Tick-tock.

A drop of liquid landed on Chen Hao's shoe, sliding down the edge of the canvas and leaving a small dark mark on the floor. He opened his eyes, his head still resting against the edge of the control panel, his mouth a little dry. He yawned, the sound particularly loud in the empty room.

He sat up straight, rubbed his neck, and turned to look at the battery pack. The peeling honey coating was still there, but there was no more leakage. The smoking had stopped. The equipment stood quietly, the green light on the screen was on, and the data was stable.

"The system is running normally," Nana's voice came from the side. She had been standing there, her optical glasses gleaming slightly, as if she had just woken up from standby mode.

"You seem quite energetic," Chen Hao muttered, leaning on the table to stand up, his legs a little numb. He took two steps forward, kicking a resin can and almost tripping.

Looking down, he saw that the area around the bed was piled with things. A milking tube was coiled up under the pillow, a folding chair was wedged into a crack in the wall, and several wrenches lay where the slippers used to be. He tried to bend down to pick up the shoes, but his head bumped into a horizontal metal bracket—a makeshift support that had been put up yesterday after the batteries were installed.

"This place is habitable?" He rubbed his forehead. "Am I sleeping in a warehouse or a dormitory?"

He turned to look at Nana: "We need to reorganize the space."

“The current space utilization rate is 58 percent,” Nana said. “That is indeed below the optimal value.”

"Look at me, my bed is almost touching the ceiling, my wardrobe is crammed into a sheep pen, and I have to squat next to the drip irrigation valve to eat my bread. If this continues, I'll have to make an appointment to go to the toilet."

Nana didn't respond to that, but instead raised her robotic arm and projected a semi-transparent image into the air. The 3D model slowly rotated, revealing the layout of the entire base.

The old structure is marked in red, while the new design is in blue. The bed is now height-adjustable and retracts into the ceiling during the day; the table folds and is embedded in the wall; storage cabinets are arranged vertically with automatic sliding rails. The corner that was previously occupied by pipes has been freed up, creating an extra space that can accommodate three people.

"The usable area will increase by 40 percent after the renovation," she said.

Chen Hao stared at the model for a long time, then pointed to the bed hanging in mid-air: "What if I fall off while I'm sleeping?"

"The load-bearing capacity reaches 300 kilograms, with a safety factor of 3.2."

"I weigh 200 jin, not 200 kilograms."

"Redundancy has been factored in."

"Then can you guarantee there won't be a sudden power outage?"

"The power system is stable, and the backup power supply can be switched within 0.3 seconds."

"What if it's a mechanical failure? Like a stuck gear, a broken rope, or a burnt-out motor?"

"All components have a double locking device that automatically locks in case of malfunction."

Chen Hao still shook his head: "I don't believe that. If I'm really stuck up there and can't move, you can't just saw me off, can you?"

Nana paused for two seconds, then pulled up a video simulation. In the video, the bed rose to its highest point, and suddenly the hydraulic rods failed, but metal clips immediately popped out from both sides, firmly securing the platform. Then her own robotic arm extended and steadily supported the edge.

"The emergency response process has been pre-set," she said. "The response time will not exceed seven seconds."

Chen Hao looked at the simulation and sighed, "Why do you robots all talk like fortune tellers? Every word makes sense, but it just doesn't feel reassuring."

"This is a data-driven answer."

"Alright." He scratched his head. "Let's change this bed first. We'll deal with the rest later."

Construction began in the morning. Nana dismantled the old bed frame and cleared the area for the overhead installation. Chen Hao was responsible for moving the materials and bringing in the new lifting bracket. The two worked together relatively smoothly until 3:17 PM.

The bed was raised halfway up when it suddenly stopped.

"What's going on?" Chen Hao was standing on the rising platform, his feet about 1.5 meters off the ground, his hands gripping the handrail, his body swaying slightly.

“The hydraulic module is clogged,” Nana said. “Power has been cut off.”

Can I get down?

"The platform is in an unbalanced state, and forcibly moving it may cause it to overturn."

"So it's stuck?"

"yes."

Chen Hao looked down at the ground, then looked up at the ceiling. "Doesn't my pose look like a sausage?" he asked.

Nana didn't reply, but instead quickly scanned the guide rail structure. The data showed a slight deformation in a section of the left slide rail, causing the roller to jam. She immediately cut off the main power and initiated the manual release procedure.

