"We have resolved the issues of long-distance transportation and maintenance on the ground."
"The remaining research."
"Is all about some long-term plans."
He closed the already designed blueprints for the maintenance robots.
Su Wu then continued to open the database of artificial intelligence.
His gaze lingered on the research logs, on that series of unfinished research plans.
Cultivating rice, wheat, and other staple grain seeds, developing plant nutrient solutions and growth agents, analyzing the Rola Virus, creating a new generation of Metallic Hydrogen Explosives, designing intercontinental missiles and satellites—
These studies.
Each breakthrough.
Could bring earth-shattering changes to the shelter.
Cultivating real rice, wheat, and other staple grain seeds could completely eliminate the hidden dangers of food production, preventing subsequent generations from having lower yields.
Developing plant nutrient solutions and growth agents could utilize fertilizers more efficiently and shorten the growth cycle of plants.
Applied to plantations, it could significantly increase food production.
Applied to rubber trees, it could also quickly yield a large amount of rubber, a crucial building material.
Analyzing the Rola Virus holds the hope of discovering human enhancement, curing terminal illnesses, and, more importantly, the secrets to extending life.
Having the fortune to come to this world.
Having finally activated the Doomsday Survival System.
Having finally been able to rule over tens of millions of people.
Experiencing the power and status he never had in his previous life.
Su Wu certainly could not resign himself to the fact that after enduring countless hardships to escape natural disasters, he would still be unable to avoid natural aging and death decades later.
The emergence of the Rola Virus could change all of this.
Metallic hydrogen belongs to the fourth generation of fantasy-level explosives.
Its power rivals that of nuclear weapons, yet it lacks the various side effects of the latter.
Once successfully developed.
With just the Azure Sky-Class Transport Drones, Su Wu could easily destroy any city on the surface or large underground shelters within its 1800-kilometer range.
Specifically for Jianghe City.
In certain extreme situations, Su Wu could even briefly create artificial disasters.
Truly pushing military armed forces to the very top tier on the entire planet.
No longer needing to fear any threats from his kind.
As for the final intercontinental missiles and satellites.
They are both important and unimportant.
Having satellites would allow Su Wu to grasp global intelligence.
To communicate with people in every corner of the planet.
But for now.
He does not need such high-end resources.
Just Jianghe City, plus a communication signal tower covering the southeastern area.
Could keep Su Wu busy for a long time.
At present, without sufficient returns.
Rather than spending enormous costs to tilt a large amount of resources toward intercontinental missiles and satellites.
It would be more practical to build a few more snow transport vehicles.
However, this is merely a judgment based on the current situation.
In the future, once development reaches a certain level.
Intercontinental missiles and satellites will inevitably become targets to conquer.
They are the keys for Su Wu to open the door to interstellar travel.
"Everything is fine."
"It's just that the research process is truly too difficult."
Su Wu sighed a little.
Even the most inconspicuous seed cultivation.
In reality.
Is a core technology used by several major grain giants to monopolize the world.
Generally, without a decade or more of persistent research.
It is nearly impossible to achieve any decent results.
And facing such high research difficulties.
Even with the miracle of Spirituality that can accelerate research.
In a short time, he cannot expect significant progress.
He can only patiently wait for a future moment of inspiration that might allow him to break through the shackles.
Retracting his gaze.
Feeling a bit mentally fatigued, Su Wu.
Did not plan to continue researching.
He turned to allocate the unused Spirituality added today.
In a certain proportion, to Chen Xin and Chen Yue.
Chen Xin in the field of chemistry, and Chen Yue in biology, both possess top-tier talents.
Those long-term research plans.
Except for intercontinental missiles and satellites.
Could be entirely entrusted to them.
After completing these tasks.
Su Wu was about to head to the entertainment room to rest for a while.
Suddenly, a message from the Federation popped up on the control panel's screen.
It indicated that a federal engineering team.
Was about to enter the territory of Jianghe City.
They would be repairing two main railway lines within Jianghe City in the coming days.
"Another road repair."
Su Wu carefully read through the message.
Unlike the last time when he directly issued a command for the Jianghe City official shelter to repair the railway on-site.
This time, the wording in the message from the Federation was much more polite.
The request had changed from a mandatory order to merely providing an opportunity for the federal engineering team to purchase supplies.
This certainly could not be because the federal government saw that Jianghe City had changed hands and specially modified the terms for him.
More likely, the Federation had already lost large-scale control over the local area.
Being forced to change their attitude toward the locality.
As his thoughts turned, Su Wu initiated a communication request to the engineering team mentioned in the message through the official satellite network.
Having taken control of Jianghe City and inherited all the resources of the original official shelter.
Su Wu also possessed considerable authority within the official satellite network.
Although he still could not access information from other regions.
He could freely initiate video calls to any registered account without any restrictions.
If he wished, he could even upload a large amount of video and data to the local forum of Jianghe City on the satellite network for others to download at will.
The so-called tight satellite communication resources were virtually nonexistent for him.
The communication was quickly connected.
On Su Wu's control panel screen.
A young military officer wearing the rank of lieutenant colonel appeared.
From the background behind him.
It seemed he was in a train carriage.
Through the window, he could vaguely see gray hills slowly moving backward in the distance.
"Greetings, Your Excellency Su Wu."
"I am Xu Wenwei, the commander of the Federation's 079 Engineering Corps."
The lieutenant colonel greeted Su Wu first on the screen.
His attitude was neither humble nor arrogant.
Just like facing a stranger of equal status.
"You know me?"
Su Wu was a bit curious.
The communication request he initiated used Jianghe City's official account.
It did not indicate his personal information.
"Your television station has made such a big stir, covering millions of people around."
"You have long been one of the most notable figures in the East Continent."
