Survival Bunker System Developer

Research Lab Bunker

After an exhausting trip to Brownsville, they finally arrived back at Helen’s place. There was still some time before dark so Caleb decided to check with Helen what kind of things she would need for her lab bunker.

“I have a list of features and functions that can be unlocked by the system. Over the past week, I’ve been working hard to level it up enough. Let me know what are the facilities or amenities you require n the lab. So far, this is the list I’ve put together that will be included with your lab bunker when I create it.”

Helen looked through the list in her hands and was happy to see that there will be a bathroom with shower facilities. In addition, a pantry and a bed will be added. Everything else that Helen needed was already there in the lab including her work station, stationery and lab equipment. Helen was very satisfied with the bunker design that Caleb made and didn’t have anything to add to it.

“Apart from a few bookshelves to keep all my research materials, I think this bunker design works very well for me.”

Caleb nodded. “Just so you don’t freak out on me again, once you enter the bunker, you’re not going to be able to get out until everything is over. I will add a phone in there, it’s a bunker phone created by the system that connects directly to my system. If you require anything at all, use the phone to let me know. In case you get bored of eating whatever is in the pantry and whatever is in the fridge that will automatically restock, let me know and I’ll do my best to get what I can although it will be limited during the apocalypse.”

Helen didn’t have any objections and Caleb started to explain to Helen in greater detail about what she can and cannot do in the special Research Lab Bunker.

“You won’t be able to visit anyone and I don’t suggest that you attempt to communicate with anyone outside of it apart from me. The access right to that special lab bunker is set for only you and me. Of course, it’s the only bunker that allows ghouls to pass through so there will be safety zones and ghoul-allowed zones within the bunker. Please be very careful and take precautions. There’s no hope for humanity I the only person capable of finding a solution for PXE22’s infection dies or turns into a ghoul.”

Helen nodded. “I’ll be careful. You don’t have to worry about it. Just curious about something…Is the lab bunker going to be frozen in time as well?”

Caleb scrolled through the bunker description and shook his head. “Not that I know about. It shouldn’t be frozen in time because the ghouls and your experiment cannot function properly if they don’t follow the normal time flow.”

Helen nodded. “That makes sense. How am I going to collect deliveries from outside of the bunker if I’m not allowed to leave?”

Caleb grinned. “The bunker phone will ring when there is a delivery. If you confirm it over the phone it will be brought into the bunker without you needing to go out. It’s quite an efficient system after I designed this thing and revised it multiple times after a simulation test. The first two versions were full of bugs. Of course, that isn’t to say that the lab bunker cannot be improved further. If you find any need lacking you can highlight it to me and I will do something about it to the best of my abilities. Any other questions?”

Dr Rockmiller shook her head. “When do we leave? Everything I need to bring over has been packed in those boxes.

Caleb checked the time. “We leave at nine in the evening. My car’s battered so we’ll be using your car to go over. I’ll keep the ghouls I the temporary inventory with all your boxes. Do you know a way that we can break into the university without alerting the security?”

Helen thought about it. “Many of my students will climb over the fences to get in. The security isn’t very strict to get into the campus but it is strict to get to the labs. There are surveillance cameras in the lab building so we need to get past those and enter the lab with an access card. My access card was confiscated after I got banned.”

After hearing that, Caleb pulled out his laptop with a grin. “I’ll have that covered before we go. All you have to do is lead the way. Do you have any idea how big your lab is? I want to calculate the resources needed to create the special bunker.”

Helen estimated it to be about three times the size of her studio apartment if they were to include all the other amenities. Caleb quickly did the math and checked the Resource Panel. He had more than enough resources to splurge on Helen’s lab bunker after working hard to gather resources over the last few days.

“Got it. You should rest for now or grab something you’d really be craving in a few months for dinner. There’s won’t be a lot of options for you to choose from once the apocalypse started.”

The scientist didn’t need to be told twice and phoned for a Chinese take-out to be delivered for both of them. Caleb didn’t have any preference and allowed Helen to decide for them while he worked on hacking Rockfeller University’s security network. He got through the firewall fairly easily and much quicker than he did the first time. After digging through the database for Helen’s access card pin, Caleb copied the information and downloaded that into his RFID flash drive. Now that he had a safe route and an access card, it was time to enjoy the wonderful spread of Chinese food that Helen ordered in. Who knew that the scientist enjoyed spicy food?

