It was just dawn, and the lights in the passageway were still flashing.

Chen Hao flexed his wrist; the green dot on his watch kept moving. He glanced behind him; Karl was wrapping the rope around his shoulder, round and round, without saying a word. Nana stood at the control panel, her fingers swiping across the screen; the new route had been synchronized and completed.

"Let's go," Chen Hao said. "If we don't leave now, we'll have to wait another day for the rain to come."

The three walked out along the metal corridor, their footsteps mingling together. A strong wind blew when the door opened, making them squint. Yesterday's mud hadn't completely dried, and the ground was covered in cracks.

They descended the south slope, where the terrain grew increasingly steep. Nana walked in the middle, stopping every few minutes to check the data. Her voice was steady: "There's a ditch about 300 meters ahead, about four meters wide, with signs of backflow at the bottom."

"Didn't you slip and fall off a rock here last time?" Chen Hao asked, looking up.

“Yes.” Nana nodded. “The structure is now even more unstable, so I recommend using a dual-anchor system.”

Carl didn't say anything, but took out a securing device from his bag and checked the connection. He first nailed one end into the rock face, tightened it to test the strength, and then signaled the two to follow. Chen Hao slowly moved over, holding the rope, when his foot slipped and he swayed.

"Don't move." Carl reached out and grabbed his arm.

"I'm fine, aren't I?" Chen Hao steadied himself and patted his pants. "See how steady I am?"

We crossed the first ditch without any problems. The second one originally had a simple bridge, but now only half of it was hanging in the air, and it was pitch black below, so we didn't know how deep it was.

“We’ll go around the western rift valley.” Nana pulled up a topographic map. “Although it’s narrow there, the rock strata are more intact.”

“Then let’s go that way.” Chen Hao turned around. “Anyway, there’s no other way.”

The rift entrance was half blocked by rubble, and it took Carl several minutes to clear a gap with a shovel. It was very wet inside, with water stains all over the walls and the ground slippery. The three of them shuffled forward along the left rock wall, their backpacks occasionally scraping against protruding rocks.

Halfway there, Nana suddenly stopped. "The frequency of the micro-vibrations has increased, exceeding seven times per minute."

"How long will it take to stop?" Chen Hao asked.

“It’s unpredictable,” she said, “but the risk of continuing increases by 39 percent.”

“Going back would be more troublesome.” Chen Hao looked ahead. “We’ve come this far; we can’t go back empty-handed.”

Carl nodded and continued probing forward. He tapped the ground lightly with the probe to confirm the safety of each step.

Finally, we emerged from the rift valley, and Sector G-12 came into view. A crooked building lay half-buried in the earth, its outer walls cracked into pieces, revealing the pipes and wiring inside. The wind carried a burnt smell.

“This is it.” Nana pointed to the location marked on the map. “The strongest underground current signal is about ten meters below the building.”

Carl turned on the portable detector; the screen flickered a few times and then went black. He tried again, but it still didn't work.

"The interference is too strong," he said. "The equipment is unusable."

Chen Hao squatted down to examine the instrument's interface and noticed it was somewhat blackened. "Is there a leak?"

“Possibly.” Carl opened the casing and saw that a small section of the internal wiring had burned out.

"Don't touch those bare wires yet," Nana warned. "There are intermittent electromagnetic pulses in this area; the one we just experienced might not be over yet."

"What should we do then?" Chen Hao stood up. "We can't just dig with our hands, can we?"

“Wait.” Nana closed her eyes, and the data on her chest panel began to scroll rapidly. A few seconds later, she opened them. “I’ve noticed a pattern—there’s a 40-second signal window every eleven minutes, when the interference is lowest.”

"So, we only have forty seconds to get to work?" Chen Hao frowned.

"To be precise, it's thirty-seven seconds of usable time," Nana said. "We have to prepare in advance."

Carl immediately took out his sampling tools from his bag and chose the lightest set. Chen Hao climbed up a section of collapsed wall next to him and found several broken wires.

"These things are still powered?" He wrapped his hand in a heat-insulating cloth and ripped off the main power line.

"Are you crazy?" Karl looked up.

"If we don't disconnect them, the interference will continue." Chen Hao stuffed the wire end into the crack in the stone, "At least to prevent them from jumping back and forth with electricity."

After completing these steps, they retreated to the safe zone to wait. Time ticked by, and the hum of the equipment's fans could be heard in the air.

Ten minutes later, Nana suddenly raised her hand: "It's starting."

Carl rushed out, heading straight for the crack in the corner of the building. There, a small, blue-glowing vein of mineral was exposed. He gripped the edge with pliers, gave it a few gentle shakes, and the entire crystal loosened.

Just as he was about to take it off, he heard a snapping sound from above.

A rock fell and hit the side, kicking up dust.

"Hurry!" Chen Hao shouted.

Carl pulled hard, and the crystal was in his hand. He immediately stuffed it into a sealed bag and turned to run back. He had only taken five steps when, with a loud bang, half of the crack collapsed behind him.

