Chapter 330: The Mega-City Shelter (Patreon)

Chapter 330: The Mega-City Shelter

Building shelters on the surface.

The greatest advantage is that the construction difficulty is infinitely reduced.

With sufficient raw materials, Su Wu could even perform the miracle of building one floor per day.

As for the drawbacks—

The first, naturally, is the psychological discomfort.

A shelter whose main structure isn’t underground always made Su Wu subconsciously feel a lack of security.

Originally, staying underground had been perfectly fine.

No matter what disaster struck, the earth above would filter it first.

But now, with large-scale development on the surface,

becoming the sole structure towering over the plains,

any future disasters would no longer allow them to hide behind the earth.

The shelter would have to bear the brunt alone.

The experience was entirely different.

Beyond the negative impact on mental and psychological states,

the taller a surface structure was, the greater the defensive pressure in battle.

This was another unavoidable reality.

If large-scale wars with the Amethyst Crystal Entity erupted again in the future,

the shelter standing tall on the plains

would become the perfect target.

The Amethyst Crystal Entity wouldn’t even need to aim carefully—just lobbing bombs in the same direction

would be enough to cause Su Wu immense trouble.

"Still, despite these flaws,"

"an ultra-massive shelter that could be rapidly constructed and house most of the Eastern Continent’s population"

"remained incredibly appealing."

"Any difficulties encountered could be overcome by its sheer massive scale and enormous population, using the simplest, most brute-force methods."

"It was worth the gamble."

Having weighed the pros and cons,

Su Wu naturally knew what to do.

He stood up and walked to the metal platform, pulling up the full holographic projection of the Farmhouse Shelter’s structural layout.

His gaze swept carefully from top to bottom.

The entire Farmhouse Compound—

excluding the underground 14th floor still under construction—

could essentially be viewed as a massive standard cylinder.

This cylinder could be further divided into three sections.

The Upper District, located above ground, consisted mainly of assembly workshops, plantations, weapons and ammunition warehouses, and logistics hubs, spanning from the 1st to the 3rd floor.

The Middle District, located from underground 1st to 7th floor, was an expansion of the original core shelter, built outward in parallel. It was also the earliest constructed section.

Then there was the Lower District, from underground 8th to 13th floor, where the ceiling height had been drastically increased from the original 12 meters per floor to 36 meters.

"The Upper District focuses on assembly, food production, defensive combat, and surface resource collection."

"No ordinary residents live there."

"The Middle District primarily houses the original population from Jianghe City, some civilian shelters in the Kuan Jiang River Basin, and those from shelters around Yu'an City."

"They are concentrated between underground 2nd to 7th floors. Most live in standard eight-person dormitories, while a minority reside in later-converted single apartments and family suites."

"Total population: approximately 50 million."

"Meanwhile, the underground 1st floor of the Middle District has no residents—it’s a dedicated livestock facility."

"Used for raising pigs, cattle, sheep, poultry, and freshwater fish, it’s the shelter’s only large-scale meat production site."

"The Lower District is the most expansive."

"Each floor’s height is three times that of a Middle District floor."

"Therefore, don't be misled by the fact that in the shelter's numbering system, it only occupies floors B8 to B13—a total of six levels."

"In reality, the space is equivalent to 2 to 3 times that of the mid-level districts."

"It can be considered the main body of the current shelter."

"In the lower districts, B8 and B13 are functional zones."

"They house large amusement parks, expansive parks, and aquariums—the shelter's largest recreational areas."

"B8 also contains the shelter's most valuable Ball Lightning Control Chamber, the largest reservoir, a conventional supplies warehouse, and the core industrial production facility—Super Factory No. 1."

"Additionally, there's the highest-grade residential area, which can only accommodate a few hundred thousand people."

"B13, on the other hand, features a large nuclear power plant and Super Factory No. 2."

"As for floors B9 to B12,"

"they are uniformly designated as residential zones."

"B9 is the shelter's sole district entirely composed of studio apartments and family suites, catering to ordinary residents."

