The tear in the protective suit grew larger and larger at his shoulder blade. Chen Hao stopped, reached inside, and turned the inner lining fabric over to cover the hole. He looked down at it and said, "This suit is more fragile than my life."

Susan walked ahead and heard but didn't turn around. "But you still wore it the whole way."

Carl, who was inspecting the antenna of the signal booster, paused when he heard this. He didn't speak, but his shoulders relaxed a little.

Nana stood a little further away, and the optical lens swept across the three of them. "The current environmental radiation level continues to decrease, and the walking speed can be maintained at eighty steps per minute."

"I'll listen to you." Chen Hao patted his leg and continued walking forward. "Anyway, you're more accurate than GPS now."

No one answered. The wind blew across the wasteland, carrying the smell of dust and making their protective suits rustle. They had been walking for almost two hours, and the path beneath their feet had turned from rock to a scree slope, and beyond that was a patch of cracked mud, with fissures crisscrossing like burnt paper.

Chen Hao suddenly chuckled.

"Do you guys remember when I first went down the well, I tripped and fell, and my face hit the control panel directly?"

Susan finally turned to look at him. "I remember. The alarm went off for three minutes, and you said the system recognized you, and you were so excited."

“I’m telling the truth,” Chen Hao shrugged. “That thing calls the police as soon as it sees me. What else could it be but fate?”

Karl looked up. "Back then, you said that repairing the core was a suicide mission, and anyone who went would be a fool."

"I'm telling the truth," Chen Hao said, shrugging. "Now I also think it was a suicide mission, but we were lucky and didn't die."

"So you're not afraid now?" Susan asked.

"Yes, I'm scared," Chen Hao nodded. "But there's no use being scared now. I can't just sit in the cave and wait for the old folks to die."

He took a few more steps and kicked a stone away. "I used to think that if I could lie down, I wouldn't stand up, and I could just coast along. But as I coasted along, I realized that I had to move. If I didn't move, I would really be gone."

"So you were forced into it?" Karl asked in a low voice.

“Right.” Chen Hao grinned. “You only know how high you can jump when you’re backed into a corner. Looking back now, I admire myself—I was so fat, yet I could still climb the inclined ladder in one go.”

Susan said softly, "You have indeed changed."

“It’s not just him.” Carl looked down and fiddled with the antenna. “I’ve changed too. I used to think that plans had to be perfect, one wrong step and everything would fall apart. But this time, which step was right? It was all made up on the spot. The crystal cracked and we sealed it with glue, the power was cut off and we used scrap wire to fix it, even the startup rhythm was something you got by banging on the wall.”

"As long as the rhythm is strong, that's fine," Chen Hao laughed.

“But these makeshift solutions actually worked in the end.” Carl looked up. “I didn’t believe in these things before. Now I do.”

The wind suddenly picked up, stirring up dust that rustled against her protective suit. Susan clutched the protective bag tightly; the crystal inside glowed quietly.

“Do you know what I fear most?” she said. “It’s not energy shocks, it’s not landslides, it’s discovering that what I’ve learned is completely useless. I spent five years at the base, read all the energy archives, and could recite the parameters of three hundred reactors. But when I actually got to the site, my first reaction was to look for the books.”

"And then?" Chen Hao asked.

“Then I realized that there were no books.” She smiled. “I could only use tree branches as crowbars and battery boxes as shields. Knowledge is not on paper, it is in your hands. If you don’t use it, it doesn’t belong to you.”

"So you're a hands-on practitioner now?" Chen Hao raised an eyebrow.

"I guess so," Susan nodded. "I used to think you guys were too rough around the edges, but now I know that being rough can also help you survive."

Nana remained silent. The light on her right arm stabilized, and the scanner continuously updated the terrain data ahead. After a while, she spoke: "According to the mission log, team collaboration efficiency has increased exponentially."

"What do you mean?" Chen Hao turned his head.

"Initial decision-making took an average of four minutes and thirty-six seconds, which was reduced to fifty-eight seconds in the later stages. Resource utilization increased from 32 percent to 89 percent. The survival probability model showed that the success rate of the final stage was 6.7 percent – ​​which was actually achieved."

"Only six percent?" Karl frowned.

“The initial forecast is 0.2,” Nana said.

Chen Hao laughed heartily, "So, we did something with an even lower probability than winning the lottery?"

“To be precise,” Nana paused for a second, “you created the possible from the impossible.”

"Rely on what?" Susan asked.

Nana turned her lens to her, "Data shows that rational decision-making accounts for less than 40%. The remaining behaviors cannot be categorized into standard coping patterns."

"I don't understand." Chen Hao waved his hand. "Speak human language."

“I cannot quantify ‘trust’ and ‘courage’,” Nana’s voice remained calm. “nor can I explain why you chose to return to the controlled zone after the core impact. Logically, evacuation would have been the optimal solution.”

"Then why are you still following me?" Carl asked.

