The water splashed on his face, feeling as cold as if someone had poured a bucket of water freshly drawn from a well onto his nose.

Chen Hao was thrown forward, his back slamming heavily against the main beam of the raft, feeling as if someone had lightly tapped his bones with a hammer. He didn't cry out, not because he could hold it in, but because all the air in his lungs had been knocked out. He coughed a couple of times before recovering. He still gripped the pole tightly in his hand, his knuckles white, as if afraid it would grow wings and fly away.

The rock wall above suddenly rose, and the cave passage that had been oppressive opened up, revealing a wide expanse of water. The water was as flat as a polished stone slab, with only fine ripples at the edges.

"A lake?" he said hoarsely. "Have we fallen into a bathtub?"

Nana stood at the stern of the raft, her mechanical arm slightly adjusting its angle, the blue light in her eyes flashing intermittently. She didn't turn around, her voice as steady as if she were reporting the weather: "The terrain is closed, about 300 meters in diameter, with natural cracks at the top allowing light to pass through, and the water flow speed has dropped to less than 0.3 meters per second."

"So...we survived?" Chen Hao slowly released his grip on the rope ring and stretched his numb shoulders. "I thought we were going to rush straight into the Earth's core to fuel the planet's generator."

“Your analogy consumes more energy than the system can comprehend.” Nana finally turned her head, blue light sweeping across his soaked collar. “A slight oscillation reaction has been detected. It is recommended that you remain seated for at least ten minutes.”

"I'm fine." He waved his hand, tried to stand up by supporting himself on the wooden board, but his knees buckled and he almost knelt down. "My legs are just a little unresponsive. I probably used too much force just now and ruined my lower body."

He slowly moved to the side of the raft, holding onto the main beam, and looked down at the water. It was pitch black, but near the shore, something was glowing.

The pale blue light, in small clusters, looked like someone had scattered a handful of breathing stars.

"What's that?" He squinted. "A meeting of mushrooms? Or fluorescent fish eggs stuck to a rock?"

Nana crouched down, and the optical lens zoomed in, shrinking the pupil-shaped blue light into a thin line. "Plant community, densely distributed along the lake shore, with luciferin analogues on the leaf surface, presumably used for energy capture in low-light environments."

Speak like a human.

"They rely on weak light for photosynthesis, and luminescence is a byproduct."

Chen Hao stared at the blue light, then suddenly grinned: "So this place doesn't need to pay for electricity? And it can even be used as a nightlight?"

"The lighting efficiency is less than seven percent of that of traditional lamps."

"Hey, don't dampen my spirits." He rubbed his face, his energy gradually returning. "We just narrowly escaped death, and here's an underground garden right outside our door. What else would you call a surprise but a delightful one?"

Nana didn't reply, but instead raised her arm and released a metal sphere the size of a fingernail. The thing slid out silently, flying low over the water like a mechanical dragonfly, darting back and forth along the lakeshore.

“Detection in progress,” she said. “Simultaneous analysis of air composition, soil moisture, and microbial activity.”

"You carry drones with you everywhere you go?" Chen Hao clicked his tongue. "If I had known, I would have let you launch a few more. We could have made an aerial documentary. I've even thought of a title—'The Adventures of Two Unlucky Guys on a Deserted Planet'."

"The priority has been set as environmental safety assessment."

"Alright, it's serious business again." He sighed, then suddenly pointed to the right front, "Wait! Did that vine over there move?"

Nana quickly turned the camera. There she saw a clump of blue-purple vines wrapped around a rock that was half-exposed in the water, with water droplets condensing on its surface. As the air moved, the vines seemed to undulate rhythmically.

“Non-active motion.” She observed for a moment, “It’s physical deformation caused by airflow disturbance and moisture evaporation.”

"But it looks like it's panting."

Your perception is affected by fatigue.

“I’m not just perceiving it, I just feel… it’s quite vibrant.” Chen Hao scratched his head. “How many years have these plants been growing here? No one waters them, no one fertilizes them, and they only get sunlight from the scraps that leak through, yet they’re thriving better than the potted green ivy on my balcony.”

