The water flowed slowly in the new tank, and before the ripples had completely dissipated, Xiao Yang woke up.
It twitched its ears, raised its front paws, and lunged forward, crashing directly into the feed bucket in the corner. The bucket tipped over, scattering hay and bean powder all over the ground. Little Guang, who was about to go over for a drink, slipped on its hind leg, stepped into the wet mud, and nearly kicked over the junction box of the ultraviolet module.
Chen Hao jumped up from the stool with a start, his pajamas collar askew and his hair a mess like a haystack blown by the wind. He looked at the mess on the floor, then at the spot where he had drawn lines to put his tool rack, which was now a makeshift delivery room with no room to even place a chair.
“If this continues,” he squatted on the ground, hands on his knees, “we really will have to move the sheep pen.”
Nana stood by the water tank, the robotic arm just halfway retracted. Her optical lens flashed, and a 3D map appeared in the air, the entire breeding area marked with red, yellow, and blue. "Current space utilization is 93.7," she said. "With the addition of a pair of adult goats, the entire ventilation system is ineffective."
"Then let's expand it." Chen Hao stood up and patted his pants. "How about digging a basement? It'll be cool down there, and we can store things."
“No.” Nana pulled up the geological scan results. “Two meters underground is a layer of quicksand, which is not consolidated and has a load-bearing capacity of less than 0.3 kilograms per square centimeter. Excavation will cause the foundation to sink.”
"Didn't it collapse?"
"yes."
Chen Hao paused for a few seconds, then suddenly grinned: "What about going up? How about building a second floor? We can grow vegetables upstairs, raise sheep downstairs, and have people walk in the middle—three floors for different uses!"
Nana remodeled the platform. After a few seconds, she nodded: "The aluminum alloy frame is strong enough to support the lightweight platform. The resin panels can be used as a closed structure. The vertical expansion scheme is feasible."
"I knew you could do it." Chen Hao rubbed his hands together. "I have the materials, and the ladder too. Let's get started now."
They first cleared the obstructions at the top. The old solar panels were removed and piled aside, and the wires were cut and the joints were wrapped. Chen Hao tried climbing the ladder twice to test the height, and each time he started panting after climbing to the third rung.
“Your heart is beating at 120,” Nana said.
"I'm just excited," he said, not even believing it himself.
The first crossbeam needed to be fixed to the anchor point on the main wall, three meters off the ground. Chen Hao carried the aluminum pipe uphill, his legs starting to tremble. When he reached the top, he grabbed the ladder with one hand and held the pipe up to the hole with the other, but he couldn't screw the screw in no matter what he tried.
The wind wasn't strong, but he felt a buzzing in his head.
"I...I feel a little dizzy." He leaned against the wall, his face pale.
Nana immediately spread her arms, the mechanical joints clicking. She released synthetic fiber nets from both sides, weaving them into an invisible pouch beneath the platform. The nets vibrated slightly as they tightened.
“I’m down here,” she said. “I won’t fall.”
Chen Hao swallowed hard, his fingers still trembling. He closed his eyes for three seconds, then opened them, inserted the aluminum tube into the slot, and tightened the first bolt. With a click, it was secured.
"Did it work?" he asked.
"The first one is done," Nana said. "There are five more to go."
He didn't speak, but glanced down at the ground. Three meters wasn't high, but at that moment everything seemed far away. He stared down at the wrench in his hand, not daring to look up again.
Nana began welding the connectors. Sparks fell like tiny orange raindrops. Chen Hao sat on the crossbeam, his feet dangling in the air, his buttocks shifted back half an inch.
"Were you afraid of heights before?" Nana asked while welding.
“I’m not afraid of heights,” he said. “I just don’t like being so far away.”
“It’s a logical contradiction,” Nana said. “Fear stems from the expectation of losing control. You have a safety net now, a fixed foothold, and the probability of risk is less than 0.4 percent.”
"But I feel like I'm going to fly away."
"Won't."
"You say you won't, so you won't?"
"I'm in charge." Nana finished welding the last section, put away her welding torch, and said, "Stress test passed. The main structure is stable."
Chen Hao slowly moved forward, finally daring to hang his feet on the edge of the beam. He looked down and the entire base was spread out before him: the sheep pen fence, the location of the water trough, the boundary of the vegetable garden, and even the grass seeds sown yesterday could be seen.
“It looks quite neat from above,” he said.
