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I Can Upgrade My Shelter Infinitely
Chapter 1 – The Shelter That Shouldn't Exist
When the world ended, it didn't happen with a bang.
It just… disconnected.
One morning, the sky went white. Not cloudy—just gone. As if someone had pressed delete on the entire atmosphere. The ground fractured into glowing hexagonal plates, floating in the void, and reality folded itself into something that looked like a game interface.
And I was standing right in the middle of it.
> [System Notice]
Welcome, Survivor #004821.
Initializing Shelter System…
Please construct your shelter before nightfall.
Warning: Nightfall brings Corruption. Corruption brings Death.
That was the first message I saw. I thought it was a joke, some viral ARG.
Until the Corruption arrived.
That was five months ago.
Now I'm still alive—somehow.
Most others aren't.
---
The Shelter hums quietly as I check the glowing wall display.
> [Shelter Lv 3]
Durability 780 / 1000
Energy Reserve 32 %
Radiation Shielding ★ 1
Corruption Resistance Basic
Upgrade Points 0
Next Upgrade → Lv 4 Requires:
• Stone Fragments × 100
• Iron Scraps × 25
• Power Core (Common) × 1
"Power Core, huh? Guess that means another trip topside."
The Shelter is a steel-gray box, maybe two rooms large—ugly but alive.
Outside, the nights scream. The Corruption fog swallows everything: whispers, claws, things that don't obey physics. Once, something out there whispered my name.
---
Everyone started with a Level 1 Shelter and a small patch of land.
The rest of the world was void. You upgraded to expand your territory.
Most didn't last a week.
Me? I had one advantage—a glitch.
During initialization the system froze.
> [Error Detected – Shelter Initialization Incomplete]
Repairing core files… done.
Rewriting permissions… successful.
Unique Trait Unlocked → Infinite Upgrade Potential.
At first I thought it was flavor text.
Then I realized I could upgrade beyond the limit.
When everyone else capped at Lv 10, my screen said:
> [Shelter Lv 10 → 11 Upgrade Possible]
And it still hasn't stopped.
---
Pack, knife, spear—check.
I step through the doorway. The air tastes like static; ruins drift above the abyss.
> [Zone – Fragmented Plains]
Threat Level 2 (Moderate)
Resources: Iron Scrap / Core Shards / Wild Beasts
A translucent creature prowls ahead, spine glowing blue.
A Corrupted Stalker Lv 6.
"Target acquired."
I toss a pebble; it darts toward the sound.
My spear pierces its chest.
It shrieks—metal on glass—then collapses.
> [Enemy Defeated – +45 EXP]
Loot: Iron Scrap × 3 / Hide × 2 / Core Fragment × 1
> [Ethan Cross – Lv 5]
STR 12 END 14 AGI 10 INT 9 Shelter Affinity ∞
Upgrade Points : None
That infinity sign… no one else had it.
Every point I spend makes the Shelter different.
---
By midday I've got enough stone and iron. Only the Power Core remains.
Those are buried in Ruins—danger zones full of monsters.
The entrance yawns before me: a half-buried subway mouth glowing with moss.
> [Ruins Type B – Energy Facility]
Recommended Level 8+
Detected Loot: Power Core (Common)
"Perfect," I mutter. "And suicidal."
I descend.
---
Darkness swallows me. My wrist-light paints rusted rails and broken machines.
The scanner flashes red.
> [Threat Detected: Corrupted Sentinel Lv 9]
It lunges. I dodge. Sparks.
I drive the spear through its joint—clang!—and it implodes in black data dust.
> [Loot Acquired – Power Core (Common)]
The ground trembles. A deeper voice booms:
> [Unauthorized Extraction Detected – Defense Protocol Activated]
The wall splits open; a four-armed monster of steel and slime emerges.
> [Corrupted Guardian Lv 15]
"Oh, hell."
---
The Guardian's roar shakes the tunnel. Its blow smashes the floor beside me.
I sprint, weaving through debris.
A blast of energy hurls me into a wall—ribs crack.
Health 47 %.
I spot a leaking fuel conduit.
"Alright, big guy… fetch."
Flare → spark → BOOM!
Flames consume the chamber. The Guardian staggers, molten.
I leap, spear first, through the smoke—straight into its core.
