Daylight broke.
Chen Hao was still sitting at the control panel, his eyes fixed on the red dot in the lower right corner of the screen. It hadn't disappeared, nor had it moved; it just flashed quietly, like an eye that refused to close.
He rubbed his face, pressing his fingers against his eyelids, feeling as if his eyeballs were being rubbed with sandpaper. He hadn't slept all night; his head felt as heavy as if it were filled with cement, but he dared not move. Nana said the signal had come back, this time twelve percent stronger than last time. He didn't know what that meant, but he remembered that after this thing appeared last time, the base was almost blown to pieces by the wind.
Footsteps sounded outside the door, and Carl pushed it open, carrying two lunchboxes. He placed one of them next to Chen Hao; the plastic lid wasn't closed properly, and a smell of pickled vegetables wafted out.
“Eat something,” Carl said. “You can’t survive by staring at a screen.”
Chen Hao didn't move or speak. He knew Karl wanted him to rest, and he knew the other was right. But now, if he closed his eyes, all he could see in his mind was the image of the ventilation duct crashing down and the cable box submerged in water. Those things had just happened, and he was afraid that if he relaxed, another problem would arise.
“I’ve already sent people to Sector C.” Karl leaned against the table. “The support structure won’t last much longer; it needs to be replaced this morning. Also, three of the sensor posts in the west wing have lost signal; I’ll take some people to check them out later.”
"Okay." Chen Hao nodded. "Have Nana retrieve the data first, don't fix it blindly."
As soon as he finished speaking, Nana's voice came from behind the control panel: "Ready. The latest scan is complete. The abnormal energy fluctuations are still ongoing, with the frequency stabilizing at 3.7 Hz. The waveform repeats periodically and has an 89% similarity to the storm precursor signal recorded 72 hours ago."
Susan entered at that moment, her hair neatly tied back, her face expressionless. She walked to the other side of the control panel, sat down, and turned on the terminal.
"Are you two done talking?" she asked. "Or are you planning to continue exchanging glances?"
"We're about to get down to business." Chen Hao reached for the lunchbox; the plastic casing was a little hot to the touch. He opened the lid, revealing compressed rice and half a piece of cured meat inside—it looked a bit better than yesterday's meal.
"Let me state the result first," he said. "The storm has stopped, the base hasn't collapsed, and the equipment is all still alive. We held it."
"And then?" Susan looked up.
“Then,” Chen Hao took a bite of rice, “we might be in trouble again.”
He turned the screen towards the three people, where the red dots were clearly visible. Nana simultaneously pulled up two sets of waveforms, arranged vertically. One was the faint disturbance captured early yesterday morning, and the other was the current signal.
"Can you see it?" Chen Hao pointed to the new waveform. "This line is more stable, and the rhythm is more regular. It doesn't look like a natural phenomenon."
“It could be an aftershock,” Carl frowned. “The tectonic activity hasn’t completely subsided yet.”
“I hope so too.” Chen Hao shook his head. “But there were these signals before the last tsunami and before the volcanic eruption. Three times, and each time it was the same. I don’t believe it’s such a coincidence.”
"So you think someone's up to something?" Susan asked.
“I don’t know who it is,” Chen Hao said, “but I’m sure this thing comes to say hello before every major disaster.”
The air was still for a few seconds.
Carl put down his lunchbox, having only taken two bites of food. Susan's fingers stopped typing on the keyboard.
"What do you suggest we do?" Carl asked.
"Don't spread this around yet," Chen Hao said. "Don't create panic. What we lack most right now isn't supplies, it's manpower. If everyone thinks another big battle is about to break out, who will be willing to work?"
"So you're planning to pretend nothing's wrong?" Susan's tone was a little cold.
“It’s not an act,” Chen Hao said, looking at her. “It’s about preparing in advance. So that if something really happens, we can at least hold out a little longer.”
Nana suddenly spoke up: "I suggest activating a dynamic monitoring mechanism. I can conduct a full-band scan every hour, while simultaneously connecting to a shallow geological sensor network to improve the accuracy of early warnings."
"Okay." Chen Hao nodded. "Keep it running at full power, don't try to save electricity."
"Energy consumption will increase by 35 percent," Nana warned.
"I can't worry about that now," he said. "Keeping people alive is more important than saving electricity."
“I agree.” Susan closed the terminal. “Whether it’s an illusion or not, we should at least have a backup plan. I’ll reorganize the data from before the last three crises and see if there are any common patterns.”
