As Chen Hao stepped onto the bridge, the makeshift bridge groaned as if it might collapse at any moment. Without straightening up, he immediately bent over and gripped the rope railings on either side. The bridge swayed violently, the branches beneath his feet creaked, and water splashed up from the gaps, soaking his trousers.

"Hold on!" he shouted into the wind, his voice trembling slightly, but he still smiled. "I've handled this, what are you afraid of?"

Carl stood on the bank, clutching the spare tow rope, his eyes fixed on the bridge's central support pole. It was stuck in the middle of the riverbed, secured to the rocks by a magnetic grappling hook, and didn't look very secure. But now was not the time to turn back.

"Nana, has the timer started?" Chen Hao turned around to look.

“Initiated.” Nana stood on the shore, her mechanical eyes flashing faintly. “The bridge is expected to be safe for passage in thirty-seven minutes. The current water flow is two meters and three inches per second and is continuing to rise.”

"Sounds like a weather forecast." Chen Hao grinned. "Alright, Carl, stop dawdling, let's go!"

Carl took a deep breath and stepped onto the bridge. With his first step, the bridge sank a few centimeters, the ropes tightened, and a slight tugging sound was heard. He dared not look up, only staring ahead, and moved forward step by step.

Halfway across, the branch he was stepping on with his right foot suddenly slipped. He swayed, lost his balance, and instinctively swung his left arm to grab the rope, but his other hand missed. Half of his body was hanging over the bridge, his toes touching the water.

"Damn it!" he growled, his fingers gripping the rope tightly.

"Don't let go!" Chen Hao lay down and reached for him. "Grab me!"

Carl raised his hand, and their fingertips touched. Chen Hao reached forward with all his might and finally grabbed his wrist. He gritted his teeth and pulled back, causing the bridge to shake violently, and the side supports made a metallic scraping sound.

Susan shouted from the shore, "The anchor point is loose! The knot on the left is slipping!"

"Never mind that!" Chen Hao gasped for breath. "Get them back first!"

He braced his shoulder against the edge of the bridge, gripping the rope with one hand and dragging the man with the other. Using the momentum, Carl rolled back onto the bridge, lying motionless on the ground, his chest heaving.

"Can you still walk?" Chen Hao asked.

Carl nodded and wiped the water from his face: "If you can't walk in a straight line, you can only crawl."

“Then climb!” Chen Hao called back, “Susan, get ready to crawl! This bridge can’t withstand walking on it.”

Susan unbuckled her backpack strap and tucked her tool bag under her. She glanced at the still-swaying bridge, crouched down, and climbed up using both hands and feet.

The bridge was even more unstable than before. With each step it took, the joints between the timbers creaked, and some of the straps made from waterproof bags were already torn. She dared not look at the water below, only staring at the heels of the person in front of her, inching forward little by little.

She stopped once because the crossbeam beneath her feet started to rotate. She immediately stopped and waited for the bridge to stabilize before continuing. By the time she reached the other side, her trousers were soaked through at the knees, and her palms were chafed.

"I've arrived," she said softly.

Nana was the last to step onto the bridge. Her mechanical joints adjusted her center of gravity, and she moved slowly, choosing each step to land on the sturdiest part of the structure. When she reached the middle, the pole wobbled slightly. She lifted one foot, quickly adjusted her landing point, and avoided a branch that had begun to loosen.

The bridge let out a long groan as she landed.

“Everyone has passed,” she said. “The bridge’s remaining stability is less than 20 percent.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the main beam in the middle suddenly snapped. The support poles were knocked down by the current, and the entire structure twisted and collapsed into the river, where it was instantly swept away by silt.

Chen Hao looked at the disappearing bridge and slapped his thigh: "Anyway, I wasn't planning on coming back."

Carl sat on the ground, panting, checking his backpack. The cutter was still there, but one of the hydraulic struts was missing; none of the essential tools were gone.

"The losses are manageable," he said.

“We don’t expect it to make it twice.” Chen Hao stood up and cracked his knuckles. “The question now is, how much further ahead is it?”

