Chen Hao leaned the shovel against the cement block outside the granary and plopped down next to the wet wooden crate. The redness and swelling on his arm hadn't subsided and was burning against his sleeve. He was just about to take it off to cool it down when Nana's voice rang out from behind him.

"Humidity alarm: Current reading 78%, exceeding the safe threshold by 30%."

He didn't look up, but simply turned the blade of grass he was holding in his mouth around. "Can you give me a rating? Like 'mild anxiety,' 'moderate breakdown,' or 'completely finished'? Now, every time I hear your alarm, it goes off, and my heart rate is almost in sync with yours."

“The system has no emotion rating.” She said, already pushing open the warehouse door, her metal fingers tracing several streaks on the control panel. “The condensation on the walls is 1.3 millimeters thick, and some grains have moisture-absorbing spots on their surface. If left untreated for four hours, the probability of mold growth will rise to 67%.”

"Alright, alright, I know I have to work." He stood up, supporting himself on his knees, but slipped and almost fell into the puddle beside him. "Who built this drainage ditch? Its slope is flatter than my life!"

The two entered the warehouse one after the other. The air was stuffy and heavy, like being wrapped in a soaked quilt. Chen Hao dragged a box of desiccant from the corner, tore it open, and poured it on the ground. The small white packets scattered everywhere, like a cheap snowfall.

"We recommend distributing the supplies by area to avoid concentrated accumulation." Nana stood at the doorway scanning the airflow.

"It's so tiring to split things up like this." He wiped the sweat from his face. "There are so many things that can be solved, but we have to split them into three groups. Isn't this just making people work overtime on purpose?"

Five minutes later, the white packets began to swell, some even cracking open and releasing a pale yellow powder. A strange smell gradually filled the air, somewhat like burnt biscuits mixed with old batteries.

"Trace amounts of calcium chloride decomposition products detected, accompanied by the release of weakly acidic gas." Nana took a half step back, switching the optical eye mode. "Please stop the release immediately."

"No way, this thing can leak?" He bent down and picked up a torn bag, his fingertips dusted with powder. "The instructions say 'highly effective moisture absorption,' but why doesn't it mention 'air venting'?"

“This is a civilian-grade product, and its design did not take into account the thermal stability under high humidity conditions.” She pulled up the backup circuit diagram for the ventilation fan. “We need to start forced ventilation now, otherwise the residual gas may corrode the circuit modules.”

"So we not only have to prevent the grain from getting moldy, but also from getting poisoned?" he muttered as he disassembled the fan casing. "These days, farming is less free than being in prison."

After the fan started running, there was some airflow, but it only made the yellow mist more evenly distributed. The dehumidifier in the corner flashed its light twice and then suddenly stopped.

"The condenser coil is blocked." Nana reached out and touched the air inlet, her fingertips covered with a thin layer of frost. "The evaporator surface temperature is abnormal, and the preliminary judgment is that the refrigeration cycle is running in reverse."

"The opposite?" He paused for a moment. "That's impossible. I clearly—" He stopped mid-sentence.

“When you were repairing the drainage pump last night, you borrowed the power supply from this device’s interface.” She looked at him calmly. “The wiring sequence does not match the original markings.”

Chen Hao slowly raised his hand and slapped his forehead, making a dull thud. "No wonder the plug felt so tight... Turns out I pierced the hot and cold water pipes?"

"yes."

"So, this machine is constantly using outside heat to freeze inside cold?"

"The logic holds true."

"It's amazing that it held out until now before going on strike. It's really dedicated." He sighed, squatted down, and tightened the screws on the casing. "It's much more conscientious than my former boss."

The two worked together to disassemble the unit, and sure enough, the condenser pipe was connected backwards. As Chen Hao reconnected it, he muttered, "From now on, we'll use fluorescent labels, and add a voice reminder: 'Hey! You idiot! Don't plug it in the wrong way!'"