"We, the troops operating in the East Continent, have received detailed intelligence about you."
Xu Wenwei seemed quite easy to talk to.
Without Su Wu needing to ask, he revealed the information Su Wu wanted to know.
"That's quite exaggerated."
Su Wu raised an eyebrow.
In fact, aside from those who had direct contact with his fleet in the southeast,
Until now, no forces had actively contacted him.
This so-called notable figure in the East Continent sounded more like flattery.
"Indeed."
"I can forward the relevant intelligence to you shortly."
Xu Wenwei replied quite seriously.
"Then thank you."
Su Wu did not decline, then got straight to the point.
"I just received a notification saying you need to purchase some supplies in Jianghe City."
"What exactly do you need to buy?"
"Some steel materials and concrete."
"And diesel."
Xu Wenwei listed the items without hesitation, then hesitated to add.
"If possible, please also provide us with some food."
"We can exchange it with gold and silver."
"With gold and silver?"
"Alright, I'll find someone to connect with you shortly."
Su Wu looked thoughtfully at Xu Wenwei.
Gold and silver are not very useful in the apocalypse.
Many forces have little interest in these precious metals that cannot be eaten or directly made into tools.
To directly mention exchanging gold and silver without testing the waters.
Indicates that the Federation behind Xu Wenwei has indeed investigated Su Wu's background.
Knowing he has an extraordinary demand for these precious metals.
"Thank you for your support of the Federation."
"We will enter Jianghe City from the north along the railway line in about two hours."
"At that time, we will contact your subordinates."
Xu Wenwei seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
Clearly, the batch of supplies he wanted to purchase was quite important to him.
After ending the call.
Su Wu opened the map, his gaze turned to the railway lines of Jianghe City.
After thinking for a moment.
He dispatched a team of Spider Robots to modify the railway station near the city in advance.
Adding a large scanning device.
That device could perform deep scans of passing trains.
Last time he had no opportunity.
This time, he planned to take a good look.
What exactly the Federation was transporting.
To satisfy his little curiosity.
November 12.
Morning.
On the repaired railway.
Trains began to arrive from the northeast, heading toward the western plateau.
Su Wu took the opportunity to scan with the scanner he had installed at the station.
He found that there seemed to be everything inside.
Oil, steel, coal, grain, various industrial production equipment, electronic components, and even animals and plants, as well as numerous artworks, etc.
It looked as if they were packing all slightly valuable belongings and transporting them to the plateau.
And it wasn't just the first train.
In the scans of each subsequent train, the types of materials inside were basically not much different.
Occasionally, between the freight cars of the trains.
There would be one or two luxuriously decorated passenger cars.
Inside were passengers ranging from three to five, to a dozen or more.
"Are these people local tycoons and dignitaries?"
Looking at a high-definition photo taken through the passenger car window.
Su Wu noticed that the people inside were dressed in a way that suggested wealth or high status.
Their expressions also appeared very relaxed.
Seemingly unconcerned about the future.
And soon.
The artificial intelligence, through facial recognition, compared it with publicly available information on the internet before the apocalypse.
It identified the individuals in the photo.
They were high-ranking officials and their families from a city in the northeast.
"Wang Qiyuan, director of the Heluo City shelter."
Su Wu's gaze swept over the others.
It fixed on a somewhat plump middle-aged man.
According to the ranking of positions in the federal government.
He and Bai Ruian, the director of Jianghe City's official shelter, should belong to the same level.
However, Bai Ruian had already been beheaded within the shelter, while this man named Wang Qiyuan appeared on the train heading west.
"It seems that order in the northeast has also collapsed."
Even the shelter's director is fleeing with their belongings.
One can imagine the situation locally.
Suddenly, Su Wu realized.
Looking around.
In all the places he knew.
He seemed to be the only force willing to accept ordinary people.
Others, whether official or wealthy private tycoons, viewed excess population as a useless burden.
At 2 PM.
Accompanied by a gust of cold wind.
The surface temperature noticeably dropped.
Fluffy snowflakes began to quietly fall to the ground.
Less than an hour later.
The entire urban area of Jianghe City was covered with a layer of white snow.
Workers working on the surface.
Had to allocate some of their manpower to start clearing and maintaining many key roads frequently traversed by vehicles.
To avoid icy roads affecting traffic efficiency.
Meanwhile.
The slippery ground.
Inevitably brought more chaos and accidents.
The number of workers slipping and getting injured increased significantly over time.
"Due to the heavy snow."
"The efficiency of ordinary people working on the surface has decreased significantly."
"We can start reducing the scale of the outgoing population."
Su Wu sat in the warm underground control center.
Observing the situation in the urban ruins on the surface.
Those ordinary people laboring in the heavy snow, even with hats and scarves on.
Their exposed skin was still slightly red from the cold.
Some weaker girls, who had not endured much hardship in the past.
Were on the brink of collapse.
Yet under the supervision of artificial intelligence, they had to grit their teeth and persist.
Such working conditions in harsh environments clearly could not be maintained for long.
Continuing forcefully would only further reduce their labor efficiency.
As for the harvest.
Thanks to the collective labor of millions of people over the past few days, along with the assistance of numerous newl
y manufactured Spider Robots and Exoskeleton Armor, and various modified vehicles totaling over ten thousand.
Currently, the concrete powder stored in the warehouses of various affiliated shelters had reached twenty million tons.
Scrap metal, as well as rubber and glass, had been recovered to 300,000 tons and 60,000 tons, respectively.
Basically.
All easily recyclable scrap metal and high-value materials in the urban ruins.
Had been nearly cleaned up.
What remained was either buried deep in the ruins or firmly embedded in the concrete.
It was difficult to excavate and separate easily.
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