"It gathers a small portion of the middle class who excel in certain aspects, currently residing in the shelter."

"The population density here is relatively low, with only 10 million residents across the entire level."

"Floors B10 to B12,"

"are purely modular Standard Dormitory residential areas."

"With partial food support from the upper-district Plantations, each level can sustain 40 million permanent residents."

"Currently, B10 houses residents from Zhenhai City."

"B11 accommodates the population from Xiao Jiang Province."

"B12 remains unoccupied for now."

"When the subsequent third and fourth Merchant Trains from Xiao Jiang Province transport more of its population, this level is expected to be filled to about half capacity."

Unbeknownst to many,

the Farmhouse Compound has grown into an unimaginable behemoth.

A mere cursory inspection reveals

such intricate and voluminous information that it could fill a lengthy report.

And now,

with the advent of the Seventh-Generation Fighter Jet and the Morning Light-Class Transport Ship,

it is poised for another evolutionary leap—

transforming from a colossal entity into something even more monumental.

"Based on comprehensive calculations,"

"the underground portion of the Farmhouse Compound reaches an actual depth of 325 meters."

"Of this, 300 meters constitute the inner height, while the remaining 25 meters account for the total thickness of cement slabs between each level."

"If this is treated as a foundation,"

"theoretically, the above-ground structure could reach a maximum height of 1 kilometer or even over 3 kilometers."

One kilometer—an astonishing figure.

Assuming each above-ground level is 50 meters in height,

this would allow for 20 floors,

more than enough to accommodate the majority of the Eastern Continent's population.

And 3 kilometers?

That would be sufficient to house half the world's population.

Just the thought is exhilarating.

"If the primary goal is population accommodation,"

"each level should ideally be designed at 72 meters in height."

"The taller the ceilings, the less psychologically oppressive the living environment feels."

"Such a level could comfortably house 80 million people."

"Constructing 12 levels at once would suffice."

"We can complete the next phase of the main mission by expanding the shelter population to 1 billion."

"Of course, we can't realistically build just 12 floors."

"We'll need at least two additional floors dedicated to plantations for food production and one floor for meat production."

"Only then can we barely achieve balance."

"And meet the most basic survival needs of these people."

Using the holographic projection of the Farmhouse Shelter's structural blueprint,

Su Wu began making edits directly on it.

He added 15 new floors,

designating them as the next phase of construction.

As soon as he confirmed the changes,

outside the Farmhouse Compound, two enormous translucent shields—one blue and one red—rose again,

blocking the supersonic storms still raging across the surface,

temporarily creating a safe zone.

Meanwhile, a massive construction team

began arriving at the top of the shelter's above-ground structure

via internal transport rails and elevators,

immediately starting work.

  "The original three above-ground floors"

"can generally remain as they are."

"However, all plantations inside will need to be relocated to the soon-to-be-built fourth floor."

"This will free up space to accommodate the growing number of transport ships."

Currently, with two Super Factories in operation,

they produce 2,000 Ice Lake-class Transport Ships daily.

Even though most of them operate outside and don't occupy shelter space,

the remaining fraction will eventually become a significant number.

Without proper planning, chaos and unnecessary losses could easily occur.

As for the higher-tier Seventh-Generation Fighter Jets and Morning Light-Class Transport Ships,

while they are massive in size,

limited raw materials and refining processes

make it difficult to rapidly increase their numbers.

This actually makes them relatively easier to manage.

"Next, the ground-level entrances and exits"

"should be added every 500 meters."

"This will allow more Ice Lake-class Transport Ships to come and go within the same timeframe,"

"improving material transfer efficiency."

With the Farmhouse Compound's 7-kilometer diameter, its outer wall circumference is about 22 kilometers,

allowing for 44 entrances in total.

Once fully constructed, it could accommodate over a hundred Ice Lake-class Transport Ships simultaneously,

increasing efficiency by at least tenfold.

This is also the current limit for the Farmhouse Compound.

