The metal plate overhead wobbled twice, its edges curling up even higher. Chen Hao reacted faster than he thought, rushing forward and shoving Susan aside. The plate crashed down, hitting the spot where she had just been standing, splashing mud and water that soaked her shoes.
"This thing is even lazier than me." Chen Hao panted as he stood up, leaning against the wall. "It finally got up after lying down for two days."
No one laughed. Karl stared at the pile of twisted metal, his brow furrowed. "If another piece falls off, we'll be sleeping in the open."
Nana had already opened her tablet and brought up the site's structural diagram. On the screen, several red dots were flashing, concentrated at the junction of the east roof and the south wall. "Three main connection points are broken and severely corroded," she said. "They must be reinforced first, otherwise the entire wall may collapse next time the wind blows."
"Do you have any tools?" Susan wiped the dust off her face.
"The toolbox was soaked in water, the wrench still works, but the power drill is ruined." Carl crouched down to inspect the fallen support. "We'll have to do it manually."
"What about the materials?" Chen Hao asked.
“There are also six abandoned solar panel supports in the warehouse, whose length and load-bearing capacity meet the requirements for replacement beams.” Nana closed the flat panel. “There are also enough ropes, made of high-strength recycled fibers, which can withstand short-term loads.”
"Let's do it." Chen Hao clapped his hands. "Lying down and waiting for the sky to fall isn't my style."
The four immediately split up. Carl and Susan went to the warehouse to clear out building materials, while Chen Hao was responsible for cleaning up the debris and water in the fallen area. Nana stayed behind, using a projector to demonstrate the standard procedure for securing the nodes, and turned on the wind speed monitoring, broadcasting data every five minutes.
Chen Hao dragged a basket of scrap metal to the open space, his legs feeling a little weak. He didn't say anything and continued bending over to pick up screws. The muscles he had strained during the last training session hadn't fully recovered, and now they ached slightly with any exertion.
As Susan came out of the warehouse, she saw him pause, supporting his knee, before straightening up and pretending nothing was wrong. She didn't say anything, turned and went into the control room, emerging a few minutes later with a folding cart.
"From now on, use this route for heavy items." She parked the cart next to Chen Hao. "If you exhaust yourself, who will carry the next basket?"
"I can handle it," Chen Hao stubbornly insisted.
“You can be stubborn,” Susan glared at him, “but you can’t lie to your body.”
Nana walked over and glanced at him; the screen lit up. "Leg muscle fatigue index 86%, exceeding the safe operating range."
"Look, even the robot said I'm not suited for work," Chen Hao tried to renege on his promise.
“What I’m saying is—you’re not suited to continue carrying heavy objects,” Nana said calmly. “I suggest you be reassigned to a material handling and quality control position.”
"This is just being a supervisor," Chen Hao sighed. "Fine, fine, I've been promoted."
Before noon, the first batch of building materials arrived at the construction site. Carl skillfully cut the supports to the appropriate length with a saw. Susan and Nana worked together to drill holes and thread ropes to secure the first crossbeam. Chen Hao sat on the cart, handing over tools and providing feedback as he went.
"Karl, it's a shame you're not repairing spaceships with your skills."
“The people who repair the spaceship won’t be driven crazy by a supervisor like you.” Karl didn’t stop.
"I'm just trying to liven up the atmosphere on the construction site," Chen Hao grinned. "Otherwise, you guys would all be like robots, it would be so dull."
“I’m already a robot,” Nana said.
“You’re the exception,” Chen Hao waved his hand. “At least you can still criticize me.”
As the sun began to set, the three most dangerous connection points on the roof were all reinforced. The newly installed support beams firmly held the roof structure, and the paths for rainwater leakage were completely sealed off. Four people stood under the eaves inspecting the results, their clothes covered in mud, ash, and oil stains.
"It doesn't look like it's going to collapse." Chen Hao reached out and touched the seam. "It should hold up until tomorrow at least."
“It’s today,” Susan corrected, “but it’s not finished yet.”
"Same meaning," Chen Hao laughed. "Anyway, we won't have to sleep on the streets anymore."
Next is power restoration. The portable power supply only has half its charge left, and it must be precisely connected to the main control room lighting circuit, otherwise the interface may be burned out.
Nana was in charge of wiring, while Carl monitored current fluctuations. Susan and Chen Hao stood guard outside the distribution box to prevent accidental contact.
The moment the wires were connected, the LED strip lights on the ceiling of the main control room lit up in sections. The dim yellow light shone down, illuminating the mess on the floor and also revealing a few tired but relaxed faces.
"It's lit up!" Chen Hao slammed his fist on the wall. "Our efforts weren't in vain!"
"The lighting system has recovered to 70%." Nana looked at the data. "It can run for six hours."
No one spoke. They stood in the light, watching this place, almost torn apart by the wind and rain, being pieced back together bit by bit.
Carl pulled his notebook from his toolbox and began writing in today's project log. Susan squatted down to organize the remaining ropes and nails. Nana continued adjusting the voltage output to ensure there wouldn't be a sudden trip.
Chen Hao sat down in the corner, a towel draped over his shoulder, a smile on his face.
"How long do you think this light will stay on?" he asked Nana.
“Based on the current load, six hours,” Nana replied.
"I'm talking about the future," Chen Hao looked up. "Not just tonight, but the future. Can we keep it lit up all the time?"
Nana stopped what she was doing and glanced at him.
“Yes,” she said, “as long as we don’t stop.”
Susan stuffed the last roll of rope into the box and stood up. "We need to clear the drains tomorrow," she said. "Otherwise, if it rains again, the water will back up."
"I'll get up early," Chen Hao said. "Six o'clock, I definitely won't be late."
“I haven’t forgotten about you hiding the cookies,” Susan sneered. “Don’t think you’ve done something right just because the lights are on.”
"That's emergency rations!" Chen Hao exclaimed in a panic. "It could save your life in a critical moment!"
"Save your mouth." Karl said without looking up.
It was late at night, but the lights were still on. None of the four people had left. One was writing notes, one was adjusting equipment, one was packing up tools, and one sat motionless with his eyes open.
Chen Hao suddenly pulled the bag of biscuits out of his pocket, tore it open, and divided it into four pieces.
"Here you go." He handed it to the others, "One bite each, to replenish your blood sugar."
Susan took it without saying a word. Carl took a piece and took a bite. Nana also took one and placed it on her lap.
“I don’t need any energy intake,” she said, “but I accepted it.”
"That's enough," Chen Hao laughed. "Anyway, I'm not willing to give it all to you."
He leaned back against the wall, his eyelids drooping but not closing. He knew he had to get up early tomorrow.
Carl closed his notebook and looked up at the roof. "This house finally looks like a house."
"It's not fully healed yet," Susan reminded her.
"But it's habitable now," Chen Hao muttered. "I can sleep, the lights are on, I can eat cookies... We'll take care of the rest later."
Nana suddenly spoke up: "According to the meteorological model, there will be no large-scale precipitation in the next 72 hours."
"Did you hear that!" Chen Hao sat up abruptly. "At least we can focus on repairing the house now!"
Just as he finished speaking, a soft sound came from outside.
At the edge of the eaves, a loose waterproof board was blown by the wind. One corner was lifted up, it wobbled a couple of times, and then began to slowly slide down.
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