Just as dawn broke, the console terminal beeped.

Chen Hao was dozing off in his chair when he heard the sound and jolted so hard he almost slipped off. He wiped his face and stared at the notification that popped up on the screen: all backpacks sealed and confirmed, emergency channel synchronization successful, two hours until departure.

He muttered, "It's not like we're launching a rocket, but we're making it sound like the real thing."

Nana stood beside him, her optical lens scanning his face. "You slept for three hours and seventeen minutes last night, which is below the recommended amount."

“I know.” Chen Hao sat up a little straighter. “But I dreamt that I was walking too fast and left everyone behind. When I looked back, I was the only one left, walking in circles on the grass.”

“Dreams don’t affect real-world actions.” After she finished speaking, she turned and walked towards the door. “I’ll wait for you outside.”

Chen Hao slowly stood up and casually grabbed the backpack leaning against the wall. The zipper was zipped all the way up; the bag of dried fruit in the side pocket was still there. He squeezed it, didn't open it, slung it over his shoulder, and patted the shoulder strap twice. "Alright, time for a walk."

People were already standing on the open ground outside the base.

There were exactly twenty of them, not many, not many, not even lined up neatly, and no one spoke. Each of them looked down at their toes or repeatedly checked their glove buttons, as if waiting for some instruction. The only sound in the air was the soft rustling of the wind against the metal exterior.

When Chen Hao came out, someone looked up at him, then quickly looked down again.

He walked to the front of the group, stretched, took an exaggerated breath, and then shouted, "Report to headquarters! The expedition has set off!"

After saying that, he took a big step forward, his boots making a "thud" sound as they hit the hard, dry ground.

No one responded.

But he didn't stop. He took five more steps forward and looked back at Nana. She nodded and tapped twice on the terminal.

The next second, a harmonica melody drifted out.

The tune was unfamiliar, broken and intermittent, like someone who had just learned it testing their pitch. But it was these few off-key notes that made Old Li, who was standing in the third row, look up.

Chen Hao laughed, "Who signed up? Someone with this level of skill dares to apply?"

“The system selected it randomly,” Nana said. “The performer was Mr. Wang. He said he wanted to try and see if he could bring out a feeling of spring.”

“If you hadn’t said anything beforehand, people would have thought the equipment was malfunctioning.” Chen Hao said, taking a few more steps forward. “What are you all standing there for? If we don’t move now, the sun will be high in the sky.”

Finally, the first person moved.

It was Xiao Zhang, who lived in the East District, carrying a red-labeled bag and following with his head down. Then came Lao Li, who took a breath and started walking. One after another, their footsteps slowly formed a line.

The ground was still hard, so you couldn't feel anything when you stepped on it.

The withered grass lay flat on the ground, a grayish expanse. The wind blew, carrying a slight chill, but not as biting as in winter.

After walking for about ten minutes, Chen Hao looked back. The group was walking unsteadily, but at least they hadn't fallen apart. He slowed his pace and waited for Nana to catch up. "Do you think they think this is a drill?"

“It’s possible,” she said. “For the past thirty years, all collective operations have been simulation training.”

"So now that I've actually gone out, I can't believe it."

"Trust takes time to build."

“I thought they’d be excited,” he said, kicking a small stone. “But they were as quiet as if they were going to a funeral.”

Nana didn't reply, but simply handed him the handheld terminal. The screen showed that they were entering a soft soil zone 500 meters ahead, where soil moisture was increasing and the surface layer was beginning to loosen.

"We're here," she said.

The ground has indeed changed.

The color was a bit darker, with some light green spots visible, like newly sprouting moss. Chen Hao squatted down and touched it, his fingertips getting a little wet mud on them.

"It's warm." He looked up. "It really is a little warm."

Everyone behind them stopped.

The first few were still standing, but those behind them had already started to take a half step back. Someone whispered, "Don't step on it, what if you sink in?"

Chen Hao stood up and deliberately stomped his feet twice. The muddy ground sank a little, but didn't sink. He grinned, "See, the earth didn't eat people."

