The shape outside the cave stopped about five meters away, its head facing the crevice where they were hiding. There was no sound in the air, only the slow, drawn-out rhythm of water droplets dripping from the rock wall.
Chen Hao's shoulder was pressed against the cold stone, his knees were still numb, but he dared not move again. The push had left a layer of damp moss on his back, as cold as if someone had stuffed a block of ice into his clothes.
Nana's hand was still on his wrist, her fingertips trembling slightly—not out of fear, but as normal fluctuations during a low-power reboot. The blue light in her eyes gradually brightened, like a nightlight being reconnected to its power source.
"Did it...smell something?" His throat was so dry that he barely opened his mouth to speak.
“I’m not sure,” she said in a low voice, “but its olfactory sensory area is pointing in that direction.”
“That’s because I can smell it.” He smiled wryly. “The smell of sweat on me is so strong that I could be used as a promotional sample in a supermarket.”
Nana didn't reply, but instead quietly pulled up the heat source trajectory map she had just recorded, projecting a semi-transparent data stream in the corner of her field of vision. She compared the three patrol routes and found that this time it had indeed deviated from the original route, and the dwell time had been significantly longer.
“It may have sensed soil disturbance,” she said, “or organic residue.”
“We sprinkled wood ash when we dug the trench,” Chen Hao recalled. “And there were seed husks on my gloves… I can’t be that sensitive, can I?”
“In such a closed ecosystem, any external variable can be amplified.” She paused, “It’s like when you step into a pond, all the fish scatter.”
"So growing vegetables is almost like dropping bombs into a lake?" He sighed. "No wonder they check names like they're doing a census."
The thing outside finally turned slowly, its body sliding forward segment by segment, the dragging sound gradually fading into the distance. Only when the last tremor disappeared at the end of the passage did Chen Hao dare to exhale the breath he had been holding.
He slowly loosened his grip on the shovel handle, prying his fingers apart one by one, his palms covered in sweat.
"It's gone?"
"Let's leave for now," Nana replied softly. "The event isn't over yet; we expect to pass by again in two hours."
Chen Hao slid down against the rock wall, his legs too weak to obey him. He looked down at his mud-covered shoes, with a small patch of moss still clinging to the toes.
"Do you think... insects might be this intelligent too?" he suddenly asked.
"What?"
“I mean,” he looked up at her, “our land was just turned over, the seeds were just planted, and they haven’t even sprouted yet, and it’s already attracted a four-meter-long slug king. What about those little bugs that want to nibble on the vegetable leaves? Don’t they have a good nose?”
Nana remained silent for a few seconds.
“In theory, arthropods are more sensitive to volatile organic compounds,” she said, “especially olefins released when seedlings emerge from the soil.”
“That’s even more effective.” He grinned, but his smile was a little bitter. “We’re the kind of business that’s open for business and even advertises with a loudspeaker.”
He leaned back, closed his eyes, and his mind was filled with the man's greasy back and slowly rising and falling head. The oppressive feeling wasn't like the tension before a beast pounces, but rather like being slowly crushed by an old-fashioned steamroller, with nowhere to hide.
"We can't use chemical agents," he suddenly said again.
"Why?"
"Think about it, what if I spray some insecticide, and the smell wafts out, and then an even bigger one comes crawling over and knocking on my vegetable garden door in the middle of the night?"
"The possibility exists."
“Then we’ll have to find another way.” He opened his eyes, his gaze somewhat unfocused, yet something gleaming within them. “We can’t just stand by and watch the seedlings get eaten into sieves before they even sprout, can we? Aren’t there any plants on this desolate planet that can control insects?”
Nana's blue eyes flickered slightly as she began to retrieve scan data of the surrounding vegetation. During her last exploration, she had recorded the distribution of plants within a 15-meter radius of the cave, including three types of epiphytic vines growing on the rock walls, two types of ground-spreading ferns, and a type of low-stemmed herb growing along the edge of the water veins.
"We are analyzing the secondary metabolites," she said. "Some plants contain irritating volatile oils or alkaloids."
"Are there any insecticides available?"
"Preliminary findings indicate that the sap of a plant called 'Centipeda minima' contains α-pinene, which can interfere with nerve conduction in insects under laboratory conditions."
Speak like a human.
"Its sap can cause insects to convulse and become paralyzed."
