Chapter 9: Hydroponic Farm

Ten meters underground, the main body of the refuge resided. A sloping passage connected this subterranean level to the surface. The first basement floor, near the shelter's exit, would house a disinfection room, a garage, and a dressing room to serve those entering. A large, twenty-square-meter lifting platform, capable of carrying a vehicle, would also be installed. This platform would provide access to the lower levels, including the second basement floor and beyond.

On his laptop, Su Wu meticulously planned the shelter's interior layout. After identifying the essential functional areas, he faced the expansive, five-hundred-square-meter space on the first underground floor. After careful consideration, he decided to divide it into two sections: a two-hundred-square-meter rice cultivation area and a three-hundred-square-meter vegetable garden.

In a world facing resource scarcity, food was paramount, second only to electricity. Only with a stable food supply could survival be assured and other concerns addressed. Therefore, establishing a self-sufficient food production facility was his top priority.

These underground growing areas differed significantly from conventional outdoor farms. Employing soilless cultivation techniques, they would utilize artificial grow lights instead of sunlight, creating optimal conditions for the rice and vegetables. To maximize space, the rice cultivation area would be tiered into four levels, while the vegetable garden would have ten. This would expand the effective growing area to eight hundred and three thousand square meters, respectively.

"Over an acre of rice cultivation," Su Wu mused. "In this artificially controlled environment, the growth cycle should be reducible to four months, yielding approximately sixteen hundred kilograms of rice. Enough to sustain at least ten people."

This yield estimate was, strictly speaking, conservative. Some high-yield hybrid rice varieties could produce one and a half, or even twice, that amount. However, Su Wu wasn't aiming for maximum output. High-yield hybrids often sacrificed flavor, and whenever possible, he wanted to maintain a decent quality of life.

For the three-thousand-square-meter vegetable garden, Su Wu selected fast-growing varieties like lettuce, cabbage, spinach, and kale, supplemented by smaller quantities of tomatoes and cucumbers. The fast-growing crops would focus on efficiency and yield, primarily intended for trade with other shelters. The higher-quality produce, on the other hand, was for his own consumption.

Su Wu's existing resources were just enough to get started. With the basic shelter framework in place, further improvements and expansion would depend on continuous trading. This was another crucial function of the vegetable garden.

Having chosen the primary vegetable varieties, Su Wu paused, then added strawberries, grapes, pineapples, and other fruits to his plan. These, too, would be for shelter residents. Recognizing that fruit consumption might even exceed vegetable intake, he allocated a substantial six hundred square meters to fruit cultivation, a touch of luxury and perhaps even a bit of indulgence.

"That's it for now," he said, stretching after finalizing the plans for the first underground floor. A rare sense of accomplishment filled him. His refuge was finally taking shape. Even with just one level for now, it was enough to ensure his survival for an extended period should disaster strike. In the face of impending doom, nothing brought greater comfort.

With the planning complete, construction could proceed smoothly. The engineering team first built the frame for the large lifting platform, which Su Wu then upgraded using survival points, bringing it into operation. The team then split into two groups. Excavators and transport vehicles continued carving out space on the second underground floor, while the engineering robot and two construction robots began building the disinfection room, dressing room, and garage near the ground floor lifting platform. They also periodically reinforced the newly excavated areas on the second floor.

Recognizing the inefficiency of standard excavators against the rocky terrain of the second underground floor, and with ample survival points at his disposal, Su Wu upgraded a specialized rock-crusher vehicle to bolster the construction efforts.

After twenty-four hours of continuous work, the first floor of the shelter was ready. The three robots had installed pipelines, partition walls, vents, and other essential infrastructure. Only the two soilless cultivation areas remained to be built.

May 31st.

The last day of May, marked the official completion of the first underground floor. Using five survival points, Su Wu installed semi-automatic, unmanaged equipment in both cultivation areas. He christened the level the "Hydroponic Farm" and initiated its operations. The rice, vegetables, and fruits were planted according to the plan.

One important detail remained. In his initial planning, Su Wu hadn't considered fruit cultivation, so he hadn't procured the necessary seeds and seedlings. He would have to venture out and purchase them. Fortunately, these were readily available at seed stores, and Su Wu easily traded some canned goods and grain for them, ensuring no delay in the Hydroponic Farm's production.

Simultaneously, through his primary AI, Luo Tianyi, Su Wu discovered disturbing news circulating online, though not yet widely known. Deep in the African Rift Valley, a large tribe had been decimated. At approximately 9:20 am, the ambient temperature had spiked to a record-breaking 155 degrees Fahrenheit, an unprecedented extreme. Thousands perished from dehydration under this oppressive heat, with no survivors.

"The end of the world has begun," Su Wu murmured. Viewing images taken by a federal rescue team, he suspected this was not an isolated incident, but the true dawn of the apocalypse. A shiver ran down his spine. He felt a mix of apprehension and anxiety about the future. No matter how well prepared, humanity's fragile existence seemed insignificant in the face of such world-altering events.

June 1st.

The disaster unfolded more rapidly than anticipated. This morning, a second extreme heat event occurred over Antarctica. Glaciers visibly melted and evaporated at an alarming rate. Above the ocean, hurricanes raged, accompanied by torrential downpours.

A few hours later, the coastal city nearest Antarctica was engulfed by a sudden tsunami. Over two hundred thousand people were missing, presumed lost. Thousands of miles away, in the coastal city of Dongzhou, the tsunami triggered long-lasting alarms. TV stations began broadcasting emergency announcements from the federal government, urging residents of coastal cities and ports to immediately evacuate to inland highlands.

But an evacuation involving millions, even tens of millions, was impossible to execute quickly. Ten hours after the alarms sounded, the first evacuees had barely left the coastal plains, heading inland. Millions remained stranded, caught in a desperate race against death, awaiting their fate.