The three retreated to a distance, panting.

"Did you get it?" Chen Hao asked.

Karl nodded and held up the bag. Inside was a fist-sized crystal that glowed with a faint blue light, its surface covered with what looked like frost.

“The sample is complete.” Nana took the sample for examination. “Preliminary assessment indicates it matches the characteristics of a high-silicon composite.”

"So it's done?" Chen Hao grinned.

“It still needs testing,” she said, “but we can confirm that it has a self-healing tendency.”

The group began to walk back. It started raining, and the rain grew heavier and heavier. When they reached the middle of the mountain, a stream had turned into a muddy torrent, and the original path had been completely washed away by mud and rocks.

"Change routes." Chen Hao wiped the rain off his face. "Take the drainpipe."

The pipe was on the side of the mountain, its entrance covered by vines. Carl cut it open with his knife; it was low and narrow inside, requiring them to crawl in. The three of them squeezed in one after another, their knees and elbows scraping the ground.

The pipes were filled with water, and every few steps you had to cross a deep pit. Nana was at the back when she suddenly stopped.

“The sample temperature dropped too quickly,” she said. “The waterproof layer broke.”

Chen Hao looked back and saw a small hole in the corner of the sealed bag, through which water was seeping in.

“No, it needs to be kept warm,” he said. “Otherwise, the activity will be lost.”

Nana turned on the backup power and placed the sample into the temperature-controlled chamber. It was a palm-sized box that vibrated slightly when started.

"How much longer can we hold out?" Karl asked.

"Two hours," she said. "As long as they're back at base within two hours, that's fine."

They sped up. A section of the pipe collapsed, and Carl tied ropes to both ends, pulling everyone across. Chen Hao almost got stuck while crossing, but Carl pulled him over.

By the time we finally saw the exit, it was already dark. The rain had lessened a bit, but the wind was still blowing.

The base gate was just a hundred meters away. The three of them helped each other walk over, and the gate opened automatically.

The lights in the control room were on. Chen Hao placed the temperature-controlled chamber on the table, his hands trembling.

"Hurry up and get tested," he said. "I'm about to burst."

Nana connected the analyzer and placed a small piece of the crystal into the detection chamber. The screen lit up, and the data began to scroll.

The pressure resistance, conductivity, and corrosion resistance are all tested simultaneously. The progress bar advances slowly.

Six minutes later, the curve stabilized. There were no alarms, no red lights, and all values ​​fluctuated within the green zone.

"The maximum temperature it can withstand?" Chen Hao asked, staring intently.

"Two thousand three hundred degrees." Nana read the value. "It has been conducting electricity continuously for two hours without decomposition, and its performance exceeds the standard value by twenty-one percent."

The room was quiet for a few seconds.

"Is it really working?" Chen Hao's voice was a little hoarse.

“It’s true,” she said. “This mineral can remain stable in extreme environments, making it suitable for repairing core components of spacecraft.”

Chen Hao plopped down in the chair, leaning back against the chair. He chuckled but didn't say anything.

Carl stood by the table, looking at the intact crystal. He reached out to touch the sealed bag, then withdrew his hand.

"There's hope for repairing the ship," he said.

“It’s more than just hope.” Chen Hao sat up straight. “It’s a lifesaver.”

Nana started uploading the records, and new files kept popping up on the screen. She archived the information collected and marked it as "high priority available material".

"Next step?" she asked.

"Let's give this to the engineering team for a detailed analysis first," Chen Hao said. "Let them see if we can process it directly."

"Do you need me to provide the smelting parameters?" Nana asked.

"Of course I want to." Chen Hao slammed his hand on the table. "What other good stuff are you hiding? Quickly pour it all out."

She didn't laugh, but her tone softened slightly: "There are two other application cases of similar minerals in the knowledge base, which I can compile."

"That's right." Chen Hao stood up and stretched. "At least it wasn't a wasted trip."

Carl quietly packed up his toolbox. He wiped the pliers clean, put them back in their place, and checked the seal on the sampling bag one last time.

"Can we go to the same place again next time?" Chen Hao asked Nana.

“I don’t recommend it,” she said. “Geological activity in that area is intensifying, and it’s not suitable to go back in the short term.”

"Let's wait until it settles down before we go," Chen Hao said nonchalantly. "Anyway, we know where to find the treasure now."

He walked to the lab bench, picked up the test report, flipped through it, then tore it in half and threw it into the recycling bin.

“Start over,” he said.

Carl took a sip of hot water and sat down against the wall. His clothes were still dripping wet, and the soles of his shoes were covered in mud.

Nana continued entering data, and the charts on the screen kept updating.

Chen Hao stood in front of the control panel, staring at the spaceship's repair progress bar for a while, then suddenly turned his head and asked, "How long do you think it can last this time?"

Nana looked up at him.

"I mean, once the boat is repaired, how long can we survive?"