"We need to find a way to promote the widespread use of conventional Crystal Detectors."
"It would be best if every shelter out there could possess at least one."
With the existence of Crystal Detectors.
At least most shelters wouldn't be taken by surprise and wiped out in a single ambush by the Amethyst Crystal Entities.
Thus, they would have the opportunity to organize resistance and call for help.
For the official shelters in larger cities with relatively stronger capabilities.
If utilized effectively.
They might not even need Su Wu's support to independently defend themselves.
This life-saving device.
Its importance surpasses even food and all other necessities.
As long as they can afford it, no shelter would refuse to purchase one.
The most challenging aspect of promoting it.
Lies in the production and transportation processes.
Ensuring that every shelter across the entire Eastern Continent possesses at least one Crystal Detector.
The required material costs and transportation resources are not insignificant.
"Let's take it step by step."
"At least for now, the range of Amethyst Crystal Entity activities isn't too extensive."
"We'll start from high-risk areas and gradually expand the coverage."
While strengthening passive defense is one aspect.
On the other hand, we must strive to reduce the overall number of Amethyst Crystal Entities.
Opening the holographic map.
Su Wu's gaze lingered for a moment on the shelters that had fallen in the Kuang River basin.
The Amethyst Crystal Entities are not without weaknesses.
Apart from the most primitive ones, which resemble crystal ores and can endure the high temperatures and pressures of underground magma for extended periods.
All evolved Amethyst Crystal Entities.
Have begun to exhibit characteristics of ordinary organisms, fearing extreme heat and cold.
They will seek out places with less extreme temperatures to inhabit.
For instance, these occupied shelters.
Have now become nests for the Amethyst Crystal Entities.
"In the future, it's hard to say."
"But for now, don't expect the luxury of having both food and shelter."
"First, they'll have to live like rats in the dark for a while."
Su Wu made up his mind.
Immediately, over a dozen merchant convoy trains that were either on their way or about to return to the rural courtyard were redirected under his command, altering their original transportation and trading tasks.
They were now fully loaded with mechanical armies and ammunition, heading towards the corresponding fallen shelters.
To eradicate the Amethyst Crystal Entities residing within.
The merchant convoy trains, stretching a kilometer in length and capable of transporting tens of thousands of tons of materials at once.
Are now the absolute behemoths still active on the surface.
And when they are no longer transporting resources but specialized combat mechanical armies.
It doesn't take much.
Just one train.
Is enough to effortlessly crush any large shelter.
Even if the shelter is no longer inhabited by humans but by Amethyst Crystal Entities.
It makes no difference.
Sporadic battles.
Once again ignite across the frozen lands of the Kuang River basin.
The mechanical armies, composed of various models of Spider Robots, Machine Dogs, and Combat Drones.
Surge like a tide towards the Amethyst Crystal Entities entrenched in the underground structures.
With limited firepower and numbers, the Amethyst Crystal Entities.
Are ultimately no match for Su Wu in direct combat.
They are beaten back, retreating in disarray.
Eventually, they either scatter in all directions or turn into debris, becoming materials for Su Wu to craft high-end weapons and other equipment.
When all the Amethyst Crystal Entities that had openly gathered on the surface were personally sought out and violently crushed by Su Wu, the remaining entities still active on the surface gradually became more cautious. They no longer invaded human shelters as frequently, nor did they linger in any shelter for long periods. Instead, they would leave immediately after feeding, hiding in remote corners of the wilderness where they could evade drone surveillance, silently building up their strength.
Meanwhile, as Su Wu's illustrious achievements were broadcasted by the media, three or four more shelters located in the Kuangjiang River Basin began to actively align themselves with him. However, unlike the shelters from the four cities that had initially joined him, the leaders of these newly contacted shelters were mostly not the original officials. Instead, they were new representatives who had seized power through violent means from the original shelter leadership.
In the doomsday scenario, the ruling class of the shelters might be willing to gamble with their own lives and the lives of everyone in the shelter for the sake of their power. But for the majority within the shelters, who were the ones being sacrificed, it was natural that they would not be willing to bear the constant risk of death for the sake of the upper class's enjoyment, especially when they had not reaped many benefits and had been continuously exploited.
This sense of rebellion, combined with the convenience and secrecy of the internet, easily intensified over time, eventually uniting into a sharp blade aimed at the shelter's upper echelons.
"The benefits of building the internet have manifested once again," Su Wu thought as he felt the gains brought by the network. He couldn't help but glance at the Survival Points on his system panel. The number there was almost enough to manufacture another geostationary communication satellite, which would cover the other half of the Earth with the satellite network. Perhaps it was time to further expand investment in this area.
In the following days, after accepting and assimilating these newly affiliated shelters, the total population of Su Wu's Farmhouse Shelter officially surpassed 70 million. If you included the subsidiary shelters in other regions of Dongzhou outside the Kuangjiang River Basin that had been incorporated into Su Wu's domain but had not yet been fully relocated, the population count directly reached 100 million. This meant that Su Wu had completed one-tenth of the main task requirements of the Doomsday Survival System.
While the population was rapidly growing, the 9th underground level of Su Wu's Farmhouse Shelter was also fully completed during this period, and construction of the 10th underground level began. Unlike the 8th underground level, which housed the Super Factory, warehouses, and an amusement park, the 9th underground level was primarily dedicated to building high-end residential areas to improve living conditions. Apart from a small portion of space still allocated for standard dormitories to accommodate the recent population surge, the rest was dominated by family suites, single apartments, schools, libraries, and other public buildings.
This resulted in the entire 9th level, which was equivalent in size to three standard levels and theoretically capable of accommodating 30 million people, actually housing only about 13 million people. Among these, 3 to 4 million were temporarily residing in standard dormitories.
