Chen Hao was awakened by a soft beeping sound.
The voice was calm and unhurried, as if counting his breaths. He didn't even open his eyes, raised his hand to slap the edge of the bed, but missed, his palm hitting the metal wall instead. The pain made him gasp, and he finally managed to pry his eyes open.
"You turned on the computer early again?" He stared at Nana standing at the foot of the bed. "Couldn't you let me sleep for five more minutes? I was dreaming that I was eating hot pot."
"Two hours after sunrise is the best time to set off." She said calmly, "You said yesterday that you couldn't just rub against the wall, but you didn't say that you could stay in bed."
“That’s a different matter.” He rolled over, wanting to bury his face in the pillow for a little longer, but his diaper was still piled up at the foot of the bed like a small mountain, preventing him from lying completely flat. “I feel like I’m rusty even when I move. Do you even know what delayed onset muscle soreness is?”
“I understand,” she said. “The system records show that you complained seventeen times last night, with an average interval of three minutes between each complaint.”
Chen Hao closed his eyes and took a deep breath: "I take back what I just said. You're not a robot at all; you're a human-shaped vengeful machine."
He struggled to sit up, his joints making a few muffled cracking sounds, like some old machine protesting before starting up. Nana handed him a bottle of water, which he took and gulped down, almost spitting it out.
Why does this water taste like rust?
"There's blood in your mouth."
"ah?"
“You bit the inside of your mouth on your way back last night. Saliva production decreased overnight, so there will be a slight odor in the morning.”
Chen Hao silently swallowed the water, deciding not to ask any more questions. He put on his propeller suit, moving a beat slower than usual, each time he pulled the zipper it felt like he was fighting against some invisible resistance.
"Shall we go to the lake again today?" he asked.
"The filter cartridge has two uses remaining." Nana nodded. "And the water supply wasn't fully replenished yesterday."
"Fine," he sighed, "as long as you don't make me walk the last 800 meters."
The two stepped out of the escape pod. The air outside was dry and the wind was light, but it felt like sandpaper on their faces. Chen Hao stretched his shoulders as he walked, and the joints of his propulsion suit made a soft clicking sound, as if responding to his every movement.
"Speaking of which," he suddenly remembered something, "can your heating function really burn things?"
"Designed for sterilizing medical devices," she said. "The temperature can reach 120 degrees Celsius and last for 12 minutes."
"So that means it can be used to cook noodles."
"It is theoretically feasible, but there is no suitable container."
“We don’t even have a pot right now, so what’s the point of talking about containers?” he muttered. “When I find an aluminum can someday, I can open a space snack stall.”
They followed the route they had taken yesterday. The ground was still barren, with only occasional low shrubs peeking out from the cracks. Their gray-green leaves drooped listlessly, looking even more tired than he was.
Just as they were getting close to the lake, Chen Hao suddenly stopped.
"etc."
He squinted, took a few steps forward, squatted down, and parted a clump of withered grass.
The tree wasn't big, only about as tall as a person, its branches twisted and gnarled, as if it hadn't straightened up in decades of wind. But its branches were laden with clusters of bright red, round fruits, like little lanterns that someone had casually hung up.
"This thing... can we eat it?" He reached out and picked one, then looked at it in his palm.
Before he could even put it in his mouth, his wrist was gently grabbed.
Nana had already stood next to him, a flash of blue light in her eyes, and a thin line swept across the surface of the fruit.
"Testing in progress."
A few seconds later, she let go.
"The fruit contains trace amounts of alkaloid toxins, and direct consumption may cause dizziness, nausea, and stomach cramps. It is recommended to process it at high temperatures before consumption."
Chen Hao frowned: "So you mean it's fine once it's cooked?"
"yes."
"Isn't that just a repeat of the potato poisoning incident? My mom once cooked potatoes without peeling them properly, and I ate them and was bedridden for a whole day."
"This time the type of toxin is different, but the treatment method is the same."
He stared at the fruit in his hand, then looked up at the dense red fruit on the tree, and his eyes gradually brightened.
“Do you know what this means?” he grinned. “We don’t have to eat those damn energy bars anymore! This stuff looks much better than artificial nutritional paste!”
