Chen Hao squinted, his fingers still resting on the brim of his hat to shield his eyes from the light. The reflection didn't disappear; instead, it grew brighter as his gaze focused, like someone had stuck a mirror in the depths of the wilderness, deliberately dazzling his eyes when he was most thirsty.

"Did you see that?" he asked, turning his head.

Nana was already standing half a step behind him, her eyes flashing blue as she switched to multispectral scanning mode. She didn't speak, but the sensor on her head slightly rotated, as if focusing on a low-lying area in the distance.

“The surface reflectivity matches the characteristics of liquid water,” she finally said. “The mirror effect is obvious, and there are no ripples caused by wind disturbance, suggesting that it is a still water body.”

"Water?" Chen Hao's voice suddenly rose. "Real water? Not that bubbling, poisonous swamp? Nor is it the sunlight reflecting off rocks?"

“There’s a greater than 90% chance it’s identifiable liquid water,” she said, as the hatch on her back silently slid open, revealing a flat instrument. “Improve the environmental scanner for further confirmation.”

The tripod was only halfway set up when its metal legs sank into the soft red soil. The ground temperature was too high, causing uneven heating of the support frame, and the top tilted slightly. The scanner emitted a short beep, and the data stream was interrupted.

"It's stuck again?" Chen Hao squatted down and casually used his palm to shield the direct sunlight from above the instrument. "Will this work? I'll be your human sunshade."

"The local temperature difference has decreased by 1.3 degrees Celsius." Nana adjusted the angle. "Continue to block the light."

The two remained frozen in place: one kneeling on the ground with his hands raised, the other standing adjusting parameters. The wind made Chen Hao sweat profusely, with a few drops falling into his collar and sticking to the lining of his suit, making his back itchy.

Ten seconds later, a 3D terrain map lit up on the main screen, with a red marker appearing in the southeast direction.

“3.2 kilometers away.” Nana put away the instrument. “The probability of liquid water being present is 93.7%.”

Chen Hao suddenly stood up, almost bumping into her head. "3.2? That's just a few steps!" He turned to leave, but the joints of his propulsion suit clicked and activated, the power system humming as it started.

"I suggest planning the route first," Nana advised. "The current terrain includes loose sedimentary areas and high-temperature bare rock zones, so the propulsion power needs to be dynamically adjusted."

"What's there to adjust? I have to go now!" He strode forward, his legs swinging like wheels of fire, his thrusters instantly reaching full power.

As soon as he took the third step, his right leg suddenly lurched forward, while his left leg was still stuck in the balance delay. He tripped over himself and fell headfirst to the ground.

"Why--!"

Dust exploded, and he fell face down with a thud, his suit chest scraped with a layer of red mud, making him look like an archaeological specimen just dug out of a pile of dirt.

Nana walked over, looked down at him lying motionless, and scanned the sensors with blue light: "No external injury, no system error. Breathing rate increased by 22%, and his emotions are fluctuating violently."

"How could I not be excited?" He lifted his face from the ground, dirt still on his lips. "How long has it been since I've had a sip of real water? The last time was with condensate from the spaceship's toilet. That stuff left my tongue feeling dry, like I had a piece of metal in my mouth."

“Your current emotional state is not conducive to safe progress,” she said. “I suggest reducing the acceleration to 15% and activating the automatic balance assist mode.”

"15%? That's so slow..." He tried to get up, but his hand slipped and he fell back down. "Is this tattered clothing deliberately trying to mess with me?"

“It simply follows the laws of physics.” She reached out and grabbed the pull ring on his back, gently tugging to lift him off the ground. “Unlike you, who always tries to skip the intermediate steps.”

Chen Hao steadied himself, dusted himself off, and his suit made a few muffled thuds, as if displeased with his rough handling earlier.

"Why should I listen to you?" he muttered. "I'm not a robot that has to follow procedures. I think the terrain over there is quite flat, and taking a straight line will save half the time."

“The straight path passes through two desertified areas.” She pulled up the projected map. “The risk of particulate matter intrusion increases by 47%. The last time the joint was cleared, it took six minutes. If it gets stuck again along the way, the rescue response will be zero.”

So you mean... I have no choice but to take a detour?

"Or maintain a slow and steady pace." She looked at him. "Which do you choose?"