To go beyond this, they would need to utilize other floors,

which would be much more challenging

and not particularly necessary.

After all, internal cargo handling and warehouse transfer speeds also have their limits.

"Additionally, once the fourth above-ground floor is completed,"

"the movement of Seventh-Generation Fighter Jets and Morning Light-Class Transport Ships will become problematic."

"The ground-level entrances weren't designed with their size requirements in mind."

Su Wu's gaze lingered on the Aerospace Carrier Factory at the core of the surface area,

then shifted upward.

The first three floors were difficult to modify and had relatively low ceilings,

so the fourth floor would need adjustments.

The fourth floor could reserve the same core area space for the Aerospace Carrier Factory below,

then build four outward-facing passages

aligned to the four cardinal directions.

This would allow future Seventh-Generation Fighter Jets and Morning Light-Class Transport Ships to pass through.

Even the base vehicle, which is destined to be of a higher specification, can leave the shelter through these four dedicated passages.

"The Aerospace Carrier Factory, though called a factory, has an actual total area of 3 million square meters. It can accommodate over 100 Morning Light-Class Transport Ships or even more Seventh-Generation Fighter Jets. If we factor in the multi-level structure, the actual capacity could be several times greater."

"Reserving four direct passages to the outside increases the efficiency of damaged Seventh-Generation Fighter Jets returning for repairs during combat, indirectly enhancing overall combat strength. This is a design choice aimed at accumulating combat potential."

"Additionally, for routine transportation of supplies and personnel, there’s no need for them to return to the factory. Unloading directly outside is much safer."

The Morning Light-Class Transport Ships, capable of flight, aren’t particularly picky about docking ports. They can be built on any level. After some consideration, Su Wu decided to construct a foldable and retractable airfield on the outer walls of the future 9th and 10th levels.

Under normal circumstances, the airfield remains extended, allowing multiple Morning Light-Class Transport Ships and Seventh-Generation Fighter Jets to dock temporarily. Passengers and cargo from inside can then quickly disperse to other shelter levels via the complex internal transport tracks on those two levels.

In the event of an unavoidable disaster, the airfield would automatically retract and hide within the shelter’s outer walls. At that point, the shelter, restored to its complete cylindrical form, would face any threat in its strongest defensive posture.

"The Farmhouse Shelter has always maintained a perfectly cylindrical shape to maximize physical resistance. While we hope it never comes to that, and it might not be necessary, whether we use it is one thing—having it is another."

After finalizing the first-phase shelter construction plan, Su Wu turned his attention to the Aerospace Carrier Factory.

"With the current resources on hand, we can produce five Morning Light-Class Transport Ships, with a construction cycle of about three days. Five should suffice for now, so there’s no urgent need for expansion."

"Moreover, the Morning Light-Class Transport Ship is essentially an upgraded replacement for the Merchant Train. From now on, production of Merchant Trains can cease. All previously produced Merchant Trains will be repurposed for transporting supplies, while the Morning Light-Class Transport Ships will handle personnel transport."

May 14th

The supersonic storm lingering over the surface of the Farmhouse Compound began to show signs of weakening. Its main body shifted northwestward, only to be blocked and gradually weakened by the dense and expansive mountain ranges there. It dropped from supersonic speeds back to subsonic, then eventually subsided into a conventional storm. The sky even brightened slightly as a result.

A disaster that had swept across nearly half of the Eastern Continent gradually faded away. As the surface environment became less hostile, the pale red energy shield enveloping the Farmhouse Compound was the first to be deactivated. Then, the pale blue electromagnetic protection field correspondingly reduced its power output.

While ensuring the safety of the shelter, the power consumption was reduced to the minimum.

That evening.

The Merchant Train from Xiao Jiang Province.

Once again began entering the Farmhouse Shelter.

Bringing in the last group of people it was responsible for transporting into the shelter.

From then on, the remaining shelter residents in Xiao Jiang Province.

Would all be transferred by the Morning Light-Class Transport Ships.

(End of Chapter)