Nana pulled up the map projection: "The straight-line distance is 1,800 meters, and the terrain slope increases by 43%. We pass through two areas of loose rock strata along the way. It is recommended to detour via the gentle slope on the north side."

"How much longer will it take to take the detour?"

"About forty-one minutes."

“There’s no choice.” Susan stood up and brushed the mud off her clothes. “There are only sixteen hours left in the window. We can’t afford to waste any more time.”

Chen Hao nodded: "Then let's go up the north slope. Carl, you carry the traction rope; Susan, hold the recorder; Nana, you're in charge of early warning. Let's keep our distance and stop immediately if anything seems wrong."

The team regrouped their equipment and moved north along the riverbank. The ground became increasingly soft, sinking halfway into each shoe. They had to spread out and advance one by one, stepping on the harder sections of soil.

After walking for less than ten minutes, Nana suddenly stopped.

“There are signs of a collapse five meters ahead,” she said. “The ground bearing capacity is abnormal.”

Chen Hao leaned closer to take a look. From beneath what appeared to be a solid layer of soil, a faint, hollow echo could be heard.

"How do we get around?" Susan asked.

“There are only two paths,” Nana said. “The left side is a wet muddy area where it’s easy to get stuck; the right side is close to the mountainside and there’s a risk of falling rocks.”

"Let's pick something lighter," Chen Hao said. "We can't exactly dig a tunnel here."

They chose the right side. As they walked close to the rock face, small stones kept rolling down from above, hitting their helmets with a crackling sound.

“I really don’t want to come back to this place again,” Carl muttered.

"Who wants to come?" Chen Hao turned to look at him. "Do you think I'm here for tourism?"

After walking another 300 meters, the slope suddenly became steeper. They had to hold onto protruding rocks to climb. Chen Hao, being the heavier one, struggled the most and slipped half a meter down the slope before Susan caught him.

"Thanks," he said, panting.

"Be careful next time." Susan let go of his hand. "We can't save you every time."

"I don't expect you to save me." Chen Hao got up. "But even if I die, you won't get far, since I brought the most compressed biscuits."

No one laughed.

The air was a bit heavy.

Then Nana suddenly spoke up: "Life signal detected within 500 meters ahead."

All four people stopped at the same time.

"What did you say?" Chen Hao turned his head.

“Scan three more times.” Nana stared at the data stream. “We have confirmed the presence of faint life signs. The location is 120 meters southeast of the resource point, and the burial depth is about 1.5 meters.”

"Someone's there?" Susan's voice changed. "Why would someone be there at this hour?"

“I don’t know,” Nana said. “The signal is unstable; they may be trapped or unconscious.”

Carl gripped the pickaxe tightly: "Were you one of those who didn't evacuate during the last earthquake?"

“Possibly,” Chen Hao said, staring at the mountains ahead. “But we haven’t received any distress signals.”

“I’ve received it now,” Susan said. “What should I do?”

Chen Hao remained silent for a few seconds, then glanced at his watch.

“The rescue priority has been raised,” he said. “The original plan has been changed to a two-pronged approach—rescue people first, then salvage equipment. Nana, mark the coordinates; Carl, prepare the demolition tools; Susan, check the first aid kits.”

“What if it’s just a false alarm?” Carl asked.

“Then we’ve wasted our time,” Chen Hao said. “But if it’s not… we can’t pretend we didn’t hear it.”

The team quickened their pace, advancing towards the signal source. The closer they got to the resource point, the more pronounced the ground tremors became. A burnt metallic smell filled the air.

Nana suddenly raised her hand to signal to stop.

"The view is obstructed 30 meters ahead," she said. "We need to confirm it's safe before approaching."

Chen Hao crouched down, took out a flashlight from his bag, turned off the light source, and left it in infrared mode only. He crawled forward ten meters and peered out from behind a boulder.

In the distance, solar arrays leaned precariously, and a recovery machine lay crushed beneath its half-collapsed supports. A large crack ran along the edge of the drilling platform, exposing exposed cables that sparked intermittently.

A hand was sticking out from the pile of rubble below the platform.