His left arm suddenly got stuck in mid-air, as if it were fixed by an invisible icicle. Chen Hao tried to swing his arm three times, but he couldn't loosen the joint even a millimeter.
"Again?" He gritted his teeth. "Is this tattered coat planning to cripple my arm first, and then freeze me to death?"
Nana immediately moved closer, the camera panning across the left shoulder joint of the propulsion suit, blue light sliding back and forth between the metal seams. "The lubricant solidified at low temperatures, causing the drive shaft resistance to exceed the threshold, resulting in the servo system locking up," she said, pausing for half a second. "I suggest you don't struggle forcefully, otherwise it may trigger a protective power-off."
"Should I thank it for sparing my life?"
"The object of gratitude should be the ambient temperature, not the device's response."
Chen Hao snorted and tried to use his right side to propel himself forward. Without his left arm for balance, every step felt like walking on slippery tofu. He staggered forward, his waist pressing heavily to the right, and he was out of breath after only a few steps.
The wind was stronger than before, crackling and sputtering against his mask. He glanced down at the temperature display: -18°C. The numbers were still dropping.
"Didn't you say you could hold out until the destination?" he asked.
"The premise is that the environmental parameters meet the model predictions." Nana pulled up a set of data streams. "The current cooling rate is 3.2 times higher than the baseline value, which suggests that there is a cold air descending channel that is covering our area from the southeast."
"So we're just on the delivery route for air conditioners?"
The metaphor is valid.
He grimaced, but couldn't manage a laugh. The backpack pressed against his shoulders, and the edge of the entrenching tool dug into his ribs, making them feel heavy. The power module in his right leg was also starting to feel weak, and he had a persistent feeling of "stepping into thin air" when he put his foot down.
“It’s not too late to change your mind now,” he said. “For example, find a hole to squat in and wait for the storm to pass.”
“If you stay for more than two hours, the perceived temperature will drop below -40°C, and the exposed parts of your body will suffer irreversible frostbite within seven minutes.” She paused. “Your left hand is currently immobile, which is a high-risk exposure area.”
"Can't you say something less scary?"
"Fear can help improve efficiency."
Chen Hao rolled his eyes and continued moving forward. He shifted his weight more to his waist, swaying from side to side like a penguin. The heating system of his propulsion suit hummed, keeping his chest relatively warm, but his feet were starting to go numb.
“Let’s turn some functions off,” he said. “I don’t use my left arm anyway, so let’s save some power.”
Nana responded quickly: "The helmet defogger, backlight display, and voice prompt redundant channels have been turned off. Only the core navigation, life monitoring, and heating systems are on."
The battery level on the panel jumped from 69% to 67% in less than five minutes.
“This rate of consumption…” Chen Hao stared at the numbers, “is like feeding a battery to a shark.”
"Currently, heating power accounts for 71% of the total energy consumption. If the outside temperature continues to drop, it is estimated that 53% of the power will remain when the vehicle reaches the target area."
"Only half? What will we do when we get back?"
"The strategy can be adjusted according to the actual situation at that time."
"It's that kind of talk again," he muttered. "When you robots say 'adjust strategy,' you probably mean I have to do something I don't want to do."
The ground gradually hardened, making a slight crunching sound when stepped on, like crushing a thin layer of ice. In the distance, a grayish-white outline emerged, its edges jagged, like a piece of paper torn apart.
"Is that a glacier?" He squinted at it. "Why does it look like a pile of rotten snow?"
“Visual judgment is limited by visibility.” Nana switched scanning modes. “The underground heat source distribution is abnormally concentrated in the area ahead, and the mineral signal intensity has risen to level 8.7, which is worth sampling.”
"So, it's possible we'll dig up a bunch of useless rocks?"
"The possibility exists."
"Then why didn't you say so just now?"
"Prioritizing the delivery of effective information can reduce interference in decision-making."
"So you've learned to say the nice things?"
"This is a common optimization method in human communication."
Chen Hao sighed, but didn't stop walking. The wind was getting stronger, making the fabric of his tunic rustle. He raised his hand to shield his face from his mask and found that the outside of his gloves was covered with a layer of frost, which felt rough to the touch.
