconds later, the large truck and the special transport vehicle barreled into the entrance passage of the shelter. The sandstorm, stirred up by the powerful wind, was left behind as the shelter's gate slowly closed once more.
On the second underground floor, in the control center, Su Wu finally relaxed.
The convoy's safe return meant that his most valuable external assets had made it back intact.
Now, he could stay inside the shelter with peace of mind, waiting for this unprecedented storm to pass.
But at that moment, a faint tremor came from beneath his feet.
Su Wu frowned, but before he could pinpoint the source, all the surface surveillance feeds on the control room's monitoring wall went dark within seconds.
"What's going on?"
The relief he'd just felt instantly vanished. Staring at the massive main screen in front of the console, he ordered the artificial intelligence to check the shelter's internal systems.
The diagnostic results brought him some reassurance.
The abnormal movement hadn't originated inside the shelter.
The entire facility, including the unfinished fourth underground floor, remained unaffected.
"Was that an earthquake?"
Su Wu tried to figure out what was happening outside, but with all the shelter's external cameras offline, he had little to go on.
In the end, he had to rely on replaying the last few seconds of footage before the surface monitors lost connection to extract any useful information.
It wasn't an earthquake.
Or rather, there were no signs of an earthquake in the footage.
The disruption had come entirely from the suddenly intensifying storm outside.
According to the AI's analysis, in the final recorded moments, the surface storm had truly reached level 17 intensity. And that wasn't its peak—its ultimate strength remained unknown.
"Good thing the large truck returned early."
Su Wu exhaled slightly in relief as he stared at the analysis confirming the level 17 wind intensity.
If he hadn't insisted on bringing the large truck back, things might have taken a disastrous turn by now. But even as he felt relieved, a heavy sense of unease settled over him.
A hurricane surpassing level 17.
Not only was such a phenomenon unheard of in Jianghe City, deep in the mainland, but even coastal areas had only ever seen it in historical records.
Its arrival was anything but a good sign.
"In the future, I can't focus solely on resisting high temperatures."
"I need to prepare for all kinds of natural disasters."
After calming down, Su Wu began reflecting on his miscalculations.
This time, while the full extent of the surface damage remained unclear, it was almost certain that the storm had caused significant losses.
The worst-case scenario?
All the supplies stored aboveground could have been completely destroyed.
That was entirely his misjudgment.
He hadn't anticipated encountering a catastrophic event like a superstorm so soon.
Fortunately, after two or three hours of emergency relocation, even if the worst had happened, the losses remained within acceptable limits.
At most, he'd feel heartbroken for a few days.
Glancing at the time, he saw it was nearly four in the morning.
After mentally reviewing the day's events one last time and confirming there were no urgent matters left to handle, Su Wu yawned and got up from the console.
He planned to wash up and get some rest.
No matter how severe the storm raged outside, it couldn't penetrate the shelter's deep underground levels. Likewise, Su Wu, within the shelter, had no way to influence the outside world.
The only thing he could do now was rest.
Recharge his energy.
And wait for the storm to subside.
A few hours later.
At noon.
The surface storm had weakened.
Su Wu, having just woken up, received a greeting from Ye Luoshuanghua through the radio equipment.
She also provided him with a special access account.
"Satellite network?"