>>Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX<<

For a middle-aged lady, Helen thought she did rather well flipping over the fence. On the other hand, her partner in crime was panting like no tomorrow after flipping over the fence. Caleb groaned and flopped to the ground, tired.

“Let’s rest a little. The cameras in the area have been disabled anyway.”

Helen huffed but waited for Caleb to catch his breath anyway. The system developer didn’t look like someone athletic but Helen didn’t think he would be this out of shape. After they parked Helen’s car a street away from the university, they were chased by some rather angry cats that Helen swore were already in the early second stage of ghoulification. The duo ran for their lives and climbed over the fence with angry cats trying to eat them. Helen made it first and had to help pull Caleb over. The poor system developer wasn’t as flexible as Helen to swing his leg over the wall and his arms weren’t strong enough to pull him up so the man was stuck dangling like a squid off the side until Helen came to the rescue. Ordinarily, it would have been a sight to behold and laugh over. Now, it was a clear warning sign that Caleb had to shape up to keep up when the apocalypse happened.

“Let’s go,” Caleb said once he had rested enough. Thankfully the gaps between the fences weren’t big enough to let the ghoul cats in. Caleb shuddered at the thought of having to run for his life after climbing over the fence. The system developer couldn’t refute when Helen told him to shape up. He knew he wasn’t the fittest person alive and the chase was a wake-up call for him.

Helen led the way down the twisting corridors of the research building. Caleb groaned when the scientist told him they had to climb the stairs to reach her lab because the lifts were not operating after hours.

“Are there any other labs that we can use instead? I don’t feel like climbing six flights of stairs…”

With a haughty smile, Helen denied his request. “There’s no better time to start getting fit than now. Carpe diem. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

Unable to escape his fate, Caleb groaned and trudged behind the scientist. He wished he knew about the lift shut down earlier. If Helen told him about it beforehand, he would have hacked the system to activate one of the lifts for their use tonight.

After what felt like an eternity, Caleb and Helen reached the lab. Exhausted, the system developer was in no mood to fool around. He placed the RFID flash drive to the reader and the door clicked open. Helen flipped the light switch on and Caleb flopped onto a chair before calling for the system interface.

Helen watched as Caleb tapped on a screen that she couldn’t see. She didn’t feel any changes to her lab even as Caleb converted it to a bunker. The changes only became apparent when a new room suddenly appeared behind her. The bathroom was the first thing to be introduced in the lab bunker followed by the pantry and the bedroom. Once the shelves were ready, Caleb started to bring out all of Helen’s belongings.

As Helen unpacked her belongings from the carton boxes, Caleb was busy looking over his Area Reservation plan. For now, he had converted only Helen’s lab into a bunker. The rest of the campus remained as it was. Even though Caleb added new amenities to the special bunker, he learned that it did not eat into the space of the lab beside the bunker.

With that new knowledge, Caleb drew a new partition to the current bunker map and customised the new zone to allow ghouls in. The room took a while to create because Caleb didn’t know how Helen wanted the set-up to look like.

It took Helen and Caleb about three hours to finalise everything. Helen made a list of items that were missing from the bunker that she needed and Caleb promised to source for it.

“The ghouls are in that room and cannot be removed from it. If you need to dispose of a ghoul, use the bunker phone and dial for a service. The bunker phone is going to be the most important thing for you here. I’ve copied the bunker phone’s manual in hardcopy for you. It’s beneath the phone if you ever need it. You cannot bring ghouls out of the ghoul room but you can bring samples out and equipment into it. I don’t have time to test the lab bunker for bugs so if you discover anything amiss, let me know.”

Helen thanked Caleb and looked at her new home for now. “I guess this is where we part until further notice? I’ll be keeping an eye on the news. Once the test results are out I will email them to you.”

Caleb nodded. “Please do. Also, your car isn’t going to survive the apocalypse so I hope you don’t mind if I use it to contribute to the resources that the system needs.”

Helen frowned but let Caleb do whatever he wanted. “If we survive this apocalypse I’ll just get another car. Please take care of yourself. With this system, you’re humanity’s greatest hope so please don’t die. Exercise more and don’t fall sick.”

The advice sounded like something a mother would tell her son. Caleb didn’t like it. Still, he nodded and bade Helen goodnight before leaving. Once he was outside of the lab bunker, Caleb started to dread going back out again. He had to climb down six flights of stairs, deal with the annoying ghoul cats and get to the car.

With a heavy sigh, Caleb made his way back. He was definitely going to make the best out of everything and the first thing that he was going to do was sacrifice Helen’s car to the system once he arrived home safely.