Chapter 118: The Bluebird-Class Transport Drone

July 27th.

The surface temperature rose slightly compared to the previous day.

In Su Wu's shelter, as well as the geothermal generators at the watchtower base and limestone quarry, power generation efficiency continued to drop. Conversely, energy consumption from cooling systems, including the central air conditioning, surged dramatically.

This forced Su Wu to rely even more on the Lime Shelter's fire generators for power.

To ensure the efficient transport of electricity from the Lime Shelter to the farmhouse ruins and the limestone quarry in such harsh conditions, Su Wu used survival points to enhance his infrastructure, creating a high-energy battery pack and a Bluebird-Class Transport Drone.

The Bluebird-Class Transport Drone was the result of strengthening a standard delivery drone with 5 survival points. Its cost rivaled that of half an engineering robot, making it an exceptionally expensive piece of equipment.

While it shared similar basic attributes with a standard delivery drone—such as a doubled payload capacity of 20 kilograms and a maximum communication range of 25 kilometers—its resilience to extreme environments was its defining feature.

The drone could operate in temperatures as high as 200°C and as low as -120°C, and it was resistant to strong winds.

In essence, it was a specialized drone built for extreme climates.

"High-energy battery pack fully charged, preparing to return," announced the AI.

"This route: Lime Shelter to the farmhouse ruins."

The top level of the Lime Shelter, now devoid of any survivors, activated a mechanical lift, raising the silver-colored high-energy battery pack and the Bluebird-Class Transport Drone into the open air.

The Bluebird-Class Transport Drone, smaller than the battery pack it carried, spun up its four rotors, stirring the scorching air as it slowly lifted the silver box into the sky.

In the control center on the second underground floor of the farmhouse, Su Wu sat at his console, watching the desolate landscape through the drone's camera feed.

Lately, he had developed the habit of observing the surface through the transport drones. It wasn't because the barren land was particularly captivating but because it was one of his few remaining windows to the outside world.

His reconnaissance drones, once a crucial source of information, could no longer function in the extreme heat. The surveillance cameras mounted on the surface frequently malfunctioned as well, prompting Su Wu to shut them down temporarily to preserve their utility for critical situations.

The engineering vehicles at the limestone quarry could still provide some video footage, but their limited range rendered their updates equally sparse and repetitive.

After about eight or nine minutes, the Bluebird-Class Transport Drone entered the vicinity of the farmhouse ruins and began its descent onto the small bunker's rooftop.

A mechanical arm on the rooftop detached the drone from the high-energy battery pack, placing the battery upright on the lift platform. This step, though cumbersome, was necessary due to the platform's limited size, which required the battery to be transported vertically.

Seeing that the Bluebird-Class Transport Drone had completed its mission, Su Wu disconnected from its video feed and returned to the console's main interface.

On the main screen, a 3D map of the shelter's underground structure, composed of countless green lines, came into view. Along these lines, pulsating lights flowed irregularly, representing dynamic activity within the shelter.

The lights, matching the map's green hue, created a serene and rhythmic visual—like the steady breathing of a living organism.

Su Wu's gaze lingered on the map. Each time he looked at this representation of his shelter, he felt a deep sense of accomplishment. This intricate system was his creation, built piece by piece from nothing.

Shifting his focus to the surface monitoring map, Su Wu observed the remains of his once-expansive reconnaissance network, which had extended up to 40 kilometers at its peak. Now, only a handful of scattered beacons remained active, the rest having succumbed to the relentless heat.

To maintain contact with the limestone quarry, Su Wu had been forced to construct a signal relay station in the mountains, an effort requiring significant resources.

"Right now, I know far too little about what's happening outside," Su Wu muttered. "Who knows how long this weather will last?"

Without his monitoring network, Su Wu felt like a blind man navigating a treacherous wilderness, constantly at risk of stumbling into unseen dangers.

Although the Federation Academy predicted that this extreme heat would be a short-lived phenomenon, followed by a prolonged ice age, such broad timelines were meaningless on an individual scale.

In a planetary epoch where time was measured in millions of years, even a human lifetime was but a fleeting moment. Who could say how many would survive to witness snow return to the earth?

Shaking off such pointless musings, Su Wu connected to his internet to unwind with some games.

With the recent expansion of his network, Su Wu's online games had attracted a wave of new players, making his gaming sessions more enjoyable than ever. He was so engrossed that he found the inspiration to work with his AI to add new expansions to the games.

This unexpected update caused a sensation among the gaming community and even drew attention from non-gamers and shelter residents.

This wasn't an era of peace—it was the apocalypse. To dedicate resources to updating games in such dire times was not just surprising but downright shocking.

People couldn't fathom the level of confidence required to sustain such an extravagant endeavor.

Were they really living in the same world as him?

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