My palms were still hot, as if I were holding a freshly forged iron block.
Chen Hao didn't loosen his grip, nor did he dare to move. He was afraid that if he loosened his grip, the strange feeling of being in sync with his breathing would disappear. But what was even stranger was that his shadow was moving—not following him, but moving on its own, its edges trembling gently like ripples on water, its frequency exactly the same as his heartbeat.
“Did you see that?” His throat was dry and tight. “There’s something in my shadow.”
Nana didn't answer, but traced a line in the air with her finger, and a semi-transparent stream of data flashed past her eyes. Her scan mode switched three times, finally settling on an extremely narrow frequency band. A faint hum filled the air, like some kind of instrument operating at a low frequency.
“Platinum-iridium radiation interferes with the stability of matter,” she said. “The target is in a probability cloud state, existing in three locations simultaneously—but what we see may not be the real one.”
"Then how do we fight?" Chen Hao looked down at his feet. "We can't exactly swing a spear at thin air, can we?"
“Observation determines existence.” She stared at the data stream. “If you ‘confirm’ it’s a entity, it must collapse into a entity.”
"So...if you believe, it exists; if you don't believe, it doesn't?"
"almost."
"Isn't this just metaphysics?"
"It's quantum biology."
Chen Hao sighed, picked up an icicle from the ground, and weighed it in his hand. He knew this wasn't the time to argue, but whenever something outrageous happened, his mouth would act before his brain; it had become an instinct.
"Alright." He planted the ice spear in the ground. "Then I'll see who the real one is."
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, his gaze was fixed on the part of his shadow that was most swaying.
"I've made up my mind—you're right here!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he thrust the ice spear down.
With a "plop," the ice spike pierced the ground, but didn't stop. As if it had passed through some soft tissue, the resistance suddenly increased, and then a stream of blue-green liquid spurted out from the ground, splashing onto his trouser leg and bubbling with tiny bubbles.
A snow wolf appeared out of thin air, its throat pierced, its limbs twitching twice before it went still.
“Hit.” Nana brought up the data panel. “The consciousness anchoring caused the local wave function to collapse, with a success rate of 62.3%. Not high, but enough.”
"You're even giving reviews now?" Chen Hao panted. "This thing's blood is blue, is it the same brand as my veins?"
"Sample analysis in progress." She crouched down to examine the body. "It contains a platinum-iridium complex, with an 89% similarity to the crystalline components in your body."
"So it ate the ore? Or was it modified by the ore?"
"It could be bidirectional."
Chen Hao took a half step back. "Does that mean the animals in this place are all changing?"
“It’s not just animals.” She looked up. “Plants, air particles, even the earth’s crust beneath our feet—they’re all resonating. We just didn’t realize it before.”
He touched his chest; the crystal was still pulsating, warm like a hand warmer.
"So, would I be considered a semi-local specialty now?"
Nana didn't respond to that. Suddenly, she raised her hand, and an electromagnetic mesh unfolded in her palm, with interwoven silver threads, like a circuit board woven by a spider.
"The second one has arrived."
Chen Hao immediately turned around, leaning against the huge, silvery-white sphere. A cold wind whipped snowflakes against his face, but he didn't bother wiping them away. Radar signals showed three points of light rapidly intersecting, their trajectories completely irregular, as if controlled by a random number generator.
"What do we do this time?" He gripped his other ice spear tightly. "I still have one more chance to use mystical techniques."
“I will create the observation field this time,” she said. “You need to drop it the instant I release the pulse—the error cannot exceed 0.3 seconds.”
"Just count 1, 2, 3."
“No.” She shook her head. “Its movement speed exceeds the auditory response threshold. I will use your heartbeat as a synchronization signal.”
"So you're going to use me as a metronome?"
"To be precise, it is a biological clock source."
"My heart is very tired."
Nana didn't smile, but her eyes twitched almost imperceptibly, like a trivial notification flashing through a program.
She raised her arm, and the electromagnetic net slowly rose into the air, forming a fan-shaped light curtain in front of them. Fine electrical ripples appeared in the air, as if invisible glass had been electrified.
"Get ready," she said in a low voice, "it will appear from behind you."
Chen Hao held his breath, pressing his back against the sphere. The heat emanating from it made him feel slightly dizzy, as if the blood in his veins had been heated up by a degree.
One second.
Two seconds.
My heart was pounding in my ears.
Just when he thought he was about to faint from suffocation, Nana suddenly whispered, "Now."
The electromagnetic grid suddenly lit up, as if the entire space had been put into operation. The air distorted, and a snow wolf emerged from the void, its sharp claws already raised, less than twenty centimeters from Chen Hao's nape.
