Suppressing the ominous premonition in his heart,
Su Wu continued to read the announcements.
The next one was more of a task bounty than an announcement.
The official shelter in Jianghe City was offering a total of 15 million worth of materials as a reward.
Hiring tasks were issued for all corporate and individual shelters. These tasks included clearing ground roads, assisting in the construction of underground farms and breeding facilities, and exchanging designated items.
Among them, clearing ground roads was the highest-priority task.
The authorities had even planned dozens of designated routes for clearing, with rewards specified per meter.
"So high?"
Su Wu was a little surprised but quickly grasped the reasoning behind it.
Although the official shelters in Jianghe City were connected through underground passages, most were hastily built emergency structures. The narrow tunnels, less than a meter wide, barely allowed for foot traffic or the passage of small amusement park-style toy trains.
The efficiency of material transportation was so low it was practically negligible, considering the population of millions.
In case of an emergency, ground roads would still be essential for deployment and mutual aid.
In other words, the ground transportation system remained the lifeline of the official shelter. No matter how costly, it had to be kept operational.
Understanding this, Su Wu no longer felt as anxious.
He accepted the task of clearing the roads and, after some thought, decided to exclude his engineering team from the conscription queue. Instead, he dispatched large trucks, specialized transport vehicles, and two construction robots to handle the job.
Going out now was highly risky.
The engineering team was the only structured construction force at his disposal—the backbone of the shelter's expansion. They were too valuable to risk, regardless of potential profits.
"Next."
"The engineering team will return and continue digging the fourth underground level of the shelter."
"The reconnaissance drone formation will provide route guidance and aerial surveillance for the cleanup team."
"The remaining construction robots will stay above ground to build small bunkers."
With the shelter's tasks organized, Su Wu keenly felt the labor shortage.
He only had seven construction robots. Two were leaving with the convoy, two were assigned to the engineering team to maintain full efficiency, and just three remained for bunker construction.
And these three would have to work tirelessly.
"We need to expand the team."
He checked his available survival points.
There hadn't been any major earnings recently, and various minor expenses had steadily drained his reserves. Now, only 25 survival points remained.
Originally, Su Wu intended to save these as emergency funds—lifelines for critical moments.
But now, he had changed his mind.
Survival points were a trump card, and so was the shelter. A strong shelter meant security.
So, they should be used when necessary.
"Spend all 25 survival points."
"Manufacture five construction robots."
Having made his decision, Su Wu wasted no time. He committed all his survival points to creating construction robots.
While these robots weren't as efficient as specialized machinery, their humanoid design allowed them to handle most tasks. There was no risk of oversaturation—every additional unit would significantly boost construction speed in some part of the shelter. They were second only to engineering robots in versatility.
At the manufacturing center, two engineering robots immediately got to work upon receiving Su Wu's order.
They retrieved materials from storage, cut and smelted them, and gradually welded the skeletons of the new construction robots, piece by piece.
Since the raw materials had been pre-screened and processed, the assembly proceeded rapidly. On average, a new construction robot was completed every hour.
Su Wu closely monitored the progress.
Each time an engineering robot finished assembling a unit, he went to the manufacturing center, used a survival point to activate it, and immediately deployed it to assist in bunker construction. No time was wasted.
After several hours, the abandoned farmyard above the shelter had become a bustling worksite again.
With the number of construction robots increasing to eight, and occasional assistance from the engineering team's concrete mixers, mini excavators, and transport vehicles, the first floor of the small bunker was taking shape at a visible speed.
"At this rate, in two more hours…"
"The first floor will be complete."
Seeing the direct impact of his investment, Su Wu felt a sense of satisfaction.
Unlike the underground shelter's one-meter-thick concrete walls, this emergency bunker's walls were only 20 centimeters thick and weren't filled with construction waste. While this eliminated the need to reinforce them with survival points, reducing costs, each new layer still required eight to twelve hours to harden before construction could continue.
Meanwhile, due to the previous storm, all material reserves—except for a small emergency supply of sand and gravel on the fourth underground level—had been exhausted. If he couldn't replenish resources soon, both the bunker project and the underground expansion would come to a halt.
Fortunately, there was a simple solution.
A dry riverbed lay two to three kilometers from the farmyard. By sending excavators and transport vehicles there, they could easily gather truckloads of sand and gravel. The only costs would be fuel, mechanical wear and tear, and the inherent risk of venturing beyond the shelter.
Two to three kilometers wasn't exactly close.
Especially in this unpredictable post-apocalyptic world.
There was no guarantee that anyone who left would return safely.
Su Wu pulled up the latest reconnaissance drone footage.
After carefully analyzing the images, he found that the riverbed hadn't changed much. Most of the route was clear, as it overlapped with the path taken by the cleanup team earlier.
The biggest challenge lay in the last few hundred meters—a rugged wilderness stretch followed by a steep slope, where unknown dangers could lurk.