Zeyu kept his foot on the brake while Jingwei enlarged the rear camera image.
Dust slid into the crack beside the road in small, steady streams. Farther back, where the bend disappeared behind the mobile base, the pavement still looked level.
He had driven over that section less than a minute ago. He tried to remember whether he had felt anything unusual and found himself remembering every vibration instead.
"The outer shoulder is moving," Jingwei reported into the radio. "We’re stopped before the turning area. The crack extends behind us."
Zeyu looked toward the uphill side of the road.
The bank rose close to the vehicle, leaving little room to move away from the damaged edge. He could reverse along the path they had taken, but the trailer would have to follow the bend before he could see the entire surface behind it.
"Send the side view too," Shichen instructed through the speaker. "I need to see where the wheels are relative to that crack."
Jingwei changed the display. Zeyu watched the image settle, then checked the mirrors again. His hands felt unpleasantly warm against the wheel despite the cool air blowing across his wrists.
The last time the mobile base had been trapped, Zhiyi had been hurt.
He forced his attention back to the road. She was at Xiling now, sitting where they had left her, with Qinghe beside her and Hanchuan within reach. Zeyu could picture the room clearly enough to separate it from the memory.
"The tires are still inside the crack," Shichen said. "I can’t tell how much support remains beneath that strip. Don’t attempt the turn."
"I wasn’t planning to," Zeyu replied. He heard the irritation in his voice and steadied it before continuing. "I can reverse. I need to know whether the crack crosses behind the trailer."
Jingwei leaned toward the screen, following the dark line until the camera angle concealed it.
"I can’t see the end," Jingwei said.
Zeyu glanced at his friend’s seat belt. Jingwei’s hand had moved toward the buckle, although he hadn’t released it.
"You’re staying inside," Zeyu told him.
Jingwei looked over. "You need someone to see behind you."
"And I need to be able to move without waiting for you to climb back in," Zeyu replied. He returned his attention to the mirrors. "Give me a moment."
The radio remained quiet. Nobody filled the pause with instructions, which helped more than Zeyu expected.
He brought up the other camera views and looked between them. The rear image concealed part of the shoulder, but the opposite side showed the pavement continuing around the bend. He had been staring so hard at the broken edge that he had stopped examining the rest of the road.
"Shichen, look at the uphill rear view," Zeyu said. "That’s the path I can keep."
Shichen took several seconds to answer. "It’s clear as far as the camera shows. The bank gets closer at the bend."
"I know," Zeyu replied. He looked at Jingwei. "Watch that side. Tell me if I lose the clearance."
Jingwei settled back against his seat and left the buckle alone.
Zeyu began reversing slowly.
The change in direction felt larger than it should have, every movement carrying the weight of the rooms behind them. He watched the trailer’s position, corrected, and resisted the urge to hurry when dust lifted beside the outer wheels.
Jingwei kept his voice level. "You have room. Keep going."
A faint scrape came from somewhere behind the cabin. Zeyu stopped immediately.
"Branch against the side," Jingwei said after checking the image. "The body is clear of the bank."
Zeyu let out a breath through his nose. He could hear the cooling system, the engine, and his own pulse. Shichen said nothing, allowing Jingwei’s voice to remain the only one he had to follow.
They moved again.
The bend took longer in reverse than it had going forward.
Zeyu worked through it in small adjustments, watching the road behind the trailer appear a little at a time. When the damaged turning area finally slipped out of sight, he almost relaxed.
"Keep your attention here," Jingwei said quietly.
Zeyu tightened his grip. "It’s here."
He continued until the road straightened and the shelter approach appeared on the rear display. Only then did Jingwei tell Hanchuan they were coming back.
The entrance had already been prepared for them. Hanchuan stood behind the protected doorway while Shichen watched their clearance through the cameras.
Zeyu backed the mobile base into the garage, stopped where Shichen directed, and left both hands on the wheel after the engine went quiet.
Jingwei waited beside him.
"I wanted to drive it," Zeyu said eventually. "I thought getting out would feel better."
Jingwei unfastened his seat belt. "You brought it back."
Zeyu looked at him. "That wasn’t what I meant."
"I know," Jingwei replied. He rested his hand briefly against the seat before standing. "Come inside."
Hanchuan met them beyond the garage. He looked from Jingwei to Zeyu, checking them both without asking a question neither needed to answer.
"Shichen saved the footage," Hanchuan said. "We’ll look at it after you’ve had some water."
Zeyu wanted to argue that he hadn’t been out long enough to need a break. Then he noticed the marks his nails had left in his palm and followed Hanchuan without speaking.
Zhiyi was still in the communications room. She turned toward them as they entered, her gaze moving over Jingwei before settling on Zeyu.
"Did anything fail on the vehicle?" Zhiyi asked.
Zeyu shook his head. "The vehicle did everything it was supposed to."
She nodded and looked back at the wall. Shichen had placed their recorded camera view beside the map. The crack looked smaller from this distance, almost harmless.
Zeyu took the glass Qinghe offered him. "We’ll need another place to turn."
Shichen didn’t answer immediately. He moved the recording backward until the turning area filled the screen, then enlarged the line running across its surface.
"That section was already lower before you reached it," Shichen said. "The movement beside the trailer was farther uphill."
Hanchuan stepped closer. "How far?"
Shichen followed the road toward Xiling with his finger. His hand stopped before the entrance marker.
Zeyu set down his untouched water.
"Show me the whole slope," Zeyu requested. "Including the ground above the road."