Nana stepped forward, and the robot's feet automatically unfolded a wide plate structure, allowing it to firmly step into the mud. She took a few steps forward, turned around, and said, "The load-bearing capacity is normal; you can pass."

Chen Hao followed closely behind, shouting back as he walked, "What are you afraid of? The worst that can happen is that you lose your shoes. You can just go back and walk barefoot."

Someone chuckled.

It was very light, but she did smile.

The line moved forward slowly. Some people tentatively stepped on the ground, found it was fine, and became bolder. Old Li walked the slowest, touching the ground with his toes before placing his whole foot on it. When he reached the middle, one of his shoes got mud on it. He looked down at it for a moment, then suddenly said, "This mud... is quite soft."

No one answered him, but the atmosphere relaxed.

Continue walking forward, the slope gradually rises.

There were more stones on both sides, and glimpses of black soil could occasionally be seen in the crevices. The vegetation was still sparse, but it no longer looked lifeless.

Chen Hao was a little out of breath and stopped to drink some water. He asked Nana, "The first flower you mentioned, will we really find it?"

"The probability is over 86 percent," she said, "based on calculations of sunlight, temperature, and soil activity."

"What if we can't find it?"

"That means spring is coming later than expected."

"Wouldn't everyone be even more depressed then?" he grinned. "They're not talkative to begin with, and if they see there's nothing there, they'll just become mute."

Nana didn't say anything, but suddenly raised her hand to signal to stop.

Everyone fell silent.

She pointed to a crack in a stone slab ahead, "There."

Everyone looked in that direction.

At first, I didn't realize it. It was so small, yellow, its petals not fully open, its stem so thin it looked like it could be broken by the wind at any moment. But it was indeed a flower, growing there all alone, slowly unfolding itself in the sunlight.

Chen Hao held his breath and walked closer, squatted down and looked at it for a long time, then suddenly laughed out loud: "Oh my, your flower is really ugly, but it's cutely ugly."

No one responded, but several people moved closer.

Some people took out their devices to take pictures, their fingers hovering over the screen for ages. Others crouched down, getting very close to look, their eyes glued to the screen.

A few seconds later, someone started humming an old song.

The tune was slow, and the lyrics were indistinct, but the melody was familiar. When the second line came out, the person next to me hummed half of it. Later, three or four people sang together, their voices not loud, but flowing seamlessly.

Chen Hao didn't sing; he sat by the rock and looked at the flower.

A breeze blew by, and the petals swayed but didn't fall over.

He reached into the side pocket and felt for the dried fruit; it was still there. He didn't take it out, but simply pressed the pocket down and tucked it back inside.

When the group started walking again, their steps were noticeably different.

Some people started looking around, while others pointed to a greenish stone in the distance and said, "There seems to be some moss over there too." Old Li even quickened his pace, walked over to Chen Hao, and said, "Do you think... we could plant more flowers next year?"

"Let's plant," Chen Hao said. "What do you want to plant?"

"Sunflowers, I guess," Old Li chuckled. "Tall and yellow, they look so energetic."

"Okay, I'll give you a plot of land." Chen Hao patted him on the shoulder. "Next year, you'll be in charge of watering it."

Nana suddenly stopped, and the camera focused on a pile of rubble on the right.

She didn't speak, but raised her hand and made a "quiet" gesture.

Everyone stopped.

Chen Hao squinted and saw that a few more yellow flowers were peeking out from the cracks in the pile of rocks. There were more than one, at least three or four, crowded together, as if vying to squeeze out.

He was about to speak when Nana moved first.

She walked over, squatted down, and zoomed in on one of the plants, pausing for a few seconds. Then she looked up at Chen Hao, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Chen Hao grinned.

He was about to speak when he suddenly heard a short, startled cry from behind him.

Looking back, I saw Xiao Zhang staring at my feet—

A thin crack appeared at the edge of the mud he had just stepped on, revealing a hint of tender green. A tiny sprout was slowly pushing through the clod of earth, reaching upwards.