WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Unlimited Money Shelter of the Apocalypse ◈
Chapter 13: Special Treatment for VVIPs
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On a hunch, I searched the internet for a satellite called KH-13.
Before long, I learned that not only did it really exist, it was also the latest reconnaissance satellite operated by the United States.
Apparently, it was code-named KH, or Key Hole, because it could look down from space and see as far as a needle’s eye on the ground.
Anyway, according to the search results, the satellite itself for its predecessor, the KH-12, had cost over $10 billion in 2010 prices. In other words, it would cost an absurd $23 billion apiece at current value.
Was that even possible? One satellite cost $23 billion?
That was more expensive than a modern nuclear-powered aircraft carrier carrying thousands of people.
By that logic, I could more or less accept why the KH-13, one tier above it, was priced at $28 billion.
“Since it enters orbit immediately upon purchase, it isn’t simply an exorbitant price.”
“$28 billion isn’t exorbitant?”
Anne nodded without batting an eye.
“All nations in Northeast Asia possess early-warning radar networks capable of detecting every launch vehicle, including ballistic missiles, second by second. There is considerable value in placing a satellite into orbit instantly without a ground launch process, bypassing those surveillance networks.”
In other words, the $28 billion included a security cost to keep the shelter’s location from being discovered by the Republic of Korea and neighboring countries.
“However, there is a chance it could be detected by the United States.”
I knew that too. The United States operated the SSN, the Space Surveillance Network, which monitored the location of space debris in real time. Therefore, even if a satellite suddenly appeared out of thin air, its existence would inevitably be discovered within a few hours at most.
Maybe that was why American space surveillance technology was so advanced. It let Hollywood keep throwing America into fights with aliens.
“How do you know such things, Administrator?”
“I wanted to become an astronomer when I was young.”
Anne nodded, then continued as though trying to ease my concerns.
“Even so, if we use directed-beam communications and LPI/LPD, low-detection and low-intercept transmission technologies, the United States may detect a reconnaissance satellite that appeared in space, but it will not be able to trace it back to the shelter on the ground.”
I had not known it had those capabilities too.
“The United States operates its reconnaissance satellites in precisely that manner. And this is the newest model operated by that same United States.”
I understood.
I considered whether a satellite was worth investing the monstrous sum of $28 billion in. The KH-13’s estimated lifespan displayed on the screen was a little over fifteen years.
Having our own satellite would certainly be reassuring, but was it worth burning through nearly $2 billion a year in depreciation alone? Besides, operating only one or two low-orbit satellites would not be especially useful.
Even the cutting-edge KH-13 could precisely observe the Republic of Korea for only around five minutes a day. Low-orbit satellites circled Earth once every ninety minutes, but the Earth rotated during that time, shifting the ground below them that much farther west.
That was why they launched multiple satellites rather than just one.
Burn $28 billion for five minutes of surveillance a day? The numbers did not add up.
And considering we would also need communications satellites and weather satellites, $28 billion was overinvestment no matter how I looked at it.
Then a question I had kept ignoring for some time crossed my mind again.
Why could I purchase only satellite models built with modern technology, while androids were available all the way up to near-future models?
What I had painfully realized after several days of experience was that Shelter Builder was by no means a game designed around user convenience. It was as brutally realistic as reality itself, absurdly meticulous, and full of conditions to satisfy.
So why?
Why were all other infrastructure options limited to things achievable with modern technology, while androids alone were an exception?
“...”
This time, I did not let the question pass. I slumped to the ground and sank into thought.
What was different? Why were androids the only thing allowed? What created this systemic difference?
First, I had received an initial fund of $1 trillion because I had spent hours writing down the shelter I usually fantasized about.
That was because the prices of the satellite, supermassive blast doors, dozens of modern tanks, SMR reactors not yet commercially available, and high-performance AI and robots impossible with current technology had all been factored in.
“!!!”
I hurriedly searched the system store. What other near-future technologies were still only experimental, like SMR reactors, or not commercialized at all, like Anne?
One technology immediately came to mind. Quantum computers.
「No search results found.」
Neuralink, a BCI still in its early clinical trial stage.
「No search results found.」
Wireless power transmission, still at the demonstration stage.
「No search results found.」
‘Ah.’
I realized it.
Of the future technologies that did not currently exist, I could purchase only those I had personally mentioned in the survey.
* * *
“Administrator?”
Wait, did that mean the other users were building shelters from scratch without help from an expert like Anne? Was that even possible?
The crude shelter blueprint I had originally conceived and the current internal layout revised by Anne were worlds apart.
With the touch of an expert like Anne, the interior traffic flow had become far more efficient, the facilities more refined, and above all, the safety directly tied to survival had increased enormously.
Of course, other users could use the [Batch Construction Service] provided by Shelter Builder, so their shelters probably would not collapse right away. But detailed internal infrastructure such as water and sewage, power grids, and ventilation systems could not be properly built without specialized knowledge.
