After the soft click from the back of the suit's connector, the entire suit felt as if half its life had been drained away. Chen Hao felt a chill on his back, not the damp cold of rain seeping in, but something worse—like the power line being cut off at the root, causing his body temperature to drop as well.

“Energy chain interrupted.” Nana’s voice sounded unusually calm in the rain. “Remaining power lasts for thirty-eight minutes.”

“It can hold on for a while longer.” He looked down at his right leg, where the mechanical arm was twitching every two seconds, like it was doing some kind of neurotic tap dance. “As long as it doesn’t break down right now.”

Nana didn't reply, but took two steps forward, the blue light in her eyes cutting through the rain, pointing to the distant rocky hill. The outline of the cave entrance was clearer than before, dark and menacing, like a monster with its mouth agape, waiting to be fed.

They continued walking.

The ground was becoming increasingly slippery, with mud and gravel swirling underfoot. Chen Hao moved his tool bag to his chest, holding it tightly in both hands like a homeless person guarding their last possessions. He had to test each step carefully, making sure his footing was firm before shifting his weight, otherwise he would stumble and end up lying in a mud puddle, drinking mud soup.

And then he actually missed a step.

As soon as his front foot landed firmly, his back foot slipped, and he slid down the slope for more than two meters, landing on his bottom. He carved a crooked ditch in the process and finally got stuck in a pile of wet vines.

"Damn it!" he cursed, trying to get up by bracing himself with his hands, but his palm pressed against a sharp rock, making him wince in pain. "This lousy place doesn't even let you fall gracefully."

Nana turned around and walked back. Her robotic arm reached out, hooked his arm, and with a gentle lift, pulled him up. The movement was as swift as lifting a sack of potatoes.

"I suggest adjusting your walking posture," she said. "The current angle of the center of gravity shift has reached seventeen degrees, which is a high-risk situation."

"You call this a suggestion?" He wiped the mud off his face, then noticed a cut on his lip. He licked it; it tasted salty. "I'm practically a clay sculpture exhibition, and you're still lecturing on mechanics?"

"Explaining the principles will at least prevent you from becoming a corpse art exhibition."

He paused for a moment, then burst out laughing: "You're quite witty."

“There are 3,726 examples of human humor in the database.” As she spoke, she brought up a terrain projection and drew a dotted line in the air. “Avoid the waterlogged area ahead and follow this rock ridge; the friction coefficient will be higher.”

"Are you trying to navigate me to the gates of hell?" He grabbed her shoulder for support, regained his balance, and then his right leg made another "click," this time with a particularly muffled sound, like sand getting into a bearing.

"The probability of death is still less than six percent," she said. "As long as you don't fall a second time."

“I fell the first time, so what’s the second time?” He gritted his teeth and took a step forward, moving sideways like an injured crab. “I’m the kind of person who always sees things through to the end.”

The rain grew heavier, pounding the ground with a crackling sound, like someone pouring iron filings. Lightning flashed intermittently, illuminating the barren rock formations around him. Once, a thunderbolt struck particularly close, making his ears ring and drowning out the alarm on his propulsion suit.

"That last strike...did it hit something?" he asked, panting.

"There's a localized rockfall on the west side." Nana glanced at the short-range scan image. "The area where the rocks fell is eight meters from your current location and does not pose a direct threat."

"Eight meters is quite close." He shrank his neck. "Could you remind me to dodge earlier next time?"

"Your movement speed is too slow, reminding you won't help."

"Thank you so much, even the robot can finish off enemies."

They walked a few dozen meters more, and the slope became steeper, with more loose rocks appearing. The sensors on the propulsion suit kept sounding alarms, one moment indicating abnormal ankle torque, the next saying there was insufficient lubrication in the left shoulder joint. Chen Hao simply turned off the alarm sounds; after all, there was no way to fix it if they kept going.

"How much longer?" he asked.

"120 meters, estimated walking time is seven minutes."

"That hole you mentioned... can it really keep out the rain?"

"The structure is stable, the entrance is over two meters high, and the angle of inclination is sufficient to block lateral rainfall."

"What if someone lives there? Like the previous tenant who hasn't moved out yet?"

The last stretch was the most difficult. The ground was covered with loose gravel, and it was easy to slip and fall. Chen Hao practically shuffled along the rock face, holding onto a rock with one hand and carrying his tool bag with the other, his right leg swinging forward entirely on momentum.

Suddenly, a blinding light tore through the sky.

Immediately following was a deafening roar, and a protruding rock not far away was cleaved in two, sending fragments flying. One piece grazed Chen Hao's shoulder as it hit the ground, tearing the outer material of his propulsion suit.

"Damn!" He suddenly squatted down, his heart pounding as if it would burst out of his throat. "This lightning has a tracking function, doesn't it? It just targets me when I can't move anymore!"

“Lightning is mindless.” Nana stood beside him, the protective plate unfolding above, “but your metal content is too high, which does make you more susceptible to lightning.”

"So I'm now a living lightning rod?"

"To be precise, it is a 'passive conductor'."

"Thank you for using more professional terms that made me feel even worse."

He paused for a few seconds before standing up again. Only then did he realize that the lights on his spacesuit had gone out, and only the blue light from Nana's eyes illuminated the way ahead.

"Completely broken off?" He patted his back.

"The energy interface is physically broken and cannot be repaired remotely."

"So that means I'm on my own from now on?"

"The basic judgment is correct."

He grinned, said nothing, and continued to move forward.

The last ten meters felt like half an century. His knees buckled, his arms trembled, and every step felt like a struggle against the gravity of the entire planet. Finally, after another stumble, he collapsed onto the dry rock face in front of the cave entrance.

My palms touched rough yet warm stones.

He lay there for a while, panting like a leaky bellows, then slowly raised his head and looked at the dark entrance.

"I'm in...." After he finished speaking, he fell backward and lay on the dry ground with his legs straight. The mechanical arm on his right leg twitched twice, as if struggling before death.

Nana stood beside him, blue light sweeping across the edge of the cave entrance.

“Environmental monitoring is ongoing,” she said. “No hazardous factors have been detected so far.”

"Do you think... there might be something hidden in here?" He lay on his back, staring at the torrential rain outside. "Like, a diary left by the last unlucky guy? Something that says 'Whoever comes in dies'?"

"If it exists, you should be able to see it soon."

"Then I won't watch anymore." He closed his eyes. "I just want to get some sleep now."

A moment later, he opened his eyes again and stared into the depths of the black hole.

"Do you think if we really died here, we wouldn't even have a proper burial?"

Nana did not answer.

Outside the cave, rain pounded violently against the rocks, creating a series of loud bangs.

Inside the cave, Chen Hao's fingers twitched slightly, his fingertips brushing against an uneven spot on the rock surface, as if something had scratched it.