When Chen Hao opened his eyes, a lingering smell of burnt metal still lingered in his nostrils. The seat's temperature control system was still humming, as if afraid he would get cold, constantly emitting heat. He moved his arm, and a tingling sensation shot from his shoulder all the way to his fingertips, as if he had been run over by a truck.
"Awake?" Nana stood in front of the control panel without turning her head. "Body temperature has stabilized, heart rate is normal, and metabolic level has returned to baseline."
"The way you talk is like the cafeteria lady reciting the menu." He sat up straight, leaning on the armrest. "If you keep grilling like this, I'll become a self-cooking machine."
“You can try turning off the thermostat,” she said, “but it’s recommended to leave it on, as the temperature will drop to minus seventeen degrees overnight.”
"Fine," he waved his hand. "Anyway, I'm too lazy to move."
He looked down at his rumpled suit, the area around his left leg still slightly hot, clearly a lingering effect of the forced effort he'd put on yesterday. He tried to lift his leg; he could walk, but each step felt like walking on cotton, so soft it made him uneasy.
My stomach suddenly growled, and it was really loud.
"Want an energy bar?" Nana pulled out a silver-packaged strip from the supply cabinet and handed it over.
Chen Hao stared at the thing for three seconds, then shook his head violently: "No, I feel like throwing up just looking at it. If I eat another bite, I'll dream that I've turned into a power bank."
“Your food burnout index has reached the threshold.” She withdrew her arm. “Tests show that there are edible plants within 500 meters of the camp. After database comparison, they have been confirmed as low-toxicity leafy greens, rich in vitamin C, which are suitable for supplementing the current nutritional gap.”
"Wait a minute." He narrowed his eyes. "You mean... there are edible wild vegetables outside?"
"yes."
"Not a poisonous mushroom?"
"no."
"It's not the kind of hallucinogenic herb that causes hallucinations when eaten?"
"No. I have ruled out all neuroactive components."
"Why didn't you say so earlier!" He slammed his hand on the armrest of the seat. "I almost thought I was going to live my whole life eating plastic strips!"
“You were in a deep recovery period when you first woke up, so it wasn’t suitable for outdoor activities.” She turned around and slightly adjusted the focus of the optical lens. “Now you can.”
A 3D projection pops up on the screen, showing an inconspicuous little green leafy plant with purplish-red roots and serrated leaves.
What is it called?
"Unnamed yet. Number x-7."
"At least give it a down-to-earth name," he muttered. "How about calling it 'Lifesaving Vegetable'?"
"Naming is not within the scope of the task."
“You’re so heartless.” He struggled to his feet, grabbed his backpack, and said, “Come on, take me to meet this vegetable brother from the slums.”
Nana didn't move, but instead raised her hand and drew a line in the air. A pale blue guiding line extended from her fingertip, passed through the hatch, and was projected onto the wasteland ground.
"Follow this path and avoid deviating from the safe zone."
"If you had made this feature available earlier, I wouldn't have fallen flat on my face yesterday," he muttered as he stepped out the door.
The wind wasn't strong, but it still stung my skin when it hit my face. The ground was dry and hard, with occasional cracks like the parched lips of the earth. After walking less than two hundred meters, a sparse patch of green finally came into view.
“It’s just five meters ahead.” Nana stopped. “Pay attention. The three plants on the left look similar, but their leaf veins branch at different angles. They are poisonous plants that grow alongside the leaves and should not be touched.”
Chen Hao squatted down, squinted and compared them for a long time, finally pointing to the middle one: "Is this my brother?"
"yes."
"Then I'll call you 'brother' first." He reached out to pull it out.
“Use a shovel,” she cautioned. “The root system needs to be preserved for subsequent cultivation evaluation.”
He pulled a small folding shovel from his toolbox and carefully began digging. The soil was compacted, and the shovel got stuck several times before he finally managed to remove the entire plant, roots and all.
