Chen Hao's palms were still covered in freshly dug soil. When he tucked the tender sprout into the lining of his backpack, the edge of its leaf had brushed against his chin, causing a slight prick. Just as he was about to speak, Nana's voice rang out, colder than the wind.

"At the seven o'clock position, there are twelve heat sources, each 300 meters away, with increasing speed."

He paused, not turning around, but slowly scooped the ice spear into his hand. He had made it yesterday from discarded metal pipes and frozen lake water; the tip was hard enough to pierce a tin bucket, but he had no idea whether it could be used against wolves.

“A mutant.” Nana had already retreated to his side and behind, her mechanical arm slightly extended, and the radar interface scrolled rapidly in front of her eyes. “Body temperature is three degrees higher than normal, and its movement patterns are highly coordinated. This is not a normal hunting mode.”

"They're after us." Chen Hao grinned, a bit of fiber from the dried meat he'd been eating that morning still stuck between his teeth. "We don't owe them any rent, so why are they so eager to come knocking on our door to collect?"

Before he could finish speaking, a long howl pierced the wind from the distant snow, so deep it seemed to rise from the ground. Immediately afterward, twelve greyish-white figures emerged from the snowstorm, approaching in a semi-circle, their steps as synchronized as a military parade.

"How much power does the electromagnetic railgun need?" he asked in a low voice.

“5%.” Nana answered decisively, “Forced launch will cause the main control module to crash, and the system will enter a hibernation protection state.”

"So that means you'll be down the moment you fire?" Chen Hao squinted, watching the approaching shadows. "Then I should just run now?"

“They’re more than twice as fast as you,” Nana said, then suddenly pulled up a data stream. “But I have another solution—Chapter 17 of Wildlife Behaviour: The Deterrence Effect of Top Predators.”

"Are you still reciting your lessons?" Chen Hao turned to look at her.

“Downloaded last night.” Her electronic eyes flashed. “I also took a look at the tactical sketches you drew on paper. Although the lines are messy and the logic is chaotic, the core ideas are usable.”

"Thanks for the compliment." He rolled his eyes. "So you're planning to... act like a big shot and scare the kids?"

“To be precise, it’s about creating a dual illusion of sight and sound.” Her back armor popped open slightly, and a projection device slowly rose up. “I will generate a holographic image of an adult mechanical bear and simultaneously play a low-frequency roaring audio. Such creatures are at the top of the polar food chain, and snow wolves instinctively avoid them.”

"How long can it last?"

"Three minutes. The energy is only enough to maintain high power output for a short period of time."

"That's enough." Chen Hao planted the ice spear in the ground and cracked his knuckles. "When they're terrified, I'll add some fireworks."

The pack of wolves had closed to within fifty meters. The leader was noticeably larger, its fur gleaming with a metallic sheen, and its eyes a vibrant green like a broken traffic light. It stopped, letting out a series of low growls. The other eleven wolves immediately scattered, forming an encirclement and cutting off all escape routes.

Nana didn't say anything more, and the projector suddenly started.

In an instant, a three-meter-tall mechanical bear appeared in the air, its steel skeleton covered with bionic muscle layers, electric arcs crackling at its joints, and each step it took was accompanied by the sound of the ground shaking. Immediately afterward, a deafening roar pierced through the wind and snow, even the air itself trembled.

The wolf pack froze.

The alpha wolf's ears were pressed tightly back, and its forelegs were slightly bent. Clearly, Chen Hao's fingers had just brushed against the roots of the tender sprout when the tip was cut by ice shards in the frozen soil. He didn't pay it any mind, stuffed the plant into his backpack, and casually wiped his nose. The wind was so strong it made it hard to open his eyes, and his snot froze into thin ice as soon as it appeared.

Nana stood half a step behind him, the silver line on her right arm having climbed up a bit more, like a crooked mark someone had drawn on metallic skin with a fine pen. She was looking down at the scanner when the data stream on the screen suddenly jumped.

"Twelve heat sources at seven o'clock." Her voice was a beat faster than usual. "Three hundred meters away, the speed is increasing."

Chen Hao looked up abruptly, nearly slipping and falling to the ground. He grabbed a rusty iron frame for support, catching his breath: "What did you say? Twelve? Didn't you say that even the rats on this snowfield had frozen to death except for the two of us?"

“We have it now.” Nana had already brought up the radar interface. The red dots were arranged in a semi-circle and slowly closed. “The average body temperature is 41 degrees Celsius, the heart rate is abnormal, and the movement trajectories are highly coordinated—this is not an ordinary hunting formation.”

"So this is a team-building activity?" Chen Hao grabbed the ice spear leaning against the support and weighed it a couple of times. "This thing can go in but not out of a wolf's belly. Don't expect me to pull it out and fight again later."

He took a few steps back and stepped onto a protruding rock. As his view opened up, he saw a shadow moving in the snow curtain to the southeast. The gray and white fur was almost invisible in the wind and snow, only the eyes glowed green, like a row of small light bulbs lit in the distance.

"Is the electromagnetic grid still usable?" he asked.

"Energy remaining at five percent," Nana's voice remained steady. "Forced release will cause the main control module to shut down."

"So, after this wave, you have to lie down and recharge?"

"To be precise, it was a power outage and restart, and the estimated recovery time is three hours and seventeen minutes."

"Then I might as well write my will now." Chen Hao grinned, then quickly stopped. "Wait, why aren't they moving?"

The pack of wolves stopped fifty meters away. The leader was noticeably larger, and it lightly pawed at the ground twice, letting out a low growl. The other eleven wolves immediately dispersed, forming a fan shape to surround them, their movements as synchronized as if they had rehearsed.