"Improvement suggestions have been recorded." She said, starting the self-test program. "Preparing for a second power-on, I suggest you step back."

"Refund? I see hope." He patted the machine. "Brother, let's cooperate this time. You handle the cooling, and I won't make any mistakes, okay?"

The power was turned on, the machine hummed, and white mist slowly billowed from the vents. At first, it seemed normal, but in less than three minutes, the mist grew thicker and thicker, filling the entire warehouse in the blink of an eye, making it impossible to see even the person on the other side.

"What's going on? You can't open a sauna like this without making a big splash." He waved his arms and walked forward, only to kick over an empty box.

"The air humidity is still above the saturation point." Her voice came from the fog. "Although the dehumidifier is running, the initial ambient moisture is too high, causing the condensation process to produce a large amount of low-temperature water vapor. Currently, visibility is less than 0.5 meters. It is recommended to evacuate non-essential personnel."

"I'm not an essential worker?" He coughed twice. "I'm still standing here watching over the machines!"

"You are one of the sources of trouble and belong to the high-risk overstaying group."

"Hey, robots can even be sarcastic now?"

"States facts without rhetorical intent."

He was about to retort when his foot slipped, and he fell face-first onto the wet, slippery ground. His palm pressed against something cold, which felt like a frosted plastic sheet.

"What did I bump into again?" He withdrew his hand and wiped it on his clothes.

“It’s the desiccant residue you threw away ten minutes ago,” she said. “After absorbing water, it undergoes a phase change, forming a low-temperature crystalline layer on the surface.”

"So I'm lying on a pile of chemical smoothie?" He propped himself up, shaking off the bits of stuff from his pants. "Today, this outfit is a complete package of experiences, from plant venom to metal vines, to chemical waste and artificial fog."

“The main structure of the storage area was not damaged,” she continued. “The humidity curve is showing a slow downward trend, currently at 74%, which is still in the danger zone, but has moved away from a state of rapid deterioration.”

"Not bad," he said, leaning against the wall, panting. "At least it didn't explode."

"There are no explosive design elements."

"You don't understand. For people like us, not blowing up is a victory."

He slowly slid down to the ground, his back against the cold metal wall. Mist swirled around him, like a group of silent ghosts. The dampness made the wound on his arm throb again.

"What are we even doing this for?" He looked up at the unseen roof. "Yesterday we were fighting mutated pumpkins, today we're fixing the ventilation machine, and tomorrow we'll probably have to get ID cards for the rats too?"

“Your priority has always been keeping the agricultural production system running,” she said. “Although the execution efficiency is low, the attendance rate is up to standard.”

"You really know how to comfort people." He smiled wryly. "If I were in a performance review, I would have been fired eight hundred times over."

"The system does not have an elimination mechanism."

"Thank goodness," he said, closing his eyes, "otherwise I'd be down the mountain collecting bottles right now."

A moment later, he suddenly opened his eyes. "Wait, I think... I smell something different."

What's that smell?

"It's not sour, nor is it moldy." He took a deep breath. "It's a little...sweet? Like an overripe pear that's been left in a tin box for too long."

Nana's optical eyes quickly switched to spectrum analysis mode. In the fog, her silhouette appeared slightly bluish.

“An increase in the concentration of volatile organic compounds was detected,” she said in a low voice. “The composition is unknown, but the molecular structure is close to that of alcohol derivatives.”

"The grain has fermented?"

"The possibility exists. However, fermentation is usually accompanied by a rise in temperature, and the current ambient temperature is stable."

“Then something else is broken.” He leaned against the wall, trying to stand up. “Take the dehumidifier off first, or it will only make things worse.”

He staggered toward the host computer, and just as his hand touched the button, Nana suddenly spoke.

"Don't move."

He froze.

A faint dripping sound came from the fog, like water droplets falling onto a metal plate.

The pace was slow, but very steady.

One drop.

Two drops.

As the third drop fell, he looked down and saw a small patch of darker color slowly spreading on the ground in front of his shoes.