Chen Hao's left hand was still burning hot, his skin taut as if it were about to crack. He leaned back in the chair in the corner of the medical room, his fingers twitching as he reached for the pen in his pocket, but his arm was pressed down as soon as he raised it.

Nana stood before me, a new syringe attached to the end of the robotic arm. "You can't move," she said. "The toxins haven't been completely eliminated yet."

“I know,” Chen Hao’s voice was a little hoarse, “but I have to see how they are doing.”

Carl lay on the left side of the bed, a damp cloth covering his face, muttering something. Susan sat on the right side of the bed, looking down at the red spots on her arm, gauze scattered all over the floor.

Nana didn't say anything more, turned around and walked to the central control panel, pressing a few buttons. Three medical pods activated simultaneously, and a pale blue light swept over the three of them.

"Begin detoxification." She reported the data: "Karl's neurotoxin concentration is four times the standard, requiring three rounds of filtration; Susan's facial tissue has slight necrosis, requiring continuous anti-inflammatory treatment; Chen Hao's left arm has peripheral nerve paralysis, but no deep damage."

Before he could finish speaking, Carl suddenly sat up and yanked the cloth off his face. "My mom...made braised pork..." His eyes were still closed, but his hands twitched in the air, "And another bowl of rice..."

Susan looked up and frowned: "He has a fever again?"

"His temperature is 39.7 degrees Celsius." Nana walked over and gently pressed him back onto the bed. "Hallucination stage, normal reaction."

"Don't let him talk for too long." Chen Hao stood up, supporting himself on the chair. "Talking too much will make him dehydrated."

Nana glanced back at him. "You shouldn't be standing there either."

"I'm fine." Chen Hao shook his right hand, which was still usable. "My hand is just numb, but my mind is clear."

Nana ignored him, took a tranquilizer from the medicine cabinet, and injected it into his arm. The cold liquid entered his vein, and Chen Hao groaned.

"This thing is even more potent than the last one."

"This is to suppress nerve excitation." Nana put away the syringe. "If you're not calm, your heart rate will rise, which will affect the detoxification efficiency."

"Can I ask you a question?" Chen Hao leaned against the wall. "Have the materials been put into the workshop?"

“Susan has already handed it over.” Nana pulled up the surveillance footage. “The sealed box has been registered and put into storage, and the label says ‘For Groundhog Use Only’.”

Chen Hao grinned, then realized his face was a little stiff. "I'm poisoned too, aren't I?"

"Yes." Nana nodded. "The facial muscles are temporarily out of control, but are expected to recover within two hours."

"So I'd say I'm handsome?"

"According to database comparison, your appearance score has dropped by 32 percent."

"Ouch." Chen Hao pretended to clutch his chest. "It's worse than I expected."

Susan heard this and chuckled softly. "You still know you're as fat as a ball?"

“That’s different.” Chen Hao turned to look at her. “That’s because of its size advantage, which makes it more resistant to wind.”

“Then you can go gather materials by yourself next time.” Susan touched the gauze on her face. “I’m not going to go crazy with you.”

"If you don't accompany me, who will carry my backpack strap?"

“You carry it yourself,” she rolled her eyes. “Anyway, you can carry Karl.”

The mention of Karl caused a moment of silence in the ward. He lay in bed, his breathing becoming heavy, and a layer of sweat beading on his forehead.

Nana approached to examine the patient, and the optical lens flashed. "The high fever has worsened; it needs to be brought down."

She opened a drawer, took out a metal patch, and stuck it to the side of Karl's neck. A chill immediately spread, Karl shivered, and stopped muttering "braised pork."

"Will it get better?" Susan asked.

“Yes,” Nana said. “His physical condition is good, and his toxin metabolism rate is 15 percent faster than expected.”

"That's good." Susan breathed a sigh of relief. "Otherwise, I really would have had to treat him to ten meals."

"Are you serious?" Chen Hao turned to look at her.

“It’s fake,” Susan sneered. “I’d even think it’s too expensive for one meal.”

“You humans express your emotions in a strange way,” Nana said while adjusting the IV drip rate. “You clearly care about someone, but you express it in a negative way.”

“This isn’t emotion,” Susan corrected. “It’s understanding.”

“Yes.” Chen Hao nodded. “For example, if I say ‘I don’t want to live anymore,’ I actually mean ‘I want to sleep.’”

"So, do you not want to live anymore?" Nana asked, looking at him.

"Almost." He closed his eyes. "I'm exhausted."

Nana didn't ask any further questions, but instead turned on the thermostat. Warm air slowly blew out from the corner of the room, and the room temperature gradually rose.

