WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Unlimited Money Shelter of the Apocalypse ◈
Chapter 29: The Value of Labor Must Be Fairly(?) Paid
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13 days remained until demo service ended.
The Special Forces personnel who had spent two days searching throughout Gangwon Province did not withdraw until they had thoroughly combed even its southernmost reaches.
“Fuck.”
That brief profanity picked up through the surveillance equipment made it easy enough to imagine how the personnel involved in the operation felt.
Meanwhile, I received reports from the people sent out to recruit talented personnel, periodically checking the roster of those we had brought in. With Anne and General Kang's help, I also made a safer transportation plan.
Now that the shelter's essential facilities were complete, I decided that where and how I spent money mattered far more than building quickly.
I had spent a staggering $692 billion so far.
Once I added the 109 Juggernauts, four reconnaissance satellites, the construction cost of a deep underground entrance connecting to the abandoned mine, educational facilities such as kindergartens and schools, and the Enigmas meant for serious intelligence work, roughly $936.8 billion would be gone.
That left me with about $63 billion in actual funds. In other words, only(?) around the Republic of Korea Ministry of National Defense's annual budget remained.
The reason I specifically bought 109 Juggernauts was simple. Combined with the one I already owned, that made 110 in total. I wanted exactly ten elite squads, each consisting of ten personnel and one squad leader.
I sought my advisors' opinions on what additional facilities should be built with the remaining $63 billion.
After much consideration, the first facility I decided on was an underground hangar that could house large transport helicopters and military reconnaissance and attack drones for future Juggernaut transport.
Naturally, since aircraft would need to come and go, it was not very deep. It was located roughly fifty meters below the large elevator at the shelter's main entrance.
At that depth, even if necessary, I figured the aircraft could be disassembled, moved by large truck, reassembled, and brought to the surface.
The underground hangar was designed with a floor area of 10,000 pyeong, about 33,000 square meters, and a height of fifteen meters so large transport helicopters and drones could be freely serviced and parked there.
The construction cost alone came to... $24.75 billion.
Personally, I wanted to make it smaller, but apparently it needed to be at least that large to station and maintain ten CH-47F Chinooks and ten MQ-9B medium-altitude UAVs.
Their unit prices were $120 million and $45 million respectively. Military equipment was certainly expensive.
Still, to firmly establish our transport and reconnaissance capabilities, I ordered ten of each, along with ample spare parts and ground-support equipment. I had burned through $1.65 billion on aircraft purchases alone.
Of course, I seriously considered operating supersonic fighters as well. But getting jets airborne required ground runways stretching several kilometers. That did not really fit a shelter trying to stay hidden.
“Still, air power will prove useful someday. Right now, our shelter practically has no air power at all.”
“...Couldn't we just not go outside the shelter?”
“If we have no air force, we will be helplessly attacked once we eventually expand outside the shelter.”
“I built the shelter in the first place to live here forever...”
“You have budget remaining. At present, there is no better investment.”
What, had he been a sparrow in a past life?
Anyway, General Kang pushed hard, so in the end I had no choice but to buy four F-22 Raptors, America's best fighters at $230 million each, and eight domestically produced KF-21 Boramaes at $120 million each.
That came to $1.88 billion. On top of that, fighters cost a disgusting amount to maintain whether they flew or not, so I had to spend nearly another $700 million on parts and other consumables.
“Truly, truly an excellent choice.”
Apparently, buying twelve aircraft meant they would be classified as an aviation battalion, allowing them to conduct more operations or something.
I wondered how we would use them without a runway, but General Kang said that after the Republic of Korea government collapsed, we could build one outside without worrying about anyone watching and operate them aggressively.
The second facility was a small modular synthetic-fuel and petrochemical refining facility, along with a large crude-oil reserve depot, for the air power and military equipment I had just purchased.
It was tiny compared to an ordinary large refinery, and its modular design had the advantage of releasing extremely little heat and smoke outside while operating.
Of course, its output was also extremely low, but I decided refining a few dozen barrels a day would be enough.
Honestly, even if helicopters and drones went out frequently, they would probably only deploy once or twice every few years. What would we even do with a faster refining rate?
This equipment would clearly be used more often to produce raw materials for necessities like plastic and vinyl after the apocalypse than to refine aviation fuel. In fact, that was why I intended to build it.
And as for the amount of crude oil these facilities would use...
“The more crude oil we have in modern society, the better.”
“I agree with you on this point, Administrator.”
My two advisors were in perfect agreement.
Following their recommendation, I decided to stockpile a full one million barrels, roughly 159 million liters. Not gasoline or diesel with a short shelf life, but pure, unrefined crude oil.
“Crude oil in its natural state effectively has no expiration date. Of course, oil extracted from the ground can form sediment during storage or change in quality from contact with air, but... if it is properly stored in a sealed environment, it can be kept for a long time. Even if its quality changes somewhat, much of that can be corrected during refining.”
Our shelter generated most of its power through SMRs, and everyone would walk inside instead of driving personal cars. There would not be much reason to consume crude oil in the first place.
Still, purchasing one million barrels of crude oil cost only $150 million, while building dozens of sealed storage facilities to keep it safely cost $12 billion.
Money disappeared in huge chunks, but seeing the empty tanks fill up in an instant was satisfying.
Since I had secured refining facilities anyway, I also stocked the maintenance bays, which had previously held only electric construction equipment, with plenty of large petroleum-powered heavy machinery and tactical armored vehicles, including K2 Black Panthers.
Maybe because they were ground vehicles, but even buying twenty of each only cost $290 million(?).
Buying military equipment, aircraft, and refinery supplies made me realize that their cost-effectiveness was truly atrocious. There was a reason defense budgets cost an arm and a leg.
