The sky was as black as spilled ink; before the wind even came, raindrops were already pounding down. Karl sat in a folding chair, an iron rod across his knees, his eyes fixed on the crater enclosed by a red cloth. Just as he was about to move his numb leg, a metallic clanging sound came from afar.
Ding ding ding—
Three strokes, short and powerful.
It's an alarm tube.
Nana ran out from the control room, her waterproof jacket wrapped tightly around her, the optical lens gleaming faintly blue in the rainy night. As she ran, she shouted, "A storm is coming! Cover the construction site in ten minutes!"
Hearing the sound, Chen Hao poked his head out of the shed. He was munching on half a compressed biscuit, and muttered, "This weather really knows how to pick its time."
Susan had already rushed into the rain, carrying a roll of waterproof tarpaulin as she ran towards the north section of the wall foundation. Only one meter high had been built there, and the foundation trenches weren't fully filled yet. Rainwater had already begun to flow down the slope, and bubbles were forming on the soil surface.
"Build the wall first!" Chen Hao stuffed the biscuits back into his pocket, grabbed the sandbags on the ground, and started moving them to the low-lying area.
The four split up. Carl and Susan secured the tarpaulin with nylon rope, tying one end to the wire mesh and the other end into the brickwork. Chen Hao and Nana carried the last few bags of mixed clay and piled them at the base of the wall to create a temporary flood barrier. The wind grew stronger, making it hard to stand, and the rain stung their faces.
“These sandbags won’t last long,” Carl said, wiping the water from his face. “If the rain doesn’t stop, this place will be a small river by tomorrow morning.”
"There's no use talking about this now," Chen Hao said, panting. "We'll take care of as much as we can."
They had just finished covering the key sections when a bolt of lightning struck, illuminating the entire construction site. Immediately afterward, a deafening clap of thunder shook the ground. The tarpaulins rattled and their edges were whipped up by the wind.
"It's collapsed again!" Susan suddenly shouted.
Everyone turned their heads and saw that the two-meter-high corner of the wall on the east side had tilted, the bricks were loose, and mortar was squeezing out from the cracks. That was the foundation that had been repaired just yesterday, and the soil underneath had already been softened by the water.
"Quick! Remove some of it to relieve the pressure!" Nana rushed over, inserted her hands into the brick seams, and began to pull it out.
The others immediately followed. Chen Hao squatted on the ground, carrying bricks out one by one. His clothes were completely soaked and clung heavily to his body. His fingers were numb with cold, but he didn't stop moving.
"I knew I shouldn't have built it so high," he muttered. "I thought rushing to meet the deadline would save us some face, but God washed it all away."
"You still have the mood to tell lame jokes?" Carl looked up at him as he demolished the wall.
"I don't tell jokes, or I'll be crying in a minute." Chen Hao grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. "Besides, crying won't help, the rain won't stop just because I'm howling."
Susan didn't speak, silently stacking the dismantled bricks into a row. Her hair was plastered to her forehead, and she was still taking notes: 15% of the existing walls were damaged, the foundation was submerged in water to a depth of over 40 centimeters, and the estimated recovery time was...
She paused here, pen in hand, and crossed out the rest of the text.
The rain hadn't stopped by daybreak, but it had lessened somewhat. The wind was still howling, but at least it wasn't whipping up sand and gravel that lashed at people's faces. The four men huddled together in the work shed, their feet on wooden planks to keep out the damp. A few emergency lights sat on the ground, casting a dim, yellowish glow.
“Given the situation, it will delay things by at least five days,” Susan finally spoke, her voice very soft.
Carl leaned against the corner, holding an empty battery tube in his hand, repeatedly straightening and bending it back. He didn't look up or respond.
Chen Hao sat in a folding chair, his notebook lying open on his lap. A corner of the page was damp, and the handwriting had blurred. He picked up his pen and quickly crossed out all the original deadlines.
“The plan has changed,” he said. “I never expected it to go smoothly anyway.”
"Then what are you hoping for?" Karl looked up.
