Apocalypse Survival: Starting with a Shelter

As if by tacit agreement, the battle footage released by Su Wu sparked heated, long-lasting discussion among uninformed civilians. However, within Jianghe City's upper echelons, few dared mention it again.

The previously tense atmosphere in Jianghe City quietly dissipated.

The official refuge, after initially accepting the report and threatening a warrant, fell silent. The Jingyuan Refuge, once boisterous, ceased its provocations, seemingly forgetting Su Wu's refuge existed.

On Su Wu's side, everything proceeded as usual.

The scavenging operations in the city ruins continued, while resources from the recently conquered medium-sized refuge were quietly absorbed.

Surviving residents from the occupied refuge were gradually relocated to the Qingning Refuge to free up space for growing vegetables and grains.

That evening, 30 robotic dog units and 20 combat drone units rolled off the production line, increasing Su Wu's combat units to over 1,500.

On August 18, surface temperatures dropped to around 45 degrees.

Trade between refuges intensified, and ordinary people began appearing on the surface, scavenging or working amidst the ruins.

That afternoon, Su Wu personally oversaw the completion of the final 155mm vehicle-mounted howitzer in the manufacturing center. With this milestone, he initiated his real counterattack.

Ten transport vehicles began mobilizing, ferrying 30 robotic dog units and 40 combat drone units to the area surrounding Jingyuan Refuge.

The massive scale of this operation immediately drew attention.

Ordinary scavengers near Jingyuan Refuge were instructed by their refuge administrators to avoid the area. Travelers passing through Jingyuan Refuge quickly left, fearing imminent conflict.

Su Wu did not stop these evacuees, even though some of them might have been high-ranking personnel from Jingyuan Refuge.

It didn't matter. What mattered was that Su Wu had brought his mechanical forces here today.

Suddenly, low, rumbling explosions echoed in the distance.

The entrance tunnel of Jingyuan Refuge collapsed under the force of several massive blasts.

Located tens of meters underground, Jingyuan Refuge had only one exterior access point. With the tunnel destroyed, Su Wu couldn't rely on simple thermite like before to breach the refuge.

Digging tens of meters into the ground would be a laborious process, especially since Jingyuan Refuge could sabotage the tunnel repeatedly to delay his progress.

This scenario would devolve into a battle of patience.

"They preemptively destroyed their tunnel. No ambush when we breached? No last stand?"

Su Wu was somewhat surprised.

While the decision to destroy the tunnel was understandable—it was the best move when facing overwhelming opposition—he hadn't expected Jingyuan Refuge to forgo even the chance to ambush his forces in the tunnel.

Instead, they chose absolute safety, sealing themselves underground preemptively.

Suddenly, a phone on Su Wu's control console rang.

An AI notification informed him of incoming calls from Jingyuan Refuge, Chaoyang Refuge, and several other large civilian refuges.

Su Wu glanced at the phone for half a second before looking away.

At this point, those calls could only be warnings or attempts to negotiate peace—both pointless.

This time, punishing Jingyuan Refuge wasn't the goal.

Jingyuan Refuge was merely the sacrificial "chicken" to warn the "monkeys."

Its destruction would serve to solidify Su Wu's leverage against the official refuge.

"Dragging this out serves no one. Let's end this now."

Tapping the glass surface of the console, Su Wu issued the order to attack.

In the underground launch platform of the farmhouse refuge, all airtight doors opened, revealing a vertical missile silo.

A deep rumble shook the refuge as brilliant light and thick smoke erupted from the silo's depths.

A colossal rocket ascended, its tail spewing flames hot enough to melt metal.

The rocket climbed into the gray clouds, illuminating the sky with a fiery glow akin to a second sun.

At the official refuge's military command center, the radar monitoring room erupted in alarms.

A battle radar detected a missile capable of devastating the entire security district.

The on-duty radar operator, visibly panicked, turned to his superior with wide eyes.

"Sir, is this a drill from one of our units?"

Ten seconds later, the 750mm rocket reached the skies above Jingyuan Refuge.

After precise calculations and adjustments by Su Wu's AI, the massive warhead turned downward, aligning nearly vertically.

The rocket struck the collapsed tunnel of Jingyuan Refuge with a force that caused tremors for miles.

A deep, straight shaft now replaced the rubble, creating a clear passage to the refuge's underground interior.

"Combat drone units, execute the operation."

The AI, temporarily granted full combat authority by Su Wu, acted without hesitation.

The first wave of dozens of drones descended into the smoky shaft, advancing deep into Jingyuan Refuge.

Seconds later, the sound of scattered gunfire emerged, escalating into intense firefights.

The initial drones had engaged the remaining security forces of Jingyuan Refuge.

More drones followed, pouring into the underground tunnel as Su Wu's mechanical army began its assault.