Chen Hao stared at the red dot on the screen, his finger pressing slightly on the control stick. The spaceship was still ascending, the altimeter numbers constantly fluctuating. Outside, it was already mostly dark, the clouds drifting haphazardly like torn cotton.

"Let's put the Dawn's problems aside for now," he said. "We can't worry about who's who right now."

Nana stood in front of the control panel, watching the data stream scroll back and forth in her eyes. She didn't speak, she just nodded.

Susan huddled in the corner of the passenger seat, her hand resting on the camera control panel, her eyes never leaving the right-side radar window. Carl crouched next to the power supply box in the rear cabin, holding a test pen, occasionally glancing up at the voltage fluctuation curve.

"That patch is the densest up ahead," Chen Hao pointed to a dense cluster of red dots. "We have to sneak past it from the side."

“The deflection angle has been calculated,” Nana said. “It is recommended to maintain the current thrust and make minor adjustments to the course every fifteen seconds.”

"Okay, you give me the message and I'll do it."

The spaceship began to sway slightly from side to side, like a fish weaving through reefs. A meteorite swept past to the left front, less than three hundred meters from the fuselage. Another, slightly smaller one struck the shield, exploding in mid-air into a dark flash.

"The shield energy has dropped to 68%," Karl warned.

"Use it sparingly," Chen Hao replied. "If it really hits hard, this shield won't be enough."

They continued flying forward. Time passed second by second, and the density of the meteorite swarm gradually decreased. As they were about to leave the main meteorite belt, the atmosphere in the cockpit relaxed slightly.

Just then, the alarm went off.

It wasn't a long horn, but a short "beep," followed by the red light turning on.

"Impact on the starboard aft side!" Nana immediately pulled up the structural diagram. "Small meteorite impact, outer armor cracked, sealing reduced by 12 percent."

Chen Hao pushed the control stick hard, quickly leveling the spacecraft's attitude. The fuselage swayed a few times, but finally stabilized.

"Is it leaking air?" he asked.

“The life support system is currently functioning normally,” Nana said after scanning the area. “However, the crack is widening and must be repaired as soon as possible.”

Carl stood up and clapped his hands. "I'll go take a look."

He turned and walked to the changing area, put on his light maintenance suit, slung his tool bag over his shoulder, and climbed through the inner hatch to the outer interface. A few minutes later, his voice came through the communication channel: "Damage location confirmed, near the right rear thruster support, the tear is about one meter long and about fifteen centimeters wide."

"Can it be repaired?" Chen Hao asked.

“We don’t have enough materials.” Carl’s voice was calm, but his tone was a little heavy. “We only have half a tube of standard sealant left, and only one composite patch. In terms of area, it can only cover two-thirds at most.”

There was a moment of silence inside the cabin.

“Then let’s look for something else,” Chen Hao said. “There are always some odds and ends on the ship that we can make do with.”

“The old cargo hold may contain experimental polymers.” Nana pulled up the supplies distribution map. “Storage locker number C-7 is marked as ‘Waste Material Test Sample’.”

"Then hurry up and go check it out?" Chen Hao turned to Susan. "You and Carl go together, and hurry up."

Susan responded, grabbed her flashlight, and headed towards the rear cabin. Carl also returned from the external interface, and the two disappeared one after the other at the end of the passage.

Nana stood in front of the control panel, which displayed three windows: a ship structure model, a materials database, and a materials compatibility analysis table. Her fingers slid rapidly across the panel, constantly filtering for available alternatives.

“The circuit board insulation layer can be used for temporary sealing,” she said. “The pressure resistance and ductility are barely up to standard. There’s also the coating resin from discarded pipes, which has strong plasticity after heating and is suitable for filling irregular cracks.”

"They all sound like they were picked out of a garbage dump," Chen Hao muttered.

“We’re in a garbage dump right now,” Nana said.

Chen Hao grinned but didn't reply. He placed his hands on the control stick, his eyes fixed on the airspace ahead. The meteor shower was already behind them, but atmospheric turbulence was still affecting flight stability. The spaceship would occasionally shudder slightly, as if it had been tapped on the outside.

He raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead and found that his fingertips were a little wet.

"Is the navigation system still holding up?" he asked.

“The flight path is stable,” Nana said. “The automatic obstacle avoidance system is off, but I have connected the manual warning mechanism, which will immediately alert me if a high-speed moving object appears.”

"Okay." Chen Hao nodded. "Don't surprise me again."

