After the stone rolled down, no one moved.

Chen Hao stared at the pile of rubble, his breathing very soft. He had almost thought something would rush out, but after waiting for half a minute, there was no movement at all.

"Nana?" he asked softly, "Is there any more shaking?"

"The last tremor ended 12 minutes and 37 seconds ago." Nana stood at the back, her eyes flashing a few times. "Currently, there are no periodic signals within the monitoring range, and geological activity has temporarily ceased."

Carl breathed a sigh of relief: "Is she asleep?"

“It might have gone far away.” Chen Hao slowly straightened up. “Whatever it is, at least it’s not under this rock now.”

Susan put away her notebook: "We can't stay here any longer. We haven't found food, water, or supplies yet. If we drag this out any longer, we won't be able to get back to the ship tonight."

“Then let’s change direction.” Chen Hao patted his pants. “Listen to Nana, head southeast. The slope there is gentler, the soil is firmer, and it’s less likely to collapse.”

The group regrouped, with Nana leading the way, each step carefully calculated. She scanned the ground structure at low power, avoiding soft areas. The others followed behind, maintaining distance and refraining from touching the plants unnecessarily.

After walking for twenty minutes, the surrounding trees began to grow denser, and sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting patches of light on the ground.

"This place looks like a place where people can still live." Chen Hao stomped his foot on the ground. "At least you won't sink into the earth with one foot."

“The soil has good load-bearing capacity,” Nana confirmed. “It has a high organic matter content, which is suitable for plant growth.”

"Is there anything edible?" he asked.

As soon as she finished speaking, Susan stopped in the bushes on her right.

“Look at this.” She squatted down and pointed to a small tree.

Several orange-yellow fruits, about the size of a fist, were hanging on the tree. Their surfaces were smooth, and the edges of the leaves shimmered with a faint silver light.

"It looks quite healthy." Chen Hao leaned closer. "It's just that the leaves are too shiny, like they've been painted."

“I’ll collect one.” Susan put on gloves, carefully picked a fruit, and put it into a sealed bag. “Let’s do the composition analysis first.”

Nana took the bag and turned on the portable spectrometer. A few seconds later, a data stream appeared on the screen.

"The main components are sugars, vitamin C, and citric acid," she read aloud. "No neurotoxins, excessive heavy metals, or hallucinogenic substances were detected. The pulp is stable and edible."

"Does that mean it's edible?" Chen Hao's eyes lit up.

"According to the procedure, we need to observe a small amount of sample first." Nana took out a small piece of fruit pulp and put it into the testing chamber.

"Two hours?" Chen Hao sighed. "I'm so hungry I could eat rocks."

“You’ve always been like a stone,” Carl said.

"I'm the rounder type."

Two hours later, the testing chamber showed no abnormal reactions. Nana was allowed to try the food.

Chen Hao was the first to raise his hand: "I'll go. Anyway, I'm the fattest, so I won't get poisoned."

He took a bite; the flesh was crisp, and the juice burst out.

"Wow." He chewed, "Sweet, a little sour, like a wild pomelo."

"Don't swallow too quickly," Susan reminded him.

“I’m not a pig.” He said, then took another big bite. “This time it’s really delicious.”

The others took turns trying some. Carl said it was a bit astringent, Susan thought it was very juicy, and Nana just recorded the taste data.

“This can serve as a short-term supply.” Susan picked the remaining fruit and put it in her backpack. “I’ll pick a few more plants later and see how they’re distributed.”

"Our fruit stand on the island is opening soon," Chen Hao patted his belly. "The sign will be called 'Fat Brother's Orchard'."

“Nobody’s buying,” Carl said.

“You don’t understand the market,” Chen Hao shook his head. “Hunger is the best advertisement.”

As you continue walking, the terrain gradually descends, the rocks become more numerous, and the vegetation becomes sparser.

Karl, who was walking on the flank, suddenly stopped.

“Wait.” He bent down and parted a clump of moss. “It’s wet here.”

He touched the green velvet growing in the crack of the stone with his finger, and his fingertip got wet.

“It’s not just wet,” he said. “There’s a sound inside.”