Chen Hao stared at the map for a few seconds, then suddenly grinned: "You said I'm fat, that I'm uncoordinated, and now you even want to tell me how I walk? Am I wearing a propulsion suit or an electronic dog leash?"

“This is survival equipment,” she said. “It’s not decoration.”

"Fine." He sighed, as if resigned to his fate. "15% it is. I can't run fast anyway."

The propulsion suit was recalibrated, and the output power was gradually reduced. He tried to take a step; this time he didn't rush out or fall, but his movements were particularly awkward, like a crab that had just learned to walk.

"This speed...is slower than my grandma buying groceries," he complained.

"Does your grandma carry a 40-kilogram power armor when she goes grocery shopping?" she asked.

"How do you know my grandma?" He was taken aback.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I was just giving an example.”

"Your tone... it sounds a bit sarcastic?" He turned to look at her.

“My voice module doesn’t have a ‘sarcasm’ option,” she said calmly. “It only provides factual statements.”

Chen Hao rolled his eyes and continued moving forward. He took each step carefully, and the joints of his suit made a slight "creaking" sound, as if it might fall apart at any moment.

Reaching the edge of the bedrock, the view opened up ahead. The red wasteland stretched to the horizon, interspersed with several shallow gullies. The depression to the southeast was faintly visible, its reflective surface still shimmering, as if beckoning to him.

"You said that water... is it suitable for bathing?" he suddenly asked.

"It is currently impossible to determine the water quality," she said. "Furthermore, the propulsion suit does not have a drainage function, and if it becomes soaked, it will affect the insulation performance."

"Can't I even have a moment to dream?" he sighed. "How long has it been since I last took a shower? The last time was in the spaceship's shower room, where the hot water was only enough for three minutes, and I had to time it."

“You can start writing your wish list now,” she said. “Once we find a water source, we can verify the feasibility of each item.”

"You're quite thoughtful," he chuckled, "even though it's all just empty talk."

He stopped and looked up at the sky. The dim, yellowish sun hung in the sky, making him dizzy. The cooling system of the propulsion suit hummed, and the lining was already soaked, sticking to his back in a sticky mess.

“I think I’m going to spoil,” he said.

"The body odor threshold has not yet triggered an alarm," she said. "It is currently within the normal metabolic range."

“Your words are not comforting at all.” He shook his head, took a deep breath, and said, “Let’s go, it’s 3.2 kilometers, we should be there if we climb slowly.”

He switched back to walking mode, his steps still slow, but much more steady than before. The miniature thrusters in his propulsion suit vibrated rhythmically, as if helping him find his footing.

Nana followed half a step behind him, the blue light continuously scanning the terrain ahead. Her voice was flat, without much inflection: "We're entering a soft zone five meters ahead. Be careful with your pace."

"I understand," he replied, lightly touching the ground with his toes as he tentatively stepped forward.

The sand slipped slightly on the soles of his shoes, but he didn't panic and maintained his balance.

The second step is to make it more stable.

The third step is to fine-tune the thrust of the thrusters, as if they have learned to match his weight distribution.

"Hey?" He noticed the change. "This clothing... has it become smarter?"

“The learning algorithm is being optimized,” she said. “Your movement patterns have been entered into the basic database.”

"So, it's starting to adapt to me?" He laughed. "Looks like I'm not a burden, but a teaching resource."

"It has not yet reached the standard for autonomous operation," she said. "External instructions and intervention are still required."

"Can't you even say one compliment?" he pouted.

"The system log has noted: The user has achieved seven consecutive steps of stable walking without assistance for the first time today."

"That's it?"

"Additional note: Motor coordination is still below average."

"Do you have to finish her off?" he glared at her.

“I’m just recording things as they are,” she said.

Chen Hao shook his head and continued walking forward. A breeze blew from the side, carrying a dry heat. The shadow of his propulsion suit stretched long in front of his feet, like a moving boundary.

Suddenly, he stopped.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He didn't answer, but instead squatted down and reached out to brush away a small patch of loose soil. Beneath it lay a dark mark, not large, but regularly shaped with neat edges.

"What's this?" He rubbed it with his fingertip. "It looks like... it's been dug up?"

Nana approached, and blue light swept across the ground. "The surface soil has been disturbed for no more than twelve hours," she said. "It didn't happen naturally."

Chen Hao looked up at the reflective spot in the distance.

"Someone arrived before us?"