The blades inside the sealed container moved.

Chen Hao's fingers were still resting on the glass wall; the tremor was so slight it seemed like an illusion. But he was certain he had seen it—the purple leaf, its edges tapering slightly inward, like a person blinking.

"Nana".

"I am here."

"Didn't you say it was dead?"

Nana turned around, walked quickly over, and aimed the scanner at the can. She didn't say anything, but reached out and took the can away, her movements swift and decisive.

“Initiate Level 2 isolation,” she said. “Mark ‘abnormal activity’ and transfer to the shielded chamber.”

The jar was placed into a small silver-gray box, and the lid clicked shut as it closed. Nana pressed a button, and a red light came on.

“It won’t move now,” she said.

No one breathed a sigh of relief.

Carl leaned against the wall, stared at the box for a few seconds, and then spoke: "Shouldn't we be thinking about whether other things might suddenly come to life too?"

“Categorize them first,” Nana said. “Chaos will only increase the risk.”

She opened the built-in database and brought up the materials management template. The screen flashed, and a categorization list was generated: Directly usable, requiring further analysis, and high-risk awaiting sealing.

Three categories.

“The ore belongs to the first category,” she said. “It has a stable structure, contains rare metals, and is usable at the site.”

"Water and soil samples?" Susan asked.

"The second category requires testing for the presence of unknown microorganisms."

"Where are the fish?" Carl pointed to the glowing little fish in the incubator. "They're still metabolizing, so wouldn't you consider them alive?"

"We'll freeze it," Nana said. "After extracting the gene fragments, we'll seal the rest."

"What about the bird's remains?" Susan looked down at her notebook. "Torn tissue, but no signs of decay."

“Category 3,” Nana replied, “Restricted contact. Keep one sample, and seal the rest in a database.”

"It sounds like we're ranking fried chicken." Chen Hao stood up, patted his pants, and said, "I used to be too lazy to even sort takeout boxes, but now I have to write a resume for a dead fish."

Susan chuckled.

Carl shook his head: "You can joke around?"

"How can you live without joking around?" Chen Hao shrugged. "Are you moving stones while crying or putting on labels while wiping away tears?"

Nana had already begun her operation. She placed the shielding box in the corner, opened the locker, took out several transparent containers, and numbered them sequentially.

“Chen Hao, you’re in charge of moving the ore,” she said. “Put it in the stern storage area, sorted by weight.”

"Why me?"

"You have the best physical strength."

"I'm fat, okay! This is fat storage, not muscle!"

“Fat can also contribute to strength.” Nana said without changing her expression. “Besides, you just said that if you don’t want to move stones, you can move them while crying.”

Chen Hao rolled his eyes, but still walked towards the corner where the ore was piled up.

The first stone was grayish-black with a rough surface. He bent down to pick it up and almost lost his balance.

"This thing is heavier than a pig."

“Don’t insult pigs,” Susan whispered.

He moved step by step toward the stern, stopping to catch his breath every few steps. Sweat streamed down his forehead and dripped onto the deck.

Susan and Carl began sorting the small samples. They lined up the water sample bottles and labeled them: Area A (lake center), Area B (shore), and Area C (inlet). The insect specimens were placed in sealed bags and numbered d1 to d7.

“This insect has blue wings,” Carl said, holding the tweezers. “I’ve never seen this color before.”

“There are no named species on the island,” Nana said. “For now, we’ll call it the blue-winged beetle.”

"That's too perfunctory."

"We'll wait for the research team at the base to decide on a name," she said. "Right now, we're only responsible for bringing them back; we're not responsible for naming them."

"Can I give it a nickname?"

"cannot."

Carl scoffed, "You're such a robot."

“I am an executor,” Nana corrected, “not a pet.”

Chen Hao returned carrying the third piece of ore and plopped down on the ground.

"I declare that I'm already halfway to the grave," he gasped. "If I move another piece, I'll be lying flat."

"There are only two left," Nana said.

"You know better than I do?"

"I counted them."

"You even remember this?"

“I remember everything,” she said, “including that you stole some of the reserve rations yesterday.”

Chen Hao was stunned: "...I found that bag of cookies!"

"It fell into the crevice of the deck; you hid it last week."

"Are you monitoring me?"

"I record everything that affects the task."

"I want to file a complaint."

"invalid."

Susan laughed out loud: "You two are arguing like the neighbor ladies fighting over vegetables."

Carl laughed too: "One holds a grudge, the other reneges on debts, a perfect match."

Chen Hao waved his hand: "I quit, I'm going on strike."

“No pay for strikes,” Nana said. “Besides, you don’t get paid anyway.”

"You're still bringing this up?"

"Statement of facts".

