Grim Situations

Although he had decided to build a bunker, the exact location still needed careful consideration.

The ideal spot would, of course, be at the entrance of the shelter. If the bunkers surrounded the exit, anyone trying to enter would first have to capture them, creating a strong sense of security.

However, there was a major issue.

The shelter's exit was quite large. To cover it with a bunker, the structure would need to be several times bigger than originally planned. The extended construction time and additional materials required would far exceed what Su Wu could afford.

After weighing his options, the best solution was to rebuild the bunker where the original houses had stood. This would allow him to reuse the old drone lifting platform, minimizing construction costs.

Additionally, after the storm had unexpectedly breached the shelter, Su Wu realized that some modifications to the shelter's entrance were necessary.

Currently, the entrance was a downward-sloping passage dug into the ground, with the outermost gate positioned vertically downward. This design had clear weaknesses.

For example, during heavy rains, water could easily collect at the entrance, forming puddles. If that water carried radiation, viruses, or other contaminants, the consequences would be catastrophic.

In the event of an armed conflict, the lack of protective cover at the entrance would leave defenders completely exposed to enemy fire, making any attempt to fight back significantly more difficult.

To address these problems, Su Wu didn't necessarily need to build a full-fledged fortress right away.

In the early stages, he could construct a small concrete structure, roughly the size of a garage, at the exit. This would provide basic waterproofing and drainage.

Later, as the underground shelter expanded, he could gradually pile excavated soil and rock around the structure, increasing its thickness and height until it formed an artificial hill. Over time, the original concrete building would evolve into a proper underground shelter built within the hill.

The biggest advantage of this approach was its low cost. The only requirement was redirecting the disposal of excavated soil while expanding the shelter—a small change that could yield significant benefits.

By evening, the faint light filtering through the clouds had faded, and thick darkness descended over the land.

On the flattened ground where the farmyard once stood, several high-powered floodlights hung from temporary poles, illuminating the area for hundreds of meters as if it were broad daylight.

After hours of continuous work, there was no longer any trace of the storm.

All scattered materials, including debris from collapsed buildings and walls, had been sorted and collected. Not far from the piles, the foundation of the old houses had been cleared, and construction had begun on the bunker's ground-level structure.

"It doesn't take that many excavators and transport vehicles to build the bunker," Su Wu thought. "I can free up some resources for other tasks."

Seated in the underground shelter's control center, he monitored the construction site through the surveillance feed, formulating a new plan.

He hadn't forgotten about the last few hundred tons of materials still stored in the official shelter. The longer they remained there, the greater the risk of unforeseen complications. Now that he had available resources, it was time to retrieve them as soon as possible.

However, instead of acting immediately, Su Wu decided to be cautious.

He activated a formation of reconnaissance drones and sent them to survey the urban area of Jianghe City.

Before long, a series of slightly unfamiliar aerial images appeared on his screen.

Viewed from above, the terrain within a dozen kilometers of the farmyard had undergone noticeable changes due to the massive storm.

Many sections of the road were blocked by enormous fallen rocks, and in some places, the ground had cracked apart, creating fissures as wide as rivers.

With such terrain, even tanks would struggle to cross, let alone large transport trucks. The only viable options were to build temporary bridges or find alternate routes.

The situation in the city was even worse.

Entire blocks of buildings had collapsed under the force of the hurricane. Streets and alleys were buried under a deluge of rubble, turning the once-connected transportation network into a chaotic wasteland.

Only a few large shopping malls and high-rise buildings—those with exceptionally strong structures—had managed to remain standing.

But that wasn't enough to restore the city to anything resembling its former state.

"This is insane…"

Su Wu felt a chill run down his spine. He had severely underestimated the storm's destructive power.

A disaster of this magnitude could only be compared to a nuclear explosion or an earthquake of at least magnitude 7.

At that moment, a notification sounded.

New messages had appeared in the Jianghe City section of the official forum.

Su Wu temporarily shifted his focus from the city to the forum, opening it to check the latest updates.

Two new announcements had been posted.

The first was a brief report on the storm's damage and the status of the official shelters.

As the governing authority of Jianghe City, the official shelters housed the largest population and controlled the most resources. However, they had also suffered the heaviest losses in the disaster.

During the ten hours of the storm, over one-third of the ground storage facilities were completely destroyed. Nearly two million tons of supplies had been lost, including essential items such as consumer goods, vehicles, construction materials, electronics, industrial equipment, and—most concerning of all—food.

Fortunately, early warnings had minimized casualties, and the underground shelter systems remained fully operational.

Su Wu read the report carefully, his gaze lingering on the section detailing the types of lost supplies. His expression grew increasingly serious.

The report's wording was deliberately vague, but certain key phrases stood out—"one-third of the warehouse," "two million tons of supplies," and "food."

These three facts together painted a grim picture.

In simpler terms, the official shelters had suffered a massive blow to their industrial production capacity, lost a significant portion of their daily operational materials, and seen their emergency food reserves dangerously depleted.

Each of these was a serious issue on its own. Combined, they spelled disaster.

"The people in the official shelter… their situation is about to get much worse."

Su Wu could sense an even bigger storm brewing on the horizon.