Chen Hao's shoes crunched on the gravel. He kicked away a rock blocking his way, the backpack on his shoulder pressing down on his neck, making him look like a dehydrated penguin.
“I swear, if anyone ever says ‘just one more step’ again, I’ll sew their mouth shut.” He panted, turning to look at Nana. “Don’t you think so?”
Nana followed half a step behind, her steps steady, her breathing unchanged: "You said the same thing last time."
"That's because last time I was really close to death."
They climbed over the last slope, and the outline of the base came into view. The corrugated iron wall was crooked, and there was a pile of mud at the entrance, as if someone had carelessly tossed a pile of junk there.
Two figures stood in the distance. Susan leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed, while Carl squatted on the ground fiddling with an electrical wire.
"They're still alive." Chen Hao breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought we'd be back to be the new masters."
Nana glanced at him: "The base hasn't changed the locks."
"That makes sense, otherwise I would have kicked the door down."
The two approached step by step. Susan straightened up, dusted off her pants, and waved to them. Carl also stood up, still holding the pliers in his hand.
“You’re finally back.” Susan walked over. “If you had been two hours later, I would have sent out a search and rescue team—even though it was just me and Carl on the team.”
"Search and rescue my ass," Carl grinned. "We'd be exhausted halfway there."
Chen Hao took off his backpack, put it on the ground, and slumped down. "Stop talking, I even want to outsource my breathing now."
Nana bent down to inspect the sealing tape: "Seven bags of ore, intact. The outer moisture-proof film is broken, and the internal material has a moisture content of about 12 percent."
"Can it still be used?" Susan asked.
“It can be dried,” Nana said. “It won’t affect the structural strength.”
Carl leaned over and rummaged through the bag: "This thing can really fix generators? It looks like scrap metal."
“You don’t look like an engineer either, but you still work here,” Chen Hao said, looking up.
"At least I'm not so fat I'm like a walking warehouse."
"I am a reserve grain, a strategic resource."
Susan laughed out loud: "Alright, stop joking. Hurry up and move the things inside; we need to get the process going before dark."
The four of them got to work. Chen Hao and Carl were responsible for carrying the heaviest bags, Susan cleared the way ahead, and Nana brought up the rear, constantly reminding them of any obstacles on the ground.
The base gate was stuck in the mud and couldn't be pushed open. Karl pulled out a steel bar from the side, inserted it into the gap, and pried it open with force. Chen Hao kicked the side of the door, the metal making a screeching sound, and finally a crack was opened.
"This door will have to be replaced sooner or later," Carl cursed.
"Let's wait until the generator is fixed," Susan said. "Let it linger for now."
When the lights came on, everyone paused for a moment.
Not all the lights were on; only a few emergency lights in the main hall flickered a few times before settling down. Yellowish-white light spilled onto the concrete floor, illuminating a jumble of parts and toolboxes.
"Where does the electricity come from?" Chen Hao asked.
“Backup battery pack.” Nana walked to the control panel. “I restarted the energy storage module yesterday, and it can last for six hours now.”
"Awesome." Chen Hao gave a thumbs up. "You're much more reliable than the property management in my neighborhood."
"I do not have a function to remind you to pay your electricity bill."
"That's even more impressive."
The inventory of supplies began. The seven bags of ore were opened one by one and poured onto the metal table. Nana took out a testing device and scanned each sample; data appeared on the screen.
“The titanium-iron alloy meets the purity standards, and the impurity content is below the threshold,” she said. “It meets the standards for frame reconstruction.”
Susan picked up a piece of ore and looked at it under the light: "The color is a bit dark, it's probably due to oxidation caused by moisture."
"Just place it on the heating plate for ten minutes," Nana said. "I've already adjusted the temperature profile."
"Do you still remember how to roast sweet potatoes?" Chen Hao leaned closer. "Last time you burned my lunch to a crisp."
"That was an accident. The heating time exceeded the preset three minutes."
"Because you insisted on watching an entire episode of 'The History of Mechanical Development'."
"Knowledge accumulation must not be interrupted."
"But my meal was interrupted."
Susan put the ore into the pre-processing area: "Stop arguing, we'll be smelting it later. One of you is in charge of the fire and the other is in charge of the food, if you start arguing the base will blow up."
Carl rummaged through his toolbox in the corner: "Where's the hammer for demolishing the wall?"
"It's in the third compartment of the lockers on the east side," Nana said.
How do you know everything?
"I remember where I stored it."
"Do you remember the wrench I lent you last week?"
"Under your bed, there's a pizza box pressing down on it."
Karl was stunned: "...You really remember."
"I suggest you clean out your personal belongings area. The hygiene score has fallen below the safe threshold."
You even comment on this?
"All areas are under surveillance."
Chen Hao laughed heartily: "She rated your life!"
"Shut up." Carl grabbed the wrench and left. "I'm going to tear down the west wall first; it's the one that's collapsed the most."
"Wait a minute." Chen Hao stood up. "We need to set some rules, otherwise it'll be chaos again."
“What do you want to say?” Susan asked.
“Responsibility zones,” he said. “Whoever is responsible for which area, puts a label on it. Tools must be put back in their place after use, and whoever takes something without permission has to be on duty at night.”
