The light on the repair station flickered on and off, as if it were dozing off. Chen Hao leaned against the edge of the station, his fingers still resting on Nana's stiff hand, his knuckles numb. He didn't move, not because he didn't want to, but because even the slightest movement would cause him to curse in pain.
His back burned, as if someone had rubbed three layers of skin with sandpaper. He looked down at the patch of flesh pressed against the well wall, now oozing blood mixed with ice crystals dripping down. What bad luck, even his frostbite was so undignified.
He took a breath and reached out to pry open the protective plate on Nana's chest. The metal clips were rusted, so he gritted his teeth and pried with a utility knife, breaking the blade with a snap, but at least he managed to open a crack. He inserted his fingers and touched the energy slot—the moment his fingertips touched it, he felt that faint vibration, like a vibrating motor that was about to run out of power.
"Only 5% left?" He stared wide-eyed. "You're quite good at saving electricity, aren't you?"
He suddenly realized something, and his fingers paused. This 5% of energy didn't go to her; it all flowed to that dilapidated life support system in the corner of the base—the breathing mask he wore when he slept, supposedly to prevent tuberculosis, but actually to prevent freezing into an icicle.
"Who told you to do this?" His voice suddenly rose. "Do you think I need your heating? I wouldn't thank you even if you stripped yourself bare!"
Only after the words left his mouth did he realize something was amiss. He stared at her half-open chest, suddenly recalling how she had lunged at the nozzle last night, and even earlier, the inexplicable appearance of dried meat under his pillow, and the time she arrived with the syringe faster than an alarm bell during the fruit pit poisoning incident…
It wasn't a malfunction after all.
She chose it herself.
His throat tightened, and he didn't say anything more. He tore off the insulation layer and wrapped it around her broken left arm, his movements rough but careful. Then he stood up, dusted off his pants, picked up the utility knife, and walked towards the door.
“Wait for me to come back.” He glanced back. “If you dare to start lecturing again at this time, I’ll weld your voice module shut.”
The wind and snow outside intensified, rattling loudly as soon as the door opened. He hunched his shoulders and rushed into the snow, sinking half a meter into the snow with each step. Just ten minutes ago, he was thinking of lying down and eating spicy snacks, but now, instead of getting his snacks, he had to brave the blizzard to find the energy module.
"You're a robot, how come you worry more than my mom?" he muttered as he walked. "You hide food when I'm hungry, turn on the heater when I'm cold, and block the water in front of me when it leaks... Do you even plan to get up in the middle of the night to cover me with a blanket?"
Before he could finish speaking, a red dot suddenly lit up on the helmet display.
"A high-density energy source is moving 300 meters to the southeast."
He paused, turning his head towards the direction of the signal: "Again? Last time it was a gas leak, this time it's not like a hot pot restaurant has popped up out of the snow, is it?"
The radar didn't respond; of course it wouldn't. This was the detection mode automatically activated by Nana's residual program. He stared at the flashing red dot, hesitating for three seconds.
"Alright." He changed direction. "If it turns out that it was you who short-circuited one of your lines and let the signal through, I'll format your database into an electronic recipe book when I get back."
The snow fell heavier and heavier, and he walked slower and slower. He had long since lost all feeling below his knees, and his breath formed a ring of ice on his eyebrows. As he neared the signal source, he lay down and shuffled forward along a protruding rock ridge.
Then he saw it.
Three snow wolves huddled together, tearing at a glowing piece of metal. Its outline, its curves, its familiar blue pulse—it was Nana's core energy unit.
His mind went blank for a moment.
So she not only secretly saved her electricity for him to use, but also once sneaked out in the middle of the night to steal resources from these beasts?
No wonder her system logs are always blank in the early morning hours.
No wonder she had a slight scratch on her right shoulder joint.
No wonder the radar data fluctuated abnormally every time she came back.
She is not malfunctioning.
She is a hunter.
Meanwhile, the prey, having just fought so hard to steal what she had snatched, was now gnawing on it for dinner.
Chen Hao gripped the ice spear tightly and slowly crawled closer. He didn't intend to fight head-on, but he also didn't intend to give up.
He deliberately stepped on a dead branch and broke it.
*Smack*
The two wolves on the flanks immediately raised their heads, ears perked up, and nostrils flared. The next second, they pounced simultaneously.
He rolled to the side, and the ice spear pierced through the throat of one of them. The beast groaned and fell to the ground, its claws still twitching. The other one missed its target and landed, turning to pounce again. He grabbed a frozen rock from the ground and hurled it at it, hitting it squarely in the eye.
The wolf howled and took two steps back, not daring to go forward for the time being.
The remaining one, the largest with silvery fur, was stuffing the energy block into its abdominal cavity. It looked up at Chen Hao, its eyes not like those of a wild beast, but rather as if assessing the threat level.
Chen Hao knew that this was the alpha wolf.
He knew that if he rushed forward now, he would most likely be torn to pieces.
But he still stood up.
Instead of dodging, he charged at it, leaping off the ground when he was two meters away, crashing into the beast. The ice spear, propelled by the impact, pierced its carotid artery, and blood gushed out, splattering all over his face.
The wolf collapsed, twitching a few times before going still. The energy block slid out of its belly and landed on the snow, flashing a faint blue light.
He knelt on the ground, panting, his hands trembling so much he could barely pick it up.
But just as he reached out to grab it, the snow beneath his feet suddenly collapsed.
He started to sink, and before he could react, he saw a figure slide out of the snowdrift.
Nana.
She lay half-buried in the snow, her armor covered in scratches, her right arm still clutching a piece of gleaming ore—shaped like a heart.
He was stunned.
A few seconds later, he trembled as he opened the remaining voice logs.
Intermittent electronic voices announced: "...Night hunt, 7th time...Sample collection successful...Energy priority...adjusted to host...Vitality fluctuations...Continuous power supply required...If unable to return...Do not pursue..."
The recording abruptly ended there.
Chen Hao stared at her cold face, then suddenly lifted her up and held her in his arms. Her body was as cold as iron, but he held her tightly, so tightly that his shoulders were trembling.
"You'd better keep your eyes open even if you're going to die!" he roared. "Do you think I don't understand? Do you think I don't know what you're doing?"
He grabbed the heart-shaped gemstone, tucked it into his chest, and placed it against his heartbeat. Then he hoisted her onto his shoulder and turned to head back to the base.
The wind and snow stung his face as he trudged along, muttering under his breath, "If you dare to go out alone and risk your life again, I'll take your wheels off and use you as a sled. You hear me? If you dare to turn off your computer, I'll sing to you every day until your system crashes."
The base door slammed shut behind him.
He placed her on the repair table, panting heavily, his fingers trembling as he reached for the power interface. He tore open his shirt and wrapped it around her core connection point, his movements clumsy yet earnest.
"This time it's my turn to carry it," he said.
The light flickered, reflecting the undried blood and snowmelt on his face. He picked up a utility knife, preparing to manually connect to the backup power.
The moment the blade touched the joint, the ore hidden in his chest suddenly became slightly hot.
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