Someone with relevant expertise might have bought the game by chance, but realistically, what were the odds that such highly educated intellectuals had bought a mysterious game being sold on the street in a busy district on Christmas Eve?
“Administrator.”
Then what about the implant lodged in my head? That was overtechnology too. Since I had written “robots” in the survey, had nanorobots been grouped into related technologies and unlocked as well?
No, setting that aside. If someone had written down a deep-sea base or space base in the essay question, then someone else must have unlocked future technology in that field too?
Maybe orbital bombardment lasers or something?
“Administrator.”
Only then did I snap out of it. When I looked up, the sky that had been bright until recently had already grown dim.
I must have been lost in thought for quite a while. When I moved my stiff body, every muscle screamed with soreness.
“Ah, sorry. I was thinking about something.”
“You stood in the same place without moving for an entire hour. Aren’t you cold?”
No wonder I had been feeling chilled. Standing still for an hour in the mountains during midwinter would naturally do that.
I checked the time. Seven in the evening.
“...Should we eat dinner?”
“If so, please let it be something other than cup noodles.”
I had been planning to eat ramen.
* * *
Thanks to my newly discovered insight into the system’s loophole, I ultimately decided to purchase reconnaissance satellites.
I had no idea what wild things other users might have written in their essay answers. To avoid falling behind them, I needed to possess the most advanced technology in the fields I had claimed first.
There was no need to mention androids like Anne and the Juggernaut.
But I had no intention of purchasing the reconnaissance satellites immediately.
The recommended number of satellites for properly establishing a low-orbit reconnaissance satellite network was four to six. Even at the minimum of four, an astronomical $112 billion would vanish. Therefore, I decided to determine the number to operate after securing all essential infrastructure needed to build the shelter, based on the remaining budget.
At least if I operated reconnaissance satellites, mine would have a much longer lifespan than American satellites. One reason was simply that I would launch them later.
Ordinary reconnaissance satellites frequently adjusted their orbits to avoid detection by enemy nations, consuming enormous amounts of propellant. And satellite lifespans often ended due to exhausted propellant rather than component failures.
In conclusion, my satellites, which only needed to maintain their orbits, would waste almost no fuel and would last several years longer.
That was enough about satellites.
The next facility to build was the central control room, the nervous system and most critical area of this enormous shelter.
In other words, the place that would become my home.
* * *
For the central control room’s construction, I focused on two keywords: protection and independence.
If a riot broke out inside the shelter or an outside force invaded, this area had to become the final bastion. The moment it was seized, the enormous ship called the shelter would sink.
Therefore, the door would be a two-meter-thick alloy blast door with the same specifications as the shelter’s main entrance.
“Additionally, I recommend applying a double layer of EMP-protective shielding to the control room’s entire outer wall and installing independent emergency batteries.”
“That sounds good.”
I rolled the mouse wheel and began shaping the control room’s interior layout.
I placed a gigantic panoramic display covering the entire front wall. In front of it, I spread wide semicircular rows of consoles where androids would remain stationed twenty-four hours a day, processing power grid, CCTV, and satellite data.
And in the deepest rear section of the control room, in a blind spot untouched even by the display’s bluish glow, I drew in a hidden passage leading to my private quarters.
“Separate the air purification system and drinking water lines for my quarters and the control room completely from the shelter’s main network. If the vents and pipes are connected, we could be hit by toxic gas or water contamination.”
Though I had raised an extreme possibility, Anne nodded without batting an eye.
“Understood. I will configure it so that, even if the control room is completely cut off from the outside in an emergency, its stored resources and self-purification systems alone can sustain us for at least three years.”
As expected of Anne. Even when I threw out a vague idea, Anne came up with a perfect technical solution.
“How should we decorate the quarters? A bed, shower, and toilet are essential...”
“In preparation for long-term isolation, I recommend adding an artificial daylight window and a small private greenhouse for psychological stability.”
“...A greenhouse? In my room?”
“Yes. Caring for plants greatly helps maintain mental health. With a hydroponic growing kit, you could casually grow cherry tomatoes or herbs.”
Shut inside a steel chamber one thousand meters underground, watering cherry tomatoes while monitoring the shelter.
When I pictured it, it was a little bizarre, like something a psychopathic villain would do, but I decided to accept it.
“Fine. Add that too.”
* * *
That night, Italy declared a state of national emergency.
[Citizens of Italy, our nation is facing a national disaster amid unprecedented massive flames. The large wildfires spreading on strong winds have exceeded what our own firefighting personnel can control...]
As the wildfires spread, over 20,000 hectares of land were destroyed, more than 120,000 people were evacuated, and thousands of homes burned down.
Whether it was unfortunate or fortunate, I did not watch that devastating breaking news in real time.
Because I was up all night building the shelter.
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