When communication was restored, Nana was staring at the waveform on the screen.

The signal noise, like a cut thread, suddenly disappeared. The readings on the main control panel stabilized again, and the radar spot remained motionless at 792 kilometers away.

Chen Hao leaned back in his chair, his fingers still resting on the communicator switch. He glanced at his wrist—the spot where he had tapped the table was a little red, but it didn't hurt.

“Karl? Susan?” He pressed the call button.

A faint buzzing sound came through the headset, followed by Karl's voice: "Roger that, we're fine, in the equipment bay. The antenna automatically switched off high-sensitivity mode after calibration, otherwise it would have burned out long ago."

"What about the asteroid?" Chen Hao looked up at Nana. "Was that wave of impact aimed at us?"

“I’m not sure,” she said. “But its resonant frequency has changed. It’s now in a continuous release state, unlike before when there were intervals.”

"So, it wakes up as soon as we send a signal?"

"More accurately, it was stimulated."

Chen Hao grinned, "Goodness, we knocked on the door, and it turns out the person inside has a snoring so loud it could collapse the house."

Susan's voice broke in: "What should we do now? Continue to observe or evacuate?"

“The observation cost is too high.” Nana pulled up the 3D model. “If the navigation system is exposed to the current interference intensity for a long time, the error will accumulate to 0.3 degrees per hour. After six hours, the course will deviate from the predetermined trajectory by more than 15 percent.”

“Then we’ll just have to do one job.” Chen Hao stood up and walked to the control panel. “Get close, take a sample, seal it off, and shut it up.”

Carl paused for two seconds, then said, "You mean... just take one back?"

"It's not like we're stealing ancestral tablets, what's wrong with taking a few stones?" Chen Hao shrugged. "Anyway, they don't sell tickets."

“The risk lies in the approach process.” Susan pointed to the radar image. “That thing has an unstable surface and obvious gravitational field fluctuations. If the spaceship gets too close, it may be hit by debris.”

"So we won't get too close." Chen Hao looked at Nana. "Can you calculate a safe distance? Is 300 meters enough?"

“Three hundred meters is enough to avoid most high-speed projectiles.” She nodded. “The maximum extension length of the robotic arm is two hundred and eighty meters, which is sufficient to collect surface samples.”

“Then it’s settled.” Chen Hao made the decision. “Activate the outer shield to prevent impact. I’ll control the robotic arm. You all take your positions.”

No one objected.

A few minutes later, the spacecraft began to slowly turn, its thrusters spewing pale blue flames as it adjusted its attitude to align with the asteroid.

The control system emits a low-frequency warning sound, indicating that it has entered the high-risk area automatic early warning mode.

“Shield fully charged,” Susan confirmed.

"Robotic arm self-test passed," Carl reported.

“Target locked,” Nana said. “We recommend sampling in the exposed ore vein area on the east side, where the reflectivity is highest, indicating a concentrated metal content.”

Chen Hao sat back in the control seat and gripped the control lever with both hands. His right arm was still a little sore, and the place where he had strained himself while turning the valve was throbbing with pain, but he didn't utter a sound.

The spaceship moved forward slowly.

The radar range has been reduced from 800 kilometers to 500 kilometers, and then to 350 kilometers.

"Stop advancing," Nana warned. "This is the optimal point to work."

The engine shut off, and the ship hovered.

The main screen switches to the external camera feed. In the pitch-black space, an irregularly shaped ellipsoid floats silently, its surface riddled with craters, and several cracks gleam with a dark red glow.

"That light... did it emit itself?" Chen Hao asked.

“Energy dissipates from within the mineral,” Nana explained. “It’s similar to geothermal energy, just in a different form.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a fist-sized rock on the asteroid's surface suddenly bounced up, arcing through the air before crashing into a pumice rock in the distance and shattering into dust.

The alarm sounded once and then went off.

“This is just the beginning.” Susan stared at the dynamic monitoring chart. “There is a local collapse every three to five minutes, and the fastest speed can reach sixty meters per second.”

"Let it clear its throat first," Chen Hao said, releasing the lever. "No rush."

They waited for ten minutes. During that time, there were three more instances of flying debris, the most recent coming within forty meters of the ship.

“There are still forty-seven seconds until the next interval.” Nana calculated the pattern. “I suggest starting the robotic arm at the twenty-seventh second and completing the grab in the fourth motion cycle.”

"I'll listen to you."

The countdown has begun.

