Su Wu refined the shelter's functions and early warning mechanisms one by one.
Before he realized it, a complete blueprint for a nearly self-sufficient underground shelter had taken shape in his hands.
With anticipation, he uploaded the design to the primary artificial intelligence's task queue.
Half a second later, he received a response: completing these tasks, without delaying the shelter's expansion, would take a total of 1,227 hours.
It was longer than he had expected.
"Why is it going to take so long?"
The unexpected setback left him momentarily silent.
Upon reviewing the detailed report, he discovered that the delay was primarily due to a shortage of qualified circuit boards and detector components. Additionally, the stock of chips was insufficient.
"Qualified circuit boards can be salvaged and modified from old household appliances, so that won't be too much of a delay."
"The real problem is manufacturing some of the missing chips from scratch."
That was a headache.
The engineering robot, while highly versatile, specialized in mechanical manufacturing rather than electronic component production.
Previously, when facing similar issues, he had used survival points to force upgrades.
But that was a last resort. Now, these were just renovations for non-critical parts of the shelter. Using survival points for something like this would be wasteful.
Besides, he didn't have that many survival points to spare.
"I'll have to find a way to buy them."
It wasn't worth using the engineering robot's productivity on such basic low-end chips.
After some thought, he logged onto the Internet and posted a purchase request in Jianghe City's doomsday group and local forums.
"Bulk purchase of chips?"
"That's a pretty niche demand."
"In this situation, not many people need them."
Because Su Wu had offered attractive trade materials, his request quickly drew attention. Many people reached out, asking if he was interested in trading for other items instead.
He chatted with them briefly but found nothing he urgently needed, so he declined politely.
It wasn't the right time to make trades.
Strictly speaking, the apocalypse had only just begun. Even with the extreme heatstorm, the current surface temperature of over 50 degrees Celsius wasn't an immediate death sentence. Unprepared people could still survive outside for short periods.
Most people hadn't fully adjusted to an apocalyptic mindset yet. Their valuation of goods was still based on pre-disaster prices.
Time passed as he sifted through potential leads.
By the afternoon, a small trader on Jianghe City's local forum finally provided useful information.
"You need L3 chips for washing machines?"
"How many do you have?"
Su Wu's interest was piqued.
Although they were just washing machine-grade chips, they were still mid-to-high-end compared to the ones in his current inventory. Their applications were broad, making them a valuable commodity that could significantly reduce construction time and survival point expenditure.
"About 10,000 pieces."
"They were used as payment by a small factory."
"All are new and unopened."
The seller's response was detailed.
"If the price is reasonable, I'll take them all."
"What do you want in exchange?"
Su Wu considered the deal for a moment before asking.
Before the apocalypse, washing machine chips were inexpensive, with a market price of around 15 yuan per unit. Given the current lack of demand, their value hadn't likely changed much.
"Ten kilograms of lettuce, sugar, chocolate, vitamin tablets, and some hemostatic and pain-relieving drugs."
"You can give as much as you want for everything except the lettuce, but there must be at least a little of each. The price will be calculated at twice the pre-apocalypse rate."
The seller's offer was surprisingly low.
Fresh vegetables made up the bulk of the trade, but for Su Wu, the cost was practically nothing. While the other requested items were valuable in the apocalypse, the overall quantity required was minimal, especially considering the double market price markup.
"The price works for me."
"How do you want to trade?"
Knowing he had gotten the better deal, Su Wu didn't push for more. He simply proceeded with the transaction.
"This—"
"The chips are stored in a warehouse on the outskirts. I can't leave the official shelter. Can you pick them up yourself?"
The seller hesitated for a few seconds before sending the message. The cautious tone suggested he was afraid Su Wu might refuse.
"Did you expect me to come to your door and deliver them instead?"
"Much appreciated."
"If the shipping cost isn't enough, there are also some hardware tools and metal plates in the warehouse. You can take them as compensation."
After a brief exchange, Su Wu raised an eyebrow but didn't make things difficult for the seller.
He had expected this outcome.
Given the current situation, most people couldn't even leave their shelters, let alone travel long distances to conduct trades. In the end, Su Wu would inevitably have to retrieve the goods himself.
His eyes skimmed over the seller's list of requested supplies.
An image formed in his mind—an ordinary person who had been rushed into an official shelter, lacking both status and connections.
"Alright."
"I'll deliver what you need to the entrance of the official shelter."
After finalizing the arrangement, he saved the warehouse address and unlocking code provided by the seller.
Su Wu then stood up, walked to a cabinet in the corner, and took out a sleek, dark metal hand crossbow. This was the only weapon he had at the moment. Since he was heading outside, he had to take it with him.
Still, that alone wasn't enough.
After a brief moment of thought, he accessed the control console and issued a recall order to one of the construction robots working on the third underground floor.
A few minutes later, the recalled robot arrived at the control center's entrance.
"Take this crossbow and this barrel of bolts. Go to the cab of the ground truck and wait for further instructions."
He personally handed the crossbow to the humanoid robot and watched as it turned and disappeared around the corridor corner. Then, he closed the door and returned to his seat at the console.
No one said he had to go outside in person.
A medium-sized, fully autonomous truck, a construction robot capable of performing most manual tasks, and a set of remote communication and monitoring systems—this setup was more than enough to handle an external trade mission.
Of course, there were downsides.
First, robots weren't as adaptable as humans.
Second, there were only three construction robots in the shelter, all working around the clock. Assigning one to this task would inevitably delay construction progress.
"When the second underground floor renovation is complete and I accumulate more survival points…"
"Maybe I should consider adding another construction robot."
The cost of one was only five survival points. Aside from handling construction and external tasks, they could also serve as security units to enhance shelter safety. No matter how he looked at it, the investment seemed worthwhile.
As he pondered, the construction robot arrived at the surface and climbed into the cab of the medium-sized truck parked in the yard.
Su Wu sat up straight and remotely connected to the truck's system through the console.