The stone shard left a shallow mark on the leather surface, which was quickly carried away by the night wind. Chen Hao stared at the mark as if he were looking at a typo he had just written and then immediately regretted.

He shrank his neck, the cold air creeping up his trouser legs, his feet numb from the cold against the stone. The sense of accomplishment he felt after finishing the task was now completely blown away by the wind, leaving only one question swirling in his mind: How exactly did this thing turn into clothes?

"Nana." He rubbed his hands together, his voice a little dry, "Aren't we standing at the starting point of human civilization's evolution now?"

"Based on current resources and technology, it's closer to the early stages of primitive tribes," she said calmly, as if reporting the weather.

“It’s a starting point, at least.” Chen Hao looked down at the spread-out pelt, its edges still stained with grass juice and blood, but it wasn’t as smooth as before. “You know… if we didn’t make a blanket, what if we made clothes? The proper kind, the kind you can wear out.”

“Feasible.” A blue light flashed in her eyes. “I suggest adopting a split structure to improve operational efficiency.”

"Two-piece set?" He was taken aback. "You mean a shirt and pants? Not a cape or a onesie sleeping bag?"

"Simulation data shows that when climbing, crouching, or moving quickly, the degree of restriction on joint movement is reduced by 63% with the two-piece suit."

Chen Hao frowned: "But wouldn't that mean cutting it open? If you cut the whole piece of skin badly, you can't glue it back together."

“The logic holds true.” She paused. “Therefore, I suggest starting with non-destructive planning.”

"Does that mean...draw the lines first?"

"yes."

He stroked his chin, suddenly feeling like a novice restorer about to work on a masterpiece painting, his fingers trembling with nervousness. But he had hunted for the painting himself, and the knife was sharpened on a stone; if he messed it up, no one would take the blame.

He bent down and picked up a thin blade of grass, trying to trace its outline on the rough surface. He'd barely placed a section when a gust of wind blew, and the blade of grass tilted. He then tried a stiffer blade, pressing it down with small pebbles to hold it in place, but the rough surface was too slippery, and the pebbles rolled off.

“This is harder than building a bridge with noodles,” he muttered.

Nana didn't reply, but the optical lens flickered slightly, casting a pale blue shadow that floated above the fur—a human-shaped outline, with the upper and lower parts marked separately.

"This is...my size?" Chen Hao looked up.

"Based on the data of limb extension during yesterday's battle, the error is no more than three centimeters."

He grinned: "Do you still remember the time I jumped up to avoid the tiger?"

"All actions were recorded."

"So you recorded me falling down too?"

"yes."

"Delete it."

"Cannot be deleted".

He sighed, stretched out his hand to measure his shoulder width, then measured his waist, only to find his hand wasn't long enough. He had to untie the rattan strip wrapped around his waist to use as a measuring tape. After measuring, he compared it to his skin, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

“Here’s the problem,” he said. “This piece of leather is too narrow even to make a cloak. If we cut it in half, will it be enough for the upper and lower body?”

"If a fitted design is used, it can barely cover the key areas."

"Barely?" He glared. "You want me to be fully clothed on top and have half my butt exposed on the bottom?"

"It can be optimized by adjusting the cutting ratio."

“But I have no scissors, no needle and thread, not even a proper rope.” He picked up a stone shard and tapped it on the ground. “The most useful thing I have right now is this broken stone. You want me to use it to sew a button?”

"The conditions for suturing are not currently available."

“That’s no use saying that.” He slumped down, leaning his back against the rock, and looked up at the sky. There were a few more stars than last night, and the moon was higher, casting a dark golden glow on his fur.

He suddenly felt that the skin no longer looked like a dead thing, but like the beginning of some possibility—although this beginning got stuck at the first step and couldn't move forward.

"What do you think people did in ancient times?" he asked.

Early humans used bone needles to suture animal tendons.

"Do we have them now?"

"none."

"How do they know where to make the cut?"

"Accumulated experience".

"We've only been here a few days?"

"Seventy-four days."

"Look, it's only been a little over two months, and you dare to talk to me about 'accumulating experience'?" He rolled his eyes. "By the time I've accumulated enough, I'll probably be frozen solid."

Nana paused for two seconds: "We can also refer to existing clothing samples."

Chen Hao sat up abruptly: "Wait, aren't there a few spare suits in the escape pod? They're pretty much tattered, but at least you can make out what they look like, right?"

"yes."

"Why didn't you say so sooner!"

"You did not submit a query request."

He opened his mouth, then closed it again, finally managing to utter only one sentence: "You robots are really something, so precise it makes me want to smash them."

"The system does not support emotional evaluations."

“I know.” He scratched his head. “Alright, we’ll go through that pile of rags tomorrow, at least we’ll know what clothes look like. But right now… can we decide on a direction first?”

"A split design has been recommended."

"I'm asking, do we really have to split it into two parts? Are there any compromise solutions? Like... a skirt with a tank top?"

"The risk of activity restrictions increases by 29 percent."

"What about the robe? Does it have a slit?"

"It is easy to get tangled in the legs when taking a step, and it is not conducive to heat dissipation and regulation."

"Can you stop using percentages and just tell me which one is the least troublesome?"

"split type."

He stared at the leather, as if he could see himself in the future, stumbling in the woods wearing ill-fitting clothes. But he also knew that now was not the time to be picky.

"Okay." He finally nodded. "I'll do as you say, a shirt and pants. But I need to practice first. What if I accidentally cut the sleeves into underwear?"

"It is recommended to use plant sap to mark the dividing lines."

“That’s a good idea.” He got up and rummaged around, picking a few dark berries, crushing them and applying them to the grass stems, then carefully placing them along the intended cut. This time, he used more pebbles to weigh down the ends and deliberately avoided the slippery areas on the rough surface.

Just as the shirt was arranged, a gust of wind swept by, and one of the grass stalks bounced up and fell into the pile of ashes next to it, turning black.

"Well," he said with a wry smile, "even God thinks I can't draw accurately."

Instead of starting over, he folded the entire piece of leather in half, roughly dividing it into upper and lower parts, and then used stones to weigh down the edges, temporarily putting it back in place.

"That's enough for today," he said. "My brain's too tired to process this."

He huddled in the sheltered spot on the rock, wrapped tightly in his tattered old coat, his eyes still fixed on the pressed-down fur. The fire remained unlit, but he felt a small flame burning within him, neither large nor intense, yet refusing to go out.

Nana stood still as the camera slowly panned across the surroundings, the blue light flickering steadily.

The treetops in the distance swayed, a leaf drifted down, landed on the edge of the fur, and was swept away by the wind.

“You said…” Chen Hao suddenly spoke, his voice very soft, “If we can make clothes with pockets in the future, the first thing I’ll put in is this grass stem line that you drew for me.”

He didn't receive a reply.

Because Nana's blue light suddenly turned northeast, the scanning frequency increased.

Chen Hao immediately shut up and reached for the stone axe stuck in the ground.