The moment Chen Hao's hand touched the doorknob, his ears perked up.

The key turned half a circle in the lock, the sound was not loud, but it was particularly clear in the quiet night.

He didn't make a sound or move, but slowly retreated to the wall, took out a small piece of metal hidden under the bed—a self-defense tool he had secretly sharpened a couple of days ago. Then he gently tapped the floor twice, a pre-arranged signal with Nana—something was up.

The lights in the monitoring room came on.

Nana's voice came from the corner: "Storage locker opening detected. Permissions not matched."

Susan also woke up, standing at the door with a wooden spear in her hand, her eyes sweeping towards the blurry figure at the end of the corridor.

It's Karl.

He held a yellowed drawing in his hand, looking down at it with a deep frown. He didn't take the batteries or touch the toolbox; he just stared at the paper, as if searching for something.

Chen Hao walked out, his steps light but steady.

"You're up in the middle of the night researching our family's secret recipe?"

Karl looked up, his face a little pale. He squeezed the drawing for a moment, then let go.

“I just wanted to take a look,” he said. “This system…I’ve seen it before.”

Nana stepped forward, and the robotic arm lightly swept across the surface of the drawing: "Identification complete. The content is 'South Valley Base Phase I Energy Architecture Diagram,' which has been out of use for three years."

She paused, then said, "Your biometric data is fluctuating abnormally. The probability of you lying has risen to 34 percent."

"Stop beating around the bush." ​​Susan slammed the wooden spear on the ground. "If you really want to help, you can do it during the day. What's the point of sneaking around at night?"

Karl stood still, taking a deep breath.

“I didn’t steal, nor did I test it.” He looked up. “I remember how the system works. I also remember why it stopped.”

The room was silent for a few seconds.

Chen Hao leaned against the wall and took a bite of his dry rations—the ones he'd saved before bed, now just enough to fill his stomach. "Then tell me, how did it go bad?"

“It wasn’t broken,” Carl shook his head. “It was deliberately shut down. There was a short circuit in the main control room, the backup power switch failed, and someone cut off the main switch to prevent an explosion. But no one restarted it afterward.”

“How did you know?” Susan asked.

“Because I was involved in the design.” Carl’s voice lowered. “I was an ecological engineering researcher for Project Star Dome. Our spaceship crashed in South Valley, and I was the only survivor.”

He pointed to a node on the blueprint: "There's a manual reset switch here, hidden under the ventilation shaft. Just turn it on, and the old system can be temporarily powered, lasting at least three days."

Nana pulled up the database for comparison and confirmed a few seconds later: "This type of reactor does have this structure, but the information is not publicly available."

After chewing the last bite, Chen Hao spat the crumbs into the bowl.

"You said you were a researcher, but when you first arrived you said you were a cargo handler?"

Carl gave a wry smile: "In the wilderness, knowledge is worthless, life is everything. If I tell you the truth, will you believe me? Or do you think I'm crazy, or trying to steal territory?"

"Then why did you say it now?" Susan stared at him.

“Because during the meeting last night, you said you wanted to set up a training class.” Karl looked at Chen Hao. “I thought you were just talking. But you actually came, and even asked me to teach you. At that moment, I realized… maybe things are different here.”

Chen Hao didn't say anything, walked to the table and sat down, patting the seat next to him.

"Sit down. It's too tiring to talk while standing, and I'm too lazy to look up."

Carl hesitated for a moment, then sat down.

Nana stood to the side, her screen flashing blue: "Recommendation to initiate a trust rebuilding protocol. Proposal: Skill demonstration system. Carl will demonstrate a technical capability, and the team will assess its feasibility before deciding whether to adopt it."

"Sounds like an exam," Chen Hao grinned. "But I like it. It's fair."

“I can demonstrate the groundwater purification process,” Carl said. “The water you drink contains metal residue, and long-term consumption can affect nerve reaction speed.”

Susan raised an eyebrow: "Can you handle this?"

“I can assemble a simple filter array using the materials I have.” He pointed to the pile of discarded parts in the corner. “Those copper pipes and quartz fragments can still be used.”

"Then try it tomorrow." Chen Hao held out his hand. "If you can really get clean water, I'll treat you to the last bag of spicy strips I've been saving."

“Deal.” Karl reached out and shook hands.

