The indicator light turned from green to steady, and the countdown numbers on the main control panel began to jump.
Chen Hao leaned back, sinking into his seat, and exhaled, "I'm finally alive."
No one answered. A few seconds of silence filled the cabin, broken only by the low-frequency hum of the equipment.
Nana glanced at him, then tapped the control panel, bringing up a data stream. "Communication link stable, navigation parameters synchronized. The homing procedure will start in seventeen minutes."
“There’s still time.” Carl turned his head from the passenger seat. “Why don’t you take a nap?”
"I can't sleep." Chen Hao waved his hand. "My mind is full of things from before. When we first left the desolate planet, we couldn't even gather enough fuel. Who would have thought we'd actually come back?"
Susan smiled gently, placing her hand on her stomach: "I thought I would give birth in a place with no signal for the rest of my life."
"Back then you even said you wanted to name the child 'Sweet Potato'," Chen Hao turned to look at her.
“I’m talking about ‘Tiga’! The alien hero!” Susan glared at him.
“Your pronunciation is unclear; we all heard it as ‘sweet potato,’” Carl said in a low voice.
Nana suddenly spoke up: "I suggest we conduct a crew psychological adjustment session. After a long, high-pressure mission, releasing emotions helps the nervous system recover."
"Just say you want everyone to chat," Chen Hao laughed. "Sure, we're just waiting anyway."
Nana brought up the holographic projection, and the timeline of the navigation log slowly unfolded, with the starting point marked as "Uninhabited Planet - Cultural Reconstruction Phase".
"Then let's start from the beginning?" Chen Hao sat up straight, leaning on the armrest. "What I remember most clearly is the first winter when the three of us fought over the last pack of instant noodles."
“You hid it,” Carl said.
"I didn't hide it! I'm just... temporarily keeping it!"
“You hid it under your pillow and even taped it up,” Susan shook her head. “But Nana sucked it away when she was sweeping.”
"That was an accident! And we split it up in the end, didn't we? I only ate half a pack!"
"Because you can't chew the seasoning packet," Carl added.
Chen Hao raised his hand as if to hit him, then lowered it. "At least we didn't starve to death. Didn't we manage to grow vegetables later? Although the first batch all rotted in the ground."
“The soil pH wasn’t right,” Nana said calmly. “You used three tons of alien manure, which caused an imbalance in the microorganisms.”
“I dug that thing out myself!” Chen Hao pointed to his nose. “It was minus forty degrees Celsius. I went to dig out monster dung balls wearing two layers of protective clothing. When I came back, my gloves were cracked from the cold.”
“You sang as you dug,” Susan recalled. “You sang ‘I’m playing in the mud in Northeast China.’”
"That's to ward off the cold! Don't you understand music therapy?!"
"Then you slipped and fell face-first into the dung heap." Karl's lips twitched slightly.
"Don't even mention it! That smell lingered for half a month!" Chen Hao covered his face. "But I still managed to bring the fertilizer back, so my contribution can't be ignored."
“Indeed.” Nana nodded. “After that incident, the yield of vegetables in greenhouses increased by 62 percent.”
"Look! History is created by the people!" Chen Hao spread his arms wide. "And the people are me."
“You even said you wanted to erect a monument,” Susan laughed, “and write, ‘Here lies the first hope of human civilization.’”
"How poetic! And what happened? The monument was swept away by the storm, leaving not even ashes."
“Those days of shortages were indeed tough,” Karl said, his voice lowering. “The second year, the energy station broke down, and we almost froze to death.”
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
“The temperature plummeted that night,” Carl continued. “The backup generator broke down, and the heating system could only keep the core area warm. We were crammed into the living quarters, covered with three blankets, and our breath was steaming.”
“I remember,” Susan said softly, “I was pregnant then, and you put me in an insulated bag.”
“Your body temperature is a bit low,” Nana said. “Medical models predict a risk of premature birth. I’ve activated the spacecraft’s emergency power supply, prioritizing it for the life support system.”
“But that would mean power outages in other areas,” Carl continued. “Communications, lighting, and water supply would all stop. We’d take turns keeping watch, using flashlights to tell the time.”
"The worst part is that the toilet can't be flushed," Chen Hao grinned. "After holding it in for two days, I almost evolved into a camel."
“You’re using empty cans as makeshift containers,” Susan frowned.
"That's called an emergency plan! Besides, didn't I handle it promptly?"
"When you were thrown out of the hatch, the wind blew you back and hit you on the head."
"That was an accident!" Chen Hao slapped his thigh. "But we pulled through. Didn't we repair the solar array later? Although it took three months and we pieced together twenty scrap panels."
“You cursed the sun every day during that time,” Carl said.
"It takes uneven photos! And the battery won't charge properly! How can I not complain!"
"You even gave it a nickname, 'Lazy Star'."
"It deserves it!"
Nana coughed lightly: "Next is the fourth challenge: the signal crisis. It will occur seven months after we left the desolate planet."
The scene then switches to show recorded footage of the spacecraft traveling through an asteroid belt.
"That was the hardest part," Chen Hao said, his joking expression fading. "The antenna was knocked askew, and we were completely cut off from Earth. We became like messages in bottles in the universe."
“You wrote three hundred comments back then,” Susan said, looking at Nana. “She was told to post one every ten minutes.”
"What if someone hears us?" Chen Hao shrugged. "I remember the message: 'This is SSV-097. We are still alive. Please reply. Bonus: a recipe for roasted alien monsters.'"
