Chen Hao's fingers were still on the piece of wood. He tapped it twice, the sound crisper than before. He didn't let go; instead, he tapped it again with more force.
"This thing, can it really float?"
Nana stood beside her, the blue light swirling in her eyes like turning a page.
"The buoyancy calculation has been completed. The current combination of wood density and volume can support at least 120 kilograms of weight, with an error range of plus or minus 5 kilograms."
"So, even if I can sit on it, it won't necessarily cause a shipwreck on the spot?"
"The premise is that the structure is stable," she said. "There is currently no actual connection data to support a final conclusion."
"Alright, here we go again." Chen Hao pouted. "The moment you mention 'preconditions,' I know I'm in trouble."
He stood up, stretched his wrists, then bent down, grabbed the longest log, and dragged it to the open ground. The five logs were laid out side by side, like a pile of firewood carelessly tossed aside. He crouched down, wrapped one end of the rope between the first and second logs, and pulled taut.
The moment the rope taut, it slipped half an inch with a snap.
"Why?"
He tried again, this time bracing the wood with his knees and pulling hard with both hands. As soon as the knot was tightened, the wood tilted outwards, the entire structure swayed three times, and finally collapsed into a fan shape on the ground.
"So we've built an art installation that will automatically disintegrate?"
“The problem lies in the way the force is applied.” Nana walked over, squatted down next to him, and pointed to the point where the two pieces of wood met. “When they are tied in parallel, the pressure is concentrated on one edge, which can easily cause slippage. I suggest changing the layout logic.”
"How do we fix it? Should we make it grow legs and stand up on its own?"
“Cross-overlapping.” She reached out and drew a few lines in the air. “Using three horizontal beams as a base, clamping two longitudinal main beams to form a grid structure. Each intersection is independently reinforced to distribute the load.”
"It sounds like building blocks."
"The essence is the same."
Chen Hao stared at the pile of wood for three seconds, then suddenly grinned: "Well done, robot comrade, you've finally spoken human language today."
He did as she instructed, first laying the three thick logs horizontally, then placing the remaining two vertically on top. As soon as they were in place, a problem arose—the logs were too heavy; they collapsed as soon as he loosened his grip, making it impossible to tie them down.
"Who designed this assembly process? It must require three hands to do the job!"
“We can use stones for temporary support.” Nana picked up two flat stones from the side and placed them under the seam. “Maintaining a three-centimeter gap is enough to operate.”
"You're quite good at helping out," Chen Hao muttered as he picked up the rope and began to wind it. The first loop burned his fingertips with the fibers. He gritted his teeth and continued, one loop, two loops, three loops, finally tying a knot, then wrapping it back one more time and tightening it.
Is this okay?
“It meets the basic tensile strength standard.” She reached out and tested it. “It is recommended that all joints use the same process.”
The next step was a repetition: wrap, pull, twist, lock. Each of the eight key connection points took five or six minutes to work on. Sweat began to bead on Chen Hao's forehead, his back was soaked, and his fingers were reddened from the rough rope.
“Let me tell you, once this raft really starts floating, you have to be the first passenger.”
“I don’t need to ride,” she said. “And my weight is evenly distributed, so it won’t cause structural tilting.”
"That's hurtful," he said, panting, as he continued to tie the next node. "You're obviously afraid of a short circuit from the water, aren't you?"
“The waterproof rating meets the standard.” She paused, “but I really don’t need to sit down.”
“You perfect creatures, what a boring life.” He shook his numb hand and looked at the frame that was beginning to take shape. “But… it seems to be quite stable now.”
He reached out and shook it; the entire structure only made a muffled thud and didn't fall apart.
"What's next? Should we celebrate?"
“Stability reinforcement is not yet complete.” She pointed to several protruding ends on the edge. “The impact of the water flow could cause the ropes to wear down or the timber to snag on the rock face.”
"Then let's tie it a few more times."
“Simply increasing the wrapping density will have limited effect.” She picked up a few twigs from the side. “I suggest adding a pressure strip to cover the seam area and reduce the protruding angle.”
"You even brought a renovation plan?"
"It was derived from common field anchoring techniques."
Chen Hao took the thin branches and tried attaching them to the joints, finding that they did indeed cover much of the sharp corners. He tore off another strip of bark and began wrapping it around the joints. This time, his technique was better, and he was faster.
"Would you say we're wilderness craft experts?"
"Only the basic structure is complete so far," she said. "There are still seven optimization steps to be implemented before we can reach the 'expert' level."
"Couldn't you wait until I've finished bragging before you expose me?"