“I’m hoping we won’t be brought down by a rainstorm.” Chen Hao closed his notebook. “You see, a wall can be rebuilt if it falls down, and the ground can be filled if it collapses, but if people’s hearts are scattered, then it’s really over.”
No one responded.
He didn't mind and turned to look at Nana: "What suggestions do you have? We can't just keep waiting for the weather to clear up."
Nana stood at the doorway, the camera panning across the construction site outside. Rainwater streamed down the roof, forming a curtain of water in front of her.
“The existing foundation has insufficient drainage capacity,” she said. “I suggest changing it to a stepped structure, with drainage channels on each floor to prevent water seepage.”
"It sounds like building terraced fields," Chen Hao said, scratching his head.
“The essence is the same.” Nana brought up the projector, and a set of simple diagrams appeared on the screen. “Using gravity-based stratified drainage increases the construction difficulty by 20%, but improves the flood resistance by six times.”
"Then what are we waiting for?" Chen Hao slapped his thigh. "Let's start revising the plan as soon as the rain gets a little lighter."
Susan looked at the projection and slowly nodded. Carl looked down at the battery tube in his hand and casually tossed it into the recycling bin.
“Anyway, I have nothing else to do,” he said.
After noon, the rain subsided slightly. A crack appeared in the clouds, letting in a sliver of grayish-white light. Chen Hao led three men to inspect the entire perimeter of the wall in the rain. The mud was difficult to traverse, and their shoes kept slipping.
When they reached the northwest corner, Nana suddenly stopped.
“This section has shifted by 0.5 centimeters.” She squatted down and touched the brick seam with her fingers. “It’s 0.3 centimeters more than this morning.”
"Is the soil still sinking?" Susan asked.
“It can’t be ruled out,” Nana stood up. “Continued monitoring is needed.”
"So you still have to keep watch tonight?" Chen Hao asked, looking at her.
“I will stay on duty,” she said. “Infrared mode can penetrate rain and fog.”
“Then I’ll keep you company,” Chen Hao said. “It’s too boring to stay alone. I’ll tell you some jokes to cheer you up.”
“You’re not telling a joke, you’re telling a disaster,” Carl muttered.
“You don’t understand, the highest level of humor is the kind that’s tinged with sadness.” Chen Hao patted the robot on the shoulder. “She might just laugh.”
Nana didn't respond, but simply turned and walked towards the control panel. Her steps were steady, and she didn't slow down even as she waded through the puddles.
As evening fell, the wind picked up again.
Two lamps were lit in the shed. Susan and Carl, wrapped in blankets, leaned against a corner, taking turns closing their eyes to rest. Chen Hao sat in a chair, his head nodding as he drifted off to sleep. He was still clutching the wet notebook in his hand.
Nana stood by the window, the camera continuously scanning the outside wall.
Rainwater flowed down the wall, gathering into trickles between the bricks. At one corner of the wall, the soil loosened slightly, and a small clump of soil slid down and fell into a puddle.
She didn't move.
The data is automatically recorded in the background.
Chen Hao suddenly opened his eyes and glanced at his watch.
What time is it?
"11:17 PM," Nana replied.
"Oh." He yawned. "You know... if this rain doesn't stop by tomorrow morning, should we consider raising a couple of ducks?"
Nana didn't turn around.
"Why raise ducks?"
“It’s convenient to work in the water,” Chen Hao laughed. “Besides, ducks don’t mind a lot of mud.”
Outside the shed, another gust of wind blew by.
The tarpaulin shook violently, making a cracking sound. A thin crack, less than two centimeters wide, appeared in the ground near the foundation of the northern section of the wall, but it was slowly spreading.
Nana's camera captured this moment.
She raised her hand and pressed the communication button.
"Chen Hao".
"Um?"
"New cracks have appeared in the foundation on the north side."
How long?
"Currently 1.3 meters tall."
Is it still moving?
"exist."
Chen Hao sat up straight and rubbed his face.
"Wake up Carl."
Nana turned and walked to the corner, reaching out to push Karl's shoulder.
Karl suddenly opened his eyes, and instinctively grabbed the iron bar beside the bed with one hand.
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