Chen Hao squatted by the wall, his fingers touching the newly installed steel pile. The metal surface was still damp with the night dew, making him pull his hand away from the coolness.
Nana stood a few steps away, a light screen popping from her wrist, a red line flashing incessantly on the outline of the wall. She didn't speak, but the alarm on the screen flashed fiercely.
"How is it?" Chen Hao stood up and patted the dust off his pants.
“Test complete.” Nana’s voice was still flat. “The load-bearing capacity increased by 37.2%, but it did not meet the safety standard. The internal cracks are still expanding.”
Carl stopped tightening the last nut. He put down the wrench, walked to the wall, and pressed his hand against the seam. A piece of gravel fell and hit his shoe.
"Even if I burn two more, it won't make a difference," he said.
Susan flipped through the blueprints in her hand, the pages rustling in the wind. She glanced at Nana's screen, then looked down at the data sheets, her brow furrowed.
Chen Hao plopped back down on the concrete block, tilting his head back and staring at the unseen stars in the sky. He had just finished moving the last load of materials, and his legs were still shaking; now this had happened.
“Aren’t we being too rigid?” he suddenly asked.
All three of them looked at him.
“The methods used on Earth might not work here.” He pointed to the exposed rock layers in the distance. “The crustal composition here is different; the data mentions silicon crystal veins. If we could mix that stuff into the filler layer, wouldn’t it be better than pure concrete?”
No one said a word.
Nana swiped her finger across the screen a few times, bringing up the geological database. A few seconds later, she nodded: "High-toughness silicon crystal minerals exist in shallow fault zones, with an elastic modulus more than six times higher than that of ordinary stone, and good thermal stability. Theoretically, they can be used as composite reinforcing materials."
“Theoretically?” Susan frowned. “Who has tried it? If a chemical reaction really happens, the walls blowing up would be no joke.”
“The collection costs are also high.” Karl shook his head. “Mining is much more laborious than collecting scrap metal, and it delays the progress.”
“But what we lack most right now is time.” Chen Hao stood up. “If another aftershock comes, we won’t even have a chance to repair it.”
“We can conduct a small-scale trial,” Nana suddenly said.
She regenerated the model and delineated a sandwich area on the 3D model. "The existing steel structure was preserved, and a mixture of crushed silicon crystals and resin was injected in the middle to form a buffer and energy-dissipating layer. Simulations showed that stress dispersion efficiency was improved by 52 percent."
On the screen, the red pressure point slowly turns green.
Susan leaned closer to look at the parameters. "How do we determine the ratio? If the resin concentration is too high, it will become brittle; if it's too low, it won't stick."
“On-site sampling and analysis are needed,” Nana said. “It is recommended to take a small amount of ore for particle size screening and compatibility testing first.”
"Damn." Chen Hao grabbed the folding shovel from the ground. "I passed by that half-collapsed mountain this morning, and the top was clearly visible."
“I’ll go with you.” Carl picked up his tool bag. “More people means less chance of accidents.”
“No.” Chen Hao waved his hand. “You stay and modify the structure. If the new plan works, we’ll have to adjust the construction method immediately. Susan will calculate the proportions, and Nana will write the procedures. I can handle it all by myself.”
“Nighttime operations are riskier,” Nana warned. “Visibility is low and the terrain is unstable.”
“I’m not going on vacation.” Chen Hao slung the shovel over his shoulder. “I’m just digging up a few rocks. I’ll be done in twenty minutes.”
“I will remotely guide you to the best sampling point,” she said, “and monitor your vital signs in real time.”
"Are you still watching my heartbeat?"
"Just a record."
"Alright then." He smiled. "Then don't look at too much."
The wind suddenly picked up, making the tarpaulin rustle. In the distance, the sound of flowing water could be heard from the river, as if something was moving beneath the surface.
Susan closed her notebook. "If we can get the samples tomorrow, when is the earliest we can start the trial?"
"Before noon," Nana replied. "Preparation time is estimated at three hours."
Carl crouched down to inspect the drill battery. "Then I'll have to finish making the mold for the interlayer grooving tonight."
“I also need to recalibrate the ratio,” Susan said. “Different particle sizes can affect flowability.”