> [Critical Hit]
[Guardian Defeated +220 EXP]
Loot: Power Core (Rare) / Nanite Residue × 5 / Metal Alloy × 8
> [Level Up → 7] +2 Upgrade Points
[Shelter Link Available – Power Core Integration Detected]
Trait Override Confirmed. Begin Remote Upgrade? [Y/N]
"Yes."
Light surges upward through the ceiling.
> [Shelter Lv 3 → 4 Complete]
Auto-Repair (Basic) Unlocked
Corruption Resistance ★ 2
Trait Amplification → Adaptive Evolution Lv 1
Shelter can absorb traits of defeated enemies.
"It can learn," I breathe.
A slow grin spreads. "Now that's broken."
---
I return before nightfall. The sky fractures black, but my barrier holds.
Outside, the world screams; inside, silence.
Then the wall shifts—metal re-forming, birthing a new panel.
> [Adaptive Evolution Activated]
New Subsystem → Defense Drone Bay (Dormant)
Requirement → Power Core × 2 / Nanite Residue × 10
It's learning. Evolving.
With infinite upgrades… there's no limit.
---
That night, a chime wakes me.
> [Global Survivor Chat System Unlocked]
Shelter Network Online (Connected Users: 382)
My heart stutters. People.
A cascade of messages floods my vision in translucent script:
> [IronChef-721]: Anyone still in the Eastern Fragment? Generator's dead, I'm freezing!
[LunaDrop]: A colony zone collapsed today. The sky ate it.
[Gearbox]: Shelter upgrade bugged at Lv 5 again—anyone else?
[ReaperWolf]: Shut up and prep for night. Corruption's speeding up.
I stare, trembling. Then type:
> [EthanCross]: Hello? Is this real? Thought I was alone.
Responses burst instantly.
> [IronChef-721]: No way—new survivor!
[LunaDrop]: You're alive?! What zone?!
[ReaperWolf]: Careful. Some IDs are mimics. Corruption copies people.
Mimics? Great. Still, hope flares.
> [EthanCross]: Fragmented Plains, Lv 4 Shelter. Anyone nearby?
[Gearbox]: Level 4? You serious? Average's 2! How'd you level that fast?!
Before I can answer, a private line slices through the feed—text tinted crimson.
> [System Admin]: User #004821 flagged. Unauthorized Trait detected.
Do not reveal your ability.
They will hunt you.
"What the hell…?"
The message vanishes before I blink.
---
Scrolling upward, I find ghosted logs—gray, months old.
> Someone's shelter keeps growing on its own.
Zone E-21 is alive. Don't approach.
They said one survivor broke the limit.
They're talking about me.
Or something like me.
---
Morning.
A new alert glows:
> [Optional Quest – Assist Other Survivors]
Reward: Shared Blueprints
I upload a spare iron schematic. Messages pour in:
> [LunaDrop]: That blueprint saved me!
[IronChef-721]: You're a legend, Cross! Drinks on me if bars ever exist again.
For a heartbeat, I feel almost human.
Then—another private ping.
> [Unknown User]: Infinite Upgrade. We know.
Meet us before the Administrators do.
Coordinates: Zone E-21.
My blood chills. Same zone as those warnings.
If it's a trap, I die.
If I stay, the so-called Administrators might find me first.
I glance at the Shelter walls. They pulse faintly—breathing.
> [Directive Update: Expansion Recommended]
Threat Assessment: Unknown Entities Detected via Network.
"Yeah," I mutter. "I know."
I shoulder my pack, check my weapon, and open the chat one last time.
> [EthanCross]: Going offline a while. Keep the channel alive.
[IronChef-721]: Stay safe, man.
[LunaDrop]: Don't go near E-21! Please!
Too late. I'm already walking.
Outside, the plains shimmer under a false dawn.
The Shelter behind me expands—metal tendrils anchoring into new ground.
> [Shelter Lv 4 → 5 Upgrade In Progress]
Adaptive Evolution → Network Interface Integration.
A new skill unlocks.
> [Shelter Skill – Signal Echo]
Intercept and replicate network data for analysis.
If they're watching me… I'll watch them back.
---
I stand on the ridge, chat feed flickering across my vision—hundreds of desperate voices, some real, some corrupted.
Beneath it all pulses the heartbeat of my Shelter, echoing mine.
The system calls me a Survivor.
But that's not what I am anymore.
I'm a builder.
A hacker of worlds.
And if this place runs on code—
I'll rewrite it.
One upgrade at a time.
> End of Chapter 1