Chen Hao was taken aback for a moment, then laughed: "Hey, you really have a treasure hidden away."
“But this is only a theoretical model,” she added. “It hasn’t been tested in the field yet.”
"It's alright, as long as we have a direction." He slowly got up, supporting himself on his knees, and patted the mud off his pants. "Is what we lack most right now hope? No, it's a reason to work. Now we have it—let's go gather herbs."
"You want to extract the juice?"
"What else? Wait for the bugs to come and sign for a free lunch?" He moved his wrists, which were still a bit stiff, but he had finally regained some strength. "Don't you have a blade module? Lend it to me to cut some leaves and try it out."
"It is recommended to wear protective gloves, as the sap of this plant is slightly corrosive to the skin."
"Alright, alright, you look like you escaped from a biohazard lab." He muttered as he pulled gloves from his backpack—one was a piece of rubber cut from an old spacesuit, and the other was sewn from roasted lizard skin.
Nana initiated the data collection process, and her miniature robotic arm extended from her shoulder, its end switching to a sharp cutting blade. Based on the database location, she first moved towards a rock crevice ten meters away, where a clump of half-meter-tall flaky quinoa grew, its leaves serrated and with dark purple edges.
Chen Hao followed behind, his steps still a little unsteady, but steady. As they passed the edge of the planting area, he deliberately stopped to look at the newly dug barrier ditch. The wood ash scattered at the bottom of the ditch had been moistened by the water seeping in overnight, forming a thin layer of mud.
“This thing won’t hold out for long,” he said. “Insects are very clever; they can find all sorts of ways to get around.”
“Multiple defense mechanisms are needed.” Nana walked to the target plant and adjusted the cutting angle. “A single method cannot deal with group behavior.”
“Then let’s try a multi-pronged approach.” He squatted down, looking at the flax plant. “Let’s try some natural pesticides first. If it works, we can open a ‘cave ecological pesticide factory’ in the future, focusing on green and pollution-free products.”
Nana cut off a small section of stem and leaves and placed it into the sealed sample container she carried with her. The sap made a slight hissing sound and emitted a wisp of white smoke when it came into contact with the inner wall of the container.
"The reaction was violent," she said. "The concentration of the active ingredient was higher than expected."
"Is that a potent medicine?" Chen Hao leaned closer to take a look. "It seems the plants here are not to be trifled with either; they're ugly and have a bad temper."
“Two other candidate plants are also nearby.” She pointed to the other side of the rock wall. “One is blue sedge, whose root secretions can repel small arthropods; the other is litmus, which produces antibacterial smoke when burned after drying.”
"Wow, you've got quite a variety." He stood up, patted his knee, and said, "Then hurry up and pick some of everything, let's make a 'pest control package'."
"The number of samples needs to be controlled to avoid disrupting the local ecological balance."
"You're worried about it going extinct?" He rolled his eyes. "There aren't even any bees here. How will it pollinate? On its own?"
"The ecosystem is unknown," she said. "Every link could affect the overall stability."
"Alright, alright, pick three leaves and leave two roots, environmental champion." He waved his hand. "Anyway, I'm not here to commit plant slaughter, I just want to survive."
Nana continued her work, her movements precise and restrained. She recorded the coordinates and growth status of each plant she collected to ensure its recovery could be tracked.
Chen Hao stood aside and waited, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding rock walls. In those corners where sunlight never shines, the plants grew crookedly, yet they all possessed a certain fierceness—some were as hard as sheet metal, some as slippery as if coated with oil, and some were simply covered in thorns.
“The plants here,” he murmured, “have a hard time surviving.”
"Survival of the fittest." Nana put away the last sample. "All life is fighting against the environment."
"So we also have to learn to live by the rules here." He took the sample box and weighed it in his hand. "We can't rely on the Earth's system anymore. There are no fertilizers, no pesticides, no supermarket discount coupons... we can only find our own way."
He looked up toward the planting area, where the dark brown land appeared quiet and fragile under the beam of his headlamp.
“Since this place can produce four-meter-long slug kings,” he said, “we must be able to find a way to control the pests.”
Nana shut down the data acquisition module, and the robotic arm retracted into her body. She turned to look at him, a blue light flickering gently deep within her pupils.
What's the next step?
He gripped the sample box tightly, his knuckles making a clicking sound.
"Go home and brew the medicine."
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