"The self-consistency of ecosystems is higher than that of similar environments on the Earth's surface."

"Translate it."

"They can live perfectly well without the help of creatures like you."

"Hey, that sounds a bit harsh, doesn't it?"

Nana retracted the detector, and the data stream scrolled rapidly in her eyes: "Initial assessment indicates no aggression; no toxin release or predatory structures were detected. Some root secretions possess antibacterial properties, which may be helpful in wound treatment."

Chen Hao's eyes lit up immediately: "Can it cure diseases?"

"The pharmacological activity has not yet been verified."

"But is it possible?"

"The possibility exists."

"That's a treasure!" He slapped his thigh, almost knocking himself over. "We're almost out of Band-Aids, and now a bunch of plants with self-disinfecting properties have appeared. Isn't this a godsend? It's like a home doctor for a desert planet!"

"Caution is advised when handling this product."

“I know I can’t just gnaw on it.” He chuckled. “I’m not a starving rabbit. But… could I pick a leaf to take back and study first? Just touch it, I won’t pick it.”

"The raft is currently drifting southeast, about twelve meters from the nearest plant. The water depth is gradually decreasing, and there may be silt deposits at the bottom."

"You mean...we need to dock?"

"If it tries to go straight, it is expected to hit the bottom and run aground in five minutes."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Chen Hao grabbed the pole and planted it on the side of the raft. "Let's go!"

He gently touched the water with the pole to adjust the direction. The raft slowly turned and glided towards the glowing vines. As the water became shallower, the outline of the lake bottom gradually became clear—dark stones were scattered on the grayish-white sediment layer, and some flocculent material that looked like humus swayed gently with the current.

"Slow down," Nana reminded, "There's a protruding rock at the three o'clock position on the left, about forty centimeters high."

"Received." Chen Hao carefully controlled the force, making sure the pole didn't go more than half a meter into the water each time, for fear of stirring up waves and capsizing the raft.

Just as the raft was about to reach the shore, the tip of the pole suddenly hit something hard.

A soft "ding" sounded.

He paused for a moment, pulled the pole back, and looked down. On the muddy ground, several translucent fragments were embedded in the sediment layer, their edges sharp, gleaming faintly with a purple hue in the dim light filtering through the cracks overhead.

"What's this?" He bent down, reached out, and gently picked out a shard of glass. "A piece of broken glass?"

Nana took the sample and flicked a tiny beam of light from her fingertip across its surface. "It's mainly composed of silicon dioxide, with trace amounts of lanthanum and cerium. It has a crystallinity of 87% and a hardness close to quartz."

What can it do?

"It can be processed into simple lenses, cutting tools, or signal reflective surfaces."

Chen Hao blinked, then suddenly burst out laughing: "Have we stumbled into a mineral supermarket? Plants can fight bacteria, stones can be polished, is the next thing we'll see an automatic barbecue grill popping up?"

No heat source generating device has been detected so far.

"What a pity." He clenched the crystal in his palm, feeling its coolness. "Otherwise, I could grill a skewer right now to celebrate that we didn't die under the waterfall."

Nana stored the sample in the spare compartment and glanced at the shore. "The plant community has a wide coverage area and the preliminary statistics show that there are seventeen species, six of which are previously unknown."

“There are plenty of things I’ve never seen before.” Chen Hao leaned on the pole and stomped on the solid mud beneath his feet. “Last time I said hot pot broth could cure a cold, and you said you’d never seen that before. And what happened? I got better, and you still didn’t believe me.”

"You took fever reducer that time."

"That was a coincidence."

"The data does not support the conclusion of coincidence."

"Fine, I'll never win an argument with you." He looked up at the patch of deep blue vines, then suddenly reached out his hand. "Hey, tell me... can I touch it? Just a touch, it won't damage the ecosystem, right?"

Nana paused for two seconds, then the blue light flashed once: "Limited contact is allowed, but the location and time must be recorded for subsequent contamination investigation."

"You really think I'm a lab rat?" he muttered, slowly reaching out his hand.

When the fingertip was still two centimeters away from the vine, the blue light suddenly flickered slightly, as if it had sensed something.

Chen Hao's hand froze in mid-air.