The ticking sound is still going on.

Chen Hao squatted beside the feeder, a screwdriver in his hand, trying to scrape the mud off the bottom of the tray. He hadn't slept well last night, his mind constantly wandering to the buckets of cucumbers and tomatoes, and Nana's words that it "could last for twelve days." That sounded like a lot, but he knew that once they were gone, he'd have to plant more, and once they planted, he'd have to till the soil, and tilling the soil would require tools.

He stood up, dusted off his pants, and walked towards the farm tool shed.

As soon as the door opened, a pungent smell of rust and machine oil wafted out. He wrinkled his nose and reached for the electric hoe leaning against the wall. The moment he lifted it, the handle tilted to one side, and the screw fell to the floor, rolling away into a corner and disappearing from sight.

"It's broken again?"

He bent down and felt around for a while but couldn't find it, so he simply lay down to take a look. Underneath, besides dust, there were three bolts of different sizes, two washers, and a broken spring. These were all scrap parts that had been replaced before and piled up here as spares, but now, upon closer inspection, they were all defective products.

He sat up straight and counted the tools hanging on the wall: two hoes, one with a cracked handle; three sickles, all with worn-out blades; and the plow was still stuck in the field outside, its axle already wobbling a bit when he finished work yesterday.

He called out, "Nana!"

Footsteps came from outside. Nana walked in, and the camera panned around before stopping at the smoking electric hoe.

"Yesterday's operating records show that the motor load exceeded the limit by 40 percent," she said. "After operating continuously for more than six hours, component fatigue has intensified."

“I know it’s tiring,” Chen Hao said, pointing to a pile of parts in the corner. “The problem is we’re almost out of parts too. How much stock do you have left in your inventory?”

Nana turned around and brought up the projector. A list floated in the air, with red markings taking up most of it.

"Available standard bolts: seven. Gear assemblies: two sets. Bearings: zero. Metal powder inventory: 4.8%. At the current rate of wear, all power-operated farm implements will cease operation within seven days."

Chen Hao stared at the string of numbers for five seconds, then suddenly chuckled.

"Does that mean we've worked hard all day, harvested some vegetables, but can't even till the land for the next crop?"

"The conclusion is valid."

"Then all that work would have been for nothing."

He stood up, walked to the workbench, and opened the bottom drawer. Inside, there had been a batch of recycled metal blocks, salvaged from old equipment, ready to be melted down as raw material. Now, only a small amount of powder remained, as if someone had dumped it.

"Is this much enough to make a part the size of a fingernail?"

"Insufficient to support a complete printout."

"Can't we use them more sparingly? For example... bring less material and use it to tide us over for a while?"

Nana paused for a moment. "The knowledge base retrieved a low-material printing solution that can achieve the manufacturing of micro-parts through structural simplification and density compression."

"Then why don't you try it?"

"Ready to start."

She placed the broken gear into the scanner, and a few minutes later, the 3D printer started working. The machine hummed, the nozzle moving back and forth, layering out the outline. Chen Hao squatted beside it, watching as if waiting for a child to be born.

Half an hour later, the part came out. It wasn't big, just a small, dark piece with a somewhat rough surface.

"Done?" He picked it up and squeezed it.

"Initial form. Pressure testing is required."

They loaded the electric hoe and turned it on. Less than a minute after it started running, it made a "click" sound, and the new gear shattered into pieces, flying out and hitting the wall.

Chen Hao looked down at his empty palm.

"I'm saying...shouldn't this printer be retired by now?"

“The material is not strong enough to withstand a real load.” Nana retrieved the wreckage. “Local manufacturing is not feasible. I suggest we go out and search for usable metal resources.”

Chen Hao didn't speak, stood against the wall for a while, and looked up at the roof. It hadn't rained today, but the wind was blowing in through the gaps, making the light chains sway gently.

He knew there was an industrial area outside. A gray area was marked on the map, about four kilometers from the base; it used to be a concentration of processing plants and warehouses. That kind of place should have plenty of metal frames, pipes, and abandoned machinery; scavenging a few of those would be enough to sustain him for a while.

