The moment the robotic arm stopped, the air seemed to freeze.

Chen Hao stared at the charred break, saying nothing. Nana reached out to examine the wiring, her fingers lingering on the damaged area for two seconds. Karl put the parts into his tool bag, zipping it up rather roughly.

"I'll have you try it after I've fixed it." He said and left, his back silhouetted against the doorframe for a moment before disappearing around the corner of the passage.

Only two people remained in the workshop. Test records lay spread out on the table; the fourth item was still unchecked. Chen Hao sat back down in his chair, the legs scraping against the floor with a short, sharp sound. He looked up at Nana, "We were so focused on the new stuff, did we forget to check the old stuff?"

Nana's optical module flashed. "You mean re-count the inventory?"

“It’s not just about counting things.” Chen Hao picked up a pen and circled something in his notebook. “Last time we modified the backpack, we only focused on the strength and weight of the materials, and no one thought about the stitching. But these things were already in the box.”

Nana nodded. "In theory, all registered supplies have been classified and evaluated."

“Theory doesn’t work.” Chen Hao tapped the table. “People will always overlook things.”

Just as she finished speaking, footsteps sounded at the door. Susan walked in carrying a gray storage box, the edges of which were worn white, and a label was curled up at one corner.

"I was tidying up the storage room and found a few things." She put the boxes on the table and dusted them off. "You probably didn't expect them to be useful."

Chen Hao glanced at the box. "What?"

“Let’s talk about this first.” Susan took out a flat metal sheet with burn marks on the edges and several thin wires attached to the back. “This is a capacitor array that was taken from an old communicator. It was originally going to be disposed of as scrap, but I kept it.”

Nana took it and ran her fingertips across the surface of the component. "The micro energy storage unit has a small capacity but high stability and can be used as a backup power source for emergencies."

"Can it be connected to the heating system of the new backpack?" Chen Hao asked.

“Yes, that’s fine,” Nana nodded. “We just need to add a voltage regulator module.”

“The second one.” Susan pulled out another wad of grayish-white fiber cloth. “This is a sample of the insulation layer from an early protective suit lining. It wasn’t used after the initial testing and has been sitting in a corner for almost two years.”

After scanning, Nana looked up and said, "The material's thermal resistance meets the current reinforcement requirements, making it especially suitable for use as a shoulder strap buffer."

Chen Hao laughed, "Doesn't this perfectly solve the problem we had last time with the fracture?"

“The third one.” Susan took out a sealed tube containing dark red soil. “It’s a sample collected during the early stages of exploration. The label is blurry, but I remember the collection point was on the edge of East Valley.”

“It has comparative value,” Nana said. “It can be used for subsequent environmental data calibration.”

Chen Hao leaned back in his chair and whistled, "If we throw these three things away, we'll have to find new materials and resample, which will take at least three days."

“We don’t need to anymore.” Susan pushed the box to the middle.

Nana immediately brought up the database interface. "Entering new entries, numbered S-089 to S-091, marked as 'High Potential Available Resources'."

“I used to think that only tools counted as supplies.” Chen Hao looked down and flipped through his notebook. “Now I realize that everything should be accounted for.”

Susan smiled. "I also found a few boxes that weren't labeled. When I opened them, the contents were all mixed together."

Which ones?

"The third cabinet on the right side of the living area has a mezzanine at the bottom."

Chen Hao stood up. "Let's go take a look."

The two followed her down the corridor. Karl was squatting by the workshop entrance, tightening screws. He looked up and asked, "Where are we going?"

"Check something," Chen Hao said.

"While you're at it, check if the red box is pressing on any electrical wires." Carl said without looking up, "So it doesn't short-circuit again."

"I've got it."

The storage room was dimly lit, and the shelves were neatly arranged, but several cabinet doors were not fully closed. Susan opened the third cabinet on the right, bent down and pulled out the bottom shelf, revealing a hidden compartment.

Inside lay a stack of silver patches, the packaging intact.

"First aid gel?" Chen Hao picked it up and looked at it. "There are still six months left on the shelf life?"

“It can last longer in this environment.” Susan flipped through the notebook next to her. “We thought we had used it all up, but we actually have one set left.”

"Enough to save three people." Chen Hao put the patch into his bag. "Keep searching."

Over the next half hour, the three of them emptied all three core storage lockers.

