Chen Hao held the pen cap in his mouth, tilting his head to look at the sketch on the whiteboard. He spat out the cap and reached out to erase a crooked line of sight.
“We just finished a mushroom project, we can’t just stare at it and watch it shine all day, can we?” he said. “The ocean is still there, we need to get moving.”
Susan, who was sitting at the table flipping through her notes, looked up when she heard this. "You want to go out to sea again? The last storm almost capsized the boat."
"Well, we didn't turn it over," Chen Hao grinned. "Besides, we've collected quite a lot of things; we can't just wait for the next glowing vine to appear."
Carl looked up from the pile of blueprints. "How far do you want to go?"
“Not far.” Chen Hao tapped the whiteboard with the tip of his pen. “Let’s expand eastward by thirty kilometers and see if there are any other islands. Land means resources, and resources mean we can live longer.”
Nana stood in front of the control panel, tapping the screen lightly with her finger. The projector lit up, displaying a flight path map covering the wall. Red and blue lines intersected, like someone had spilled a palette of paint.
“This is a record of the routes taken on the past 25 voyages,” she said. “The current exploration coverage radius is 52 kilometers, with blind spots concentrated in the southeast and northwest quadrants.”
“The southeast winds are strong,” Karl said, pointing to a red area. “The waves often exceed three meters high; wooden boats can’t withstand them.”
“That’s why we need to modify the ship.” Chen Hao picked up a blue pen and drew a square on the whiteboard. “How about adding a metal hull? Can’t we smelt iron from the mines on the island?”
Susan frowned. "There aren't enough materials. And how do you plan to weld them? By smashing them with stones?"
“I’m not an engineer,” Chen Hao said, shrugging. “But I know a wrecked ship can’t go far. We’re like people living on the first floor, climbing stairs every day, but not wanting to build a second floor.”
Nana brought up a new screen: a structural analysis report popped up.
“The existing ship’s main beam has three micro-cracks,” she said. “Based on the current frequency of use, it is expected to be able to withstand seven to nine more voyages.”
“Then we’ll build a new ship before the eighth voyage,” Carl said. “Use composite materials, reduce the weight of the wooden structure in the front half, and reinforce the steel frame in the back half. The propulsion system will also need to be replaced, and the sails will depend on the weather.”
“You really have wild ideas,” Susan said, looking at him. “Do you know how many hours it takes to make a propeller?”
“I know that if we can’t do it, we’ll just be waiting to die.” Karl’s voice was not loud. “On the day of the storm, if the thrusters had stopped for another ten minutes, we would all have been fish food.”
The meeting room fell silent for a moment.
Chen Hao was scribbling in his notebook when he suddenly looked up. "Nana, can you figure out the safest route? The kind that avoids storms, reefs, and allows you to pick up some loot along the way?"
“Sure.” Nana swiped her finger. “Based on weather logs and ocean current models, I can generate an optimized route. But the ship’s performance must meet the requirements.”
"Then let's proceed in three steps." Chen Hao stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and wrote three words:
First, consolidate our coastal defenses.
Second, explore the open sea.
Third, prepare for the deep sea.
“It sounds like a slogan,” Susan said.
“It’s just a slogan anyway,” Chen Hao laughed. “But every single one of them can be put into practice. For example, the first step is to register all the small islands within 50 kilometers and mark the freshwater points, vegetation areas, and mineral zones. The second step is to build new ships, equip them with detection equipment, and explore beyond 80 kilometers. The third step… we’ll talk about that after the first two steps are done.”
Nana nodded. "I suggest setting phased goal milestones. Update the database each time a task is completed to avoid duplication of effort."
“We still have to keep records,” Susan added. “Resources coming in and going out must be registered. A third of the mycelial samples we brought back last time are lost, and nobody knows where they went.”
"Someone's stealing food?" Chen Hao's eyes widened.
“It’s more likely that the seal was poor.” She rolled her eyes at him. “But that illustrates a point—without rules, even the best discoveries will rot along the way.”
Carl picked up a pencil and drew a cross-sectional diagram of the hull on the paper. "I want to try a catamaran design. It's more stable, has a larger load capacity, and won't capsize."
“Then you’ll need to find a place to start construction,” Chen Hao said. “How about that open space behind the warehouse?”
“We need to clear the area first,” Carl said. “It’s full of old parts and two scrapped engines.”
“I’ll go move them tomorrow.” Chen Hao sat back in his chair. “Anyway, I don’t have much to do lately, except wait for the mushrooms to grow.”
Nana suddenly spoke up: "Based on historical data, if we maintain the current pace of exploration, we can cover the surrounding 300-kilometer sea area within three years."
"And then?" Susan asked.
“Then we’ll find more resources to use,” Nana said. “Or maybe we’ll find nothing. But stopping the exploration is tantamount to admitting defeat.”
