I can upgrade the shelter-Chapter 818 - 716: Return to the Shelter

After a long time, Chen Xin finally returned to his sanctuary, inevitably filled with some melancholy and sentimentality.

This refuge had consumed a great deal of his effort and energy. Recalling the early days of the disaster, when everyone else was in a panic, hoping the country could solve the crisis, he was the first to spend his savings to build this shelter, just to survive under the apocalypse.

However, no one could have foreseen the changes that followed; someone who just wanted to eke out a living suddenly had completely different experiences due to a stroke of fortune.

After acquiring the system, not only did he greatly improve and enhance his living environment, but he also brought his distant parents to live with him, and even allowed his ex-girlfriend and confidante to move in as well. He enjoyed a blessing not just on a personal level, but also unexpectedly became an academician at the Academy of Sciences, a reality Chen Xin could never have dared to dream of before.

And not to mention everything he went through later, the disaster relief after the earthquake in the Southwest, he still couldn’t forget those people buried under the rubble; going to Lucia to acquire Cold War-era black technologies, helping them rebuild their capital, the sub-zero temperatures of over a hundred degrees are something Chen Xin remembers vividly; helping various countries in Europe fight alien creatures, restoring production and stabilizing social order, Chen Xin never felt he had been so busy...

During this time, perhaps for his own interests or for the country, Chen Xin developed power armor, exoskeletons, mecha, Titans, mobile bases, floating battleships, and so on, which almost completely changed the state of the Flame Country.

If it were before the disaster, even Chen Xin, who was once an online novel writer, could not have imagined that the country would become so ’sci-fi’ because of his influence in just a few years.

On this visit to his old haunt, returning to the refuge he personally established, Chen Xin couldn’t help but wonder how things would have turned out if he hadn’t stumbled upon that system back then.

If it weren’t for the system, Chen Xin’s life wouldn’t be as good as it is now, and the nation might not be the way it is today. He certainly wouldn’t have become an academician, and whether he could have reconciled with Qin Lan and been with Mo Qingyan would also be unknown.

And whether his originally simple refuge could withstand the subsequent relentless cold waves and temperature drops also remains unknown.

It’s even possible that he might not have survived the first year due to a lack of fuel and food, having to abandon the shelter and try to survive in the city’s official refuge, only to die of cold, hunger, and disease.

This made Chen Xin have to exclaim that he was just an ordinary person, able to reach today only because of an extraordinary encounter.

Returning to his refuge once more and seeing everything just as it was when he left two years ago, except now layered thick with dust, with the greenhouse crops in disarray from neglect, Chen Xin couldn’t help but feel the passage of time.

Over the past two years, Chen Xin was almost constantly busy, rarely having any downtime, and seldom with the leisure to feel time’s flow.

Yet now, revisiting this familiar place, he couldn’t help reflecting on the fact that some things have changed completely.

Chen Xin was extremely satisfied and fond of this refuge he created and upgraded with the system.

Whether it was the comfort of living here, or the various decorations and furnishings, all were highly satisfactory for Chen Xin, not to mention the numerous events that occurred here, which are memories he cannot let go of.

Arriving at the wine cellar he specially built for Mo Qingyan, her rare collection was still stored here.

Fortunately, the refuge had not been affected by the war, and the nuclear battery installed back then was still functioning well, preserving the wines in perfect condition.

Selecting a bottle, opening it, and pouring himself a glass, Chen Xin didn’t tidy up but sat on the dusty sofa, sipping alone.

The familiarity permeated with dust brought Chen Xin a unique sensation, and the alcohol stimulated his taste buds, making him pleasantly relaxed, as he leaned back on the sofa with an empty mind.

To outsiders, Chen Xin might seem a bit eccentric, doing something as outrageous as drinking in a room full of dust.

But for Chen Xin, it was merely an emotional response.

Sitting for a while, the dust in the room became too much of a distraction.

But Chen Xin didn’t want to clean up; the refuge had become enormous after the last upgrade before he left, and tidying it up would be an incredibly troublesome task, requiring at least a day even with help.

Moreover, Chen Xin no longer lived here, and although the military had returned the Research Center to him, it was clear the research department, now settled in the New Dome City, couldn’t move back here again.

Chen Xin, too, wouldn’t return here to live, so cleaning the place seemed unnecessary.

Yet people tend to be sentimental, and for Chen Xin, this refuge had extra significance beyond just being a residence.

"Perhaps I could relocate part of the research team here?" Chen Xin mused to himself. Having had some drink, his mind was somewhat unrestrained but he didn’t make any rash decisions: "The land at the new city is limited; they’ve been requesting new experimental sites from the academic department. Since the military no longer uses this place, bringing some of them here would prevent such a large facility from going to waste."

The Research Center, having been used as a frontline command post by the military, was still well preserved, unlike the city center, which had been demolished and rebuilt into fortifications.

Therefore, moving back some research groups in need of new experimental sites wouldn’t be an issue.

As for housing and feeding those relocated, there was no need to worry; the Research Center had comprehensive living facilities initially.

Besides, if push comes to shove, doesn’t Chen Xin still have the system? A single upgrade could solve all problems.

Thinking of this, Chen Xin, perhaps due to the alcohol, or maybe because he genuinely saw the potential, downed the rest of the drink, stood up from the sofa, disregarded the dust covering him, and snapped his fingers into the air.

With his snap, the long-forgotten green light grid reappeared in the refuge, scanning the entire place in an instant, then extending towards the outside Research Center.