The wind was still blowing, carrying sand that pattered against his protective suit. Chen Hao raised his hand to wipe his face; sweat mixed with dust clung to his forehead, leaving his palms blackened. He took two steps forward, then suddenly slowed down.

The fog ahead is thinning.

The terrain gradually opened up, and the once undulating wasteland came to an end. On the distant horizon, a crooked silhouette appeared.

It is neither a mountain nor a pile of stones.

It is the remains of a building.

Susan stopped too. She didn't speak, but her body stiffened. Carl looked down at the signal booster, then looked up at the ruins, his brow furrowed.

Nana's optical lens rotated slightly, activating scan mode. A few seconds later, her voice rang out: "Target ahead confirmed as the main base area. Structural damage rate 76.3%. Energy tower collapsed, main control room exterior collapsed, helipad buried."

No one responded.

The data was calm, but it hit me like a dull thud.

They walked back, their minds focused on repairing the core to save everything. Now, all that's left is a charred skeleton.

Chen Hao slowly took a few steps forward and stood on a collapsed concrete slab. His gaze swept over the location of the dormitory building—only half a wall remained standing there, all the windows were gone, and the power lines dangled from the steel bars like withered vines.

The canteen roof had completely collapsed, and the chimney was broken in two, lodging diagonally in the mud. The communications tower was still standing, but the antenna was bent into an L-shape, swaying slightly in the wind and making a soft creaking sound.

“This…” Karl began, his voice a little hoarse, “We were fine when we came down.”

“It was caused by the tsunami,” Susan said softly. “Add to that the tectonic vibrations, and the protective wall couldn’t hold up.”

Chen Hao squatted down and grabbed a handful of dirt. It contained broken glass and a small piece of charred plastic. He squeezed it, and bits of ash leaked through his fingers.

“The land is still there,” he said.

Then he stood up and clapped his hands. "The root isn't broken. The signal is still there in the underground level, which means the main control room base hasn't collapsed. The cables are messy, but not all of them are broken. The data we brought back is usable, and the crystals aren't damaged."

He turned to look at the three of them. "The house collapsed, but we survived and got our things back. This isn't starting from scratch; it's just moving to a different place and continuing the work."

Carl looked at him. "Aren't you upset?"

"It's awful." Chen Hao nodded. "Of course it's awful. I was just thinking of having stewed meat for our first meal, and now we don't even have the pot."

Susan's lips twitched.

"But after feeling terrible, we still have to eat," Chen Hao grinned. "We can't rebuild on an empty stomach, can we?"

Nana's interface: "Atmospheric quality has returned to safe levels, and radiation is at zero. The external environment is stable and suitable for long-term stays. The energy network can be restarted through the remaining nodes, with an estimated availability of 41%."

"Forty percent?" Karl frowned.

"It's better than nothing," Chen Hao said. "We weren't particularly comfortable even when we used up 80% of our capacity. If we're careful, it'll be enough to get by."

He looked up at the sky. The clouds were low and grayish, but they didn't seem to be pressing down.

“I used to think that if I could lie down, I shouldn’t stand up,” he said. “Then I realized that if I lay down, I would be buried. It’s the same now. If we don’t move, this pile of stuff will just be scrap metal forever.”

Susan clutched the protective bag, her fingers gently tracing its edge. She stared in the direction of the dormitory area, where she had lived for five years; now even the doorframe was nowhere to be found.

“I thought I was going to cry,” she said.

“I didn’t cry either,” Chen Hao said. “I was probably too tired, and I couldn’t cry.”

Carl looked down at his toolbox, opening and closing the zipper repeatedly. "What's next?"

"Let's go in first," Chen Hao said. "Let's see what else we can use."

He walked forward, his foot screeching as it stepped on a twisted metal plate. The others followed.

The closer you get, the clearer the details become. The walls are blackened with soot, and the cracks are filled with mud and rags. A delivery truck lies overturned on the side of the road, the driver's side door open, and the seat pulled out. A glove lies beside the wheel, with a hole in the fingertip.

Chen Hao walked around a pile of collapsed scaffolding and reached the main gate. The original automatic gate was gone, leaving only two broken steel beams lying on the ground, as if they had been forcibly pried open.

He stood at the doorway, lifted his foot, and stepped over it.

The boots landed on the floor inside, leaving a clear footprint. Dust rose, lingered in the light for a moment, and then slowly settled.

Behind him, Susan stepped over. She stood next to Chen Hao, looking at the open space in front of them. This used to be a training ground, covered with a non-slip coating, but now it was cracked into several pieces, with a raised section in the middle, as if something from underground had risen up.

Carl was the last to enter. He paused, glancing at the wasteland outside the door; the wind was still blowing, swirling dust as he ran forward. Then he looked away and stepped into the base.

Nana walked last. The light on her right arm flashed steadily green as the scanner continued to run. She stood beside the steel beam, the optical lens scanning the surroundings, marking the locations of several recyclable devices.

“The eastern warehouse section is structurally intact,” she said. “It has sheltered interiors, making it suitable for temporary placement.”

