The blade of the shovel was still stuck in the mud. Chen Hao kicked the back of the shovel with his heel and finally pulled it out. The rain had spread out in patches, hitting his shoulders like someone taking turns hitting them with a small hammer. He shook the water off his face, squinted ahead, and the outline of the ditch was only a blurry puddle in the rain.
“Slope deviation of 0.3.” Nana’s voice came from behind. The robotic arm was projecting a light blue line forward, extending along the ground. “According to the optimal solution in the database, we need to dig 15 centimeters deeper here.”
"You calculated this data using dry soil, right?" Chen Hao asked breathlessly. "This land is collapsing halfway down every time I dig. I'm practically turning it into a sloping slide."
“I suggest using wall supports.” She paused. “There are three intact wooden planks on the south side of the abandoned chicken coop that can be disassembled and reused.”
Chen Hao wiped his eyes and looked up at the sky. The dark clouds were oppressive, making it hard to breathe, and distant thunder rumbled like someone pushing a pile of rusty iron sheets across the sky. He didn't say anything, turned around and walked towards the chicken coop, stepping into a puddle where mud filled his shoe.
The chicken coop door was askew to one side. He pulled down two relatively sturdy planks, hoisted them onto his shoulder, and returned with his legs wobbling. Not from exhaustion, but from being soaked in water. His trouser legs were saturated with water, feeling as heavy as if they were carrying sandbags. He pushed the planks along the edge of the ditch, tamped them down a few times with the back of a shovel, and managed to get them standing.
"Effective." Nana confirmed after scanning, "The risk of slope collapse has been reduced by 40%."
"Should I apply for an engineering award?" He grinned, then shoveled down again. "Or at least get a pair of rain boots? The ones I have now are so big you could raise fish while walking."
The rain intensified, and surface runoff began to converge, flowing forward along the newly dug channels. What started as a trickle quickly gained momentum within minutes. Chen Hao, standing on higher ground, watched the water flow more smoothly, and the tension in his heart eased slightly.
"The ground seepage pressure has decreased by 62 percent." Nana pulled up the monitoring chart. "The current drainage efficiency has reached 70% of the expected level."
"Even 70% is better than nothing." He leaned on the shovel handle, panting. "We can't expect God to cooperate with our construction schedule and make sure it rains for two hours straight."
As soon as she finished speaking, Nana's alarm light suddenly flashed red.
“An abnormal blockage has occurred in the upstream catchment area.” She quickly focused her optical lens on the distance and detected a pile of rocks and broken logs with a diameter of 1.8 meters, which has formed a local dam.
Chen Hao turned his head and saw that the water level was rising little by little in the direction where it should have been flowing downwards, like water about to boil in a pot.
"It's blocked?" He frowned. "Then all the work we did was for nothing. It's like we built a reservoir for them."
"If the floodwaters are not cleared in time, it is estimated that the water will overflow the temporary embankment and flow back into the grain storage area in forty minutes."
"Okay, you really know how to pick your time." He stretched his wrists, picked up the shovel and went upstream. "Anyway, there's nowhere dry to get wet, so I might as well soak it thoroughly."
The muddy ground was soaked with water, making every step feel like a tug-of-war with the shoes. Halfway there, Nana suddenly reached out and stopped her.
"Watch your step, the soil's load-bearing capacity has dropped to a critical level."
“Got it.” He walked around a clearly sunken mud puddle. “If you’re going to add navigation, you might as well give a voice prompt: ‘Three steps ahead, please turn left to avoid falling into the lowest point in your life.’”
She didn't reply, but silently adjusted the lighting angle to help him see the road ahead.
The blockage was located below a gentle slope, where a huge boulder was wedged between two trees, with a broken tree trunk pressing down on it, acting like a natural dam. The water had already accumulated to a depth of almost a meter behind it, the surface eerily calm, but undercurrents were surging beneath.
Chen Hao stopped, inserted the shovel into the crack in the mud at the edge of the stone, and pried hard. The stone didn't budge.
"That's a real piece of stuff," he muttered, then changed his angle, squatted down, braced his shoulder against the base of the shovel handle, and leaned back.
“The structure is loose,” Nana observed. “The soil on the right side has shifted.”
"Don't make it sound so scary, I call this scientific force application." He put in more effort, and the veins on his forehead throbbed twice.
With a muffled "crack," the stone finally shifted slightly, and muddy water gushed out from the crack.
"It moved!" he laughed, panting. "See? Human effort can overcome nature's work. That's what the ancients wrote."