Susan pulled her feet into the bed and hugged her knees. "It's a little cold."

“It’s a side effect of the medication.” Nana handed her a thermal blanket. “Everyone will experience a brief period of hypothermia, which will subside within ten minutes.”

Karl suddenly raised his hand and touched his face. "I'm not dead, am I?"

“No,” Nana replied. “You were just bitten by bugs, not blown to pieces.”

"That's alright." He grinned, revealing his white gums. "I thought I'd lost my mind."

“If you fly away, we’ll have to spend money to bring you back.” Chen Hao opened his eyes. “The base doesn’t reimburse soul retrieval fees.”

“Then you’ll have to be careful with your money,” Carl said slowly. “People like me are hard to find.”

“Yes,” Susan sighed, “a bold fool paired with a fat idiot, a perfect match.”

“Hey,” Chen Hao protested, “I’m the boss.”

"So you're leading us to our deaths?" Susan glared at him.

"Didn't I bring you back alive?" Chen Hao shrugged. "Look, we got the box back, and no one was missing—although Karl was almost gone."

“I’m tough.” Carl lifted his foot, trying to pick up the pen that had fallen to the ground with his toes. “I’ve always been able to fall down the stairs as a child and then fall asleep and be fine.”

Instead of holding the pen, her foot slipped, and she tilted towards the edge of the bed.

Susan reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. "Stop messing around, or I'll gag you if you get another fever."

"Are you willing to do that?" Karl grinned. "You just said you'd treat me to dinner."

“I meant ten meals of braised pork, not that I’m treating you,” Susan said coldly. “You’re the one treating me.”

"Okay, okay." Karl waved his hand. "Once I can walk again, I'll treat you to instant noodles for a month."

"That's more like it."

Nana stood to the side, silently recording the changes in each person's vital signs. Her optical lens swept across the wall, stopping at the crooked smiling face that Chen Hao had drawn earlier.

She walked over, took out a marker, and added a triangle next to it.

"What are you doing?" Chen Hao asked.

“A mark,” she said. “This is the first ‘belief mark.’”

"You actually remember?"

“Important events need to be archived,” Nana said. “From now on, we’ll draw a symbol for each completed project. Anyone who violates this rule will have to clean the toilets.”

"Wait a minute." Chen Hao sat up straight. "How come the rules have become two-way?"

"It's been in effect since you drew your first stroke." Nana put away her pen. "It's been entered into the system and cannot be undone."

"So I walked right into a trap?" Chen Hao smiled wryly. "I thought it was just some random drawing."

“You’re usually careless,” Susan said, “but you didn’t mess it up this time.”

"Thank you for the compliment." Chen Hao leaned back. "I'll take the lead again next time."

“I’m not going next time,” Carl yawned. “I’m going to stay home and lie in bed.”

"Where do you live?" Susan asked.

“Here it is.” He patted the bed frame. “This bed is quite comfortable.”

"We'll talk about it when you can get out of bed." Nana walked back to the control panel. "After the final round of medication, you can get out of bed and move around, but strenuous exercise is prohibited."

She pressed the confirmation button, and all three machines emitted a low beeping sound simultaneously. The medicine flowed into her body through the tube, and only the ticking sound remained in the room.

Chen Hao stared at the ceiling, his eyelids growing heavier and heavier. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again.

Susan hummed a line from a song softly, the tune old-fashioned, like a folk song she'd heard as a child. Nana's ears twitched slightly, and she quietly opened her music playlist.

A gentle melody began, its volume so low that it just drowned out the machine noise.

Carl's fingers tapped lightly on the edge of the bed, keeping time with the rhythm. Susan closed her eyes, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Nana stood in the middle, watching them relax one by one.

She dimmed the lights a bit.

No one spoke, no one moved. Only the sound of breathing rose and fell, slowly calming down along with the synthesized old song.

The wind outside had long since stopped. The alarm lights were off, and the corridor was quiet.

Chen Hao's hand hung limply at the edge of the chair, his fingertips touching the floor. He dreamt that he was walking in a field, holding a hoe, with three shadows following behind him.

When he woke up, he found himself still in the medical room.

Nana was tidying up the remaining medicine tubes as the robotic arm retracted into place. Susan was leaning against the bed, almost asleep, while Carl was already snoring.

He moved his hands and found that his left hand could bend.

I tried to stand up; my legs felt a little weak, but I could hold on.

He walked to the wall, picked up a pen, and wrote a date under the smiley face.

Then she turned around and asked in a low voice, "Where to next?"

Nana looked up at him.

"The workshop," she said. "Farm tool making, starting today."