When space becomes more available in the future, the standard dormitories here will be converted into single apartments. By then, the total population of the 9th floor will drop below 10 million. At this stage, it will have reached an ideal living condition, and further changes will be unnecessary.
"Both family suites and single apartments follow the same standard," Su Wu explained. "Each person is allocated 40 cubic meters of actual living space. Given that cooking is unnecessary and daily activities can be conducted in the streets and leisure areas, this is more than sufficient. Anything beyond this would be considered a luxury, requiring significant cost to acquire."
Su Wu's gaze swept over the holographic projection map of the 9th floor. This area, spanning 38.64 million square meters and tall enough to accommodate a 10-story residential building from the pre-apocalyptic era, had now become a genuine supercity with a population of 10 million. Streets, schools, libraries, gymnasiums, small squares, and green belts were all systematically distributed, ensuring ample public space for everyone. The ceiling, covered with glass panels that emitted a soft glow and simulated a static summer sky, made it difficult for many to discern whether they were deep underground or in a large city on the surface. This even led some to question whether the so-called apocalypse and disasters were just fabrications spread online.
"To more authentically replicate the environment of an above-ground city and reduce the feeling of oppression," Su Wu continued, "the streets on the ground level were widened. The rail trains that once ran through the ceiling were relocated to the streets. Except for the stations, they would not directly interact with pedestrians on the streets. The outer and upper sides of the parallel tracks were separated by opaque rapid-setting cement, with the rail trains running through tunnels below and pedestrian walkways above. On either side of the walkways were green belts and the first floors of residential buildings, which served as shops and public activity areas."
Recalling the initial design concepts, Su Wu realized that they had all been fully implemented on the 9th floor. However, no matter how much it resembled a modern city, certain luxuries unique to the surface would never be replicated in this underground shelter, where every inch of space was precious. For example, cars and motorcycles were absent. People traveled through the streets either on foot or by taking the city rail trains; there was no third option.
"After all, the entire shelter isn't that large," Su Wu mused. "Even at a slow pace, one could walk from one end of the shelter to the other in an afternoon. There's no need to introduce these impractical things. Let them disappear entirely from the lives of the shelter's ordinary residents."
On March 28th, just as Su Wu was steadily progressing with his plans, a message from the East Coast disrupted his agenda. It forced him to shift his attention to the end of the Kuangjiang River basin, where Zhenhai City, the only supercity located in the shallow seabed, stood. At 9 a.m., a twin-winged helicopter swiftly flew over the Kuangjiang River basin.
After flying over the ruins of the last communication tower standing by the sea, they entered the airspace above the ocean.
Here, despite still being over a hundred kilometers away from Zhenhai City, one could already feel the air currents wandering above the sea surface becoming noticeably more intense.
The light filtering through the clouds had also dimmed, creating an oppressive atmosphere that felt incredibly stifling.
"From the meteorological images captured by the Eden Satellite, we can see a massive cyclone deep in the southern ocean. It has already split off a small branch, which is expected to reach the vicinity of Zhenhai City in the next 4 to 5 hours. At the same time, geological activity beneath the ocean has also significantly intensified, showing a tendency to spread towards Zhenhai City along with the path of the branch cyclone. If it truly spreads to Zhenhai City, earthquakes of magnitude 7 or higher could become a daily occurrence, rendering all underground shelters there uninhabitable for humans."
In the underground control center of a rural courtyard, Su Wu used Artificial Intelligence to analyze and calculate the climatic evolution of the eastern coastal region. The results all pointed to an extremely dire outcome. If nothing unexpected happened, Zhenhai City would soon become the first supercity in the entire Eastern Continent to be completely obliterated by natural disasters.
"Wind speed detected at level 12. Twin-Winged Helicopter activating balance mode, reducing speed to 150 kilometers per hour." The prompt from the Artificial Intelligence sounded in his ears.
Su Wu turned his gaze to the screen, focusing on the Twin-Winged Helicopter sent as an envoy to Zhenhai City. After a moment of thought, he sat down at the control console and put on an electronic helmet covered with sensors and complex circuitry.
In the next moment, his vision darkened slightly, and he felt as though he had appeared inside a flying vehicle. He could clearly sense the unstable vibrations coming from beneath his feet. This was a remote control terminal developed by the Southeast Alliance, based on the remote projection technology used during online meetings. After improvements and upgrades, it allowed a person to remotely inhabit any robot and receive real-time data from the sensors carried by the robot.
Due to the high manufacturing and maintenance costs, it was currently a special toy exclusively for Su Wu's use.
After spending a few seconds adapting to the highly customized and expensive humanoid robot he had inhabited, Su Wu walked to the cockpit of the Twin-Winged Helicopter. Inside the cockpit, the two seats were empty, as everything was being controlled and operated by Artificial Intelligence.
Outside the thick and wide glass window in front of the seats, one could occasionally see one or two bright white flashes of lightning deep within the dark clouds in the distance, giving off a strong sense of impending disaster.
"It really looks like a scene from the end of the world," Su Wu couldn't help but mutter.
But then he suddenly realized that for Zhenhai City, located not far below, this wasn't a joke—it was reality. They were truly about to experience a catastrophic disaster where the heavens and earth would be overturned, and their familiar homes would be reduced to ruins.
He sighed silently.
Su Wu no longer had the interest to satisfy his curiosity.
He directly took a seat in the helicopter's pilot position.
Using the radar above.
He began to observe the external situation.
"The ice layer on the sea surface is still relatively stable."
"For now, there are no obvious cracks."
"It's just that the snow layer on top is showing faint signs of loosening."
"It seems it won't hold for much longer; part of it is about to be blown away."
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