But he never intended to go.

It's not that I'm afraid of the distance, it's that I'm afraid of it collapsing.

After the last heavy rain, the ground became soft, and in some places, you'd sink in when you stepped on it. Not to mention those old factory buildings, which have been in disrepair for years; the building might collapse before you even open the door.

But he has no choice now.

“We can’t just dig the ground with our hands from now on,” he said. “We’ll just have to make one trip.”

“I have planned my route to avoid known flooded areas,” Nana said. “The round trip is expected to take eight hours.”

"Bring a rope, pliers, and a high-powered flashlight," Chen Hao muttered as he walked out. "If we encounter any stuck parts, we need to be able to remove them."

They went back to the work shed to pack their things. Chen Hao carried a canvas bag on his back, which contained a wrench, a cutting knife, and spare batteries. Nana checked her power status and confirmed that the robotic arm was functioning properly.

When he went out, the sun had just risen above the treetops. The wind was pleasant, but Chen Hao felt a tightness in his chest. He glanced back at the base—the neat rows of fields, the freshly harvested land, and the feeding machines hanging on the racks.

All these things are waiting for him to come back.

The two walked north along the old road. The road was cracked, and grass grew out of the cracks, making it a mix of soft and hard underfoot. After walking for almost two hours, the outline of a wall finally appeared in the distance, rusted red, standing there crookedly as if it might collapse at any moment.

“The edge of the industrial zone is just ahead,” Nana said.

Chen Hao wiped his sweat, panting as he nodded. "Walk slowly, don't slip."

The ground was getting worse. What used to be concrete was now full of potholes, and some cracks were wide enough to fit a foot in. They went around a large pothole, and after taking a few steps forward, their foot suddenly sank.

"Wait!" Chen Hao had just shouted when his right leg had already sunk halfway into the ground.

He instinctively tried to pull himself out, but his left foot shifted, causing him to lose his balance and fall into the crevice with a thud. His lower body sank in, and earth and rocks tumbled down, trapping his shoulders and back between the rock walls.

"Don't move," Nana said immediately.

Chen Hao dared not struggle any longer. He looked up and saw the sky above him had become a thin line. The surroundings were eerily quiet, with only dust still falling softly.

"Am I...am I stuck?"

“Your body size forms a physical barrier here, temporarily preventing further collapse.” Nana crouched down, and the camera quickly scanned the area. “If you move now, it could cause the structure above to become unstable.”

"So I am... a pillar?"

The analogy holds true.

Chen Hao grinned. "I thought being fat would only hold me back."

Nana opened the back hatch, and the robotic arm slowly extended, its front claw gripping a piece of concrete to stabilize its center of gravity. Then, she slowly approached the edge of the crack and handed the other robotic arm to Chen Hao.

"catch."

Chen Hao reached out and gripped it tightly. The metal arm began to pull back, and at the same time, he scooted upwards with his body. The soil kept sliding down, and several times he almost sank back in, but he was finally pulled out little by little.

Finally, he collapsed to the ground, panting like a fish. His clothes were covered in mud, and his right knee was scraped and burning with pain.

"Thanks," he said. "If you hadn't been here, I would have become an underground locker."

Nana retracted the robotic arm. "The geology ahead is unstable; we recommend changing our route."

"It's no use changing it, our goal is right ahead." Chen Hao propped himself up and sat up, looking at the half-collapsed gate not far away. The sheet metal was rusted through holes, and there were faded warning signs on it, the words barely legible.

Behind the door was a cluster of abandoned factory buildings, with half of the roof collapsed, all the windows shattered, and several pipes lying on the ground like dead snakes.

"The item is definitely there," he said, "I just don't know if I can take it."

He stood up, leaning against the wall, and limped forward. Nana followed behind, the camera continuously scanning the structure in front of them.

They stopped in front of the gate.

Chen Hao looked up at the rickety signboard and reached out to push the door frame.

Rust crumbled off, the door screeched, and a larger crack appeared.

He glanced back at Nana.

Do you think there might be a bunch of new screws hidden in here?