Chen Hao was suddenly pulled by Nana, and he fell to the ground, his right shoulder hitting a tree trunk, making him wince in pain. Just as he was about to complain, a small section of the ground beneath his feet suddenly caved in, and a thin vine sprang up from the soil, grazing the toe of his shoe.
"Was that... a trap?" He lay on the ground, catching his breath.
“Yes.” Nana squatted down and brushed aside the fallen leaves with her fingers. “The triggering mechanism is more subtle than before, and the direction of the pulling force has been calculated to accurately capture moving targets.”
"Good heavens." Chen Hao propped himself up and sat up. "Who set up this trap? Did they have physics training?"
“I don’t know.” Nana stood up. “But the person who designed it had a basic understanding of terrain and mechanics.”
Chen Hao brushed the mud off his clothes and stood up, leaning against a tree trunk. His legs were trembling slightly, not from fear, but from exhaustion. He looked down at his shoes; the laces were loose, and he was too lazy to tie them.
"How much further?" he asked.
“Three hundred meters.” Nana pointed ahead. “The signal strength is increasing, but the source is stationary.”
"Let's go then." Chen Hao cracked his knuckles. "We've already come this far, turning back is just asking for trouble."
They continued onward. The ground gradually hardened, and the vegetation thinned out considerably. A sliver of light pierced through the shadows of the trees, illuminating the rocks. There was a faint smell of rust in the air, mixed with the stench of decaying plants.
After walking less than two hundred meters, Nana suddenly stopped.
“The signal source is right ahead,” she said. “Ten o’clock, behind the rocks.”
Chen Hao squinted and saw a glint of metal reflecting light peeking out from behind a rock about half his height. He tiptoed over and found it was a small, cobbled-together device. The outer casing looked like it had been salvaged from discarded parts, with exposed wires connected to a solar panel.
"Is this what you call a signal?" He crouched down to examine it. "It actually looks pretty convincing."
"The structure is simple, but the functions are complete." Nana approached the detector and said, "It used intermittent pulses to send distress codes and operated continuously for more than fifteen days."
"Has someone been here all along?" Chen Hao looked up and around.
Just then, he noticed a small hole next to the rock, hidden by a few branches and leaves. A piece of cloth was pressed against the edge of the hole, and the corner of the cloth swayed slightly when the wind blew.
"Someone's here!" he shouted immediately. "We're here to help! We mean no harm!"
No one responded.
He called it again.
A few seconds later, the branches blocking the entrance to the cave were slowly lifted. A woman emerged from inside, holding a sharpened wooden stick, and stood in the shadows watching them.
She was short, wearing a faded coat with frayed hems. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and her face was covered in dust, but her eyes were clear.
"How did you find this place?" Her voice was a little hoarse, but she wasn't flustered.
"Your crappy machine keeps beeping," Chen Hao said, pointing to the transmitter on the ground. "It's hurting my ears."
The woman neither laughed nor moved. She stared at Nana for a few seconds: "Is she a robot?"
“Yes.” Nana stepped forward. “I am an auxiliary intelligent agent with no attack module. I can provide survival data analysis and medical support.”
The woman sized her up, then looked at Chen Hao: "You live off her?"
"Could I have survived until now without her?" Chen Hao shrugged. "I've even gained ten pounds, which means the food is pretty good."
The woman finally took two steps forward and stuck the stick into the soil beside her. She wasn't completely relaxed, but she lowered her hand.
“My name is Susan,” she said.
"Chen Hao." He pointed to himself, then to Nana. "Her name is Nana."
"Do you have any food?" Susan asked.
“Yes,” Nana said. “The base has ample reserves, including high-calorie compressed grains, a water purification system, and a simple greenhouse.”
"The base?" Susan frowned.
"This is where we live," Chen Hao added. "It has a roof to keep out the rain, and we can cook some noodles at night."
Susan remained silent for a few seconds, her gaze shifting back and forth between the two of them.
"Why didn't you just leave?" she asked. "Why did you have to come looking for me?"