“You’re in charge of the model,” Chen Hao said, turning to Karl. “You take a team to inspect the outer sensor array, especially in the northwest. The signal is strongest in that area, and there might be some equipment there that’s still usable.”
"Understood." Carl stood up. "I'll leave after I finish eating."
"Wait," Chen Hao called out to him. "Don't force it. If you find any unusual heat sources or unidentified devices, come back and don't touch them."
“You suspect it’s a trap?” Carl turned around.
“I’m not sure about anything,” Chen Hao said, “but I’d rather think one step ahead than be one second too late in my defense.”
After the two left, only Chen Hao and Susan remained in the room.
She didn't leave; she remained seated, staring at the scrolling logs on her screen.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Chen Hao asked.
“I’m not hungry,” she said. “I’m wondering, if it was really done by someone, why would they do it?”
"Who knows?" Chen Hao chewed on some cured meat. "Maybe they think we've lived long enough."
Susan glanced at him, didn't smile, but her lips twitched slightly.
"When did you become so serious?" she asked.
“Last night,” he said, “when I saw the third box of cables submerged in water.”
She didn't say anything more, got up and left.
Chen Hao was left alone in the control room, his lunchbox mostly cold. He didn't eat anymore, just stared at the red dot on the screen, watching it flash.
The sun rose outside, and sunlight streamed through the window, falling on the control panel and forming a bright square. Dust motes floated in the light, like tiny insects.
Nana's voice rang out again: "A new scan has begun. The current ionospheric disturbance value has risen to 4.1 Hz and has lasted for 47 minutes. Preliminary assessment indicates that the signal source is located 18 kilometers northwest of the base, at a depth of approximately 300 meters."
Chen Hao sat up straight.
"Three hundred meters?" he asked. "Underground?"
“It’s highly likely,” Nana replied. “There are no obvious buildings or facilities on the surface, but the geological structure shows signs of artificial cavities.”
"A hollow cavity?" Chen Hao frowned. "You mean there's a hole down there?"
“It’s not a natural cave.” Nana pulled up a topographical profile. “It has a regular shape and smooth edges, suggesting it was formed by mechanical excavation.”
Chen Hao stared at the picture for a while, then suddenly smiled.
"So someone really did dig a hole down there."
He picked up the walkie-talkie and pressed the call button: "Karl, can you hear me?"
A few seconds later, a response came: "At the maintenance site, the signal is weak, what do you say?"
"Stop fixing it," Chen Hao said. "Take your tools and go straight to the third sensor point in the northwest. I suspect there's something wrong down there."
"Specific questions?" Carl asked.
“I can’t say for sure,” Chen Hao said, looking at the screen. “But I feel that someone knew what was going to happen before we did.”
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the walkie-talkie.
"Understood," Carl said. "We'll set off immediately."
Chen Hao put down the walkie-talkie and turned to look at Nana: "Keep a close watch, call me immediately if there are any changes."
“In progress,” Nana replied. “The next scan will be performed in fifty minutes.”
Chen Hao leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples. His head was still heavy, but he no longer felt tired. Something pressed down on his chest, heavier than exhaustion.
He opened his personal terminal and pulled up the base's construction log. The earliest record was from three years ago, when the place was still a wasteland. The seven of them had arrived on foot, thinking they had found a refuge.
But now that I think about it, why here of all places?
Why do signals always first appear in this location during every disaster?
He suddenly realized something—
They weren't the first people to arrive here.
Someone had already left their mark on this land, but they just hadn't noticed.
And these traces are awakening.
The lights in the control room flickered slightly.
Chen Hao looked up.
Nana's fingers slid rapidly across the panel, her speech faster than usual: "Warning: Ionospheric disturbance intensity suddenly increased to 5.6 Hz, and the waveform exhibited frequency division, suggesting that some kind of calibration is underway."
"Calibration?" Chen Hao stood up. "Calibrate what?"
“Unknown,” Nana said, “but the signal mode is transitioning to directional transmission. Initialization is expected to be completed within three hours.”
Chen Hao stared at the screen; the red dot was still flashing, but the frequency had changed. It was no longer flashing evenly, but rhythmically alternating between long and short beats, as if it were transmitting information.
He grabbed the walkie-talkie: "Karl, where are you right now?"
"We've just reached the third point." The voice trailed off. "All the sensor posts here are destroyed, and there's a hole in the ground."
"Don't go down!" Chen Hao roared, "Get back fifty meters immediately!"
“It’s too late.” Carl’s voice trailed off. “There’s light down there…”
Chen Hao rushed to the window and looked northwest. On the distant horizon, a faint blue light was seeping from the ground, like the earth cracking open.
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