diff --git a/run_agent.py b/run_agent.py
index d7d1249be..1676d2f5a 100644
--- a/run_agent.py
+++ b/run_agent.py
@@ -7881,6 +7881,7 @@ class AIAgent:
         self._thinking_prefill_retries = 0
         self._post_tool_empty_retried = False
         self._last_content_with_tools = None
+        self._last_content_tools_all_housekeeping = False
         self._mute_post_response = False
         self._unicode_sanitization_passes = 0
 
@@ -8068,6 +8069,7 @@ class AIAgent:
                     self._empty_content_retries = 0
                     self._thinking_prefill_retries = 0
                     self._last_content_with_tools = None
+                    self._last_content_tools_all_housekeeping = False
                     self._mute_post_response = False
                     # Re-estimate after compression
                     _preflight_tokens = estimate_request_tokens_rough(
@@ -10130,6 +10132,7 @@ class AIAgent:
                             tc.function.name in _HOUSEKEEPING_TOOLS
                             for tc in assistant_message.tool_calls
                         )
+                        self._last_content_tools_all_housekeeping = _all_housekeeping
                         if _all_housekeeping and self._has_stream_consumers():
                             self._mute_post_response = True
                         elif self.quiet_mode:
@@ -10312,15 +10315,22 @@ class AIAgent:
                             break
 
                         # If the previous turn already delivered real content alongside
-                        # tool calls (e.g. "You're welcome!" + memory save), the model
-                        # has nothing more to say. Use the earlier content immediately
-                        # instead of wasting API calls on retries that won't help.
+                        # HOUSEKEEPING tool calls (e.g. "You're welcome!" + memory save),
+                        # the model has nothing more to say. Use the earlier content
+                        # immediately instead of wasting API calls on retries.
+                        # NOTE: Only use this shortcut when ALL tools in that turn were
+                        # housekeeping (memory, todo, etc.).  When substantive tools
+                        # were called (terminal, search_files, etc.), the content was
+                        # likely mid-task narration ("I'll scan the directory...") and
+                        # the empty follow-up means the model choked — let the
+                        # post-tool nudge below handle that instead of exiting early.
                         fallback = getattr(self, '_last_content_with_tools', None)
-                        if fallback:
+                        if fallback and getattr(self, '_last_content_tools_all_housekeeping', False):
                             _turn_exit_reason = "fallback_prior_turn_content"
                             logger.info("Empty follow-up after tool calls — using prior turn content as final response")
                             self._emit_status("↻ Empty response after tool calls — using earlier content as final answer")
                             self._last_content_with_tools = None
+                            self._last_content_tools_all_housekeeping = False
                             self._empty_content_retries = 0
                             # Do NOT modify the assistant message content — the
                             # old code injected "Calling the X tools..." which
@@ -10331,13 +10341,18 @@ class AIAgent:
                             break
 
                         # ── Post-tool-call empty response nudge ───────────
-                        # The model returned empty after executing tool calls
-                        # but there's no prior-turn content to fall back on.
+                        # The model returned empty after executing tool calls.
+                        # This covers two cases:
+                        #  (a) No prior-turn content at all — model went silent
+                        #  (b) Prior turn had content + SUBSTANTIVE tools (the
+                        #      fallback above was skipped because the content
+                        #      was mid-task narration, not a final answer)
                         # Instead of giving up, nudge the model to continue by
                         # appending a user-level hint.  This is the #9400 case:
-                        # weaker models (GLM-5, etc.) sometimes return empty
-                        # after tool results instead of continuing to the next
-                        # step.  One retry with a nudge usually fixes it.
+                        # weaker models (mimo-v2-pro, GLM-5, etc.) sometimes
+                        # return empty after tool results instead of continuing
+                        # to the next step.  One retry with a nudge usually
+                        # fixes it.
                         _prior_was_tool = any(
                             m.get("role") == "tool"
                             for m in messages[-5:]  # check recent messages
@@ -10347,6 +10362,10 @@ class AIAgent:
                             and not getattr(self, "_post_tool_empty_retried", False)
                         ):
                             self._post_tool_empty_retried = True
+                            # Clear stale narration so it doesn't resurface
+                            # on a later empty response after the nudge.
+                            self._last_content_with_tools = None
+                            self._last_content_tools_all_housekeeping = False
                             logger.info(
                                 "Empty response after tool calls — nudging model "
                                 "to continue processing"