Everyone gathered around. Listening quietly, they could indeed hear a faint sound of flowing water, as if it were coming from under the rocks.

"Groundwater?" Susan asked.

Nana scanned the stone wall: "The fissure is about 1.5 meters deep. There is flowing liquid below, with a slow flow rate and a temperature of 13 degrees Celsius."

"Can I drink it?" Chen Hao asked.

"Sampling and testing are required."

Carl and Chen Hao worked together to remove the rubble blocking the crevice. After digging for less than ten minutes, a stream of clear water slowly seeped out and flowed down the slope.

Susan took a bottle, and Nana tested it with a reagent strip.

"The pH value is 7.1, the microbial content is below the safety standard, and there are no harmful chemical residues," she said. "It can be consumed directly."

"My God." Chen Hao scooped up some water to wash his face, then took a big gulp. "It's much better than the water stored on the ship."

“This is groundwater filtered by the mountain,” Nana said. “The source is probably in the highlands in the center of the island.”

“Then we won’t have to worry about drinking water anymore.” Carl used his tools to dig a small hole and direct the water into the container. “If we make a channel, we can store quite a lot.”

"Your skills are quite good," Chen Hao said. "I'll make you the Minister of Water Resources later."

“I’m not doing it.” Carl tightened the bottle cap. “The pay is too low.”

With the water problem resolved, the atmosphere became much more relaxed. Chen Hao even started humming a song, completely off-key.

"Are you in a good mood right now?" Susan asked, looking at him.

“Of course,” he said. “Food and drink, fresh air, and I haven’t been eaten by monsters yet. The pinnacle of life.”

"Don't make any promises you can't keep," she cautioned.

"I'm just telling the truth."

Further south, the ground became harder, almost entirely composed of exposed rock. There were far fewer plants, only a few scattered mosses growing close to the ground.

As Chen Hao was walking, his heel kicked a rock that was half-buried in the ground. He didn't pay attention to it and continued walking, but the rock loosened, turned over, and revealed its internal cross-section.

Silver-gray with a metallic sheen.

"Huh?" He squatted down and dug the whole rock out.

“This thing is unusual,” he said. “It’s not like an ordinary stone.”

Nana took a look, her eyes flashing rapidly.

"Preliminary scans show that the ore contains manganese, iron, and titanium," she said. "It has a dense structure and compressive strength more than three times that of ordinary granite, making it suitable for forging."

"Does that mean it can be used to make things?" Chen Hao asked.

“It can be used for tool reinforcement or structural repair,” Nana nodded. “If the reserves are sufficient, it can replace some metal materials.”

"We're rich!" Chen Hao grinned. "This isn't just rock, it's ore!"

“Don’t get too excited,” Susan said. “One piece doesn’t mean the whole area is.”

"Let's try digging." Chen Hao had already picked up his tools and started chiseling at the rock strata next to him.

Others joined in. Using crowbars and hammers, they painstakingly cleared away the surface rubble. Soon, they discovered a vein of minerals buried underground in the area; although narrow, it was of uniform texture.

“We can take at least five or six pieces.” Carl picked up one piece. “Enough for repairing the ship.”

“Mark the location.” Nana opened the resource map. “I’ve marked it as a high-value gathering area.”

Susan bagged and numbered the samples, while Chen Hao clung to a piece of ore, refusing to let go.

"We've struck gold," he said. "We can brag about this for three years to come."

“You’ve been bragging about this every year,” Carl said.

"This time it's for real."

They sorted through the harvest on the spot. Susan stored the plant samples and soil separately, Carl reinforced the drainage structure at the water intake point, and Nana updated the resource distribution map, marking three key areas: fruit orchards, water source fissures, and mineral zones.

"Where to next?" Carl asked.

"Let's look deeper in," Chen Hao said, wiping his sweat. "We might find some gold."

“Gold doesn’t grow on the ground,” Susan said.

"What if it grows long?" he laughed. "You have to have dreams."

The team set off again, advancing along the gentle slope into the island. The sunlight shone on the rocks, creating a blinding reflection.

As they reached the edge of a grove of low trees, Chen Hao suddenly raised his hand.

"stop."

Everyone else stopped immediately.

The bushes ahead are swaying.