He stood up again, gritted his teeth, and went to move the last piece of ore. This one was heavier, and as soon as he lifted it, his foot slipped, and the stone fell.

"careful!"

He suddenly turned to the side, the stone hitting the deck and shaking the entire ship. The water sample tank was knocked askew, the bottle opening loosened, and a little liquid leaked out.

"It's over." Chen Hao stared at the puddle of water. "Did I destroy the evidence?"

“No.” Nana immediately stepped forward. “The bottle is not broken, and the contamination area is under control.”

She took out a cleaning cloth, quickly wiped the floor dry, and then checked whether each bottle cap was tightened.

“Slow down next time,” she said. “Fatigue can lead to mistakes.”

"I know," Chen Hao gasped, "but I really can't do it anymore, this job isn't for me."

“Then let’s switch,” Nana said. “For the next half hour, you and Karl will switch tasks.”

“I’ll move the stones,” Carl said, stretching his shoulders. “You go and put on the labels.”

"I protest!" Chen Hao raised his hand. "I'll put the labels on the wrong ones!"

“Then be careful.” Susan handed him a stack of labels. “Write down the number and the collection location clearly.”

"My handwriting is ugly."

"As long as it doesn't affect recognition, it's fine."

Chen Hao took the pen, squatted down in front of the lab bench, and began to write. His handwriting was crooked and messy, like earthworms crawling across mud.

"d3...d4...wait, what comes after d again?"

“It’s a number,” Nana said.

"I know it's numbers! I'm asking about the order!"

"By collection time".

"Then I'll have to check the records."

He was flipping through Susan's notebook when he accidentally knocked over a pen, which rolled to the corner of the table.

"Can you be a little more steady?" Susan sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"I'm already pretty steady!" he argued. "I'm just... not very good at finesse."

“Then you’re better suited for manual labor.” Carl walked over carrying the ore. “You were quite accurate when you threw the stone just now.”

"Thank you for the compliment."

Nana stood to the side, her scanning eyes flashing slightly. She was updating the electronic ledger in real time, recording the status of every item in the system.

“Plant samples, shielding in progress,” she read in a low voice. “Water samples, seventeen bottles, all registered. Minerals, five pieces, stored. Insects, seven samples, sealed.”

“What about the bird remains?” Susan asked.

"Processing in progress." Nana opened the freezer and took out a flat box. "The tissue sections have been extracted, and the remaining parts will be sealed in the cryogenic chamber."

"Not leaving a complete corpse?" Chen Hao looked up.

“No need,” Nana said. “Research only needs data.”

"You make it sound like you're killing a fish."

"Similar in essence".

"You're so cold-blooded."

"I am not human."

These words silenced everyone for a moment.

After a moment, Carl broke the silence: "Actually... you're quite reliable."

Nana did not respond.

She continued, placing the box into the special container, closing the lid, and pressing the latch.

The red light is on.

"High-risk items have been sealed up," she said.

Chen Hao finally finished affixing the last label and let out a long breath: "I hereby declare that the most difficult classification work in human history has been completed."

“There are still some ledgers that haven’t been checked,” Nana said.

What is a ledger?

"Records list".

"Oh, that?" He waved his hand. "You can handle it. I trust you."

"Trust cannot replace verification."

"Are you trying to work me to death?"

“You can rest,” she said. “Wait until the others finish.”

"Aren't you going to rest?"

"I don't need it."

"Can't you just pretend to rest for a bit? At least give me a reason to lie down."

"cannot."

He sighed, sat down on the edge of the deck, took off his shoes, and emptied the sand. The sea breeze, salty and refreshing, blew against his sweaty neck.

The setting sun dyed the sea orange, and in the distance, the waves gently pushed the boat to its sides.

Susan was checking the last set of data, the pen scratching softly across the paper. Carl reinforced the last storage box, clapped his hands, and looked out at the sea.

"This trip was worthwhile," he said.

"Although I was almost scared to death by the birds," Chen Hao said.

“We brought back quite a few things too.” Susan looked up. “At least next time we come, we’ll know what to guard against.”

Nana stood in front of the lab bench, the scanning light still flashing. Her system was still running, and data archiving was still in progress.

"Resources that are allocated reasonably are the real wealth," she said.

Chen Hao looked up at her: "What did you say?"

“I said, your shoes still have mud on the soles.”

He looked down and sure enough, there was a piece of black mud stuck to the sole of one of his shoes, as if it had been brought back from the lake.

He stood up, trying to wipe it off, but found the mud was a bit hard and very sticky.

He rubbed himself hard on the deck twice.

It didn't fall off.

He shaved again.

It still hasn't fallen off.

He frowned, squatted down, and picked at his fingers.

A strange sensation came from my fingertips.

That lump of mud seemed to have moved slightly.