The sound of a metal box being opened came from the rear cabin, followed by the sound of plastic packaging being torn. Susan's voice came through: "C-7 has been found. There are several sealed bags inside, labeled 'P-9 modified resin' and 'X-type flexible insulating film'."

“These are them,” Nana replied. “Take the samples back to the main cabin, I’ll do some quick testing.”

“Carl said the bag is a bit brittle, I don’t know if it’s still usable.” Susan paused. “There’s also a metal box, it’s rusted and can’t be opened.”

"Use a wrench to break it open," Chen Hao said. "Anyway, this ship won't be working for many more days, so don't worry about breaking things."

Another clinking sound followed. Then, footsteps approached from afar.

Carl carried two sealed bags into the cockpit and casually placed the metal box on the control panel. Susan followed behind, holding a testing device.

Nana took the bag, tore open a corner, and poured a trace amount of powder into the analysis cell. A few seconds later, the results appeared on the screen.

“41% of the P-9 resin remains active, and its tackiness can be restored by heating it to 60 degrees Celsius,” she said. “The physical properties of the insulating film decrease, but it can still be used as an auxiliary reinforcement layer.”

"That's enough." Chen Hao breathed a sigh of relief. "Hurry up and fix it. I don't want to hear the hissing sound of leaking air in the middle of the night."

Carl nodded and put his maintenance suit back on. This time he brought an extra heating gun and a set of clamps. Susan helped him check the oxygen supply system, and after confirming that everything was normal, she opened the outer hatch.

It was pitch black outside, with only a few distant stars twinkling coldly. The spaceship continued its slow journey, its fuselage vibrating slightly.

Carl climbed out of the cabin, secured the safety rope, and slowly moved to the damaged area. He first softened the edges of the crack with a heat gun, then squeezed in resin. The colloid bubbled as it slowly filled the gap. He then applied an insulating film, pressed it down with clamps, and heated it to set.

"The first layer is complete," he reported. "Prepare to add the second layer."

"Shield energy has dropped to 59 percent," Nana warned. "External electromagnetic interference has increased."

"The wind is getting stronger." Chen Hao looked at the attitude gauge. "The boat is rocking more violently than before."

"Hang in there," Carl's voice came from outside. "Just one last step."

He took out the rusty iron box and pried open the lid with difficulty. Inside was a roll of silver-gray material with a blurred label.

"What is this?" Susan asked through the camera.

“I don’t know.” Karl touched it. “The material looks like a shape memory alloy mesh, but I’ve never seen the model before.”

"Let's see if it works," Nana said. "If the thermal conductivity and ductility are up to standard, it can be used as an outer layer reinforcement."

Carl cut off a small piece and clamped it in the testing clamp. The data showed that it had a high melting point, excellent tensile strength, and could automatically expand and close when heated.

“Perfect,” he said. “Use it.”

He laid the metal mesh over the repaired area and heated it again. The silvery-gray mesh slowly unfolded, adhering to the crack surface like a layer of skin.

"Repair complete," Carl said. "Initial inspections show no leaks, and the structural strength has been restored to 85 percent."

"Come back," Chen Hao said. "At least we can catch our breath."

Carl untied the safety rope and slowly climbed back into the cabin. He took off his maintenance suit and tossed it aside in a corner; his face was covered in dust, and there was a bit of resin stuck to his forehead.

Susan handed him a bottle of water. He unscrewed it, took a sip, and coughed twice.

“Repairing this wrecked ship is more tiring than dismantling it,” he said.

"You dismantled it?" Chen Hao asked.

“Last time at the Mars station, someone stuffed half a bag of potatoes into the engine,” Carl wiped his face. “They said it was to keep it dry.”

"That makes sense." Chen Hao nodded. "Potatoes do absorb water."

Nana was still checking the system status. Suddenly, she stopped.

“The temperature at the crack repair site is abnormal,” she said. “The outer metal mesh is heating up, currently at 78 degrees Celsius, and it continues to rise.”

“What?” Karl frowned. “Impossible. That material can withstand temperatures of 3,000 degrees Celsius.”

“But it’s getting hot right now,” Nana said, pulling up the infrared image. “And… it’s vibrating slightly.”

Chen Hao stood up and walked to the screen. The repaired area showed irregular red patches, as if something was moving inside.

"Is there something stuck to it?" Susan asked.

“There are no foreign objects attached,” Nana said. “The heat source comes from inside, and the frequency… is like a signal pulse.”

The three of them fell silent.

Chen Hao slowly turned his head to look at her: "What did you say?"

“This metal mesh,” Nana stared at the data, “is receiving some kind of signal.”