The temperature curve remained stable at 79.5, without any change.

Chen Hao stared at the screen, the pen in his hand falling onto the table and rolling to the edge before stopping. He didn't pick it up.

"Is this time you really going to work?" he asked.

Nana's camera panned across the data stream. "The heat source continues to output heat, the pressure is stable, and there is no downward trend."

"So that means... our underfloor heating system has actually already started working quietly?"

"That's one way to understand it."

Chen Hao grinned, then frowned. "But why do I feel like it's not helping us, but waiting for us to leave?"

Nana didn't reply. Her system was recording data synchronously, saving a file every thirty minutes.

At six o'clock the next morning, the probe's second deployment procedure started automatically. The data showed that the underground heat flow structure had not changed, but Chen Hao still couldn't sleep. He lay in bed for two hours, and finally got up and walked around the main control room.

"It's going too smoothly," he said. "Yesterday the pipe welding was stuck, and today hot water is gushing up on its own? I don't believe it."

Nana is checking the circulation pump's energy consumption. "Your suspicions are not supported by data."

"I have a gut feeling."

"Intuition is outside the scope of my analysis."

"Have you considered the possibility that this geothermal energy isn't natural? Could there be something underneath us, working in our favor?"

Nana paused for a second. "What did you dream about last night?"

“I’m not dreaming! I mean, if things are going too smoothly, there’s something wrong with them. Our luck has been so bad for so long, and then suddenly things turn around, it’s even scarier.”

After he finished speaking, he went to look through the resource log. As he read through page after page, his brows furrowed more and more deeply.

The collection points outside the base are all shrinking. Last week, the northeast mine could still yield two bags of iron sand, but this week only half a bag remains. A single trip by sled consumes more fuel than the energy recovered. The planting sheds rely on geothermal heat for insulation, but other supplies won't last long.

“If this continues,” he closed his tablet, “we’ll be living on screws.”

“I recommend initiating a backup resource exploration plan,” Nana said.

"Do you remember the last time we went to the snowy plains of Northeast China? There was a glacial valley there that we couldn't reach the end of; it was a blank area on the map."

"I remember. The wind was too strong at the time, so we had to turn back."

“The wind’s died down now. And—” Chen Hao slammed his hand on the table, “Since the geothermal system will do its job anyway, why don’t we go out and look for something else? What if we stumble upon an abandoned warehouse full of spare parts? Wouldn’t that be a windfall?”

"Travel carries risks."

“Staying here also carries risks. Look at these figures; in three weeks, the metal recovery rate will drop to zero. At that point, forget about repairing the equipment; we won’t even be able to heat up our food.”

Nana pulled up the weather model. "In the next 72 hours, a low-pressure system will move in the northeast, which may trigger a blizzard."

"Then let's set off early and get ahead of the pack."

The two quickly determined their route. They carried double the fuel, two sets of thermal clothing, a first-aid kit, a manual compass, and a paper map. The sleds were fitted with snow chains, and the backup batteries were fully charged. They set a 70-hour round trip time limit, with an automatic return alarm triggered if the time limit was exceeded.

On the morning of their departure, the sky was overcast. Chen Hao, bundled up like a ball, walked out with his bag slung over his shoulder. Nana walked ahead, her steps steady.

"What do you think we'll find this time?" he asked as they walked.

"unknown."

“I hate it when you say that. ‘Unknown’ means ‘anything is possible,’ which also means ‘you can’t get anything.’”

"This can also be understood as equal opportunity."

"You're quite optimistic."

"I'm just stating the facts."

The snowfield was a blanket of white. The wind wasn't strong, but the ground was soft, and the sled wheels sank in several times. Chen Hao had to get off and push, catching his breath every few steps.

Around noon, the sky suddenly darkened. A gray wall-like cloud loomed in from afar, and the wind speed increased sharply.

"It's coming," Nana said.

How long?

"Entering the strong wind zone within ten minutes."

They quickly reinforced their equipment. Chen Hao tied one end of a rope around his waist and the other end to the sled handle. "I'll go forward, you follow behind. Don't get lost."

When the wind picked up, the snowflakes hit my face like sand. Visibility dropped to less than five meters. The GPS signal flickered a few times and then disappeared.

“Electronic devices off,” Nana said. “Activate mechanical navigation.”

She took out her compass and unfolded a paper map. The wind was so strong that the paper rustled. She held one corner down with her knee and pointed to the approximate direction.

"The current course is 17 degrees to the right and needs to be corrected."

Chen Hao wiped the snow off his face. "I'll go wherever you tell me, anyway, I can't see the road."

He continued clearing the way, his steps uneven, some deep, some shallow. The snow reached his calves, and with each step forward, he took half a step back. His energy was quickly being depleted.

Four hours later, the sled got stuck in a ditch, burying half of its body. They had to stop.

"We can't delay," Chen Hao said, panting. "We need to clear the snow first."

Nana activated the heating module, melting the surrounding ice. Chen Hao dug with a shovel, his movements becoming increasingly slow.

“Your temperature has dropped,” Nana said. “You need to rest.”

"I'm not tired."