Chen Hao whistled. "Sounds like an advertising slogan."
“It’s true.” Nana looked at him. “Each time you go out to sea, you bring back an average of 3.2 pieces of usable information. Of those, 0.7 pieces have long-term application potential. It’s not very efficient, but continuous accumulation will lead to a qualitative change.”
"So," Chen Hao said, resting his chin on his hand, "the work we're doing now is actually paving the way for the future?"
"correct."
"Then wouldn't I be a model worker?"
No one responded.
He didn't seem to care and turned to look out the window. The sky was overcast, and the clouds hung low.
“The weather is going to change again,” Carl said.
"Perfect." Chen Hao looked away. "Let's finalize the plan before it rains."
Nana pulled up a new document.
Draft Plan for the Next Stage of Marine Exploration
As soon as the title appeared, Susan asked, "If a new species is discovered, what should you do? Bring it back directly?"
"Of course not." Chen Hao waved his hand. "We take photos first, then collect samples, and finally assess the impact. If we disrupt the ecological balance, we'll be the ones who suffer the consequences."
"You're still thinking about this?" Susan was a little surprised.
"I'm not stupid," Chen Hao glared at her. "I'm just too lazy to use my brain."
Nana continued to introduce the content modules:
Route topology map update
Development of new detection equipment
Cross-regional resource registration system
Strengthening the emergency response mechanism
“The last one is very important.” Karl pointed to the fourth one. “Last time, communications were interrupted for forty minutes, and the base was completely out of contact. If an earthquake had happened then, no one could have saved us.”
“So I want to install a backup beacon,” Nana said. “I’ll connect it to the high ground control tower via an undersea cable so that it can still transmit signals even if the main system fails.”
"Where will the money come from?" Susan asked.
“It won’t cost any money,” Nana said calmly. “There are 370 meters of insulated cable in the materials warehouse, unopened. There are also six sets of solar voltage stabilizing modules, which are usable.”
"You remember it so clearly?" Chen Hao clicked his tongue.
“I won’t forget any data,” she said. “They’re more reliable than memory.”
The meeting continued.
The group discussed the details of the hull modification for twenty minutes and finally reached a consensus: to use the existing wooden boat as a base and gradually replace key components, rather than trying to do it all at once.
"Safety first," Carl emphasized. "It's better to be slow than to take risks."
“Agreed,” Susan said. “Especially for new routes, we must conduct at least three simulations in advance.”
Chen Hao raised his hand. "Then I have a request—next time I go out to sea, I want to bring a video camera. What I record is much more useful than what I say."
“I will prepare a waterproof casing,” Nana said, “to support underwater filming up to ten meters deep.”
"It would be best if we could do a live stream," Chen Hao joked.
"Insufficient power prevents real-time transmission," Nana replied earnestly. "At most, we can store local data."
"You actually take it seriously?"
"I mean everything I say."
Susan closed her notebook. "Regarding ecological protection, I suggest establishing an inspection team. Before each voyage, they should check the equipment's sealing, and after returning, they should conduct pollution tests."
“Okay.” Chen Hao nodded. “You’ll be the team leader. If anyone disagrees with you, make them eat weeds for a couple of days.”
“Don’t change the subject,” she said. “There’s also the fuel problem. Our current reserves are only enough for four medium-range voyages.”
“Then reduce unnecessary trips,” Carl said. “Cancel cruises without a destination, and all missions must submit an application form.”
"An application form?" Chen Hao grinned. "Do you still want us to write weekly reports?"
“If you’re willing to write, I won’t object,” Carl said expressionlessly.
The atmosphere in the meeting room became more relaxed.
Nana synchronized the final draft to the main database, and a notification popped up in the lower right corner of the screen: [Upload successful, pending approval process].
"What's next?" Susan asked.
"Wait for approval." Chen Hao stretched. "And while you're at it, clear out the space behind the warehouse. Carl, you can't exactly start construction by drawing blueprints on muddy ground, can you?"
“I can wait,” Carl said, “but the materials need to arrive as soon as possible.”
"I'll go search the warehouse tomorrow morning," Chen Hao said. "Maybe I can find a working generator."
"Don't get your hopes up too high," Susan cautioned. "Last time we were looking for the temperature control module, we searched for ages and only found half a bag of moldy wires."
"You can take parts from moldy things too," Chen Hao said, unconcerned. "As long as it's not a rock."
Nana turned off the projector and turned to look at the three of them.
“The minutes of this meeting have been archived,” she said. “The subsequent implementation progress will be automatically tracked by the system.”
"You really are meticulous." Chen Hao smiled, stood up, walked to the whiteboard, picked up a pen, and made a heavy stroke on the last line of the flight path sketch.
His fingers paused for a moment.
“Oh, right,” he suddenly said, “if we really do build that bio-communication network…”
He turned to look at Nana.
What should be included in the first message sent?
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