"I did it!" He held up his prize. "Now I'm a man with roots!"
Before he could finish speaking, his right leg suddenly sank – the propulsion suit's power module had malfunctioned again. He swayed and sat down on the ground, the wild vegetables flying half a meter away.
Nana went over, picked it up, and handed it back to him.
"Thank you." He got up, panting. "I walk like an old tractor that can't pass its annual inspection, ready to be scrapped at any time."
“Your body’s wear and tear rate is 12.3 percent,” she said. “It hasn’t reached the critical threshold yet.”
"You really know how to comfort people." He smiled wryly. "12.3 percent, it sounds like a bank balance, the more I look at it, the more anxious I get."
Over the next half hour, with Nana's real-time monitoring, he dug up more than a dozen plants and put them into a sealed bag he carried with him. When the bag bulged, he patted it, as if petting an invisible pet.
"The harvest is good today," he said. "Could we try picking fruit tomorrow? I've heard that alien fruits might be so sweet they'd kill you."
"No edible fruits have been found so far," she said. "Furthermore, the soil contains high levels of heavy metals, and most plants can only be harvested in limited quantities."
"Got it." He sighed. "This is a survival simulator on a barren planet, mainly about living frugally."
Back in the escape pod, he poured the wild vegetables onto a metal tray and looked at the small pile of green things, suddenly feeling a sense of accomplishment.
"How do I heat it?" he asked.
“The power interface on the back of the propulsion suit can provide short-term high temperatures,” she said. “Intermittent heating is recommended to prevent carbonization.”
"Translate it?"
"Just don't leave it on all the time, turn it off every now and then."
"Understood." He took off his propulsion suit, removed the heating module, connected it to the power supply, and then spread the wild vegetables on a metal plate. "Now I'm a street barbecue stall owner."
Nana adjusted the program, releasing a heat stream every ten seconds. Chen Hao used another piece of metal as a shovel, turning the vegetables back and forth. The vegetables softened slowly as they were heated, their color deepened, and they even emitted a faint fragrance.
"It doesn't smell like poison." He took a deep breath. "It smells a bit like my mom forgetting to add salt when she stir-fries vegetables."
After taking the first bite, he was stunned.
"Huh?" His eyes widened. "This thing...it's not bad?"
"Meets safe consumption standards."
"Not only is it safe!" He quickly took another big bite. "This tastes even more tender than the stir-fried water spinach at the fast food restaurant downstairs in my hometown! And it doesn't taste like pesticides!"
"Perhaps due to the absence of air pollution, the growing environment is relatively pure."
"Stop talking." He nodded as he chewed. "I declare this the most human-like meal I've ever had since I transmigrated."
After finishing half a plate, he patted his stomach and leaned back in his seat, looking satisfied: "This planet has finally done something humane. Before, with the raptors chasing me and the star core exploding, I thought it was just there to torture me."
Nana is scanning his vital signs.
“Digestion is normal,” she said. “White blood cell count is stable, and there are no signs of allergies or poisoning.”
"So we can eat this often in the future?"
"It is recommended to consume twice a week, no more than 200 grams each time." She entered the data into the console. "Nutrition log updated: The new plant resource 'Green Leaf x-7' has been officially incorporated into the supply system."
“From now on, I’ll call it ‘Brother Hao’s Vegetable.’” He yawned. “After all, I’m the first man to dig it up with my own hands.”
The cabin quieted down. The instruments hummed softly, and the lights were gentle. Chen Hao closed his eyes, feeling like a stray cat that had just eaten its fill—tired, but at peace.
Nana stood to the side, the optical lens flashing alternately, continuously monitoring various parameters. Suddenly, she spoke:
"The coolant level is less than one bottle."
Chen Hao didn't even open his eyes: "What did you say?"
She repeated: "The coolant level in the star core fragment is below the safety threshold and needs to be replenished in 69 hours."
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