My Post-Apocalyptic Shelter Levels Up Infinitely! - Chapter 2 - Shelter, The Hope for Upgrades!
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- Chapter 2 - Shelter, The Hope for Upgrades!
Chapter 2: Shelter, The Hope for Upgrades!
“Bind?”
When the unfamiliar mechanical voice sounded for the second time, Su Mo finally reacted and quickly responded:
“Yes.”
“Binding in progress: 0.1%, 0.2%.”
Illusory green scanning beams started emanating from beneath Su Mo’s feet, spreading outward. When they reached their limit, the beams returned, increasing the progress by 0.1%.
While the binding process was ongoing, Su Mo opened the wooden door to take a look inside. Behind the door was a set of stairs made from soil. He followed the stairs downward, counting to fifteen in his head. Suddenly, the view before him opened up.
Thanks to the weak sunlight coming in from the cave entrance, Su Mo could barely make out the structure inside. The flooring and ceiling were made entirely of planks, creating a stable base to ensure that this large underground cavity wouldn’t collapse.
“I made the right bet!” Su Mo exclaimed, visibly pleased.
Choosing to build above ground had its advantages, especially for initial growth. But he hadn’t forgotten that with his crafting tools, building a house above ground wouldn’t be a challenge. However, constructing a shelter underground required not just tools, but also sufficient architectural knowledge to ensure its structural integrity. Otherwise, one could dig aimlessly and risk a catastrophic collapse.
As he saw the progress bar of the Doomsday Survival System slowly filling up, Su Mo decided to sit on the staircase, conserving energy while opening the chat panel. Perhaps other people had this so-called Doomsday Survival System as well? After surveying the global and local channels, he found no mention of it.
“Looks like I’m the only one with two systems,” Su Mo concluded.
Most people discussing their shelters on the channels had chosen above-ground locations. Only a minority had opted for underground, and they were merely complaining about its disadvantages before moving on to other topics. With no references or clues, Su Mo continued to wait.
Fortunately, the progress bar filled steadily, and after about ten minutes, the green scanning light finally ceased. A clear notification sounded:
(Doomsday Survival System successfully bound)
(First-time binding reward: 100 Survival Points)
(Scanning host’s living conditions. Today’s Survival Points: 5)
(Total Survival Points for today: 105)
(Remaining Survival Points: 105)
With the sound of the notification, fragments of scattered memories flowed into Su Mo’s mind. Initially, the Doomsday Survival System was something he could have bound to on Earth, but due to his limited capabilities back then, he had to take refuge in an official shelter. Now in this new world, if everyone had a Survival Game Panel, then the Doomsday Survival System was like a mod, exclusive to Su Mo.
According to the system, surviving each day would grant him Survival Points, similar to in-game points, which couldn’t be directly exchanged for items. These points functioned more like upgrade currencies, covering a broader range of uses.
As Su Mo learned more, he suppressed his excitement and took another look at his crude underground shelter:
(Individual Shelter)
Owner: Su Mo
Space: 100 (Ceiling Height 4.2m)
Integrity: 100
Facilities: None
Description: An extremely basic shelter with no survival amenities, at best a small tomb in a post-apocalyptic world.
Reading the panel’s information, Su Mo turned his gaze to the shelter’s lone feature, the wooden door.
(Shelter’s Main Door)
Effect: Minimal theft protection, slight radiation shielding
Promotion Directions:
1. Increase the thickness of the wooden door, enhance its sturdiness, and add slight fire and water resistance.
2. Change the material to upgrade the wooden door to a stone door, significantly improving its durability and other properties.
Evaluation: You wouldn’t want to rely solely on a wooden door for survival in a post-apocalyptic world, would you?
After observing for a while, Su Mo managed to grasp the usage of the Doomsday Survival System. The system allowed upgrades not only through Survival Points but also by providing materials, significantly reducing the Survival Points needed for an upgrade. For instance, to upgrade the wooden door to a stone door, if he provided ten units of stone and two units of wood, the Survival Points needed would drop to five. Survival Points could substitute for any material, but the conversion efficiency wouldn’t match the original material. Therefore, providing enough similar material and using Survival Points as a catalyst for transformation would greatly reduce consumption.
Understanding this relieved some of the survival pressure weighing on Su Mo’s mind. “I need to build a strong enough shelter before my parents and sister arrive,” he thought. “First, I must address the issue of resources.”
Determined, Su Mo stepped out of the shelter. His primary concerns were water and food. Fortunately, with the survival system, he had a rough development plan in mind. He started by breaking off branches from a small tree using his body weight, storing them in his inventory. A prompt indicated he had acquired lumber.
Next, Su Mo gathered various-sized stones, adding them to his inventory, which triggered another prompt: he had collected stone material. “It’s all become quite game-like, but that’s good in a way. It means my physical strength won’t be much less than others at the start,” he mused, no longer troubled by the game-like reality.
Now, it was time to test the crafting function. “Open crafting panel,” he said, and the interface changed. He selected the option to create a stone axe, using one unit of lumber and one unit of stone material. With a confirmation, the axe was crafted, a new tool about the length of a forearm in Su Mo’s hand. Its handle was rough wood, providing a good grip, and the axe head was a polished, sharp wedge.
With this new axe, collecting wood would be much easier. Su Mo, enduring his thirst, continued to gather 15 units of lumber and four units of plant fiber under the scorching sun. Exhausted but successful, he returned to the cool underground shelter. The pressing need for water, however, added urgency to his situation.
“People can survive without food for seven days, but without water, only three. With strenuous activity, that time might be even shorter,” he realized. “I need to quickly find a way to create a water collection tool.”
After resting and regaining some strength, Su Mo decided to try creating a simple water collection device, hoping the system could facilitate its upgrade. He started by dismantling the floorboards in the shelter’s sunlit area, careful not to damage the surrounding structure. Using the collected materials, he crafted a wooden barrel, a wooden stick, a wooden shovel, and hemp rope.
With his new tools ready, Su Mo began digging a cavity in the ground. The task proved easier than he had anticipated.
With the aid of tools, the wooden shovel efficiently lifted a significant amount of soil with each stroke. Su Mo diligently worked until he had dug a pit deep enough to accommodate the wooden barrel. He then paused his manual labor to assemble the previously crafted tools.
He placed the wooden barrel in the pit, suspending the wooden stick between two floorboards, and used the hemp rope to connect the barrel and the stick. Focusing his thoughts, a prompt from the survival system appeared:
(Well Water Extractor ???)
Current efficiency: 0 ml/day
Upgrade options:
1. Improve the material of the wooden barrel to increase its volume and add a sealing feature, thereby extending the preservation time of drinking water. This upgrade would consume 20 Survival Points.
2. Deepen the well pit to enhance water extraction efficiency. This upgrade would require 130 Survival Points.
Evaluation: A pit and a barrel, is the well water just a figment of your imagination?
Note to readers: This is the author’s first book. Kindly cast your recommendation votes to support. Thank you!
(End of Chapter)