“Keep it still,” she said. “I need to remove part of the support structure.”

"Don't saw the wrong thing, I don't want my lower body to be ruined."

She didn't respond. The robotic arm unfolded its tool module, clamped a section of fixing bolt, and gently rotated it. With a click, the nut loosened. Then came the second, the third. The metal bracket was removed section by section, revealing the internal drive shaft.

Chen Hao felt the platform sink a little and quickly grabbed on. "Slow down, my heart is beating faster than a motor."

"We expect to be freed in six minutes."

"You make it sound so easy. I'm not a machine; I can't automatically lower my heart rate."

Nana continued operating with precise movements. After the last section of the guide rail moved away, she activated the auxiliary traction, slowly releasing the hydraulic pressure. The platform gradually descended, finally landing back on the ground.

Chen Hao jumped down, his legs still a little weak. He patted his pants and muttered to himself, "If anyone ever says 'working at heights is easy' again, I'll make them try it."

"Next time, you can fasten your seatbelt earlier," Nana said.

Why didn't you say so earlier!

"You did not make a request."

Chen Hao rolled his eyes and didn't argue further. The two continued construction, replacing the damaged parts and reassembling. During this test, Nana monitored the pressure values ​​and angle deviations throughout, only allowing it to be officially put into use after confirming that everything was correct.

At six o'clock in the evening, the bed was finally ready to use. It rose smoothly and silently, and when lowered to its lowest point, it was only twenty centimeters off the ground, making it easy to get in and out. Chen Hao tried it a few times, and the whole process, from lying down to folding up and unfolding, took less than thirty seconds.

"It's pretty fast," he said.

“The furniture will be replaced gradually,” Nana said, “including dining tables, storage cabinets, and lighting systems.”

"Even the lights need to be changed?"

"The light fixtures can be embedded in the ceiling, lowered when in use, and retracted when not in use, saving space."

"Are you trying to turn my place into a Transformer?"

"This is efficient utilization."

Chen Hao smiled, walked to the center of the room, and turned around. The corner that had been cluttered with miscellaneous items was now empty, and the aisle was much wider. He reached out and pressed a button on the wall, and the wardrobe silently slid out of the wall, opening the door to reveal clothes neatly hanging inside.

He pressed another button, and the sofa rose from under the floor, with the table unfolding simultaneously. The chairs automatically positioned themselves and formed a circle.

"I almost didn't recognize myself," he said. "It's only been a few hours, but it's like I've moved into a different apartment."

"The circuit adjustments are not yet fully completed," Nana reminded, "and the power supply is unstable in some areas."

As soon as he finished speaking, the lights in the room suddenly went out.

Darkness instantly enveloped the entire space. Chen Hao was bending down to see where the switch was when his head bumped into the light fixture that had just been lowered.

"Ouch!"

"Switching to night vision mode," Nana said.

Her optical lens emitted a faint blue light, sweeping across the wall-mounted control box. A few seconds later, she found the problem: a power cord plug was loose and making poor contact.

She tightened the connector by hand, re-secured the wiring, and then pressed the reset button.

The lights came on.

Chen Hao stood in the center of the room, looking around. The bed was folded up overhead, the tables and chairs were back in their places, and the floor was wide enough to roll around on. He took off his coat and casually hung it on an invisible clothes rack, which silently slid into the wall.

He sat on the sofa, stretching out his legs, finally able to fully extend them. For the first time in three months, he felt like a resident, not a homeless person seeking temporary refuge.

“This is even more comfortable than losing weight,” he said.

“Space efficiency has been increased to 91 percent,” Nana said. “The residential area expansion is complete.”

Chen Hao leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and let out a long breath. He didn't speak, but the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile.

Nana stood by the wall, the robotic arm retracting into its original position, the optical mirror shimmering with a pale blue halo. A system notification sounded softly, like some kind of silent celebration.

Chen Hao suddenly opened his eyes and looked at her: "You said... could we add another function?"

"What functions?"

"For example... when the bed is raised, could you play some music? Just soft music, the kind that helps you sleep."

"No such preset program exists."

"Can I add it?"

"Power consumption and storage usage need to be evaluated."

"Just tell me if you can or you can't."

"Technically feasible."

“Then let’s add it.” He closed his eyes again. “If I ever fall asleep and fall down, at least I’ll be listening to music as I fall.”