"Have you suddenly become a managerial talent?" Susan raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not a talent, I'm a victim." Chen Hao pointed to his head. "When Karl was holding the pliers just now, he almost poked my eye. If I went blind, who would cook?"
“Didn’t you say you were a strategic grain reserve?” Carl said, “You could still make soup even if you were blind.”
“I’m warning you, if you keep talking nonsense, I’ll stuff your sleeping bag into the shredder.”
Nana has already opened the terminal and brought up the floor plan: "I can generate the partition table and the tool schedule list."
“That’s right.” Chen Hao patted her shoulder. “If you have a good brain, you should use it.”
Five minutes later, a printed sheet of paper was posted on the wall of the main hall. Four names were listed in four columns, with their respective tasks and tool numbers written below.
"I'm actually ranked first." Chen Hao stared at the list. "Is this sorted alphabetically by last name?"
“Based on physical fitness assessment and skills matching,” Nana said.
"So I'm last place?"
"You scored the highest in the 'Communication and Coordination' category."
"So it turns out I make a living by talking."
"To be precise, it's about procrastination and cheating."
"Hello!"
Susan laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight: "She's right."
The restoration work officially began. Carl took his tools to the west wall, Susan started the small furnace, Nana walked back and forth in the testing area, and Chen Hao was in charge of overall coordination.
It was chaotic at first.
Some people were fighting over hammers, some couldn't find gloves, and some even put the heated ore in the wrong slot.
"How many times have I told you!" Chen Hao shouted into the walkie-talkie, "Only pre-processed materials are allowed in the red-label zone! Who threw raw ore in there again?"
No one answered.
He turned to Nana and said, "Could you add a voice reminder? Like, 'Incorrect delivery, IQ warning' or something like that."
"The system does not have a humiliation function."
"Add one, I think it will be useful."
"reject."
He scratched his head and walked over to the furnace area. Susan was adjusting the temperature knob, her face covered in dust.
"How's the progress?"
"The first batch is ready to use," she said, "but the furnace temperature is not very stable, so someone has to keep an eye on it."
"I'll keep watch for a bit, you go get some water."
"You were watching over it? Last time you were watching the stove, you fell asleep and almost caused a leak."
"That was an accident!"
"You snore."
"That's because of the pressure."
"No matter how much pressure we face, we cannot allow the base to be scrapped."
Nana walked over: "I'll take over the monitoring. You can go and assist Carl."
"I knew you'd say that," Chen Hao muttered. "Every time something goes wrong, I'm made to take the blame."
"Because you always get into trouble."
"I'm innocent!"
He walked slowly toward the west wall, picking up a chisel that no one had put away along the way. In the corner lay a pile of dismantled bricks, and Carl was using a hydraulic rod to prop up a deformed support beam.
“It’s almost done here,” Carl said without turning his head. “Just two more pieces to take apart and we can install the new frame.”
"Do you need any help?"
"You don't need to stand here and speak."
"I'm not concerned about the team's progress."
"If you care, take action."
Chen Hao sighed and rolled up his sleeves: "You guys are all more inhuman than robots."
“Because we’re not robots,” Carl said. “We won’t pretend to praise you for being hardworking.”
That hurts.
He bent down to pick up a piece of concrete debris, but after taking only two steps, his foot slipped and he almost fell.
"The ground is too slippery," he said. "Who spilled oil here?"
"The maintenance log shows a minor leak in the hydraulic line yesterday," Nana's voice came from behind. "It's been marked for cleaning."
"Even if it's marked, nobody will do it."
"Cleaning is not a current priority."
"But I'll fall and die."
"The probability of death is less than five percent."
"Can you please stop using numbers? It sounds like a death sentence."
Susan came over: "Stop arguing, let's move this batch of materials to the assembly area first. We'll continue dismantling tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Chen Hao's eyes widened. "I want to get a full night's sleep."
"Once the generator is fixed, you can sleep for as many days as you want."
"Assuming it can be repaired."
“With Nana here, there’s no problem,” Susan said.
Nana stood to the side, her eyes flashing slightly, data streaming rapidly through her pupils.
"The next step is melting and shaping," she said. "It is expected to take eight hours."
“Then we’ll have to stay up all night,” Carl said.
“I can take turns monitoring at night,” Nana said.
“You don’t need to sleep, but we do,” Chen Hao said. “Otherwise, we’ll all be sleepwalking tomorrow.”
"I suggest shortening the rest intervals and adopting a two-hour shift system," Nana said. "This can improve efficiency."
Are you the devil?
"I'm just optimizing resource allocation."
Chen Hao looked at the others: "Listen to this, she said we are resources."
Susan laughed: "She's right, we are."
"traitor."
He looked down at the chisel in his hand, then at the tools scattered all over the ground, and sighed deeply.
"Alright," he said. "Since we're all working this hard, I can't be a complete waste."
He put the chisel into the tool rack and picked up the walkie-talkie.
"Attention everyone, from now on, report each completed task. I need to hear your voice; I'll know if anyone's slacking off."
“Received,” Carl said.
“I understand,” Susan said.
Nana looked at him and said, "You're finally getting into the zone."
"Come on," Chen Hao said. "I just don't want to be the only one awake in the end."
He walked towards the assembly area, his footsteps making a dull thud on the cement floor.
The light is still on.
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