Just as Chen Hao's hand touched the edge of the second plank, his foot slipped, and he stumbled forward half a step. The metal plank seemed to have been kicked from below, its corner suddenly lifting up before sliding down the gravel slope toward his back.

The wind didn't even have time to make a sound.

He felt a chill on the back of his head and instinctively shrank his neck, but his body was still stuck in the bent-over position, and he didn't have time to turn around. Just as the thing was about to hit his spine, a blue light flashed suddenly, and the board stopped abruptly less than half an arm's length away from his back, hovering in mid-air and trembling slightly.

"Don't move." Nana's voice came from the side, so calm it was like a reminder that his shoelaces were loose.

She stood three steps away, her arms neither raised nor making any exaggerated movements, but the piece of sheet metal that had almost killed her remained still, as if being supported by an invisible hand.

Chen Hao stiffened his neck, his peripheral vision catching the edge of the board barely touching the back of his neck. He swallowed hard, carefully straightened up, and only dared to turn around after retreating to a safe position.

"This...you did this?"

Nana stepped forward and lightly tapped the panel with her finger. The board slowly fell back to the ground. "The magnetic adsorption device has been activated. When you were moving it, your center of gravity was too far forward, and the loose gravel on the ground caused an imbalance in the force."

"So it didn't want to hit me, it's just that I'm useless?"

“To be precise, the problem lies in how you’re using your strength.” She crouched down, her palms on the ground. “You should be using your leg muscles to push up, not your back to pull. What you’re doing now is putting your entire weight on your intervertebral discs.”

"I'm not a robot, I don't have that many precision parts."

“But you can imitate it.” She stood up and performed a standard knee-bending weightlifting motion, as smooth as a pre-set animation. “Knees open, back straight, hands grip firmly, and then—lift.”

Chen Hao tried it himself and found it much easier than before. Although he was still panting, at least he didn't feel like his internal organs were about to be squeezed out of his mouth.

"You really think I'm an engineering guinea pig?"

“I just hope you live a little longer.” After she finished speaking, she casually flipped the piece of board that caused the accident over. “Next time, if I don’t react in time, you might have to crawl on the ground for a while.”

"Thank you, my personal bodyguard."

He readjusted his posture and this time steadily lifted the sheet metal, moving it step by step towards the stacking area. The sun had risen higher, making the back of his neck feel hot, and sweat dripped down his eyebrows, only to be absorbed immediately when it hit the metal sheet.

Nana followed beside her, her optical lens occasionally scanning the surroundings, as if checking something unseen.

Just as the second batch of building materials was stacked and the two were preparing to continue the next trip, a rustling sound suddenly came from the pile of rocks in the distance.

Chen Hao's ears twitched: "What's that noise?"

Before the words were finished, a burly creature suddenly burst out of the crevice in the rock, pawing the ground with its four hooves, its head lowered, and a pair of hook-like fangs exposed, charging straight toward the storage area.

"Holy crap!" Chen Hao dodged to the side, watching helplessly as the guy crashed headfirst into the three newly stacked planks, overturning them all with a crash.

The sound of metal clashing was so sharp it made one's eardrums tighten.

The boar-like creature seemed startled as well, spinning around in place, snorting heavily, its eyes darting around, clearly panicked and disoriented.

Nana took a step in front of Chen Hao, spread her arms, and simultaneously emitted a high-frequency sound, sharp but not piercing, like some kind of alarm signal. The wild boar shuddered, turned around, and ran wildly in the opposite direction, disappearing behind the rocks within seconds.

The scene quieted down.

Chen Hao, panting, stared at the scattered planks on the ground: "...Even pigs are starting to cause trouble these days?"

“It’s a herbivore, non-aggressive.” Nana went over to examine the tracks. “Its paw prints show a disordered running posture, indicating that it must have been startled and fled. It’s possible that the noise from our moving earlier disturbed its habitat.”

"So all our hard work in moving it wasn't as fast as it crashed into us in one go?"

“Efficiency comparisons are meaningless.” She crouched down and picked up a reflective fragment—it seemed to be a scrap left over from disassembling the equipment earlier. “But we can use this.”

What do you want to do?

“Set up simple warning signs.” She walked to the outer edge of the storage area and inserted the debris diagonally into the soil, with the reflective side facing out. “These kinds of creatures are sensitive to flashes of light and will usually avoid areas with unusual reflectivity. While we can’t completely stop them, we can reduce the probability of them being disturbed again.”

Chen Hao watched her insert a few pieces back and forth, forming a loose circle: "You seem to understand animal psychology quite well."

“There’s a chapter on ‘Behavioral Patterns of Lower Vertebrates’ in the knowledge base.” She withdrew her hand. “Would you like to hear the full version?”

"Forget it, all I want to know now is how to stop these things from causing trouble."

“The most effective method right now is to keep quiet,” she glanced at him, “and increase the speed of moving things.”

"Here we go again." Chen Hao rolled his eyes. "You always manage to come back to saying I'm slow."

"I am simply stating the order of facts."

They started tidying up the knocked-down building materials again. This time, Chen Hao was extra careful, checking that each piece was secure before placing it down. The sun had soaked the back of his t-shirt, making it stick to his skin and uncomfortable as he walked.

"After this crappy base is built, do you think we can install an automatic door?" he muttered as he moved things. "At least we need a security system, right? Otherwise, if another rhinoceros comes along, we'll have to start all over again."

“The escape capsule comes with basic defense modules,” Nana said, “including vibration sensing and sonic repulsion capabilities, but it requires connection to an energy network to activate.”

"So, we're basically running around naked right now?"

The metaphor is valid.

"It makes me feel so safe."

He carried the last small plank of wood towards the storage area, his steps a little unsteady. After several trips in a row, his physical strength was nearing its limit; his calves were starting to ache, and his breathing had become short.

He had just put down the planks when he patted his knees and caught his breath. He looked up at Nana and asked, "Tell me... what are we even trying to achieve by doing this?"

She stopped what she was doing, and the camera tilted slightly: "Are you questioning the meaning of this action?"

“It’s not a question.” He wiped his face. “It’s just that I suddenly realized that no one seems to know that we’re working ourselves to the bone here moving sheet metal. Earth doesn’t know, aliens don’t know, and even that pig wouldn’t bother to look at us.”

“Meaning doesn’t need to be witnessed to be valid,” she said. “Every step you take now is changing the probability of survival.”

"I don't understand those data."

“But you’ve been doing it all along,” she said, looking at him. “That’s enough.”

Chen Hao paused for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "What you're saying... actually sounds a bit like you're encouraging me?"

“I’m just stating the objective results.” She turned to the next pile of materials. “And you haven’t even finished your quota for today.”

"Fine, fine, machines never give people a chance to breathe."

As he was about to bend down to move a support beam, he suddenly noticed something unusual on the ground—there were several fresh scratches on the sand near the edge of the storage area, thinner than those left by the wild boar earlier, and in different directions.

"Hey, look at this."

Nana immediately squatted down, lightly touching the mark with her fingertips, and the camera quickly focused to analyze it.

“Not the same kind of creature,” she whispered. “It’s smaller, and its movement is tentative, with frequent turns back.”

"What's the meaning?"

“There might be something else watching us.” She stood up and looked around at the rocks. “And more than one.”