Chapter 333: The Rebellion of the Super City (Patreon)

Chapter 333: The Rebellion of the Super City

"Sixty-six special satellites."

"That's just twenty to thirty thousand tons of material."

Transporting twenty to thirty thousand tons of supplies on the ground is no easy feat, let alone sending it into space.

Of course, for Su Wu now,

this might just mean having the eleven Seventh-Generation Fighter Jets make a few extra trips.

If they moved quickly, the whole process might take less than an hour.

But the sheer cost of manufacturing so many large Wireless Power Transmission Devices was already straining Su Wu's resources.

So far, he had only built five large power transmission devices on the ground.

"Consider it an early investment."

"Once completed, not just the Eastern Continent, but most regions worldwide will be able to draw power through the Space Power Grid."

"Gaining nearly limitless energy support."

After briefly envisioning the future,

Su Wu's gaze shifted to a corner of the control console screen.

There, it displayed the current operational status of the special satellites after entering low Earth orbit.

Among them, the outermost armor plates

had already shifted from pristine green to lightly damaged yellow in less than a minute.

"Post-apocalyptic space..."

"Really isn’t very friendly to satellites."

In outer space,

countless dust and debris of unknown origin

constantly threatened the satellite equipment in low Earth orbit.

On top of that, irregular bursts of anomalous solar radiation storms

had reduced the average lifespan of post-apocalyptic communication satellites to just nine months.

Even the deep-pocketed federal government, faced with such sustained massive losses,

had no choice but to drastically cut back on the number of satellite constellations deployed in outer space.

As far as Su Wu knew,

only the Eden Satellite in geostationary orbit and the massive Valhalla space station remained largely unaffected.

"But for the special satellites, it shouldn’t be a big issue."

"Just replace the outer armor every six months."

The core of the special satellites—and most of their cost—lay in the large Wireless Power Transmission Devices they carried.

This part was protected by multiple layers of satellite armor

and generally wouldn’t suffer major damage.

If only the armor needed replacing, the cost was entirely manageable.

After running a few more tests on the Space Power Grid’s performance,

Su Wu was relieved to see that while remote charging was intermittent, the system remained stable and reliable overall.

He knew this operation could be declared a success.

As for the remaining special satellites still needed,

the plan was to deploy them into low Earth orbit over the next week.

Given the Super Factory’s production capacity,

extending the timeline to a week wouldn’t put too much pressure on operations.

Outer space.

Low Earth orbit.

The eleven Seventh-Generation Fighter Jets, having completed their satellite deployment,

did not immediately return to the Farmhouse Compound.

Instead, they continued along the orbit, heading tens of thousands of kilometers westward toward the Western Continent.

They were about to fulfill their first trade deal with Valhalla—

transporting roughly 4,400 tons of rare materials

from a surface warehouse on the Western Continent to geostationary orbit.

Though it was their first transaction,

the entire process went surprisingly smoothly and without incident.

From landing at the unmanned supply depot, taking over its control permissions, remotely operating the electric forklifts inside to load crates of packaged supplies into the fighter jet's cargo hold.

To taking off again, exiting the atmosphere, and accelerating toward the space station port in synchronous orbit.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

"Thank you for bringing us these urgently needed supplies."

"Now, all remaining materials in Emergency Depot 0037 are yours to freely allocate."

Zoe, Valhalla's external liaison, though trying hard to conceal it, couldn't completely hide the slight elevation in his tone, revealing his unsettled emotions.

These 4,400 tons of supplies.

To Su Wu on the planet's surface, they held nothing particularly special.

At most, they were somewhat rarer and more valuable than ordinary materials.

But for Valhalla in outer space, where every drop of water was exceptionally precious.

To call these supplies life-saving might be an exaggeration.

But at the very least, they could significantly improve their living conditions and even, to some extent, enhance their chances of survival in space.

"Emergency depots."

"You've prepared quite a lot of supplies on the surface."

Su Wu noticed his choice of words for the depot.

Judging by the numbering, there were likely thousands of depots of this scale.

Combined, their reserves probably exceeded those of a supercity.

