The sky had just begun to brighten, and the wind had stopped. Nana stood on the pile of rubble, the scanner's light flickering before her eyes. Chen Hao squatted in front of an overturned desk, holding half a charcoal pencil, drawing lines on a wooden board.
He looked up at Nana. "The data is out?"
“It’s out.” Nana walked over and projected the image onto the wooden board. “Thirty-nine percent of the materials are recyclable to meet repair needs.”
Susan, sitting beside him with her knees drawn up, sighed softly upon hearing this. Carl was rubbing a piece of wire between his fingers; the copper wire was blackened and would break at the slightest touch.
"In other words, we're short 60% of the materials needed to repair the generator," Chen Hao said.
“The exact figure is 61.2 percent,” Nana said.
"You really don't leave me any illusions."
No one laughed.
Carl threw the piece of wire on the ground. "I'll go search the east side again. Maybe there's something good hidden in some corner."
“I’ll go too.” Susan stood up and dusted off her pants.
Chen Hao didn't stop them. He knew the chances were slim, but he had to try.
He and Nana stayed where they were, continuing to look at the blueprints. The wooden board depicted a simplified structure of the base's energy station, with several red lines marking the locations of critical circuits.
“What we lack most is high-voltage insulated wire,” Nana said, pointing to one of them. “Without this, a short circuit will occur as soon as current flows through it.”
"What about the others?"
"The corrosion-resistant metal pipe, sealing joint assembly, and voltage stabilizing module are all missing."
"Can something else be used instead? Like ordinary iron pipe?"
"Ordinary iron pipes will be corroded and perforated by moisture within 72 hours."
"Where's the plastic pipe?"
"Unable to handle pressure."
Chen Hao threw the charcoal pencil on the ground. "So we can't even find anything decent."
"At present, it is not possible."
He looked up at the sky. The sun had risen, shining on the twisted steel bars, reflecting a white light. In the distance was a warehouse that had collapsed halfway, its walls peeled away, revealing the concrete skeleton inside.
"What about the underground storage room?" he asked.
“The entrance is covered by more than two tons of concrete,” Nana said. “Manual excavation would take at least three days, and there is a risk of secondary collapse.”
"Then dig."
"We don't have enough support materials."
Chen Hao was silent for a few seconds. "Don't you have a database? Doesn't it mention any homemade methods? Like... wrapping electrical wires with tree bark?"
"Tree bark does not have insulating properties."
"What about pig intestines? Can they be dried and used as pipes?"
"Pig intestines will rot."
"I was just saying it casually, don't take it seriously."
"I never take things too seriously; I just state the facts."
Chen Hao rolled his eyes and was about to speak when he saw Carl and Susan return. They were empty-handed, their faces covered in mud.
“They searched the whole place,” Carl said. “There was a cabinet that looked sealed, but when we opened it, there was half a bag of cookies soaking in it.”
“There’s not much left in the medical room either,” Susan shook her head. “All the sensors are destroyed, and not a single thermometer is intact.”
Chen Hao looked down at his drawing, picked up his charcoal pencil, and drew a big X in the "Available Materials" column.
"Deleted."
He looked up. "Now we're only looking at the list of 'things that need to be completed'."
Nana opened a new page listing seven core missing materials. Each item was marked in red: No alternative.
The four people stood in a circle around the wooden plank, and no one spoke.
A piece of mushy paper was swept up by the wind and flew past his feet. Karl reached out to grab it, but missed.
“Aren’t we being incredibly foolish?” he suddenly said. “Knowing full well that it can’t be fixed, we’re still making a list here.”
"Otherwise what?" Chen Hao asked.
"Can't we just build a shack, grow some vegetables, and make a living?"
"The shacks won't keep out the next flood."
"Let's do it again, let's run again."
“You can run, Nana can run, but what about Susan? She was panting like a bellows after walking only 200 meters yesterday.”
Susan didn't refute, she just lowered her head.
Carl kicked the sheet metal on the ground. "The problem is, we don't even have enough nails to repair the shack."
Chen Hao squatted down and used a stick to draw the outline of the base on the muddy ground. The lines were crooked, but the general layout could be seen.