My hands were a little cold, but my grip was firm.

Nana's note: "Cooperation intentions have been reached, and the trust index has returned to a stable range."

Susan turned to boil water, and as she passed by, she casually placed a hot cup in front of Carl.

“Drink it,” she said. “Don’t wait for someone else to give you a chance.”

Carl looked down at the cup; steam rose up, blurring his glasses.

He took it off, wiped it, and put it back on; his eyes were a little red.

"Thanks."

“Don’t thank me,” Susan sneered. “Thank yourself for finally speaking up.”

Chen Hao yawned and stretched: "Alright, tonight was pretty much a success. A researcher who was almost mistaken for a thief is now our technical advisor. The plot is more outrageous than a soap opera."

"Are you sure you want to use me?" Karl suddenly asked.

"Otherwise what?" Chen Hao shrugged. "Are you going to kick you out and let you continue gnawing on moss?"

“I’m not afraid to leave,” Carl’s voice deepened. “I’m afraid to stay. I once helped a team repair a communications tower, and they locked me in the control room, only letting me work and not allowing me to leave. They said I was valuable, but also dangerous.”

The room fell silent for a moment.

Nana said, "This base has no authority to imprison members. All members join voluntarily and leave freely."

“She’s telling the truth,” Susan said, leaning against the table. “Nobody’s tied up here. If you want to leave, the door’s open. If you want to stay, you’ll have to show some sincerity.”

Chen Hao pointed at Karl: "If you're really capable, we'll learn from you. Once we've mastered it, we'll all be equals. But if you're hiding your abilities and just want to act like a big shot, then sorry, you can finish your meal, but please leave."

Carl looked down at his hands; there were old wounds on his knuckles and black ash under his fingernails.

He knew how difficult those days were—being alone in the ruins, rummaging through parts, feeling dizzy from hunger, and having to be wary of being stolen as a resource.

But now, there are people willing to listen to him finish a sentence without interrupting or doubting him.

He pushed the blueprints to the center of the table.

“I didn’t take this picture with me, and I won’t hide it,” he said. “I’ll be waiting for you in the equipment room at seven o’clock tomorrow morning. The first thing I’ll do is warm this room up.”

"You think you can handle an air conditioner that's been broken for three years?" Chen Hao laughed.

“I’m not fixing the air conditioner,” Carl looked up. “I’m making it recognize its owner again.”

Nana checked the system log: "Permission request submitted. Awaiting confirmation from all members."

Chen Hao clicked "agree".

Susan followed suit.

Finally, Carl ordered some for himself too.

A message pops up on the screen: [New collaboration mode activated. Identity: Technical sharing member. Permission level: To be determined.]

"It's not over yet." Chen Hao stood up and walked to the door. "You have to prove you can do this. Otherwise, we'll just go our separate ways."

“I understand,” Carl stood up. “I will do it.”

"See you tomorrow then." Chen Hao opened the door. "I hope you won't let us down."

It was a bit windy outside, which made the light flicker.

Carl stood still, not leaving immediately.

He looked at the steaming glass of water on the table and reached out to touch the inside of the glass.

Warm.

He picked it up and took a sip.

The water was a bit bitter, with a rusty taste, but he swallowed it very slowly.

This was the first time in three months that he had drunk hot water that didn't need to be filtered twice.

He put down the cup, folded the blueprint, and placed it back on the table.

Then he turned and walked towards his bed.

He stopped as he passed the monitoring station.

"Nana".

"I am here."

"I will take tomorrow's assessment seriously."

"I know."

The lights went out.

In the darkness, the four people lay down.

No one spoke.

But that night, no one woke up to check the door lock.

At 5:43 a.m. the next morning, the door to the equipment room was pushed open.

Carl stood in the doorway, holding a screwdriver.

He crouched down, lifted the floor cover, and revealed a section of old wiring.

He glanced at his wristwatch—it was one he'd salvaged from the wreckage, and it was still functional.

Time is up.

He inserted the screwdriver into the connector and twisted it hard.

A spark jumped.

The machine hummed.

The display screen lights up red, initiating a self-test.

Carl let out a breath.

He knew this was only the first step.

He reached out and pressed the start button, preparing to enter the password.

The moment my finger touched the button—

Footsteps could be heard outside.