The sealing strip of the insulated box made a slight "click" sound. Just as Chen Hao's finger touched the gap, Nana's voice rang out.
"The foundation load-bearing model has been completed. If the existing wooden structure is maintained, the addition of grain storage will lead to an overall stress imbalance."
He didn't look up, but gently placed the insulated container on the edge of the worktable, padding it with a soft cloth, as if to prevent it from rolling down. "So? If it collapses, will it be considered a work injury?"
“No.” Nana brought up the holographic projection, and red lines spread across the virtual granary. “But the grain damage rate is estimated to be 82 percent, and subsequent repairs will take no less than 17 days.”
Chen Hao finally looked up at the screen filled with red. "After seeing this picture, I don't even want to eat anymore."
"It is recommended that the expansion project be started immediately."
"It's not that I don't want to build it, the problem is, what will I use to build it?" He stood up, leaning on the table, his back creaking. "We don't have enough wood, we don't have any steel or cement, I can't exactly dig up meteorites to use as bricks, can I?"
"An iron ore vein has been detected three meters below the surface, with an iron content that meets the standards. It can be mined and smelted into support frames."
"You really think of me as a contractor."
"You are the decision-maker."
"I'm more like the unlucky one."
He walked around the control panel, picked up a wrench from a corner, and tossed it around in his hand a couple of times. "Alright, since God has given me a robot supervisor, I can't just keep raising chickens to save my life; I need to worry about my next meal."
Nana's sleek robotic arm unfolds, bringing up the construction drawings. "Optimal solution: Use a truss-type iron frame as the skeleton, fill the exterior with stone and reinforced clay, install a ventilated sloping eave on the top, and divide the interior into four zones, with a capacity up to four times that of the current warehouse."
"Sounds promising." Chen Hao squinted at it for a moment. "But have you considered—what if I can't weld it properly?"
"We have contingency plans in place."
"Then tell me, what if you fail?"
"Re-weld."
“What I meant was… never mind.” He waved his hand. “People like you, or rather, machines like you, simply don’t understand how difficult it is to cure human hand tremors and terminal laziness.”
Construction began early the next morning.
Chen Hao, wearing a faded tank top and trousers rolled up to his knees, squatted by the newly excavated mine pit, staring at the molten iron churning in the furnace. A wave of heat washed over him, and sweat dripped from his nose, splattering onto the metal molds with a "whoosh" before disappearing.
“The right front support angle is off by twelve degrees.” Nana stood three steps away, the camera flickering slightly. “The current welding joint is not fully fused and needs to be reworked.”
“I know!” He wiped his face, his hand covered in a layer of black ash. “This thing doesn’t have a handle, how am I supposed to be precise? Do you think I’m embroidering with a welding torch?”
"It is recommended to use sandbags to stabilize the components before welding."
"You should have said so earlier!"
He laboriously carried over three sandbags, stacked them on either side of the support frame, and then placed the welding torch on top. A flash of light, and the air was filled with the smell of burning.
"The connection strength meets the standard this time," Nana confirmed after scanning.
"You see, it's not that I'm incapable, it's just that I need a reminder." He grinned, revealing a set of teeth that were rough from being soaked in sweat.
Three days later, the granary was completed.
Five meters high, square in shape, with exterior walls made of gray-brown stone blocks, and an iron frame extending from the inside, forming a sturdy cross structure at the top. The door is a thick steel plate that is manually pushed and pulled; when it closes, it makes a loud "bang" that shakes the ground.
Chen Hao stood at the door, hands on his hips, looking up.
"How is it?" he asked.
“It meets the design standards,” Nana replied.
"I'm talking about—isn't it awesome?"
"The data shows that the load-bearing margin is 120% of the safety value."
“That’s a cow.” He patted the wall. “This is the first building I’ve ever built in my life. Although it’s not much bigger than my toilet, at least it’s a proper building.”
He turned to walk towards the control room. "Next step, load up the food! Let's turn our food reserves from 'enough for three days' to 'enough to keep us from starving'."
Before he could finish speaking, the alarm went off.
Short, high-frequency red lights rotated in circles, casting purple hues on people's faces.
“The foundation settlement is abnormal.” Nana’s voice remained unchanged, but her speech was a beat faster. “The southeast corner is settling at a rate of 1.7 centimeters per hour, and the wall is showing signs of tilting.”
Chen Hao suddenly turned around.
The shadow of the granary was crooked.
The originally straight edge line veered to the right at a visible angle, the top vent was misaligned, and a metallic scraping sound "squeak" cut through the air.
"Damn it!" He took off running, rushed into the control room, and his fingers flew across the panel.
"Activate the hydraulic support system! Quickly!"
Nana inputs the command simultaneously. The four sets of hydraulic columns pre-embedded underground are connected to the high-pressure oil circuit, and the metal supports are pushed out from the foundation around the perimeter, abutting against the wall.
“The pressure feedback from the two pillars on the right is lagging.” She stared at the data stream. “The support efficiency is less than 60%.”
"Manual pressurization!" Chen Hao found the emergency lever, pulled it out, and pressed it down hard.
The hydraulic pump roared, the oil pipes vibrated, and the wall's movement slowed down.
"Hold on for five more minutes..." he gritted his teeth, veins throbbing on his forehead, "Just five minutes! Let me get the grain out!"
“The current tilt angle is 3.2 degrees and is still slowly increasing.” Nana pulled up the geological scan map. “There is a cavity under the foundation, with an area of about 4.3 cubic meters. The cause is unknown.”
"Now is not the time to investigate the cause!" he roared. "Let's straighten the house first!"
"The support system has reached its temporary limit. If the pressure is increased further, it may cause the oil pipe to rupture."
"Then don't break it!"
He pressed down hard on the control lever with his left hand, pulled out a record board with his right hand, and casually wrote: "Grain warehouse expansion project - zeroth acceptance: barely alive."
A loud "thud" came from outside. A bag of grain slid off the tilted shelf, crashed to the ground, and cracked open, scattering golden grains all over the floor.
Nana's optical lens turned to the underground layer and began marking drilling points. "Prepare to activate the deep exploration module to locate the cavity boundary."
"You go ahead and explore," Chen Hao said, catching his breath. His legs were starting to ache. "I... I'm still holding on here."
His knuckles were white, and his arm trembled slightly, but he didn't loosen the grip.
Inside the control room, the alarm lights were still turning, and the tilt angle on the screen was stuck at 3.5 degrees, neither rising nor falling.
The granary was leaning to one side, like a drunkard who had drunk too much and was only not falling over because he was leaning against the wall.
Nana's robotic arm slowly extended and connected to the geological detector.
Chen Hao stared at the hydraulic pressure gauge, the pointer teetering on the edge of the danger zone.
"You mean..." he suddenly began, his voice a little hoarse, "is our ecosystem specifically designed to antagonize me?"
"No such program setting exists."
"But why does it always collapse in half whenever I try to get something serious done?"
"Because your welding is poor."
"Hello!"
"Statement of facts".
He wanted to laugh, but couldn't. He could only look down at his oil-stained hands.
The insulated box was still on the table, and he had wrapped the thin seam of the sealing strip with tape twice.
The granary didn't collapse, but it didn't stand upright either.
The hydraulic rod hummed, as if it might break at any moment.
Nana's probe slowly advanced into the ground, the drill bit cutting into the rock layer, emitting a low, grinding sound.
Chen Hao lifted his foot and switched legs to support his body.
His left leg was numb.
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