Chapter 23: The Official Order

Wang Jianguo sighed. His steel shelter, home to workers and their families from the former steel factory, was essentially a small town of two thousand people.

"By the way, I remember you mentioned your shelter uses a geothermal generator," Wang Jianguo said. "Is that thing any good?"

"It is," Su Wu replied. "The stable 300-kilowatt-hour supply is enough to power the entire shelter."

This wasn't a secret. Su Wu's geothermal generator and its design were freely available online. While he had upgraded it with survival points, incorporating some advanced technology, the basic principles were common knowledge. Even if he sold it openly, it would be praised as advanced but not revolutionary.

"That much?" Wang Jianguo exclaimed. "Three hundred kWh? That's almost as much as a small hydropower station."

Su Wu's answer drew attention from others in the group. Small hydropower stations, though seemingly insignificant, were valuable assets. Now, their output could support hundreds of shelters and tens of thousands of people. They were a symbol of wealth in the current climate.

"Could I buy some electricity from you?" asked a group member, the owner of the shelter named Heavy Knight. "My shelter is struggling with lighting, and there's no power anywhere."

His shelter, like Su Wu's, was a small private refuge, housing only himself and his family. Its small size meant low tolerance for errors. With its only diesel generator malfunctioning the previous night, the shelter was facing a power shortage.

Fortunately, the outside air quality had improved, and combustion byproducts had dissipated. Otherwise, he would have had to move his family to an official shelter.

"It's possible," Su Wu replied. "But I'm quite far from you. Running a cable isn't feasible."

Su Wu's shelter didn't use even half of the geothermal generator's output, wasting a lot of electricity. Trading it for something else would be beneficial.

However, in the post-apocalyptic world, the most difficult part of resource exchange was the process itself. Without a solution, any transaction was merely wishful thinking.

"That's alright," the Reinstalled Knight replied. "I have plenty of battery packs. As long as I can charge them." He could risk a trip to Su Wu's shelter to transport the batteries.

"Okay," Su Wu said. "Let's discuss this in private later."

He saw a business opportunity. For the Reinstalled Knight, transporting batteries was life-threatening. But for Su Wu, with his automated truck and robots, delivery was almost cost-free within the Jianghe City area. This difference allowed him to charge a substantial delivery fee.

After arranging the deal with the Reinstalled Knight, Su Wu received no further transaction requests. While others were envious of his abundant electricity, they lacked the Reinstalled Knight's battery storage and weren't in dire straits. For them, risking a dangerous trip for extra electricity wasn't worth it.

After half an hour of chatting, gathering useful and useless information, Su Wu was about to log off when Ye Luoshuanghua sent him a private message.

"Are you selling your geothermal generators?"

"You want to buy one?" Su Wu replied, intrigued.

The geothermal generator, comparable to a small hydropower station, was valuable. Even a steel shelter with two thousand people might not be able to afford it.

"I've searched the database," Ye Luoshuanghua said. "No manufacturers or second-hand equipment suppliers have your type of generator. You must have the original design drawings."

"You want the drawings too?" Su Wu asked, surprised.

This request was unusual. Wanting the drawings meant the buyer was confident in replicating the generator, implying they had machining capabilities and engineers.

"The finished product can be sold," Su Wu replied. "But the drawings are useless. Many core components are hard to produce, even before the apocalypse."

He chose not to sell the drawings. His generator was based on public designs, but without the survival point upgrades, it wouldn't meet the performance of a small hydropower station. Selling the drawings could create problems.

"Finished products are fine," Ye Luoshuanghua said. "I'd like to order two units. If transport is inconvenient, I can send a fleet to assist."

He wasn't particularly interested in the drawings. Replicating the generator from a finished product wasn't difficult. He had asked for the drawings to secure Su Wu's installation services. Installing the generator, especially the deep underground pipes, required specialized expertise.

"What's the price?" Su Wu asked.

Ye Luoshuanghua's attitude suggested he had ample funds. Su Wu sensed a significant business opportunity.

(End of Chapter)