"Your breathing rate is 40 percent higher than normal."

"That's because I was excited."

Nana ignored him, took out a high-calorie nutritional supplement from her bag, and stuffed it into his hand. "Drink it before you move."

Chen Hao gulped down half a bottle, a warm current spreading through his stomach. He sat against the sled for a while, then looked up at the sky.

"You think there might actually be resource points in this godforsaken place?"

"According to geological scans, faulting activity has occurred in the area, which may have formed mineral enrichment zones."

"In other words, it's possible, or it's not."

"yes."

"A typical robot response."

He stood up and brushed the snow off his backside. "Let's go, hold on for another two hours, then find a place to spend the night."

The weather didn't improve. The wind picked up, and snowflakes flew sideways. They could only move forward by relying on their compass and their memory of the terrain.

At 8 PM, visibility was almost zero. We had two-thirds fuel left, but our sense of direction was completely lost.

“According to the original plan, we should have already approached the target area,” Nana said.

"But now I can't even tell the front from the back."

Nana checked the air pressure changes. "There are signs of terrain subsidence ahead, possibly a depression or the entrance to a valley. We recommend moving to lower ground and avoiding the main wind path."

Chen Hao nodded. "Okay, I'll do as you say."

They changed direction and slowly made their way downhill. The snow hardened, leaving clear footprints.

After walking for nearly an hour, Chen Hao suddenly stopped.

"etc."

He squinted and looked ahead. In the wind and snow, a dark shadow appeared and disappeared.

There's a recessed area over there.

Nana moved closer to the scanner. "The rock face is recessed, about two meters deep, and can be used as temporary shelter."

The two immediately went to clear the snow. Chen Hao used a shovel to dig, while Nana used the robotic arm to scrape it away. Soon, they cleared a space, just big enough for them to sit down.

"Not bad." Chen Hao crawled inside. "Much better than being outdoors."

They built a half-circle of windbreak with snow blocks and turned on the portable heater. The equipment was powered back on, and Nana recalibrated the position.

“We’ve deviated from the original route by about 1.3 kilometers,” she said, “but we’re still within the exploration area.”

"As long as they don't die, that's fine." Chen Hao rubbed his hands together. "Shall we continue tomorrow?"

"If the weather permits."

They took turns resting during the night. Chen Hao woke up after sleeping for less than three hours, his feet feeling numb.

"It's a bit cold," he said.

After examination, Nana found slight redness and swelling in her toes. "Mild frostbite, nursing procedures have been initiated."

She took out ointment from the first aid kit, applied it to his feet, and then wrapped them in insulating film.

"Can you still walk?"

"Of course I can." Chen Hao wiggled his toes. "I'm not made of glass."

The wind subsided the next day, and a crack appeared in the clouds, letting in a glimmer of light.

They packed their things and continued on. The snow made travel difficult, but their direction gradually became clearer.

Around noon, the weather briefly cleared up. Nana took out her binoculars and scanned the horizon.

“An area of ​​unusual reflectivity was detected,” she said. “It’s about two kilometers away and at an angle of 15 degrees east.”

"Reflective? Could it be from the ice?"

"The reflectivity is higher than that of ordinary ice and snow, suggesting it may be exposed rock or metal residue."

Chen Hao's eyes lit up. "Let's go take a look."

They adjusted their route and headed towards the light source. Along the way, they passed a crevasse, about two meters wide, with complete darkness below. Chen Hao tested the depth with a probe and only allowed Nana to pull the sled across after confirming it was safe.

After crossing the crevice, the terrain began to descend. A ring of mountains came into view, with a depression in the middle, as if it had been smashed out by something.

“This place…” Chen Hao gasped for breath, “I’ve never seen it on a map before?”

"It has been covered by wind and snow for a long time, making it difficult for satellites to identify."

They slowly approached the valley entrance. The snow layer on the ground thinned, revealing black rocks. Chen Hao squatted down, brushed away a layer of snow, and pulled out a few silver-gray particles.

"This is... an iron-nickel alloy?"

Nana took the sample for testing. "The composition matches, the purity is high, and it has mining value."

"We've struck it rich." Chen Hao grinned. "Although it's not much, it means there's a mineral vein down there."

They parked their sleds high up at the valley entrance and set up a temporary observation post. Nana released a miniature drone, manually controlling it to fly low and scan for differences in surface density.

Chen Hao then took a sampling shovel and dug several shallow pits nearby. Metal particles were found in each pit, and their distribution was uneven, as if it were the result of natural enrichment.

"Looks like I won't have to eat screws anymore," he said. "At least I can take apart some new parts."

Nana retrieved the drone and pulled up the scan map. "There is an anomalous density zone ten meters below the surface, covering an area of ​​about 300 square meters, which is speculated to be a small ore body."

"That should last a while." Chen Hao stretched. "I'll plan out the transport route when we get back."

As he was speaking, he suddenly noticed something was wrong with the snow surface in a certain part of the valley.

The snow in that area was slightly darker in color and its surface was so smooth that it didn't look like it had been naturally deposited.

“Look over there,” he pointed. “That snow…has it been trampled on?”