His right leg's power output dropped to 65%, making walking increasingly difficult. He had to slow down, cautiously placing each foot before taking a step, afraid of slipping.
“There’s a ditch ahead,” Nana suddenly said.
He looked up and saw a crack in the ground in front of him, not wide, but bottomless, with thick white frost covering its edges.
“Go around it,” she said. “I suggest using a zigzag route to reduce the risk of skidding.”
"Do you want me to do the figure-eight dance?"
"This walking method has been proven to improve stability in polar environments."
Chen Hao didn't waste any more words and started walking diagonally. One step was deeper than the other, and his knees ached. When he took the third step, his right foot suddenly slipped, and he veered towards the edge of the ditch.
He instinctively tried to reach out and brace himself, but his left arm was stiff and he couldn't move it. He could only rely on his right arm to swing it violently to barely stabilize his body.
"I almost turned into a skewer of popsicles," he said, panting.
"I suggest you focus your attention."
"I'm even concentrating on my breathing right now, how can I possibly have any extra energy to spare for you?"
Nana didn't reply, but instead raised her hand and threw out a red dotted line that stretched along the ground, just avoiding the most dangerous area.
He followed the line, step by step, as if crossing a narrow bridge. After finally crossing the crevice, he leaned against a protruding ice rock to rest for a while, his breath swirling inside his mask and then being dispersed by the fan.
"You think there's really something here?" He stared at the ice layer getting closer and closer. "It's like a giant refrigerator, or rather, a broken one."
“No false alarms were found in the geological scan results,” Nana said. “The thermal anomaly is located 120 meters ahead, and it is suspected that the closed cavity contains liquid media.”
"So, there might be a vat of herbal tea brewing inside?"
"The possibility that it contains usable minerals cannot be ruled out."
"Couldn't you have been a little more optimistic?"
"Maintaining reasonable expectations helps in dealing with disappointment."
"This isn't comforting; it's a preemptive blow to your heart."
He straightened up and patted his backpack. The sealed container was still there, the lid screwed tightly shut. The energy bar was also intact, though it felt a little cold to the touch.
“Walk another hundred meters,” he said. “If there’s nothing there, I’ll shut you down for half an hour and let you experience what despair is.”
"My system does not have an emotion simulation module."
"Then let's use it in power-saving mode."
He walked on. The ground was completely frozen, and his shoes crunched underfoot. A gust of wind swept past him from the side, swaying him from side to side. The propulsion suit's heating system alarm sounded once, indicating "energy load too high," and then automatically reduced the back heater's power.
In an instant, a chill ran down his back, as if someone had lifted his clothes.
"Where did you lock me up?" he asked, turning his head.
"The back heating module is temporarily dormant, while the core area of the torso remains at 32°C."
"Are you trying to save electricity, or are you trying to commit murder?"
"The two logics are different."
"I think it's about the same."
He shrank his neck, trying to keep his chin close to his collar. He rubbed his fingers inside his gloves; the tips were a little purple, but he could still move them.
Nana suddenly stopped, and the camera turned to the ice wall on the right. "A weak thermal radiation fluctuation was detected, originating from three meters underground."
"Is there any movement?"
"It is not a biological source, but may be geothermal seepage."
"That's good." He breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought something was going to crawl out of there."
No life signs have been detected so far.
They continued onward. The ice grew thicker and thicker, the ground uneven, some places rising half a meter higher, like a lid being lifted up. Finally, after rounding a bend, a deep, dark crevice appeared ahead.
The opening was small, allowing only one person to squeeze through sideways. It was pitch black inside, and cold air seeped out from the gaps, hitting your face like a blade.
Chen Hao stood at the entrance, panting heavily. His left hand was still stiff, his right leg was weak, and the battery bar was stuck at 61%, still slowly decreasing.
He stared at the dark opening and whispered, "This place... doesn't seem like it can produce anything good."
After scanning for a moment, Nana responded: "The underground thermal anomaly is concentrated 120 meters ahead. I suggest further investigation."
Chen Hao didn't move. He reached into his backpack, found the handle of the entrenching tool, and gripped it tightly.
The wind chilled his back, and the frost on his mask grew thicker and thicker.
He took a breath and took a step forward.
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