Sunlight slanted across the metal door of the control room, reflecting a bright white light. Chen Hao stood in the doorway, clutching a freshly printed building materials list, the corners of the paper crumpled from his crumpling.

"Two boxes of cement, more than ten pieces of rebar, and as many precast slabs as you can carry." He finished reading and looked up. "Let's go. If we drag this out any longer, wild boars will tear our kitchen apart."

Carl poked his head out of the tool shed, an iron crowbar slung over his shoulder: "The flatbed wheels are practically falling apart, you expect it to travel ten miles?"

"Don't blame the car for breaking down if you don't repair the road," Chen Hao shrugged. "Anyway, it's not like I'm the one towing it."

Nana was already standing outside the door, carrying a reinforced tool bag: "Based on the terrain data, there are railway wreckage in the southeast corner of the abandoned industrial area, which can be converted into transportation equipment. We recommend prioritizing its use."

"You even remember this?" Carl muttered.

“There are blueprints in the database,” Nana said, “including how to fix it and what kind of welding to use.”

The sky had just cleared when the three set off, and the mud was still soft; every few steps, their shoes were covered in a layer of damp soil. Chen Hao walked in front, his plump body swaying as he hummed an off-key song. Karl followed behind, one hand holding onto the empty flatbed cart, the other kicking away the pebbles blocking his path.

"You mean there are really good things there?" Karl asked.

"The factory was closed down in a hurry ten years ago, and they didn't have time to clear out everything." Chen Hao turned around. "If you're lucky, you can find bundles of steel bars."

"What if I'm unlucky?"

"Then accept your fate." Chen Hao shrugged. "At worst, we'll go hungry, it's not like we'll lose a piece of flesh."

Reaching the edge of the ruins, a collapsed wall lay before us. The corrugated iron roof leaned askew, like a cookie tin that had been crushed. Several concrete pillars were cracked open, revealing the steel reinforcement inside.

Nana pointed to a complete factory building ahead: "The structure is stable, suitable for searching for building materials."

When they went inside, they found it was neater than they had imagined. A pile of rebar was stacked against the wall, rusty but not broken. In the corner, there were two sealed boxes labeled "waterproof cement".

Karl crouched down and touched the steel: "This batch is usable."

Chen Hao grinned: "We can celebrate tonight."

They began loading the cargo onto the flatbed truck. The cement boxes were placed securely, and the reinforcing bars were tied together with wire. Just as it was about to be full, Nana suddenly said, "The current load is 37 percent over the safe limit."

"It's alright." Chen Hao patted the frame. "It can hold up."

“Last time it broke up after exceeding 10%,” Carl reminded him.

"Let's push slower this time," Chen Hao said, then went to pull the front of the cart himself.

Emerging from the ruins, the road became even more difficult. A section of rubble slope caused the wheels to get stuck twice. After getting stuck a third time, Chen Hao sat on the ground, panting, "This damn car is even lazier than me."

Carl cursed and grabbed a crowbar to pry the stones under the wheels. Nana, meanwhile, opened the database and pulled up the blueprints for an old-fashioned railcar.

“There are abandoned railway tracks 300 meters ahead,” she said. “If the flatbed cart is modified to be pulley-driven, the physical exertion can be reduced by 50%.”

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Karl wiped his sweat.

“You didn’t ask,” Nana replied.

The two exchanged a glance but remained silent.

They dismantled a section of nearby rail and used screws and steel plates to transform the bottom of the flatbed wagon into a chute structure. Nana guided the welding points, and Karl reinforced it. Forty minutes later, the new wagon was complete.

After one try, it's much smoother.

"This thing works pretty well," Chen Hao laughed. "I'll apply for an engineer's certificate for you next time."

“I don’t need it,” Nana said. “I just don’t want to come back tomorrow.”

Continuing deeper into the area, they found three complete precast concrete slabs in a warehouse. Each slab was two meters long, thick, and heavy—exactly the material needed for the core section of the wall.

“Move these back, and the foundation will be stable,” Chen Hao said, patting one of the pieces.

Carl estimated the weight: "It's definitely not something you can carry in one trip. It would take six hours round trip, and three trips would take three days."

"Let's move the tightest ones first," Chen Hao decided. "We'll transport the cement and small steel pieces first, mark the positions of the precast slabs, and come back later."

Nana drew a mark on the wall with chalk and took a picture to archive it.