Before he could finish speaking, an even larger torrent of water burst through the crack, carrying mud and sand as it rushed down. He instinctively stepped back, but his foot slipped, and he fell face-first into the mud. Before he could get up, he heard a deafening crash as the entire makeshift dam made of sandbags collapsed, and the turbid floodwaters roared across the land like a wild beast broken free of its reins.
Chen Hao scrambled backward, grabbing at things haphazardly, finally managing to pry open a bare tree root to avoid being swept away. He lay on the ground, his chest heaving, his mouth filled with the metallic taste of mud.
“The left slope is completely unstable.” Nana’s voice cut through the rain. “The water flow path has changed, and it is shifting towards the granary.”
"I know which way!" He rolled over and knelt up, wiping his face. "What's the point of saying this now?!"
He looked back at the entrance of the ditch. The once clear water channel had been mostly buried by silt, and the newly dug channel was about to be abandoned.
“The diversion channel must be rebuilt.” Nana quickly analyzed, “The existing tools are not efficient enough. I suggest using the backup plan—using the terrain difference to create an artificial flood discharge outlet.”
"How do you build it? By banging your head against a mountain and making a hole?"
"There is a natural depression on the northwest side, about two meters wide and one and a half meters deep, which can be used as the foundation for the diversion channel."
Chen Hao looked in the direction she pointed. The terrain there was indeed low, but it was all gravel and mud, without even a decent slope.
"You mean you want me to dig a new river right now?"
"Twenty-seven minutes remain in the time window."
He stared at the depression, rainwater running down his hair and into his neck, feeling as cold as ice crystals.
"Fine." He gritted his teeth, stood up, and brushed the mud off his backside. "Anyway, this isn't the first time I've been a foreman. This time, even if I dig until I'm breathless, I'll let this bastard know who's the boss."
He dragged his shovel northwest, sinking deep into the ground with every step. Nana followed closely beside him, her shoulder light illuminating the path ahead, while the robotic arm constantly fine-tuned the projected route.
When he reached the depression, he started digging without saying a word. The mud was too soft, and the shovel blade often slipped, sometimes only bringing up a clump of mud with each scoop. He simply threw the shovel away, used his hands to remove the surface mud, and then used the tip of the shovel to chisel away the hardened bottom.
"The slope needs to be maintained at 1:80," Nana reminded.
"All I want right now is for it to work; why are you talking about aesthetic proportions?"
"This is a key parameter for drainage efficiency."
"The problem is my hand is about to cramp!" He shook his aching fingers and continued digging.
Rainwater kept pouring into the pit, and just as he cleared out a little depth, it was filled back up by mudflow. In desperation, he simply dragged over a half-buried stone slab from the side and placed it at an angle at the pit opening to make a makeshift baffle.
“It works.” Nana nodded. “The water is starting to move along the new path.”
Chen Hao, panting heavily, watched the muddy water slide down the stone slabs into the depression, and then slowly flow towards the more distant valley. Although the flow was not large, at least it wasn't heading towards the granary anymore.
"You win this time." He sat down against the stone slab, his legs shaking uncontrollably.
"The main blockage upstream has not yet been cleared," she said. "If it is not addressed, there is still a risk of a secondary outburst."
He looked up at the sky; the rain showed no sign of stopping, but rather intensified.
"You want me to go back and give it another shot?"
"Based on the physical assessment, you are nearing your limit."
"Then why did you bring this up? Are you deliberately torturing me?"
"I'm just stating the facts."
"What you said is just as annoying as the system notification 'Battery less than 5%'."
He slowly stood up, supporting himself on the stone slabs, his legs feeling like two frozen steel bars. He knew he couldn't delay any longer; if the temperature dropped at night and the mud froze, it would be even harder to start work tomorrow.
He picked up the shovel again and walked step by step toward the blockage.
The water was even more forceful than before, washing away the soil around the boulder. He moved around to the side, found a relatively stable foothold, and stuck the shovel into the bottom of the crevice, preparing for one last push.
Nana stood at a slightly higher position, and the optical lens locked onto the changes in the water flow.
"Note that the soil is already saturated with water, and any violent vibration could trigger a chain reaction of collapses."
"Received," he said softly, gripping the shovel handle tightly with both hands.
He took a deep breath and pried upwards with all his might.
The stone wobbled.
Immediately afterwards, a slight tremor came from the ground.
The tree roots creaked and groaned, as if they were about to collapse under the weight.
Chen Hao caught a glimpse of the soil on his left side starting to slide out of the corner of his eye. He tried to pull back, but it was too late.
The entire stacked structure suddenly loosened, and the boulder tumbled down with a roar, crashing into the surging torrent and creating a wave as tall as a person.
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