"What do you think?" Chen Hao countered. "If you'd been alone for this long and suddenly heard people talking outside, would you pretend you didn't hear them?"
Susan didn't answer. She looked down at the dirt at her feet and kicked away a small pebble.
“I’ve been here for almost a month,” she said. “After the signal was sent out, I thought no one would come.”
“We’re here,” Nana said. “And we can take you back.”
"Go back?" Susan looked up. "Go back to where?"
"The safe zone," Nana said, "has a preliminary defense structure, a stable energy source, and can produce twelve liters of fresh water per day. Its food self-sufficiency rate is over sixty percent."
Chen Hao interjected, "The key is—someone was talking. You don't believe me? I sang to her the other day, and she didn't turn off her phone and run away."
Susan's lips twitched slightly, as if she wanted to laugh, but she held it back.
"Aren't you afraid I'm a bad person?" she asked.
"I'm scared." Chen Hao nodded. "But I'm even more scared that you really are a ghost, sending signals to thin air every day."
"Now you see, I'm not."
"So the problem is solved." Chen Hao patted his pants and stood up. "Want to go? The kettle's still hot, I'm not kidding you."
Susan didn't agree immediately. She turned back to the cave entrance, took out a small bag, opened it to check, and then stuffed in a few pieces of dry food.
“I have only one condition,” she said.
"you say."
"Don't ask me about my past." She zipped up her backpack. "I don't want to talk about it."
“Okay.” Chen Hao nodded. “I don’t want to know. I can’t even remember what I ate yesterday.”
Susan glanced at him and this time genuinely smiled.
“Let’s go then,” she said.
The three began to walk back. Nana walked in front, projecting a blue line. Chen Hao followed in the middle, his steps a little slow, but he didn't complain of being tired. Susan walked at the back, occasionally glancing back at her hiding place.
After walking fifty meters, Chen Hao suddenly stopped.
“Wait,” he said.
"What's wrong?" Nana turned around.
"Should we bring her transmitter?"
Susan shook her head: "No need. The battery is almost dead, and the parts are old."
"So we're leaving it for someone else to find out?" Chen Hao asked.
“No one will come,” Susan said. “This area is too remote and has too many traps; most people wouldn’t go this far.”
"Then take it apart and keep it as a souvenir?" Chen Hao scratched his head. "After all, it's proof that you made it through."
Susan thought for a moment, then went back, took a small circuit board from the device, and handed it to Chen Hao.
"Here you go," she said. "Don't lose it."
Chen Hao took it and examined it from all angles: "What can this thing do?"
“I don’t know,” Susan said, “but it was the first thing to respond to me.”
Chen Hao paused for a moment, then carefully tucked the circuit board into his chest pocket.
“I understand,” he said. “Next time I sing, I’ll have it clap for you.”
They set off again. The sun was already setting, its rays casting slant across the rock face. The wind had picked up, rustling the treetops.
After walking for about twenty minutes, the slope of the ground began to decrease. The view opened up, and in the distance, a relatively flat open space could be seen, with the outlines of buildings faintly visible.
"Is that the base?" Susan asked.
“Yes,” Nana said. “We expect to arrive in forty minutes.”
"Is it just the two of you?" Susan asked again.
“There are three now,” Chen Hao said.
Susan didn't say anything more. But she quickened her pace, catching up with the rhythm of those ahead.
As dusk fell, they reached the edge of a high ground. Behind them lay dense forest, and ahead was a gently sloping path leading to a clearing.
Nana stopped and turned around to check on the three of them.
"Prepare to return," she said.
Chen Hao stretched and twisted his neck.
"At least I don't have to step into any more traps," he said.
Susan stood there, gazing at the buildings in the distance, her breathing slowing down.
"Does your base... have mirrors?" she suddenly asked.
"Yes," Chen Hao replied, "and it's new."
"Well... when I get there, I want to see what I look like."
Chen Hao laughed: "Don't worry, he's definitely more handsome than me."
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