Just as they were preparing to return, they heard footsteps in the distance.

Five men emerged from another passageway. The leader, carrying an iron pipe, wore dirty but neat clothes. The four behind him also carried weapons, their eyes fixed on the goods on the flatbed cart.

“We’ve taken this place,” the man said. “Leave half of it and leave.”

Chen Hao paused for a moment, then handed over the water bottle in his hand: "Have a sip? You've been running around all day, your throat must be parched."

The other party did not answer.

"We're just a small team," Chen Hao said with a smile. "We need these steel bars to build houses and keep wild boars out. Look at our vehicle, the wheels are practically falling off. It doesn't look like we're here to take over territory."

The man glanced at the flatbed cart and then at the equipment of the three men: a crowbar, a tool bag, and a robot that looked like a repairman.

"Which camp did you come from?"

“There’s no campsite.” Chen Hao pointed to the distance. “There are just a few dilapidated cabins over there. We lived there for half a year.”

Carl sneered and deliberately slammed the crowbar into the ground: "If you really want to fight, I'm in for it. But who's going to lift this car afterward?"

The atmosphere froze for a few seconds.

Nana suddenly spoke up: "We detected an increase in the other party's heart rate, but no increase in grip strength, indicating a low level of aggression. We suggest proposing a cooperative plan."

Chen Hao immediately chimed in, "How about this—we'll make the trip together. Just point out what materials you need, and we'll help you move them. It'll save you time and effort."

The man frowned: "Why should we believe you?"

"We're exhausted right now, do you really think we can make another trip?" Chen Hao sighed. "If I wanted to rob someone, I would have already laid an ambush inside."

The other party was silent for a moment, then looked at his subordinates. One of them whispered a few words.

“Okay.” The leader nodded. “We have two boxes of cables to transport, they’re in the warehouse on the east side. Let’s go together, just don’t touch our collection area next time.”

The collaboration did not go smoothly. Both parties stood far apart and moved slowly while carrying the cement. Carl deliberately slowed down when carrying the cement, and the other party did the same.

Chen Hao couldn't stand it anymore and stepped forward to carry the heaviest box of cables: "Stop dawdling, we don't even know if we'll get there before dark."

As soon as this movement occurred, both sides quickened their pace.

During a rest stop, Chen Hao took out two bottles of water and gave one to each of the two people. Nana turned on the stereo and played some light music. The piece was old, but the rhythm was brisk.

One of the other people laughed: "You guys really think this is a picnic?"

"I can't exactly glare all the way back," Chen Hao said, unscrewing the bottle cap. "They're not our enemies."

Back at the base's perimeter, it was already dark. Chen Hao told Karl to unload the materials at the temporary storage point in the eastern area, while he stayed behind to entertain the group.

"Come in and sit for a while?" he said to the leader. "Let me show you the alarm system we fixed, it's called 'Night Roar'."

The other person hesitated for a moment, then followed him into the fenced area.

Susan was adjusting the sensor bracket on the north side when she saw someone approaching and looked up: "Who is it?"

"We're helping to transport materials," Chen Hao explained. "This is the first version of 'Night Roar,' which can scare wild boars back ten meters when it sounds."

The man leaned closer and examined the junction box: "You guys actually managed to do that?"

"Just installed." Susan tightened the last screw. "Testing tomorrow."

Before leaving, the other person patted Chen Hao on the shoulder: "You guys... you're doing something worthwhile."

After the convoy left, Chen Hao stood outside the control room, looking at the building material shortage list on the whiteboard, and checked the boxes next to "cement" and "steel bars".

Nana walked in: "The first batch of returned supplies has been entered. Remind me to start tomorrow's shift schedule."

Carl returned from the East Wing, pushed the railcar under the shed, wiped the dust off his hands, and headed straight to the tool room to inspect the welding station.

Chen Hao took out his notebook and wrote in the "Transportation Plan" column: **Joint handling is feasible, and regular cooperation can be carried out in the future.**

He closed the notebook and stretched.

At this moment, Susan walked over and said, "All the components are installed, and we're just waiting to power it on tomorrow."

"Then we can sleep soundly tonight," Chen Hao said.

“Not necessarily.” Susan pointed to the north-side support structure. “The wind is a bit strong, and the fasteners might not be able to hold up.”

Chen Hao looked up and saw the support frame swaying gently in the wind.

He had just taken a step when a crisp metallic clang came from afar.