"The premise is that you know how to use the heating module correctly."
"You don't believe me?"
"System data shows that you attempted to warm your hands using the left arm heating function of the propulsion suit, which caused the local temperature to be too high, triggering a level three alarm."
"That's because it's too cold!" he argued. "Besides, I'm afraid of getting frostbite."
"You even burned your gloves because of it."
"...That was an accident."
Nana didn't reply, she just looked at him quietly.
Chen Hao scratched his head, held the fruit up to his eyes and waved it: "Okay, I'll listen to you this time. You tell me how to do it, and I'll do it the way you say."
She brought up the projection interface, which showed the location of a concealed interface on the outside of the left arm of the propulsion suit.
"Activation requires dual verification: voice command plus fingerprint confirmation. There are three heating modes; we recommend using the second mode, which lasts for 90 seconds."
"It sounds quite professional."
"Improper handling may result in fruit carbonization or sap splashing."
"Don't worry, I've at least passed a chemistry lab exam—even though I only got a D."
He followed the instructions step by step, first reciting the command, then pressing his fingerprint. A flat metal plate popped out from the side of the left arm of the suit, its surface rapidly heating up and emitting a wisp of white smoke.
"Hey, it's really hot."
He carefully placed the fruit on it, and the fruit made a slight "sizzling" sound the moment it came into contact with the high temperature, and the skin began to turn black.
"Don't turn it over," Nana reminded, "Let the heat penetrate evenly."
Chen Hao stared at the fruit as if watching a mini cooking livestream. After more than ninety seconds, the metal plate cooled down automatically, and he couldn't wait to reach for it.
"hot."
He swung his hand and jumped, almost dropping the fruit on the ground.
"Cooling down will take thirty seconds."
"I can't wait that long." He blew on the fruit twice, finally pinched it, peeled off a little bit of the skin, revealing the orange-red flesh inside.
The aroma wafted out, somewhat like ripe tomatoes mixed with wild berries, with a hint of sweetness and a slightly fishy smell.
"Smells good." He swallowed hard. "How about... I try a bite?"
"I suggest conducting a small-dose test first," Nana said. "Ingest no more than five grams and observe the reaction for fifteen minutes."
How much is five grams?
She held up her finger, indicating a fingernail-sized area.
Chen Hao cut off a small piece and put it in his mouth.
After chewing twice, his eyes suddenly widened.
"Wow."
"feedback?"
"Sweet! A little sour, and a bit... um, like the caramelized aroma of roasted sweet potatoes." He smacked his lips. "Much better than I expected."
"Do not consume again within fifteen minutes."
"Alright, alright." He stared at the remaining fruit pulp as if looking at a long-lost relative. "How many fruits do you think a tree can bear? I think this one has at least a hundred."
"Preliminary estimates suggest that each plant yields approximately 120 plants, but the sustainable harvesting period is unknown."
“That’ll be enough to last for a while,” he grinned. “When we get back, I’ll declare today a holiday.”
What holiday?
"The first-ever Alien Wild Fruit Festival," he said seriously. "The first activity: Forbid Nana from using data to attack my food experience."
She didn't speak, but her blue eyes flashed slightly, as if she was suppressing a laugh—if robots could laugh.
Chen Hao finished eating the remaining fruit and casually tossed the pit aside. He stood up, looked up at the whole tree, and rubbed his hands together.
"The next step is large-scale collection."
He pulled a folded cloth bag out of his backpack, preparing to climb up.
The tree trunk was rough, and it took him a few steps to find a foothold. The propulsion suit added considerable weight, but he still managed to climb to the first fork.
“Look how fresh the fruit is over here!” he called back. “Once I finish picking this half, we can have fruit soup tonight—oh right, we don’t have a pot.”
“A sealed bottle can be used instead,” Nana said. “It won’t break if heated for a short time.”
"You're becoming more and more like a life assistant." He smiled and reached for the reddest bunch of fruit, his fingertips just touching the stem—
A shadow suddenly flashed past the treetops in the distance, moving so fast that its shape was almost invisible.
The wind stopped.
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