"Information delays can affect decision-making efficiency."
"Efficiency my ass," he muttered, his hands still moving. "I just want to finish this quickly so I can sit down and rest for a bit."
With the last strip secured, Nana took a half-step back and activated the scanning mode. The blue light swept over each node, paused for a moment, and then moved on to the next location.
“The stress distribution is becoming more even.” She nodded. “The structural integrity has passed the initial inspection.”
"So, can we test the waters now?"
"I suggest conducting a static buoyancy test first," she said. "Observe the floating status in shallow water to confirm that there is no local sinking or tilting."
The two men worked together to drag the raft to the shore. There was a small, gentle slope by the water, with a fairly firm muddy bottom. Chen Hao stepped into the wet mud and almost slipped, only managing to stay upright by grabbing onto a piece of wood.
"This login method is so embarrassing."
"Keeping your center of gravity low is safer."
They slowly pushed the raft into the water. When it first touched the water, the front sank slightly, creating a ripple, but it quickly regained its balance and floated on the surface, without drafting too deep.
"Hey, it really didn't sink."
"The buoyancy is as predicted." Nana looked at the scan data. "The lateral offset is less than one degree, and the balance is good."
Chen Hao looked around for a moment, then suddenly became interested: "Can I go up and walk around for a bit?"
"Sudden application of dynamic loads is not recommended," she said, stopping the other side. "The initial boarding should be done slowly to avoid impact that could lead to node fatigue."
"You're meddling in so much things, you'll exhaust yourself sooner or later."
"My energy consumption is not affected by my emotions."
Chen Hao rolled his eyes, but did as she said. He knelt on the shore, slowly moved one leg up, and then crawled forward on his stomach. The raft rocked a couple of times, but didn't deform.
He carefully crawled to the middle, lay there for a while, and seeing that everything was alright, he slowly knelt up.
"Wow." He looked down at the wooden plank under his feet. "You can actually sit on it."
"Do not jump during the load test."
"I know." He wiggled his hips, deliberately making the raft rock a little. "See, it's very stable!"
Nana didn't speak, she just continued scanning. The data showed that the stress at each connection point was normal, with no abnormal deformation.
"The structure can operate sustainably for at least four hours," she concluded, "under calm water conditions."
"Great!" Chen Hao grinned and patted the piece of wood beneath him. "Our 'Wilderness Star No. 1' has finally been born."
He sat there without moving, savoring a moment of accomplishment. A breeze blew by, carrying moisture and a hint of coolness. He looked up at Nana.
"Do you think we should give it a proper name? Like 'Hope'? 'Voyager'? 'Survival'?"
"Naming is not a necessary function."
"Can't you just cooperate a little?"
"You can decide for yourself."
"This is tiring." He snorted, trying to stand up by supporting himself on the wooden plank. "I'll go down first, lest I really wear out this precision instrument."
He held onto the shore with one hand and pressed the edge of the raft with the other, just as he was about to exert force, Nana suddenly reached out and pressed down on his shoulder.
"etc."
"What's wrong now?"
“The bottom inspection is not yet complete,” she said. “There may be sharp protrusions that could affect subsequent movement.”
"You want to see even down there?"
"Prevention is better than cure."
Together they dragged the raft back to shallow water and turned it over. With its bottom facing up, sure enough, there were several splinters and rope ends sticking out.
“These need to be dealt with,” she said, pointing to a spot, “otherwise they might damage the contact surface.”
Chen Hao sighed, took out his small knife, and carefully smoothed out the burrs, then tightened the loose end of the rope again.
"Am I building a raft or performing surgery?"
"Accuracy affects safety."
After all repairs were completed, they pushed it back into the water. This time, the raft entered the water smoothly and floated upright.
Chen Hao stood on the shore, watching it float quietly on the water, and suddenly smiled.
"You know, if this thing can really get us out of here... wouldn't that be the most reliable thing I've ever done in my life?"
Nana looked at him, a faint blue light flashing.
“It is impossible to assess the future outcome at this time,” she said, “but the construction process follows a logical progression.”
"Couldn't you just say 'Well done'?"
“Your error rate has decreased by 62 percent since the beginning.” She paused, “That’s significant progress.”
"Okay, that counts as a compliment."
He bent down, picked up the last piece of rope from the shore, rolled it up, and put it in his backpack. The raft was tied to a protruding rock, swaying gently with the current, like a boat waiting to set sail.
He took two steps back and stood with his hands on his hips.
"What's next?"
Nana looked into the depths of the river.
"Wait for instructions."
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