Chen Hao lay prone on the ground, his hands bracing against the mud, and quickly pulled his legs back from the edge of the crack. He didn't dare stand up, slowly crawling back a few steps until the ground felt solid under his feet before daring to breathe.
“There’s a hole under this soil,” he said, his voice a little strained.
Nana had already approached, her eyes flashing a few times. Her scan results came back quickly: "The cavity is approximately 1.8 meters deep and extends laterally for more than five meters. The structure is unstable; it is recommended to stop approaching."
Susan took a red marker flag from her backpack and stuck it next to the crack. Carl then stretched out a cordon and circled the area.
“We almost all collapsed just now,” Carl said.
"I almost collapsed into it." Chen Hao sat up and patted the mud off his pants. "You guys are standing far away, you can only watch the show at most."
No one laughed.
He scratched his head: "Then...who will carry me?"
This time, someone laughed.
Nana said, "Next, I will guide the route, avoiding soft areas. Everyone should maintain a two-meter distance and stop immediately if anything unusual is detected."
“Listen to the robot.” Susan put away her notebook. “First, figure out if it’s safe for people to stand here.”
The team regrouped, with Nana at the very front, carefully calculating the placement of each foot. She would stop every few steps to scan the ground and confirm that it was stable before continuing.
Chen Hao followed behind, observing his surroundings as he walked. The plants remained the same, their leaves slowly turning as if tracking them. He reached out and touched a low shrub; the leaves immediately shifted, pointing directly at his fingers.
"Why are you looking at me?" he said. "I'm not the sun."
“These plants are phototropic,” Nana said without turning her head, “but their photosensitivity mechanism is 37 percent faster than that of ordinary plants, making them more responsive.”
"So, they especially love chasing the light?" Chen Hao said, "Just like my ex."
"Where did you get an ex from?" Carl asked from behind.
"In a dream." Chen Hao turned around and smiled. "She even brought up breaking up in her dream."
Susan rolled her eyes: "Can you stop using dreaming as an excuse?"
"No." Chen Hao shrugged. "I even became president in my dreams, and my achievements were much better than in reality."
As they spoke, they came to a gentle slope. The view opened up, revealing a flat area in the center of the island, surrounded by rolling hills.
"I'll go up and take a look," Chen Hao said, starting to walk towards higher ground.
"Wait a minute." Nana raised her hand. "There are signs of slippage on the surface of the slope. I suggest you take a detour."
"How do you know everything?" Chen Hao muttered, but still followed her down another path.
Upon reaching the top, he took out a piece of waterproof paper and a pen, and drew several lines on it.
"There are signs of water flowing through the ditch to the north, probably left over from the rainy season," he said. "The area to the west looks like a swamp, while the woods to the south are relatively flat and suitable for walking. Where should we go next?"
Nana pulled up a heat map: "The vegetation density on the south side is moderate, and the slope is less than 15 degrees, making it the most efficient for passage. There are methane release points in the swamp area on the west side, so it is not recommended to go deep into it."
"Then let's go south." Chen Hao finished drawing the sketch, folded it, and stuffed it into his pocket. "While we're at it, let's see if there's anything to eat."
“Let’s take samples first.” Susan had already opened her toolkit and taken out several sealed bags. “I need to take five sets of soil samples, as well as leaves from at least ten different plants.”
"Are you planning to open a botanical garden?" Chen Hao asked.
“I want to know if these things are edible,” she said. “Just in case you take a bite and turn to stone on the spot, I’ll have a record.”
"I'm so fat, even if I turned into a rock, I wouldn't kill anyone," Chen Hao patted his belly.
Carl crouched down next to a clump of thorny plants and used pliers to cut off a small section of branch. "This thing has a sticky secretion at the base."
"Don't touch it with your hands," Susan reminded her. "We'll deal with it when we get back."
Nana stood still, her eyes darting around rapidly. A few seconds later she said, "Trace amounts of volatile organic compounds were detected in the air, mainly terpenes, which are commonly found in ecosystems with active humus layers."
"Translate it into human language," Chen Hao said.
“The soil here is very fertile, suitable for things to grow,” she said. “But some components are not in the database, and there may be unknown metabolic pathways.”
"So, the vegetables that grow on this island might make you grow horns?" Chen Hao frowned.