Even so, I judged them worth the investment. This much was the minimum safeguard needed to survive safely for decades.
The total cost came to $41.52 billion.
I now had approximately $21.48 billion left to use freely.
More importantly, the shelter was nearly complete, so it was about time to bring in the friends who would handle security inside and out.
「You have purchased 109 Juggernauts.」
It was a moment I had waited for a very long time.
* * *
Juggernauts stood a full 2.3 meters tall.
Anyone who had seen basketball players in person would understand. Standing before them, their massive size and sheer presence naturally made it hard to breathe.
So how imposing would Juggernauts be, taller and far broader in the shoulders than even those huge basketball players?
Especially when there were 110 of them, including the one I already owned, standing in a long formation to either side?
“...”
If this was not art, what was?
I once again realized the truth of the saying that the things which stir a man's heart most are robots first and dinosaurs second.
Could there be any more rational purchase in the world?
“This is fucking insane...”
Muttering an uncharacteristically vulgar exclamation, I stared blankly at the Juggernauts lined up to either side of me.
I was not particularly a military nerd, but seeing those massive suits of power armor in person made my heart tremble.
Then, the heavily armored giants, each likely weighing several hundred kilograms, simultaneously raised their hands in salute.
Clack!
Steel beasts that remained utterly silent as they waited only for their commander's order. At the center of their formation stood the first Juggernaut I had bought.
The lights of the vast underground hangar reflected off their metal armor plates. As I looked at the formation without the slightest disorder, my blood boiled so fiercely that my head grew hazy with dopamine.
At that moment, I could not stop myself from uttering a military command I had not used since my days as a trainee squad leader.
“At ease.”
Thud!
The instant I finished speaking, every Juggernaut snapped to attention at once, and a heavy metallic sound spread through the hangar.
I almost pissed myself a little. Spending $120 billion did not feel wasteful at all.
Naturally, just as the Enigmas all had different appearances, the Juggernauts also differed slightly in appearance.
Their shadowed face helmets, red visors over their visual sensors, and heavy power armor covering their entire bodies were identical, but their weapons, armor colors, and small ornaments attached to their exterior varied somewhat.
They seemed to be separate identifying features for distinguishing types.
Surprisingly, some Juggernauts carried enormous melee weapons, such as heavy hammers or greatswords that looked like they would not budge even if three or four grown men grabbed them.
Just as the Republic of Korea Army did not have every soldier perform the same role simply because they were all in the Army, the Juggernauts also seemed to have specialized assignments.
Exactly one-tenth of them, eleven units, belonged to these melee roles.
They seemed to be assigned to break through the very front lines. Every one of them carried a thick shield alongside a heavy weapon, which was incredibly impressive. Out of curiosity, I gauged the thickness of one shield. It was definitely thicker than the span of my palm.
Thud. Thud.
As I watched the reliable backs of the Juggernauts heading to their assigned positions, a thought suddenly occurred to me, and I asked Anne.
“...The elevator will not collapse, right?”
“Considering the maximum weight, it should be able to transport up to fifty units without issue.”
It was a good thing I had built the world's largest elevator just in case.
Whatever else happened, I was certain that becoming a Juggernaut would be the number-one dream job of every little boy who came to live in our shelter.
* * *
The Juggernauts would be distributed throughout the quarantine station and checkpoints, the passageways leading from the residential district to the deeper levels, maintenance bays and hangars, power facilities, detention cells, and the Central Control Room, all of which were security zones. They would also be stationed in the residential district and rest facilities to prevent bloodshed.
Naturally, deploying all 110 at once would create unnecessary intimidation and fear. More importantly, it was inefficient to have one unit guard a single spot twenty-four hours without relief. Therefore, in locations visible to residents, they would operate on a three-shift rotation.
For reference, our shelter had two main elevators.
One was the large elevator I had seen before, running from the surface entrance to the residential district. The other was a dedicated elevator connecting the security zones below the residential district.
There were also various smaller elevators, of course, but those areas were designed so people could move around easily by stairs without using an elevator.
In other words, residents could freely move between daily living spaces, such as the residential district, rest facilities, dining hall, and kitchen, by stairs.
Conversely, security levels rose sharply in the security zones and even in areas like the warehouses.
As I scanned the blueprints on my tablet, I casually asked Anne, who stood beside me.
“The things we need to put in the rest facilities are a kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high schools, adult education facilities, firefighting facilities, a laundry room, and a library... Is there anything else?”
“For now, a high-temperature crematorium, a small funeral hall, an administrative center, and the Central Exchange would be advisable.”
At this point, was it not just a city rather than a shelter?
Still, there was money left over, so I decided more was better.
That said, while I immediately understood what everything else was for, the words Central Exchange stood out in particular.
Reading my thoughts, Anne smoothly continued.
“In addition to basic free distributions, I intend to operate a credit system that will encourage residents to work and allow them to freely trade necessities and hobby goods.”
In most apocalypse media, bullets, cigarettes, and canned food tend to serve as currency after civilization falls, replacing paper money that has become worthless.
Because they are scarce.
When people gather, bartering and trade inevitably arise. Rather than trying to stop that, it would be far more beneficial to create an official exchange and keep the internal market economy under my control.
Honestly, would smokers and drinkers say, “Oh, then I will quietly quit smoking and alcohol from now on,” just because there were no cigarettes or alcohol?
Absolutely not!
“Therefore, I recommend making other luxury goods, such as cigarettes, alcohol, coffee, and chocolate, purchasable with credits as well.”
“...Hm.”
Something was missing.
“If you insist, you could simply pay salaries in credits too.”
...Then I would not have to pay the researchers' salaries?
Let us do that immediately.
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