Soil was still seeping out of the crack at Xiao Zhang's feet, and the tender shoots were growing faster and faster. Chen Hao squatted down and watched for a long time until his neck ached. Suddenly, his eyes twitched and he saw a yellow shadow dart out from the crack in the rock.

He reached out his hand, but grabbed nothing.

"What is that?" he asked Nana, turning his head.

Nana's camera had already turned to her, and her voice rang out calmly: "Lepidoptera, Butterfly Family, body length about two centimeters, forewings orange-yellow with black markings."

"Speak like a normal person." Chen Hao rubbed his eyes. "You mean those little porn videos that fly?"

“Yes.” Nana nodded. “This type is not found in any of the local populations recorded so far.”

Chen Hao immediately pulled out the waterproof notebook from his pocket, and after pausing for a while, he managed to write a line: "Flying yellow film, never seen it before, probably new."

After he finished writing, he drew a circle and muttered as he stuffed the notebook back in his hand, "Before, even bugs were rare. Now, they're putting new products on the shelves right away."

Nana didn't respond, and the camera followed the butterfly. It flew erratically, sometimes gliding close to the ground, sometimes plunging upwards, and finally landed on a wet patch of moss where it remained motionless.

"What is it doing?" Chen Hao leaned closer to take a look.

“It absorbs water,” Nana said. “The topsoil is quite moist, which is good for replenishing body fluids.”

“It’s thirsty too,” Chen Hao grinned. “I thought it was here to clock in for work.”

He reached out to touch it, but the butterfly fluttered its wings and flew away, this time heading deeper into the woods.

"Hey! Don't go!" Chen Hao stood up and chased after him for a couple of steps, but tripped over a stone and almost fell. "This little thing is quite arrogant, it runs away as soon as it sees people."

“It’s not running,” Nana caught up. “It’s patrolling its territory. That male just now marked three stops, forming a triangular area.”

"You even figured out the gender?" Chen Hao exclaimed, his eyes wide.

“The shape of the antennae and the difference in flight posture can be used to determine this.” Nana pulled up the image and zoomed in. “Females are slightly larger and their flight trajectory is more stable.”

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Chen Hao flipped through his notebook and rewrote, "Male yellow-skinned, loves to show off, and occupies territory."

After finishing writing, he looked up and asked, "Does it have a name? It can't just keep calling itself 'Yellow Film' forever."

“The database does not yet match an exact species,” Nana said. “It can be named the temporary number b-01.”

"Too hard to remember." Chen Hao shook his head. "Let's call him Xiao Huang. It's simple, easy to pronounce, and that's what they call scrambled eggs in the cafeteria."

Nana paused for half a second: "The naming privileges are yours."

"Then I'll decide." Chen Hao closed his notebook and patted it. "Little Huang, welcome to the spring outing observation list."

They continued walking, the ground gradually softening and becoming slightly springy underfoot. The sunlight warmed their backs, and the wind no longer stung their faces.

They hadn't gone far when a shout came from the woods.

"Chirp—chirp chirp! Chirp—"

Chen Hao stopped in his tracks: "Who's imitating bird calls?"

“No one is imitating it.” Nana looked up. “The sound source is from the eleven o’clock direction ahead, about four meters high.”

"Are there really birds?" Chen Hao looked up. "Could it be some kind of mechanical malfunction again? I remember the last time the broadcast suddenly went off."

“Audio analysis in progress.” Nana paused for a few seconds. “Frequency range 3.2 to 4.8 kHz, irregular rhythm, consistent with biological call characteristics.”

“That’s alive.” Chen Hao laughed. “I thought there was nothing but grass outside our base.”

“There have been no valid records in the past thirty years,” Nana said. “This is the first time bird activity has been confirmed.”

"Wow, you've got even more courage than me." Chen Hao patted his chest. "You've got guts to come out and sing at a time like this."

The call came again, this time shorter.

"Is it insulting us?" Chen Hao tilted his head. "It sounds like it's complaining: 'What are you two idiots doing blocking my doorway?'"

Nana ignored him, and the camera slowly panned up, focusing on the branches of a half-dead tree. There was a small hollow there, grayish-brown, almost the same color as the bark; it would have been completely invisible if she hadn't pointed it out.

"See that?" Chen Hao squinted. "There's a furry ball moving inside!"

"It belongs to the family Titidae, is about 11 centimeters long, has a slender beak, and light gray throat feathers," Nana reports. "It is currently feeding its young."

"No wonder he calls so often." Chen Hao nodded, "He manages to balance work and childcare."

He took out his notebook and started writing again: "A gray ball of fur that can sing, living in a broken tree, raising children is hard work."

After finishing writing, he looked up and asked, "What do you think it eats? Insects? Or the crumbs of instant noodles that drift over from our base?"

"Preliminary analysis suggests it is insectivorous," Nana said. "Mortal remains were found under the nest, and the species matches that of insects that revive in spring."