“You even added a smiley face,” Carl said.
"Facial expressions can shorten the distance between people! This is common sense in psychology!"
"In the sixth month, you changed it to 'If you don't reply to me, I'll format Nana.'"
"You're just trying to scare me! I can't bear to!" Chen Hao looked at the robot. "She's the only one who heats up my food."
“I was just following a pre-set procedure,” Nana said, her tone unchanged. “But you listed me as a ‘critical asset’ on your threat list.”
"Of course! Without you, we wouldn't even know how to use the navigation!"
“Speaking of navigation,” Carl interjected, “the fuel leak in the third year was the real danger.”
The atmosphere became tense again.
“The thruster piping is old,” Carl said. “It’s leaking forty percent of the hydrogen. If we don’t fix it, we won’t be able to get out of the Galactic Arm.”
"How did we get the new fuel?" Susan asked.
"I stole it." Chen Hao grinned.
“It’s not robbery,” Nana corrected. “It’s the legal recycling of storage tanks from a decommissioned space station. The station has been deregistered and is considered an abandoned resource.”
"But it says 'Do not take without permission' on it."
"The warning sign has no legal effect, and the site has been abandoned for more than seven years."
"So we emptied it out." Chen Hao shrugged. "I also took a few boxes of compressed biscuits, the labels said 'expiration date is 2145' - they're all expired now."
"You ate it?" Susan asked in surprise.
"I took a bite. My tongue was numb for three days."
“There was also an oxygen generator malfunction,” Susan recalled. “We were forced to live in masks for half a month.”
“That period was like being in a science fiction movie,” Chen Hao laughed. “When you eat, you have to take off your mask and swallow within three seconds, or the alarm will go off.”
"You even take selfies in front of the mirror and post them on social media saying 'Astronaut's daily life'," Carl said.
"We're almost out of breath, we need to find some fun!"
“But you never gave up.” Nana looked at them. “Data shows that team collaboration efficiency has continued to rise in adversity. The decision-making error rate has dropped from 23 percent in the early stages to 0.7 percent now.”
“This isn’t just data.” Chen Hao leaned back in his chair. “This is the life we fought for, bit by bit.”
“I never thought I’d come this far.” Susan looked out the window. “When I was pregnant, I thought I was going to die on that planet. But you all took care of me. Even Carl, who’s usually so quiet, would get up in the middle of the night to boil water for me.”
Karl lowered his head and remained silent.
“And Nana,” Susan said softly, “you’re just a robot, yet you remember my medication dosage, remind me to rest on time, and even lower your voice when I cry.”
“I don’t have an emotion module,” Nana said, “but I know that certain speech frequencies can reduce human anxiety levels.”
"You're lying." Chen Hao laughed. "You're way ahead of the curve. The database didn't teach you how to hide my snacks to prevent me from sneaking them in the middle of the night."
"That's a health management practice."
"Come on, you're just afraid I'll get fat and drag everyone down."
"This factor cannot be ruled out."
Everyone burst into laughter.
After a moment of laughter subsided, Chen Hao suddenly asked, "What do you think would have happened if we hadn't chosen this path?"
“They’ve probably starved to death long ago,” Carl said.
“Or he’s gone mad,” Susan added.
“But I still think it’s worth it.” Chen Hao looked up. “Although I’m lazy, fat, and don’t like to work, I’ve carried manure, repaired machines, and stolen fuel. I used to be unable to cheat on exams, but now I can actually understand spaceship circuit diagrams.”
"The diagram you drew caused a short circuit," Nana warned.
"That was an accident!"
“But you are indeed growing.” Carl looked at him. “You didn’t even know how to fasten your seatbelt at first, but now you dare to manually calibrate the antenna.”
"That's because no one else is willing to go!"
“But you went.” Susan smiled.
Chen Hao opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't refute it; he just smiled.
Nana dimmed the projector and said softly, "The navigation log recorded a total of 137 major incidents, with a success rate of 94%. The rest were controllable deviations."
"Sounds like a report card." Chen Hao stretched. "You did well."
“We have indeed graduated.” Susan looked toward the approaching home planet. “From the Desolate Star School.”
“What should I say if anyone asks about this period in the future?” Carl said.
"Let's start by planting sweet potatoes," Chen Hao grinned.
"It's Ultraman Tiga!" Susan exclaimed anxiously.
"It started with buying instant noodles," Nana said.
"This is good." Chen Hao slapped his thigh. "It's authentic and down-to-earth."
The cabin fell silent again. The countdown showed eight minutes remaining.
Chen Hao stood up and walked around the cramped space twice. "The first thing I'll do after we land is find a street food stall and have a hot meal."
“According to nutrition databases, you should prioritize replenishing fluids and electrolytes,” Nana said.
“It’s my treat,” Carl suddenly said.
Chen Hao was taken aback for a moment, then laughed: "Then you'll have to earn more money. I have quite an appetite."
Susan gazed at the approaching blue light outside the window and whispered, "It's like a dream."
Chen Hao walked to the observation window and placed his palm on the cool glass. The edge of the mother planet's atmosphere glowed, and the clouds slowly swirled, like a candy ball being peeled open.
He grinned.
At this moment, a notification tone came from the main control panel.
Nana looked down.
A new information pop-up appeared.
She read aloud: "SSV-097, please note, the pick-up procedure has entered its final stage. All crew members must confirm their identity binding status. Special reminder: Robots must not be declared as independent entities."
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