“This is a tactical encirclement,” Nana quickly analyzed. “They know we lack firepower.”

"You seem to know them quite well." Chen Hao gripped the ice spear tightly, his palms sweating and sticky in the cold wind. "How about we surrender? I'll be your human shield, and you can run away?"

“Reject that proposal.” She stepped in front of him, her mechanical fingers slid rapidly across the control panel behind her. “I just downloaded a database of ‘Wildlife Behavior’ and peeked at your tactical sketches last night.”

When are you going to watch that again?

"While you're asleep," she paused, "I'll also save the 'giant kebab formation' you drew."

Chen Hao was taken aback: "That's a barbecue stall layout!"

“But now it can be transformed into a deterrence system.” A projection panel suddenly popped out from her back, and a huge mechanical bear, as tall as a three-story building, appeared in the air, with red eyes and its mouth opening and closing.

Immediately afterwards, a low-frequency roar exploded from her built-in speaker, shaking the snow.

The wolf pack paused, the leader's ears perked up, staring at the giant shadow in the air, its tail stiff.

"Does this thing really work?" Chen Hao asked in a low voice.

“According to the data, images of apex predators have a psychologically suppressive effect on social animals,” she said, “but it only lasts for three minutes.”

"That's enough." Chen Hao pulled a small cloth bag from his waist, tore open a corner, and a pungent smell immediately wafted out. "This is the chili powder I've been hiding for three days. I was planning to mix it with noodles."

He tossed the powder into the wind, and it spread with the airflow. Several snow wolves that were close by sneezed on the spot, their eyes narrowed into slits, and they began to back away.

Taking the opportunity, Nana turned off the projector and whispered, "One last electric shock, get ready."

"Come on!" Chen Hao took a deep breath, leaped out of his cover, and charged towards the open space ahead, brandishing his torch. "I'd rather starve to death than be your buffet!"

A flash of light, and a faint arc of electricity shot from Nana's fingertip, striking the ground with a crack and sending sparks flying. The sound was soft, but exceptionally clear across the silent snowfield.

The wolf pack was completely thrown into disarray.

Some circled in place, while others retreated with their tails between their legs. The leader tried to hold on, but seeing the giant shadow disappear in the air and the lightning flash on the ground, it finally growled and turned to run. The others immediately followed, and a dozen shadows vanished into the depths of the snowstorm in the blink of an eye.

Chen Hao stood there, panting heavily, the torch almost burning his eyebrows. He slowly walked back to the rock, plopped down, his hands still trembling.

"Gone?" he asked.

“The heat source signal has been withdrawn, and there are no signs of a second approach.” Nana knelt down beside her, her right knee making a slight grinding sound, like sand stuck in gears.

"Your leg is acting up again?"

“The lubricant has become more crystallized.” She lifted her leg, the metal casing at the joint glistening with a frosty sheen. “It may require manual cleaning.”

Chen Hao didn't say anything, but took out a heat patch from his backpack, tore open the packaging, and pressed it onto the ventilation vent on her back. That area, which was originally cold, was now somewhat hot.

“Didn’t you say before that robots don’t get hot?” he asked.

“I’m talking about the normal state.” She glanced down. “Now… it’s a little different.”

"Did you secretly level up?" Chen Hao chuckled. "You used to not understand jokes, but now you can answer my jokes before I do."

“I did not actively escalate the permissions,” she said calmly, “but some protocol modules have been running more frequently recently.”

"for example?"

"For example...determining whether someone should block your way."

Chen Hao was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head: "You're making it sound like you're confessing your love."

Nana didn't respond, but simply moved her knees slightly; the metallic scraping sound continued. She checked the energy readings again; the screen displayed: **8.3%**.

"How much longer can we hold on?" he asked.

"If it is not attacked again, the battery life is about six hours and twenty-three minutes."

"Alright, it's not even dawn yet anyway." Chen Hao leaned against the rock, gazing at the distant snow curtain. "Why do you think they suddenly did this? Weren't they hiding from us the whole time?"

“It could be the effects of radiation,” she said. “Or…they might think we’ve become weaker.”

“Hey, that doesn’t sound right.” He brandished the ice spear in his hand. “I just won a brawl.”

Nana turned to look at him, her electronic eyes flashing slightly: "When you jumped out of the cover just now, your heart rate reached 197."

"I'm just nervous." He scratched his head. "I'm not Superman."

"But you jumped out."

The two remained silent for a while. The wind was still blowing, and snowflakes rustled against the rocks. In the distance, the cracks in the ground were widening, and purplish-red vines sprouted from the fissures, swaying gently in the wind like a silent beckoning.

Chen Hao suddenly stood up, walked to Nana's side, squatted down, and reached out to touch the silver thread on her arm.

“This thing is still growing,” he said. “Look, it’s almost up to my shoulders.”

“The scan shows a growth rate of 0.7 millimeters per hour.” She raised her hand. “The structural pattern is still changing.”

“It grows quite regularly.” Chen Hao took out his small knife and carved a new mark on the handle of the ice spear. “I’ll also make a note of it for you, so we can look back later and see which day you become a monster.”

“I’m not a monster,” she said softly.

“I know.” He grinned. “You’re a high-tech bodyguard who can create illusions to scare away wolves.”

Nana didn't speak again, just sat quietly, a heat pack on the vent, a thin layer of frost forming on the metal casing. Her radar continued to scan the surroundings, the green dot jumping steadily.

Chen Hao leaned on her shoulder, his breath turning into white mist that slowly dissipated in the wind.

He closed his eyes and muttered, "Don't let it snow so heavily next time, it's hard to walk."

Nana reached out to support him to prevent him from slipping.

Pepper powder particles lingered on her fingertips, and her palms were 0.6 degrees warmer than usual.