“There is currently no evidence to support this change,” Nana said, “but it is advisable not to consume it indiscriminately.”
"What a disappointment," he sighed.
At that moment, Carl shouted, "Come and see this!"
He found several indentations at the edge of the forest, lined up in a row, deeply embedded in the gravel. Each indentation was about forty centimeters long, with three forks at the front, resembling some kind of footprint.
“This wasn’t stepped on by anyone,” Chen Hao said, squatting down to demonstrate. “Unless someone was wearing specially made slippers.”
“It wasn’t a deer either.” Susan touched the edge of the mark. “Deer hooves wouldn’t leave such deep scratches.”
Nana activated the animal behavior analysis module. After scrolling for a while, a conclusion popped up: "Excluding existing terrestrial vertebrate models, its morphological characteristics are similar to bipedal, clawed appendages, and its movement is irregular, suggesting it may be omnivorous or burrowing."
"It digs things up to eat?" Carl asked.
“There are traces of fallen leaves being turned around some of the footprints,” Susan said, pointing to a pile of dead leaves nearby. “It looks like someone was digging in the dirt.”
"Maybe they're looking for bugs," Chen Hao said. "Or maybe they're burying snacks."
“It's also possible its lair is nearby.” Karl looked around. “Should we retreat?”
“No rush.” Chen Hao stood up. “If it really lived here, it would have come out long ago. The fact that it’s not moving now means either it’s gone far away or it doesn’t come out during the day.”
“How did you know?” Susan asked.
“I’m guessing,” he said. “But I’m always pretty accurate when I guess randomly.”
Nana activated the tracking mode: "I can advance 500 meters along the track and set up a temporary observation point. I will not make any active contact, but only record environmental data."
“I’ll go,” Carl volunteered. “I have good eyesight and I can take pictures.”
“You can’t do it alone.” Chen Hao shook his head. “At least two people per group. I’ll go with you, and Susan and Nana will stay on the perimeter to provide support.”
"You almost fell into the pit," Susan warned.
"So I'm being extra careful now." Chen Hao patted his chest. "Look, I even walk on tiptoe now."
He actually tiptoed, but stepped on a loose stone and almost fell.
Carl helped him up: "Stop showing off your light-footed skills."
After discussing it, the four decided to proceed as planned. Nana marked out a safe route ahead, Susan was responsible for recording environmental parameters along the way, and Chen Hao and Carl slowly followed the footprints.
The plants continued to slowly rotate their leaves along the way, but there were no other abnormalities. The ground gradually hardened, and the amount of gravel increased, indicating that we had entered a rocky area.
After walking about four hundred meters, the trail suddenly disappeared into a pile of rocks.
"Gone?" Carl looked around. "Did it fly away?"
“They might have gone around it.” Chen Hao squatted down to check. “There are too many stones here, so you can’t leave a footprint.”
Nana's voice came through the communicator: "There are no signs of life within 300 meters ahead, but there is a weak vibration frequency underground, which occurs periodically, about once every seven minutes."
"What's snoring?" Chen Hao asked.
“It’s impossible to determine,” she said. “I suggest we halt our advance and establish an observation post.”
They set up a makeshift shelter behind a large rock, and Carl set up his camera, aiming it at the pile of rocks. Chen Hao sat on the ground, took out half a compressed biscuit, and took a bite.
"What do you think this thing looks like?" he asked, chewing on a biscuit.
“Three toes, two feet, and it can dig,” Carl said. “It might be a large chicken.”
“A chicken wouldn’t dig that deep,” Chen Hao said. “Unless it’s trying to build a basement.”
“It could also be some kind of mutated species.” Susan recorded the data from a distance. “In a long-term isolated environment, the evolutionary direction may be completely different.”
"Could it have evolved to be able to talk?" Chen Hao swallowed a biscuit. "The first thing it will say when we meet is 'Welcome to dinner.'"
“You are the ingredient,” Carl said.
As they were talking, the ground trembled slightly.
It was very slight, like someone tapping on the wall in the distance.
All four of them stopped what they were doing.
A few minutes later, the same vibration came again, this time seemingly closer.
“It’s moving,” Nana said. “Slowly, and it hasn’t changed direction.”
Chen Hao slowly stood up, staring at the pile of rubble.
A rock the size of a fist suddenly rolled down from the top of the pile.
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