On top of the second cabinet, we found a copy of a hand-drawn map. The ink had faded, but the location of the water source was clearly marked.

“This place later collapsed,” Chen Hao pointed to the marker, “but there may be underground water veins underneath.”

“It can receive water collection devices,” Susan said.

"You're starting to look more and more like a logistics manager."

"I just don't want to lose anything anymore."

Nana stood in front of the terminal and quickly entered the new findings: "The supplies list has been updated, with seven new items added and the storage locations of three items revised."

"How will these things be managed in the future?" Chen Hao asked.

“I suggest establishing a two-tier review process,” Nana said. “All items awaiting disposal must be confirmed by two people before they can be disposed of.”

Who will keep an eye on things?

“I can,” Susan said, raising her hand.

“I can do that too,” Chen Hao said. “We’ll add five minutes to the morning meeting every day and take turns reporting any omissions.”

"OK."

Just then, Carl walked in, holding a sample of the modified shoulder strap. "The thread is new, with added sheaths, and the rivets have been changed."

"Have you tested it?"

"Five thousand bending simulations, no problem."

"It didn't burn this time?"

"The insulation layer had some slack, but the wiring was two millimeters loose."

"Details determine life or death." Chen Hao took the sample and tugged at it twice. "Your craftsmanship is more reliable than the blueprints."

“The drawings are correct,” Nana said, “but they lack the variables needed for actual use.”

“That’s why we need someone to look at it.” Susan handed over the record board. “This is what I just organized. I’ve marked the parts that are easy to overlook with color.”

Chen Hao glanced at it and said, "Red indicates high risk, and yellow indicates potential availability?"

"right."

"This will be how we do it from now on."

Nana simultaneously wrote the new rules into the system, "The material review process has been added to the daily task list."

How many things do we have that are currently unregistered?

"Initial investigation revealed twelve items," Nana replied. "Five of them have reuse value."

"Continue the investigation."

“It’s already underway.” Susan opened another booklet. “I’ve prioritized them by frequency of use, starting with kitchen supplies.”

"You really can't stay still."

“I’m not just bored,” she said. “I’m afraid that next time something else will break down.”

Chen Hao didn't reply. He knew she was referring to the time her backpack broke. It's not terrible for something light to break; what's terrible is when it breaks and nobody knows why.

Carl attached the new sample to the robotic arm. "Shall we measure it now?"

"Test".

The robotic arm started up, and the clicking sound resumed its rhythm.

A thousand times.

1,500 times.

Two thousand times.

When the number on the screen jumped to 2001, the connection point vibrated slightly.

Chen Hao narrowed his eyes.

The brightness of Nana's optical module has been improved.

Susan took a half step forward, her fingers resting on the edge of the table.

The robotic arm continued to swing.

Two thousand and three times.

There was no breakage.

There was no smoke.

The counter continues to go up.

"Is it stable?" Chen Hao asked.

“Currently normal.” Nana looked at the data stream. “Stress distribution is uniform, with no localized temperature rise.”

"It seems this time the change was really correct."

“That’s not all,” Carl said, staring at the machine. “Run it a thousand more times.”

"OK."

Susan picked up the whiteboard and ticked the "strap improvement" box.

Chen Hao stood against the wall, his hand in his pocket, when he suddenly felt a piece of paper.

He pulled out a yellowed label that read "Polar Expedition Issuance List," the handwriting illegible.

He didn't throw it away.

I folded it twice and stuffed it into the notebook.

The hallway lights outside were still flickering.

The vibration monitoring device showed that the latest fluctuation occurred 20 minutes ago, with the interval remaining stable at 25 seconds.

Nobody went to look at that machine.

Everyone stared at the robotic arm.

Three thousand times.

The curve on the screen extends smoothly.

Susan turned to the next page of the list.

“The next thing to check is the backup battery pack in the medical pod,” she said.

Chen Hao nodded. "The first thing tomorrow morning."

The robotic arm kept clicking.

The fourth thousandth time.

The connection remains intact.

Nana began preparing the parameters for the next round of testing.

Carl unbuttoned his coat.

Susan wrote a new note:

“All discarded components will be retained for at least seven days for a second evaluation.”

Chen Hao watched her hand as she wrote.

The pen tip paused for a moment.

She looked up. "What's wrong?"

"fine."

He turned and walked towards the door.

"I'll go check the red box."