"Then it's settled." Chen Hao turned and walked towards the trailer, pulling out an empty sack from underneath. "I'm leaving now, and I'll try to be back before dawn."
“Wait,” Susan called to him. “Put on gloves. The edges of that ore are sharp; don’t cut your hands.”
"You actually care about me quite a bit." He turned around and grinned. "Don't you always say I'm a burden?"
“You’re the only one who can run errands right now,” she said. “If something happens, we’re all just waiting to die.”
Nana walked over and handed him a small scanner. "Connect it to my system and upload the location and sample status every five minutes."
"Doesn't it look like a primary school student wearing a GPS watch?"
"More accurate."
“Okay.” He took it and stuffed it into his pocket. “Don’t tear down the wall before I get back.”
“No,” Carl said. “We’ll get started once you bring the materials.”
Chen Hao waved and walked out along the path at the edge of the base. Moonlight shone on the ground, casting long shadows.
The three of them remained where they were.
Nana stood beside the equipment, the vents slightly warm. Her screen continuously analyzed data, constantly updating the wall model.
Susan opened her new notebook, her pen scratching across the paper. She was drawing a proportionate sketch, with a bunch of numbers marked next to it.
Carl went into the tool shed, opened the cabinet door, and rummaged through the parts. He took out a few metal strips, showed them the bending angles, and then put them into the fixture on the workbench.
The wind blew across the roof, and the sheet metal swayed gently.
Nana suddenly looked up in the direction Chen Hao had left.
“He deviated seven meters from the planned route,” she said.
Susan stopped writing. "Why?"
"There are signs of a landslide ahead." Nana pulled up a topographic map. "He's taking a detour."
“Tell him to be careful,” Susan said.
Nana tapped her fingertip and sent the command.
A few seconds later, Chen Hao's voice came through the communicator: "Received. The soil is loose here, I'll walk along the edge."
“Keep your distance,” Nana said. “The slope on the right is more than 45 degrees, and there is a risk of landslide.”
"I know." His voice was a little breathless. "This damn road is harder to stick to than my diet."
Susan couldn't help but laugh.
Carl poked his head out of the tool shed. "He can still joke around, which means he's in good shape."
“His heart rate is currently 89 per minute,” Nana said. “That’s in the mild stress range.”
"He's faster than I was in the 800 meters back then." Susan closed her notebook. "I hope he can actually get his hands on something."
“The probability is 68 percent,” Nana said, “provided that the ore has not been eroded by groundwater.”
"It's not that high."
"It's already 23 percentage points higher than yesterday."
Susan paused for a moment, "You mean...we actually made progress today?"
Nana didn't answer; instead, the screen switched to a new construction flowchart.
Carl came out with the completed mold. "This will work. We can just put it on and drill the holes tomorrow."
"Put it over there." Susan pointed to the temporary shelf. "We'll confirm the dimensions when Chen Hao gets back."
Nana stood still, and the machine vibrated slightly. The cooling fan increased its speed by half a speed.
In the distance, Chen Hao's figure appeared around the bend of the hillside. He stopped and raised the scanner, aiming it at the rock face.
“I saw it emerging,” he said. “It’s bluish in color, just what you wanted.”
“Start sampling,” Nana replied. “Each sample should not exceed 500 grams to avoid structural damage.”
"Understood." He took out a folding shovel and inserted it into the crevice in the rock.
The shovel got stuck, so he pried hard. A piece of ore the size of a fist fell down and landed at his feet.
"First one in hand." He picked it up and stuffed it into the sack. "It's quite heavy."
"Upload the data," Nana said.
He pressed the scanner button. The green light flashed twice.
“Received,” she said. “Preliminary analysis is in line with expectations.”
“There are two more.” Chen Hao looked up at the rock strata. “The one on top is bigger.”
He took a few steps uphill and stepped onto a slope. Gravel rolled down his feet, and he slid down several meters before coming to a stop.
"Be careful," Nana said, her voice becoming more urgent.
"It's nothing," he said, steadying himself. "It's just that the road is bad."
He raised the shovel again, aiming it at the crack above.
This time the shovel went in smoothly. He gave it a sharp pull—
The entire rock formation emitted a muffled thud.
Chen Hao suddenly stepped back, but the ground on his right had already begun to loosen.
He lost his footing with his left foot and slid down the slope.
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