After all, Emergency Depot 0037, ownership of which had just been fully transferred to Su Wu, alone contained tens of thousands of tons of rare resources, not to mention several more tons of conventional metal ingots, chemical raw materials, purified water, and so on.

"All for survival."

"When we knew the apocalypse was coming."

"Naturally, we stockpiled as much as we could."

Zoe forced a bitter smile, speaking with a hint of self-mockery.

"Yet no one could have predicted we'd still end up short on supplies."

The members of Valhalla.

Before the apocalypse, were actually part of the ruling class in the Western Continent.

Though not quite at the very top, they were all billionaires in the eyes of ordinary people, or prominent figures frequently seen on television screens.

Their ability to hoard resources.

Far surpassed that of ordinary people, as one would expect.

Yet even so, for the 3,000-plus people on the space station to accumulate reserves equivalent to more than one supercity's worth.

It was still no small feat.

Su Wu listened and nodded silently, saying nothing.

Sympathy, naturally, was out of the question.

The total amount of resources circulating in the market before the apocalypse was inherently limited.

This small group intercepting so many resources.

Meant that inevitably, far more people would silently perish in this prolonged apocalypse, lacking the basic necessities for survival.

In a way, they were accomplices to those deaths.

After delivering the supplies at Valhalla's space station port.

The Seventh-Generation Fighter Jet squadrons continued their return journey along the original route.

They needed to hurry and transport the remaining rare resources from Emergency Depot 0037 back to the Farmhouse Compound.

To avoid delays that might lead to nearby shelters stealing them en route.

Or their sudden disappearance in some geological disaster.

Anywhere on the surface of this planet.

There was no such thing as a permanently safe place.

Whether it was unmanned supply depots or inhabited shelters,

all faced the same possibility of disaster.

Shifting his gaze from the seventh-generation fighter jet formations, Su Wu turned his attention to the map of the Eastern Continent, focusing on Yuhe City south of Jianghe City.

While the seventh-generation fighter jets were busy over the Western Continent,

the campaign against Yuhe City here had progressed with unexpected ease.

From the moment the first Ice Lake-class transport ship, loaded with robotic forces, entered Yuhe City's territory,

Su Wu had encountered no substantial resistance.

Even the supercity that should have intervened from behind the scenes remained silent—not even the simplest reprimand was issued.

"Too smooth,"

he murmured.

"Suspiciously smooth."

Su Wu hesitated briefly before deciding to activate the intelligence channels Zhenhai City had once planted there through its former intelligence department.

He wanted to investigate the reason.

Soon—within mere seconds—

before the intelligence channels could even respond,

Artificial Intelligence pieced together the answer from digital traces online, uncovering the truth ahead of time.

The matter was simple.

The supercity backing Yuhe City—Ancheng—had coincidentally fallen into rebellion.

Its original leader had died unexpectedly,

and with no one left to restrain them,

several powerful factions within the city had begun vying for control, erupting into large-scale armed conflict.

Even now, the struggle remained unresolved.

"If I recall correctly,"

Su Wu mused,

"that supercity behind Yuhe City should also fall under the direct jurisdiction of the Eastern Continent's capital."

"Are they really just letting their subordinates run wild like this?"

The doubt flickered briefly in his mind before fading.

Then, faintly, he seemed to grasp a hidden truth.

It appeared the Eastern Continent's capital wasn’t as invested in these supercities as it pretended to be.

Its actions might merely be a facade to maintain nominal control.

"And the connections between supercities,"

he noted,

"don’t seem particularly strong either."

"Even loose alliances like the Southeast Alliance—which barely share intelligence—are few and far between."

The more he analyzed,

the more Su Wu realized he might need to reassess the current state of the Eastern Continent.

What he had once considered radical measures now seemed far too conservative.

His gaze lingered on the holographic map, fixed on the supercity behind Yuhe City.

A restless ambition stirred within him.

If that place was truly ownerless now,

then wouldn’t it be perfectly reasonable for him to stake a claim?

At the very least, he could disguise his involvement early on—frame it as an internal uprising.

Supercities like this, falling outside his prior agreements with the Eastern Continent's capital, were highly tempting targets.