"It offers 61 percent more effective observation range than a ground-level view," Nana said. "I suggest laying the resin boards tomorrow, after which planting supports can be installed."
"I'll install the scaffolding," Chen Hao slapped his thigh. "Just don't make me climb this high again."
"Next time, we can install guardrails in advance," Nana said, "to reduce psychological burden."
"You should have said so earlier!" he glared. "I thought you were going to laugh at me."
“I don’t have the ability to laugh,” Nana said, “but I’ve recorded your reaction curve, which can help optimize the workflow in the future.”
"You still remember this?"
“All unusual behavior patterns will be archived.” She paused, “including the time you sang to soothe the ewe.”
"That's different! That's artistic export!"
"Audio analysis shows that 72% of the recordings are out of tune."
"Can you stop quantifying everything?"
"cannot."
Chen Hao rolled his eyes and leaned against the pillar to rest. The sun was setting, and the light reflecting off the aluminum alloy frame made him squint. Birdsong could be heard from the edge of the woods in the distance, and a gray-winged bird fluttered past the rooftop.
Xiao Yang called out from below.
He looked down and saw the little guy tilting his head back with his mouth open, as if looking for him.
“What are you looking at?” he shouted.
Xiao Yang called out again.
“It’s probably hungry,” Nana said.
"Then go down and feed it."
"My job is to monitor the structural stability. You are the zookeeper."
"I'm clearly the commander-in-chief!"
“The job assignment has not been updated,” Nana said. “The last registration was for ‘temporary animal husbandry assistance’.”
"I'll go change the system permissions right away!"
"The database requires a password."
"...I forgot."
"Frequently Asked Questions"
Chen Hao sighed and touched the notebook in his pocket. The corners of the notebook were curled, and the pages were covered with corrections. He flipped to a page and saw what he had written yesterday: "07:30 Stop using the old sink," followed by a line of smaller print: "Remind myself to change my lock screen password."
He closed his notebook and patted the edge of the platform. "This place can be paved tomorrow?"
"Weather permitting, complete it before 10 a.m."
“Then I need to prepare flower pots,” he said. “And soil, fertilizer, drip irrigation pipes… a whole bunch of stuff.”
“The list has been generated,” Nana said. “There are thirty-seven items in total. The highest priority is the windproof fixing device.”
Why do you keep thinking it will collapse?
“Because it did collapse,” Nana said. “Chapter 361, the vegetable shed collapsed due to snow accumulation.”
"Why bring that up!" Chen Hao waved his hand. "That was an accident!"
"The system automatically associates historical faults."
"Can't you just skip over that memory?"
"cannot."
He rolled his eyes again and sat up straight. The sunset painted the sky orange-red, with golden glints along the edges of the clouds. He stared at the sky for a while, then suddenly said, "When I was a child, I lived on the first floor and never wanted to go up to the roof."
"Why?"
“The stairs are too narrow,” he said. “Once I went up to collect the laundry, and the wind slammed the door shut. I didn’t have my keys. I stood there for two hours, and nobody heard me shouting.”
"And then what?"
"The property management brought a ladder to get me down," he chuckled. "The neighbors were all laughing at me, saying I was more timid than a mouse."
“But now you’re sitting here.”
“Yes.” He looked down at the empty space beneath his feet. “I also find it strange.”
“Fear can be masked,” Nana said, “provided that action continues.”
"You're quite good at comforting people."
"I'm not trying to comfort you. This is a conclusion drawn from a behavioral psychology model."
"Oh." He scratched his head. "Then write it down. I guess I've broken through my own limits today."
"Archived. Event title: Psychological adaptation to first high-altitude work."
"The name is too long."
"Can be modified."
How about calling it "I'm not afraid of heights"?
"Does not conform to naming conventions."
"Can't you be a little more accommodating?"
"cannot."
Chen Hao snorted, hugging his knees and gazing into the distance. The sun was setting, and the mountain shadows were slowly creeping in. The lights in the breeding area weren't on yet; only the heating lamps in the corners emitted a faint red glow.
Nana put away her toolbox and looked up at him. "Want to get down?"
“Sit a little longer,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve stood higher than the roof.”
He didn't move, his hand resting on the crossbeam, his knuckles slightly white. A gust of wind blew, ruffling his hair and stirring a discarded piece of blueprint on the platform. The edge of the paper curled up, swirling towards the ground.
Nana didn't pick it up.
She simply stood there, looking up at the chubby figure sitting on the newly built skeleton, like a penguin that had finally climbed to the treetop.
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