Chen Hao stepped into the muddy ground of the base, put the sack down, and took a breath. He had just returned from the mine, and his ankle was still aching slightly, but he didn't say anything.

"The materials have arrived." He looked up at Susan and Carl. "Get to work quickly. We need to finish at least two buildings in the East Wing before dark."

Susan immediately stood up and opened her notebook: "The resin reserves can last for three more rounds, but there's only one batch of high-purity silicon powder left."

Carl had already disassembled the grouting machine casing to inspect the piping. "The machine was only stopped for ten minutes, the heat dissipation is fine, it can be used again."

Nana stood beside the equipment, her finger swiping across the screen. "We recommend a rotating operation mode, with each unit running for forty minutes and then shutting down for eight minutes to cool down, in order to avoid overheating and damage."

"I'll listen to you." Chen Hao waved his hand. "Let's get started."

Susan began mixing the grout, Carl adjusted the second grouting machine, and Nana monitored the temperature curve. Chen Hao sat on the cement block, watching them work, but his mind was on the wall from yesterday—it stabilized after the steel cables were added, proving that this method would work.

But now it's not just about building one wall, it's about the entire base.

Three grouting machines started up one after another, filling the open space with a buzzing sound. The first group of workers changed shifts, and the second group took over, the pace was much faster than yesterday.

"Efficiency has increased by 31 percent," Nana reported the data. "No abnormalities reported so far."

"This is just the beginning," Chen Hao grinned. "Once the whole base does this, we can just lie back and wait for the earthquake."

"I don't recommend waiting for an earthquake," Nana said. "And I don't recommend lying flat either."

"I just wanted to say something to my heart's content." He scratched his head. "Don't take it seriously."

As they were talking, a puff of white smoke suddenly came out from Carl's side, and the machine shook violently.

"Stop!" Nana shouted.

With a flick of her finger, all three machines simultaneously lost power.

The scene was quiet for a few seconds.

Carl stood there, frozen, his gloves still damp with resin. "I... I forgot to depressurize when I changed the tube, and I just pressed the start button without thinking."

No one spoke.

Susan went over to look at the grouting tank and her expression changed: "Almost a third of the grout has been sprayed out, and there are two stains on the wall."

"Can it still be recycled?" Chen Hao asked.

“Some of it is recyclable.” Nana crouched down and operated the recycling pump, “but the viscosity has changed, so it cannot be used for grouting the main structure.”

Chen Hao walked to the damaged pipe and squatted down to take a look. The joint was cracked, and the sealing ring had flown several meters away.

He touched his head, stood up, and patted Karl on the shoulder: "Are you alright?"

“No injury.” Karl looked down. “It’s just… I was too hasty.”

"What's the rush?" Chen Hao said. "It's not like you're the only one working."

“We don’t have much material left.” Susan frowned. “This batch is the last of the high-purity powder. If we waste it, we won’t be able to maintain the strength later on.”

“Then we’ll use it sparingly.” Chen Hao turned to look at Nana. “Can we change the formula? Put less silicon crystal and more resin, or change the ratio?”

Nana's screen flashed a few times, displaying the data. "Theoretically feasible. If the silicon crystal concentration is reduced by 15%, and a trace amount of toughening agent is added, the structural strength can still reach 86% of the standard."

"That's enough." Chen Hao nodded. "Anyway, it's not a load-bearing wall, so let's preserve the integrity first."

“But I have to recalibrate the pressure parameters,” Nana said. “The new formula is more fluid, so the injection rate needs to be controlled.”

“Then you decide.” Chen Hao looked at Karl. “How about you take charge of implementing the new plan?”

Carl looked up, somewhat surprised.

"Don't leave me to mess around alone," Chen Hao laughed. "You're more skilled than me; it was just a slip of the hand. Everyone makes mistakes."

Carl opened his mouth, but didn't say anything; he just nodded.

Susan adjusted the ingredient ratios, and Nana generated a new construction flowchart. Chen Hao picked up the damaged pipe and threw it into the waste bin.

“This thing is of poor quality,” he said. “We’ll see if we have any spare parts.”

“There’s a batch of old sealing rings in the warehouse,” Nana said. “The model matching rate is 92%.”

"It'll do," Chen Hao waved his hand. "As long as it doesn't leak."

Half an hour later, the new slurry was prepared. The color was lighter than before, and it flowed faster.

"Let's try a section." Chen Hao pointed to a wall in the East Zone living quarters. "Let's build a small section first and see the effect."

Carl put on his goggles and took the miniature injection gun. This time he moved much more slowly, confirming each step was correct before continuing.