"Let's not go there yet," Chen Hao said. "Let's go take a look down at the control room."

“The road is blocked.” Carl pointed ahead. “It’s collapsed over there, the passage is blocked.”

“Then let’s dig,” Chen Hao said. “We’re not in a rush anyway.”

He finished speaking and walked on, passing a fallen flagpole. The flag was gone, only half a rope remained hanging there, swaying gently in the wind.

Susan suddenly stopped.

“Wait,” she said.

She bent down and picked up something from the ground. It was a metal plaque, its edges bent and its surface charred, but words could still be seen engraved on it.

"This is... my employee ID."

Chen Hao looked back and said, "Wow, it's pretty sturdy."

“I thought it was long gone.” Susan gripped it tighter. “Turns out it was lying right here.”

"That means it doesn't want to leave," Chen Hao said. "Just like us."

They continued walking towards the main building. The path was littered with debris, and they had to be careful with every step. A wrecked robot lay in the corner, its head severed, its body still connected to electrical wires.

Nana glanced at it as she walked by, "The model number is 320 years old, which matches the wreckage found along the way."

"It's that again?" Chen Hao frowned. "Why are these things everywhere?"

“I don’t know,” Nana said, “but its presence within the base area indicates that it has carried out missions.”

"Who sent them?" Carl asked.

"I don't know." Chen Hao kicked away a stone at his feet. "We can't ask him now."

Large sections of the main building's exterior wall had peeled away, exposing the steel reinforcement inside. Half of the stairwell had collapsed, with the remaining section hanging precariously in mid-air. Chen Hao went around to the side and found an emergency exit leading underground. The iron door was deformed and stuck in its track.

“We have to pry it open,” he said.

Carl took a short crowbar from his bag and handed it to Chen Hao. Chen Hao took it, inserted it into the gap, and pressed down hard. The door creaked and moved half an inch.

“Again,” he said.

The two of them worked together. The door was finally pushed open, revealing a downward staircase. There was a damp smell in the air, but no musty odor.

Nana turned on the lights, and the beam shone in. The steps were fairly intact, but after descending a dozen or so steps, they turned a corner and disappeared from sight.

“You can go down,” she said.

Chen Hao took a breath and wiped the dust off his face. "Let's go, let's see if our old hideout is still there."

He was the first to step inside. His footsteps echoed in the narrow space. The others followed, one after another.

As you descend to the corner, a crack appears in the wall, but it doesn't go all the way through. Further down, the ground becomes drier. At the end is an alloy door with scratches on its surface, but it wasn't blown open.

Chen Hao reached out and pushed the door, but it didn't budge.

“It’s locked,” Carl said.

"Is there electricity?" Chen Hao asked Nana.

"A weak current was detected, suggesting that the backup power supply may still be operating."

“That means he’s not completely dead.” Chen Hao laughed. “Get me a wrench.”

Carl pulled an adjustable wrench from his toolbox. Chen Hao took it and tapped it twice against the hinge near the door seam. The metal made a dull thud.

The door loosened a little after the third tap.

“It works!” he said.

He hit it a few more times, and the hinge began to deform. He inserted the wrench deeper and pried it open with force.

With a click, the door popped open a crack.

Chen Hao, panting, reached out to pull. The door was pulled open halfway, then stopped, but wide enough for a person to pass through.

He bent down and crawled inside.

Inside was the underground buffer zone of the main control room. A control panel lay on the floor, its screen shattered, but the main unit was still humming. An emergency light in the corner flickered red.

“The power supply is alive.” Susan walked in and quickly went to the main unit. “The data module is also here.”

She removed a memory chip, blew off the dust, and put it into a protective bag.

“The things we brought back can be connected,” she said.

Chen Hao leaned against the wall and slid down to sit on the ground. "Alright. At least it wasn't a wasted trip."

Carl inspected the ventilation ducts. "The air exchange system can still be repaired. We just need to replace the filter."

Nana stood at the doorway, the scanner continuing to run. "Three secondary nodes have been detected still responding. Basic monitoring functionality can be restored upon reconnection."

"Did you hear that?" Chen Hao looked up. "We still have a home."

He remained seated, but a smile appeared on his face.

“I used to think building planets was crazy,” he said. “Now I see, building a base is nothing. It’s much easier.”

Susan glanced at him. "Aren't you afraid at all?"

"I'm scared," Chen Hao said, "but I have to do it now, even if I'm scared."

He leaned against the wall to stand up, walked to the control panel, and placed his hands on it. Dust clung to his palms, but he didn't wipe it off.

“From today onwards, this place belongs to us,” he said. “If it collapses, we’ll rebuild it; if it breaks, we’ll repair it. We’re not leaving.”

He turned to look at the three of them. "Who's with me?"

Susan tied the protective bag tightly and nodded.

Carl packed up his tools and said, "I've come this far, where else can I go?"

Nana's light shone steadily, "I am always with you."

Chen Hao smiled.

He raised his hand and slapped the control panel.

With a snap, dust rose up again.