"Got it." Chen Hao slapped his thigh. "It's a security guard, specializing in catching pests."

“The logic holds true,” Nana said. “Its activity range covers the current vegetation area and it has an ecological regulation function.”

“No wonder Xiao Huang can drink water without worry,” Chen Hao laughed. “Turns out there’s a ‘bug-free zone’ here.”

He took a few steps forward, then suddenly stopped: "Wait...you mean, they know each other?"

“There is no evidence of interaction between individuals,” Nana said, “but the habitat overlap is as high as 73 percent.”

“That’s our neighbor.” Chen Hao became more and more excited as he thought about it. “One is in charge of the air, and the other is in charge of the ground. Their division of labor is very clear.”

He turned to look at Nana: "This place is interesting. It's not enough for just grass to grow; someone has to do the work too."

“An ecosystem needs multiple roles,” Nana said. “Producers, consumers, and decomposers are all indispensable.”

"Sounds like a company structure." Chen Hao scratched his head. "Plants are the entry-level employees, insects are the outsourced workers, birds are the managers, and butterflies... are they freelancers?"

"The analogy is inappropriate," Nana said, "but the direction of understanding is correct."

“Anyway, I know a little bit,” Chen Hao grinned. “The fact that they survived means it’s really warming up here.”

He looked down at the moss at his feet, then looked up at the bird's nest in the tree, and suddenly felt that this wasteland was not so desolate.

They continued walking, and Nana pulled up a picture on her terminal and projected it onto the ground.

"What is this?" Chen Hao squatted down to look.

"A heat map of moss distribution," Nana said. "The darker the color, the higher the coverage."

There are three particularly bright red dots in the picture.

“The places where Xiao Huang stopped,” Nana pointed out, “are all in high humidity areas.”

"Oh." Chen Hao nodded. "It chooses where to drink water."

“Not only that.” Nana swiped again, overlaying a new image. “This is a bird call heatmap. The red areas represent high-frequency sound sources.”

Comparing the two images, Chen Hao discovered that the hotspot area was right around the dense moss zone.

"Wait a minute." He traced lines on the ground with his finger. "Birds are chirping on the side, butterflies are drinking in the middle, grass is growing underneath... Have they conspired together?"

“Non-subjective collaboration,” Nana said. “It’s an environmental and resource-driven behavior pattern.”

"Does that mean everyone is rushing to the better places?" Chen Hao realized. "It's like when the cafeteria opens for meals, everyone crowds towards the window."

"The analogy is feasible."

"So this patch of moss is the buffet center?" Chen Hao laughed. "The waiters are the wind, and the food is served by the sun."

Nana did not refute.

Chen Hao stared at the projection for a long time, then suddenly looked up and asked, "Do you think... if the bird is gone, Little Yellow might not survive either?"

“It’s a possibility,” Nana said. “If the number of pests increases and vegetation is damaged, the butterfly’s habitat will decrease.”

"A chain reaction?" Chen Hao frowned. "If one falls, everyone else falls too?"

“This phenomenon occurs when the ecosystem is fragile,” Nana said. “The current system is still unstable and needs to be continuously monitored.”

"Understood." Chen Hao stood up, patted his pants, and said, "We can't just watch the show; we need to remember who's where and what they're for."

He opened the notebook, tore off a page, and rewrote the columns:

**1. Little Yellow (Butterfly)**

- Event Time: Morning

- Stop point: Wet moss area

- Function: Pollination?

**2. Grey Pompom (Bird)**

- Nest location: Dead tree branch

- Calling pattern: three times per hour

- Function: To catch insects

**3. Moss**

- Distribution: Shady and damp places at the bottom of slopes

- Characteristics: Green with black tinges

- Function: water retention

After he finished writing, he handed it to Nana and asked, "How is it?"

"The information is complete." Nana glanced at it. "I suggest adding a timestamp and weather notes."

“Okay.” Chen Hao added another line, “Record time: 10:17 AM, sunny, light breeze.”

He put away his notebook and looked up ahead. The woods came to an end, and a wide-open space stretched out before him. Sunlight shone directly on the ground, and he could see the grass was slightly green.

"Is it about time to rest?" he said.

Nana pulled up the map and looked at it: "There is a flat area 80 meters ahead, which is suitable for a picnic."

"Let's go then." Chen Hao took a step forward. "Later, I'll let everyone see Little Yellow and Gray Fur Ball. Consider it a live press conference."

They had only taken five steps when another bird called out from the woods.

"grumble--!"

This time the voice was a bit more urgent.

Nana paused, and the camera instantly turned to the source of the sound.

Chen Hao stopped too: "What happened? Did you call the police?"

Nana didn't speak. The optical lens zoomed in rapidly, freezing the image on a certain spot in the tree canopy.

At the edge of the nest, a fledgling bird was peeking out when it slipped and half of its body was hanging in the air.