Examples like Zhenhai City and the shelters around Yu'an City had already proven their worth.

A single supercity’s ordinary resources alone could match the combined reserves of every other shelter in its province.

And that wasn’t even counting rare resources like gold and silver—

their stockpiles likely dwarfed those of ordinary shelters.

Seizing a supercity’s resources could mean—

aside from countless other benefits—

accelerating the construction of several Morning Light-class transport ships ahead of schedule.

The long-term gains would be incalculable.

After some deliberation,

Su Wu contacted the intelligence department, issuing orders to disguise a rebel faction and attempt to seize control of Ancheng.

Ever since his population had surpassed a hundred million, forming a nation of its own,

the Farmhouse Compound—aside from the mechanized legions directly controlled by Artificial Intelligence—

In fact, a comprehensive external intelligence department had also been established, composed of carefully selected elites with relevant experience from numerous former shelters.

This department was originally intended as a supplement to Artificial Intelligence, providing oversight and filling gaps.

Now, however, it could serve an even more crucial purpose.

With the intelligence department working in tandem with the military force of the mechanical legion—barring any unforeseen circumstances—the transport fleet heading to Jianghe City could seamlessly advance to Ancheng after clearing out the resources there.

Over 800 kilometers south of the Farmhouse Compound.

Xiao Jiang Province.

A certain mid-sized shelter.

After multiple earthquakes, the shelter's exit, once surrounded by nothing but ruins on the surface, had now been cleared into a spacious open area.

A closed-loop corridor had been erected above it.

Inside the corridor, hundreds of men, women, and children stood in loosely organized lines, packing the space to capacity.

"Ten more minutes."

Among the crowd, Yun Hong pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen.

Aside from a countdown timer, it displayed a live feed from a surveillance camera installed outside the corridor—showing an open area enclosed by grayish-white rubble walls.

According to the instructions they had received beforehand, they would wait here for 10 to 15 minutes before boarding an airship to Jianghe City for a new life.

Yun Hong had no objections to moving to Jianghe City; in fact, he was somewhat looking forward to it.

Having spent so much time navigating the post-apocalyptic internet and seeing countless posts from residents of Jianghe City's shelters, he had a rough idea of what conditions were like there.

The living environment might not compare to the quarters of mid-level management in their own shelter, but it was certainly better than what ordinary people had here.

Moreover, considering that ordinary citizens there could exercise in well-equipped facilities and occasionally spend half a day in unimaginably vast artificial parks and amusement areas, it was hard to say whether the actual living experience was better than that of the management here.

To put it bluntly, one was a crowded but normal society, while the other was a spacious, luxurious prison.

But that was a concern for the future.

Right now, Yun Hong was more worried about another issue.

The place he was currently in was far from safe.

It was the surface, where temperatures plummeted below -70°C.

The only things shielding them were the corridor-like walls and ceiling, constructed from some unknown material.

If the snowstorm outside grew even slightly stronger, it might easily collapse.

"Let’s hope nothing goes wrong."

Standing in the corridor where the temperature, despite the continuous supply of shelter heating, still averaged around -10°C, Yun Hong listened to the faint howling of the wind outside, his heart uneasy, leaving everything to fate.

Fortunately, the transport ship he had been waiting for finally arrived.

It was a massive steel vessel, resembling an aircraft carrier.

Under the watchful eye of the surveillance camera, it slowly descended from the sky and landed in the center of the makeshift corridor.

Then, it opened a total of eight independent hatches on both sides, connecting with the eight pre-installed access points on the corridor.

"Connection established."

"Please board in an orderly manner."

"This stop will last 3 minutes and 59 seconds—"

A calm voice of Artificial Intelligence sounded in his ears.

Yun Hong tightened the small backpack on his shoulders and slowly followed the line into the interior of the spacecraft.

Without stopping, he then proceeded to climb up several levels.

Prior to this.

He had already checked the boarding procedures and the spacecraft's internal layout on his phone, as prompted by the Artificial Intelligence.

Thus, he appeared quite familiar with the place.

He wasted virtually no time.

(End of Chapter)