“Start grouting.” Nana stared at the sensors. “Pressure 0.5 MPa, stable.”

The slurry slowly seeped into the interlayer, and the filling progress bar on the screen gradually rose.

"Sixty percent...seventy-five...ninety-two...complete."

"Deformation monitoring?" Chen Hao asked.

“The amplitude of micro-vibrations in the wall has decreased by 44 percent,” she said. “The structure is becoming more stable.”

"Okay." Chen Hao smiled. "Although I almost blew myself away, I'm pretty safe this time."

Carl took off his goggles, and a smile finally appeared on his face.

"Remember to depressurize next time," Chen Hao patted him. "Don't rush it."

“I’ve got it,” he said.

"And what's next?" Susan asked.

“Continue.” Chen Hao pointed to the remaining construction work. “Leave one machine to rest, and take turns using the other two. If we can’t finish during the day, we can continue at night.”

“The nighttime lighting is insufficient,” Nana cautioned. “The existing light sources have limited coverage.”

“Take the headlights off the trailer and mount them on the wall,” Chen Hao said. “If that doesn’t work, tie a flashlight to a wooden stick; that should at least illuminate the area.”

“I can turn on the night assist mode,” Nana said, “to provide localized lighting support.”

"Then don't burn it." Chen Hao glanced at her. "Last time the vents were smoking, it scared me."

“That’s normal thermal emissions,” she said. “It hasn’t reached the critical level.”

"You're quite stubborn."

"I'm just stating the facts."

Susan chuckled. "You two are just like each other when you argue."

"I didn't make a fuss," Chen Hao raised his hand. "I was just worried about her breaking down."

“My system is very stable,” Nana said. “The failure rate is less than three per thousand.”

“Listen to that, how confident he is.” Chen Hao shook his head. “Someone lazier than me doesn’t trust robots.”

“You are indeed very lazy,” she said.

"Huh?" He glared. "Who just said I'd improved? How come you're backstabbing me like that?"

“I was talking about Karl,” Nana said calmly, “not you.”

Susan burst out laughing.

Carl chuckled along, then looked down to continue inspecting the injection gun.

Night slowly fell, and the lights in the base came on one by one. Someone moved a toolbox to the wall for easy access. Chen Hao leaned against the newly reinforced corner of the wall; his ankle still ached a little, but he didn't move.

"We have to go mining again tomorrow," he said. "You need to keep a close eye on the route this time."

“Three safe routes have been planned,” Nana said, “to avoid all loose areas.”

"If you had said that earlier, I wouldn't have fallen yesterday."

"You deviated from the planned route because you saw a lizard."

"That thing looks like a wallet, I thought it was left behind by my ex."

It bit you.

"That's why I can run really fast."

Susan laughed so hard she could barely hold her pen.

Karl brought out a new batch of molds and laid them out on the open ground. Each set was labeled with a number and arranged neatly.

"Can all of these be used?" Chen Hao asked.

“It’s been tested,” Carl nodded. “The size matches.”

“That’s good.” Chen Hao stood up. “Then let’s not rest for too long. Before it gets completely dark, let’s mark the next set of markers.”

Susan turned on the laser rangefinder, and Nana simultaneously projected the coordinates. The two worked together to draw the grouting area on the wall.

Carl checked the position with a marker, writing carefully stroke by stroke.

Looking at them, Chen Hao suddenly felt that this place didn't seem like a shelter anymore, but rather like a construction site.

It's still a lively construction site.

He took out the locator from his pocket, glanced at the traffic light—it was green.

“You really have been wearing it all along,” Nana noticed.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to find me." He swayed slightly. "If I fall into the pit again, at least I can pull myself out."

“Your weight will make the search and rescue more difficult,” she said.

"Hello!"

"This is a physical fact."

"Can't you even say something nice to me?"

"You demonstrated team leadership potential by not blaming others after the accident."

"Wait a minute." Chen Hao raised his hand. "Are you praising me or analyzing the report?"

"The two are not in conflict."

Susan laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight.

Carl finished marking the last mark, straightened up, and wiped the sweat from his brow.

“We can begin,” he said.

Nana activated the monitoring system, and the screen refresh rate increased. The heat vents glowed slightly red, and the fan speed increased by one level.

Chen Hao walked to the east wall and looked at the newly marked grouting lines.

“Come on,” he said, “let’s do one more round.”

Carl picked up the injection gun and connected the tubing.

Susan checks the pressure gauge.

Nana stared at the data stream.

The first stream of slurry was slowly injected into the wall, and the yellow liquid flowed in the transparent tube.

Chen Hao stood to the side, his hand resting against the wall.

The wall shook slightly.