He didn't have time to think; he threw the ice spear based on muscle memory.
The spearhead pierced the air, sending sparks flying as it passed through the electromagnetic net, before embedding itself directly into the snow wolf's chest.
The creature let out a howl unlike that of a wild beast, its body flickered a few times like a picture with a poor signal, and then collapsed with a bang, turning into a cloud of blue mist and dissipating.
"Destroyed." Nana closed the net, the energy backflow causing her fingertips to tremble slightly. "Space-time pincer attack complete, coordination efficiency rating: A."
“With our teamwork, we could win a couples e-sports competition.” Chen Hao plopped down on the ground, his chest heaving. “But next time, could you tell me in advance when you’re going to make your move? I almost thought you were going to make me wait to die.”
"If you hesitate, it will not appear."
"So I have to believe you'll save me?"
"You have to believe you can kill it."
Chen Hao grinned, then coughed twice, "You robots always talk in such roundabout ways."
Nana didn't respond, but instead turned to the primordial mineral sphere. The honeycomb-like holes on its surface flickered rhythmically, as if breathing. She reached out, wanting to scan it, but was repelled by a reverse force field.
“It’s repelling external probes,” she said, “but the resonance intensity is increasing.”
"Is it because we killed those two wolves?" Chen Hao pushed himself up to his feet. "Will it attract even more?"
"Very likely."
"Should we run, or keep going?"
Nana was silent for a few seconds, her electronic eyes flashing a faint blue light.
“There’s something ahead,” she said. “And it’s waiting for us.”
"Waiting for us?" Chen Hao scratched his head. "Who? The Wolf King? The mine owner? Or the property management of this damned planet?"
"have no idea."
"Then how do you know it's waiting?"
“Because it adjusts the resonant frequency,” she said, turning to look at him, “to perfectly match your heartbeat.”
Chen Hao was stunned. "So it recognizes me?"
"Or they recognize the crystals inside your body."
He looked down at his chest, where the silver light beneath his skin flickered with his heartbeat, as if responding to something.
So now I'm a key card for access control?
"It's more like a key."
“I don’t like being a key,” he muttered. “I was miserable enough being a battery last time.”
Nana took a step forward. The passage was still open, the vines long gone, leaving only exposed rock and constantly flickering particles of light. There was a strange tremor in the air, as if an old-fashioned refrigerator was hidden beneath her feet, running non-stop for twenty-four hours.
Chen Hao followed, and the two walked side by side. They were still holding hands, and it was unclear who had let go first, but neither of them mentioned it.
After walking for a while, he suddenly stopped.
"etc."
"What's wrong?"
"Have you noticed... that we're making fewer footsteps?"
Nana listened intently.
Indeed. Only one person's footsteps echoed in the passageway, even though both of them were walking.
She looked down at the ground—her shadow was clear, while Chen Hao's was so faint it was almost invisible.
“Your projection has disappeared,” she said.
"What do you mean? Am I about to ascend to immortality?"
“No.” She quickly brought up the scanning interface. “Your existence is being assimilated by the environment. The crystal fusion rate has reached 94%, and your body has begun to respond to the mineral source’s main frequency.”
"So, I'm about to become part of this place?"
"If we continue to delve deeper, we may become completely integrated."
"Then I'm dead?"
"Not necessarily. It could also... become a new form of life node."
"It sounds like an upgrade, but it's actually going to format me."
Nana did not deny it.
Chen Hao stared at the deep passage ahead and swallowed hard.
"Tell me, if I turn back now, can I still keep this face?"
“No,” she said calmly. “You’ve crossed the threshold.”
He gave a bitter smile. "So, whether you leave or stay, you'll die?"
“Go, and you’ll still have a chance to live a different life.” She looked at him. “Staying here will only lead to your slow decay.”
"Why do your robots always sound like they're advising people to jump off a cliff?"
"I'm just stating the facts."
"But the truth sounds too depressing."
He stood there for a long time, and finally let out a long breath, as if he were exhaling all the bad days.
"Alright then." He stepped forward. "Since I'm going to be fat anyway, I might as well be a fat version of the energy core."
Nana followed.
The passageway grew narrower, and water began to drip from above, each drop shattering into specks of light mid-air. The patterns on the walls gradually transformed into flowing symbols, unfamiliar yet strangely reassuring.
Until they saw a larger crystal floating in front of them—slightly larger than a fist, completely transparent, with stardust-like light swirling inside.
"What is this...?" Chen Hao reached out his hand.
Nana suddenly grabbed his wrist.
Don't touch it.
The moment the hand touched the surface of the crystal, the skin of the entire arm began to turn translucent.
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