Chapter 5 Upgrade Her Bomb Shelter
Once the supplies were unloaded at the warehouse, Iris stored the large generator in her spatial storage—there was more than enough room for it.
Moments later, she returned to her base and installed the generator in the innermost storage room of the bomb shelter.
“Ding. Detected 1000kW generator. Reward: Permanently indestructible generator with minimum energy consumption!”
Iris’ eyes widened in shock.
She watched in amazement as a silver sheen seemed to coat the generator’s surface, its strength and quality visibly enhanced.
Most importantly, it was permanently indestructible!
Generators required regular maintenance in the long run, and Iris had only hoped to keep it running as long as possible. She never expected the system to upgrade it to be indestructible forever.
This is incredible!
Encouraged, she pressed on, moving to install the security cameras along the barbed wire fence she’d reinforced the previous day.
The tunnel bomb shelter’s location was ideal—surrounded by a dense circle of trees, with the main highway a mile away and the secondary road fading into the mountains 1640 feet from the shelter.
Few outsiders would ever spot the fenced-off tunnel hidden here; it was completely inconspicuous.
The internal cameras provided 360-degree coverage of her perimeter. Once installed and connected to the power circuit—powered by the generator—they would monitor all creatures that accidentally strayed into the area.
Immediately, all the cameras and electrified barbed wire began operating, and dense grid-like surveillance feeds appeared on Iris’ computer screen.
At that exact moment, the system’s voice sounded again.
“Ding. Detected surveillance system and power grid system.
“Reward: Surveillance system upgraded! The monitoring range increased tenfold! Automatically detects all living and non-living objects!
“Reward: Power grid system upgraded! Maximum grid attack: 10 thousand volts!”
Iris gasped again.
She stared at the clearer surveillance feeds on her screen. Pulling up any feed, Iris found the resolution was more than ten times higher than before.
As she zoomed in, the device’s monitoring range expanded dramatically. It was a top-of-the-line model she’d purchased, originally capped at 328 feet—and now it stretched all the way to 3,280 feet.
She could clearly see the distant highway through the gaps in the trees.
Just then, a bird attempted to land on the barbed wire.
It circled for a moment before finding a spot to perch.
In an instant, a sharp “crack” echoed as a spark flashed, and the bird fell to the ground, motionless.
A satisfied glint appeared in Iris’ eyes.
The defensive capabilities had improved dramatically. Perfect.
She’d like to see who dared to break into her base now; anyone who touched the fence would die instantly.
“Summer, stay away from the barbed wire from now on, okay?” she told the dog.
Summer barked in response.
Along with his increased size, Summer’s intelligence had grown too, making him more attuned to human emotions than ever.
Iris ruffled his head, then retrieved the food she’d stored from her old refrigerator and shared a meal with him.
After eating, she resumed organizing her base, soon discovering that even tidying up earned her rewards.
For example, cleaning the bomb shelter’s well and removing weeds triggered new notifications.
“Ding. Detected well upgrade.
“Reward: Independent mountain system clean water source!
“Ding. Detected reduction in weed coverage.
“Reward: High-quality soil! Crop yield increased 100x! Crop growth rate increased 10x!”
Iris’ motivation soared at the news.
Clean water and high-quality soil meant her base was becoming better and stronger by the day.
These basic resources would allow her to grow fresh fruits and vegetables later, enabling self-sufficiency in food production.
She made a mental note to buy various seeds next.
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
With less than three days left until the apocalypse, Iris had developed a routine: every morning, she ran 6.2 miles around the bomb shelter.
This not only drastically improved her physical fitness but also helped her familiarize herself with the terrain, which she now knew like the back of her hand.
Her tunnel bomb shelter was located inside a mountain. Centered around the shelter, a circular barbed wire fence stretched from the mountainside on both sides.
Where the fence met the mountain, there was a steep cliff, making it extremely difficult to bypass.
As for coming around from the opposite side of the mountain—that was even more challenging, with terrain far steeper than the front, covered in bushes and trees that even professional climbers would struggle to navigate.
The only potential hazard was fire.
Forest fires were always a major concern and difficult to prevent—unless Iris cleared a large area of trees to create a firebreak.
But clearing the trees would expose her base to prying eyes.
After careful consideration, she knelt down to clear the dead leaves and branches around the perimeter.
Cutting down trees was out of the question; it would immediately attract attention.
In the apocalypse, humans were the most dangerous threat. Avoiding human detection was far more important than preventing disasters potentially caused by humans—she couldn’t put the cart before the horse.
Furthermore, forest fires were unlikely to occur in the damp forest. Clearing the ground of dead leaves and branches would effectively reduce the risk.
Iris cleared a clean area centered around her base’s defensive perimeter.
Just as she finished, the system’s voice echoed in her mind again.
“Ding. Detected reduced fire hazard.
“Reward: No combustion permanently within the cleared zone!”
Iris’ eyes lit up.
Her cheat code had come through again when it mattered most!
The safety of her bomb shelter would be enhanced once more.
With her biggest concern eliminated, Iris threw herself into other tasks.
Every inch she cleared earned her a reward; every bit of reinforcement boosted her base’s defenses.
Her base was strengthening rapidly.
In the past few days, her deliveries had also arrived one after another.
After finishing work at the bomb shelter during the day, Iris went to the warehouse to collect the supplies at night.
She’d instructed the couriers to leave the packages in her warehouse, where she’d installed a large surveillance camera and posted Summer to guard the premises.
It was still a time of peace, so few people would deliberately commit crimes even if no one was watching—especially with such a fierce-looking dog on the premises.
Couriers unloaded truckloads of goods and left immediately.
Each night, Iris arrived to collect the supplies, storing them in her spatial storage and transporting them back to her base.
“Ding. Detected warehouse fully stocked.”
All the supplies she’d purchased had arrived and were neatly stacked in the largest storage room at the back of her bomb shelter.
“Reward: Super Warehouse! Food storage permanently fresh-locked!”
In the blink of an eye, the door to the large warehouse transformed into the kind of bank vault door she’d seen in TV shows.
The thick metal door couldn’t be opened even with professional blasting equipment; only Iris’ iris scan would grant access.
Opening the warehouse door, she found the supplies had been neatly categorized and stored.
Most importantly, the fresh-lock function meant she’d never have to worry about expiration again.
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