Chen Hao took a deep breath and put his hands back on the control stick.

Twenty-five, twenty-six...

The robotic arm slowly extended from the side of the ship, like a slender metal arm, with each joint unfolding one by one.

27.

“It moved!” Susan whispered.

The robotic arm accelerates forward, heading straight for the target ore vein.

At 30 seconds, a shower of debris suddenly exploded on the other side of the asteroid, and the shockwave caused the spaceship to shake slightly.

"Hold on!" Chen Hao gritted his teeth and slightly adjusted the direction with his fingers.

The robotic arm traced an arc in the air, avoiding the two floating rocks.

Thirty-eight seconds later, the end clamp reached above the ore vein.

"Get ready to grab it," he said.

Forty seconds later, the clamps closed and successfully embedded themselves into the crevice in the rock.

"Hold on tight!" He yanked the retreat command.

The robotic arm quickly retracted, taking a fist-sized piece of ore off the surface.

Just as it was about to retract into the hull, another wave of debris flow erupted, with a rock half a meter in diameter rushing straight towards it.

"Shield Interception!" Susan pressed the emergency button.

The energy barrier deployed instantly, and the rocks crashed into it, exploding into a cloud of dust.

The spacecraft wobbled, but the robotic arm remained undamaged and successfully delivered the sample into the sealed chamber.

“Samples are in storage,” Carl confirmed. “Airtight door closed, inert gas filling complete.”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Next," Chen Hao looked at Nana, "how do we mute it?"

“Shielding is necessary,” she said. “This mineral continuously emits low-frequency electromagnetic waves, and the transmission path must be blocked.”

Are there any readily available shielding containers on board?

"No. But it can be modified."

Who made the move?

Karl raised his hand: "I'll go. The electronics bay has a high-permeability magnetic alloy liner; it wouldn't be difficult to take it off and make a cage from it."

"how long?"

"Forty minutes."

"Then go quickly." Chen Hao waved his hand. "Nana and I will keep an eye on the data, and Susan will record the process."

Carl left the main control room.

The remaining three people stayed in front of the control panel.

Although the samples have been isolated, the monitoring instrument still shows slight fluctuations, with the values ​​hovering around the normal threshold.

“It’s still humming.” Chen Hao stared at the curve. “The sound has gone down, but it hasn’t stopped.”

"This means the shielding is incomplete," Nana said. "It must be completely sealed off."

Forty minutes later, Carl returned carrying a silver-gray metal frame, with power cords and a mounting bracket trailing behind.

“It’s installed,” he said. “It has a multi-layered structure and the grounding points have been dealt with. It should be able to suppress the signal.”

"Give it a try," Chen Hao said.

They transferred the ore from the sealed chamber to the newly made shielded box, closed the lid, and tightened the bolts.

The waveform on the external monitoring screen began to decline.

Ten seconds later, the fluctuations were reduced by half.

Twenty seconds later, only sporadic pulsations remained.

Thirty seconds, completely reset.

All abnormal prompts on the main control panel disappeared, the navigation system was recalibrated, and the heading lock was successful.

The communication channel clearly displayed background white noise without any interference.

"It's alive." Chen Hao leaned back in his chair. "This damn rock has finally shut up."

Susan closed her notebook: "The source of the interference has been eliminated, and the system is back to normal operation."

Nana clicked a few times on the panel and marked the event as "resolved".

"What's next?" Carl asked.

"Let's keep going." Chen Hao stretched and twitched his arm. "What else can we do, leave it here and erect a monument?"

The spacecraft moved forward smoothly, and the engine hum returned to its regular rhythm.

It made controlling the atmosphere inside the room much easier.

Susan got up to make a drink, Carl checked the robotic arm's reset status, and Nana began her routine inspection of the equipment.

Chen Hao sat in the main seat, rubbing his right arm, a smile on his face.

He glanced out the window.

The asteroid gradually receded into the distance, becoming a blurry dark spot, and eventually blended into the darkness.

"Do you think it will be woken up by someone again in the future?" he suddenly asked.

Nana stopped what she was doing and turned to look at him.

“It’s possible,” she said.

"Will it remember us when it wakes up next time?"

“No,” she said. “It has no memory.”

Chen Hao smiled and didn't say anything more.

At this moment, Susan returned with three cups of hot drinks and placed one next to Chen Hao.

The cup tapped softly on the table.

The liquid sloshed, and a ripple appeared around its edge.