“The electricity must be on,” he said. “Without electricity, Nana’s system can only last two days. Without water, we’ll have to rely on the water purification system even if we drink rainwater. If we don’t fix these things, we’re just waiting to die.”
“But where are the materials?” Carl asked.
“Not here,” Nana suddenly said.
Three people were looking at her at the same time.
“My geological database shows that there is a high-silica rock belt in the northern part of the planet, from which insulation materials can be extracted. There is an iron-manganese nodule deposition area in the eastern canyon, which is suitable for processing metal components.”
“You mean…outside?” Susan looked up.
"The nearest high-silica rock belt is about 120 kilometers away."
“It will take several days to walk,” Carl said.
"We may encounter unknown environmental risks along the way," Nana added.
Chen Hao didn't speak. He stared at the lines on the ground, tracing them one by one. Finally, he stopped at the location of the energy station.
“So the conclusion is—” he slowly stood up, “we need to go out and look for it.”
"Are you sure?" Carl asked.
"I'm not sure. But I'm sure that sitting here and waiting will only make me poorer."
"So who do you plan to send?"
"Me and Nana."
"What if something happens on the road, you're a human and a robot?"
"Do you have someone better?"
Karl opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Susan asked softly, "When do we leave?"
"First thing tomorrow morning."
Nana nodded. "I will compile a list of the necessary equipment tonight and conduct a final scan to confirm the existing supplies."
“I’ll help you too,” Susan said.
Carl stood there, looking down at his worn-out shoes. After a while, he bent down, picked up a rusty wrench, walked to the pile of tools, sat down, and began to sand the edges with gravel.
The sun slowly moved overhead.
Chen Hao walked to a pile of scrap metal and pulled out a few battery boxes. The casings were cracked, but he still neatly stacked them one by one and put them into his backpack.
Nana walked over and asked, "Are you collecting all this useless stuff?"
“It’s useful,” he said. “Even if we can’t fix the generator, we can take it apart and use the parts to build other things.”
"The logic holds true."
"I can be quite smart sometimes."
"This counts as one time."
He grinned and bent down to move a metal plate. Just as he lifted it, a dull pain shot through his ribs, and he lost his grip, the plate crashing back to the ground.
"Your injury hasn't healed yet," Nana said.
"I know."
"A rest is recommended."
"Suggestion received, but not adopted."
He took a deep breath, gripped the edge of the plank again, and slowly moved to the stacking area. Sweat streamed down his face and dripped into the mud.
Susan walked over, carrying a soaking wet medical manual. "I was thinking... what if we could find other human bases? Maybe they have surplus supplies."
“The possibility is extremely low,” Nana said. “According to meteorological models, this flood will cover the entire basin, and similar facilities will be severely damaged.”
But there are always exceptions, right?
No active signals have been detected at present.
"What if we're walking along and suddenly see a house with lights on?"
"The probability is less than 0.3 percent."
"Could you please stop with the numbers and just say 'possibly'?"
"cannot."
Susan pouted. "You're such a robot."
"I am."
Not far away, Carl had already sharpened the wrench and was testing its grip. He pinched his palm hard, leaving a red mark.
"At least the tools still work," he said.
Chen Hao walked over and patted him on the shoulder, "When you come back, I'll get you a new pair of shoes."
"I would be even more grateful if you could get me some socks."
"Socks are also one of the mission objectives."
The three of them smiled. The atmosphere relaxed a little.
Nana suddenly turned to face the western wilderness. Her scanner emitted a soft beep.
"An abnormal heat source signal has been detected."
Where?
"Eight kilometers to the northwest, it lasted for three seconds and then disappeared."
"Could it be an animal?"
"The peak temperature is close to the level of industrial combustion."
Chen Hao frowned. "Is someone starting a fire over there?"
"Unable to confirm."
"Could he be a survivor?"
"It could also be a trap."
"We have to go and take a look."
"Given your current physical condition, it is not recommended to take immediate action."
“I know,” Chen Hao said, looking at the distant horizon. “But we’re leaving tomorrow. If there’s anything there, it’s best to know in advance.”
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