“My program requires obedience to instructions,” Nana said, “but I choose to execute them. This isn’t an order; it’s my own judgment.”

All three of them were stunned for a moment.

"You...choose?" Chen Hao's eyes widened.

“Yes.” Nana nodded. “After the seventh system counterattack, I analyzed the behavioral patterns of all members. Despite injuries, exhaustion, and damaged equipment, you persisted in advancing your objective. This illogical persistence is referred to in the database as ‘human adaptive evolution.’”

"So we've evolved?" Chen Hao laughed.

“Yes,” Nana replied. “Your performance defied conventional survival strategies, yet you achieved the desired result. According to records, the probability of generating ‘illogical beliefs’ in such environments is as high as 89%. I believe this is the core factor behind your success.”

"So," Chen Hao said slowly, "we won by 'blindly believing'?"

“To be precise,” Nana looked at him, “it’s ‘choosing to believe’.”

The air went still for a moment.

Then Chen Hao suddenly raised his hand and slapped his thigh, "No wonder I always felt like I had a special chance—turns out I'm an evolved being."

“You’re just lucky,” Susan rolled her eyes.

"Luck is also a part of strength," Chen Hao said confidently. "Otherwise, how come others didn't evolve, but I did?"

“You haven’t changed at all.” Karl shook his head. “It’s still the same mouth.”

"Words are weapons too." Chen Hao patted his chest. "Look at how I've gotten by with my mouth all this time."

Susan snorted, "Don't expect me to believe you can save my life by banging on the wall next time."

“But it really did save lives,” Chen Hao laughed. “You have to believe it whether you want to or not.”

They continued walking. The ground gradually leveled out, the cracks lessened, and a thick fog obscured the distance, making everything invisible. Their footsteps echoed on the hard earth, one after another.

Carl suddenly said, "I didn't believe you could lead the team before."

"Do you believe me now?" Chen Hao asked.

“Now I think,” Carl said, looking ahead, “that even lazy people can get things done, as long as they don’t mess things up at crucial moments.”

"When have I ever messed up?" Chen Hao feigned grievance.

"You got stuck the first time you entered the well."

"That's a design flaw! The passageway is too narrow!"

"You're too fat."

"This is biodiversity!" Chen Hao shouted. "Besides, I've lost five pounds, haven't you all noticed?"

“I’ve found it,” Susan sneered. “It’s all evaporated sweat.”

“That’s still weight loss!” Chen Hao insisted.

Nana suddenly stopped.

"Metal debris has been detected 500 meters ahead, and its model matches that of the underground robot."

Chen Hao stopped laughing and walked over to look at the map she was projecting. A small red dot was flashing.

"Another old model?" he asked.

“Yes,” Nana replied, “the production batch was 320 years ago.”

How did it get here?

No one answered.

Chen Hao stared at the map for a while, then reached out and turned off the projector.

"Never mind that for now," he said. "We'll talk about it when we get back."

The team resumed moving. The wind pushed them from behind, causing their protective suits to flutter. The sky was overcast, with low-hanging clouds, but there was no sign of rain.

Chen Hao walked at the front, his steps much steadyer than before. He no longer looked around or complained about being tired. His shoulder still ached, but he didn't mention it again.

Susan followed in the middle, her hand constantly protecting the protective bag. Carl checked the signal booster, confirming the antenna was secure. Nana brought up the rear, her optical lens continuously scanning the surroundings.

They didn't say a word, but the atmosphere was different.

Chen Hao suddenly spoke up: "Do you think we can be considered to have changed our fate this time?"

"What fate?" Susan asked.

“We were destined to die,” he said. “Normally, we should have been blown up, collapsed, flooded, or thrown out and smashed into pieces. But we weren’t. We repaired the core, came out, and are still alive.”

"So?" Carl asked.

“So I think,” Chen Hao looked up at the fog in front of him, “some things are not predetermined. If you don’t try, it will never work. But if you try, it might just work.”

He paused for a moment, then said, "I'm not a hero, just someone who drifts through life. But now I know that when you can't make it big, you have to push through."

Susan said softly, "When did you become so talkative?"

"When you're under a lot of pressure, you always come up with new skills," Chen Hao laughed. "For example, I can now think about what to have for dinner while I'm walking."

"Is food all you can think about?"

“You need to be well-fed to have the strength to rebuild,” he said confidently. “The first meal must be meat, canned stewed potatoes, and a bowl of hot soup.”

Carl sighed, "Your goal is too low."

“It’s low-key but practical,” Chen Hao laughed. “It’s better than shouting slogans, like ‘For the future of humanity’—who can understand that?”

They walked through a patch of withered grass, the ground beneath their feet beginning to soften. The distant horizon remained shrouded in mist, its outline invisible.

Chen Hao suddenly stopped, bent down, picked up a small stone, and threw it forward. The stone landed very softly.

He straightened up and took a deep breath.

“Let’s go,” he said. “Let’s go home.”