Dead on Mars

Chapter 169 - Sol Two Hundred and Eighty-Three, Burning Whale
The simulation had finally succeeded.

When it came to success, it was either having no success or having infinite successes.

The twenty-first, twenty-second, twenty-third, twenty-fourth, and twenty-fifth tests, were all successful.

Tang Yue had been unlucky for so long, and finally, they were having their luck turn for the better. Lady Luck had smiled at them, repeatedly rolling out a six.

Tomcat and Tang Yue heaved a sigh of relief.

They finally felt a little confident.

If Orion II could land safely under Tomcat’s harshest of conditions, then it had a rather high chance of succeeding for the atmospheric entry. Tomcat was no doubt an extremely strict invigilator. It even required Orion II to land in a sandstorm, and thankfully, the latter didn’t let it down and successfully brought the Eagle to an altitude of a hundred meters.

Towards the end, Tomcat would even confidently hit itself in the chest to say that there was a hundred percent chance that Orion II’s landing would be successful…

Tang Yue lunged forward and stopped it from speaking.

He absolutely couldn’t allow for the cat to randomly raise any flags.

“What other work is there left to do?”

Mai Dong was engaging in EVA work, and completing a spacewalk that was rather far from the core module. She was headed for the Orion II’s dynamic module to modify its wiring.

“Of course, Miss Mai Dong.” Tomcat moved the mouse and swept its gaze onto the schematics. “Take note. Circuit C523, which is also that red line, shouldn’t be touched… Hmm, yes. Next, we will need to raise Orion II’s landing precision. Orion isn’t designed with the ability for atmospheric entry; therefore, it lacks the sensors needed for landing as a descent imager, Doppler altimeter, or laser radar. At present, we are only using an IMU and a radio altimeter to guide the spacecraft to land within a range of thirty kilometers.

“It also means that Orion II might land anywhere within a radius of thirty kilometers of Kunlun Station. This is too large an area, making it inconvenient to do a search and rescue,” Tomcat leisurely crossed its hind leg as it spun its hind paw. Just as it said, Orion II’s descent was a controlled crash. The danger involved was immense, and they couldn’t guarantee that no accident would happen.

Therefore, it was best if they could rescue her as quickly as possible.

The closer Orion II crashed to Kunlun Station, the faster Tomcat could find Mai Dong and rescue her.

Mai Dong wouldn’t be bringing anything along with her, and the Eagle was just an empty shell. Her only life support system would be the EVA suit she wore. The Z-9 pressurized EVA suit was different from the Radiant Armor meant for planet surface operations. Z-9 EVA suits were meant for work in zero gravity environments. It was a lot heavier and bulkier than the Radiant Armor.

The Z-9 EVA suit didn’t allow for more than eight hours of EVA work.

Within eight hours, Tomcat had to find Mai Dong.

Under ideal conditions, Tomcat hoped that Orion II would land at Kunlun Station’s doorstep, with Tang Yue and it just needed to walk five hundred meters to carry the girl out from the lander.

“Every meter counts. After all, Mars Wanderer is slow.” Tang Yue sat by the side as he wrote “First Industrial Revolution and Societal Development.”

“Lass, you have to wear a bit more clothes in the EVA suit. Kunlun Station doesn’t have any additional female clothes. Of course, you can wear my clothes if you don’t mind… Tomcat, is there really no way to bring the food to the space station down?”

Tomcat shot a glance at Tang Yue and shrugged.

“Can’t we buy a ticket for the compressed biscuits to hang onto the hull?”

“They won’t be able to survive the high heat zone. They will burn,” Tomcat said. “Miss Mai Dong, next up is Circuits D336, D337, and D452. Follow the labels on the schematics. Make sure not to mistake them.”

Tang Yue truly found it a pity for the resources on the space station. With survival resources lacking on the Martian desert, every piece of biscuit was infinitely valuable.

However, Mai Dong’s safety was also infinitely important.

Mai Dong was infinitely more valuable than the biscuits.

“Mr. Cat, Tang Yue, when do we official descend?” Mai Dong asked.

“There’s no rush. Let’s wait until all preparations are made. We shouldn’t rush such matters,” Tang Yue replied. “We need to do it under perfect conditions for the best results. There is no repeating a real battle.”

Ever since the simulation achieved success, Tang Yue felt as if he was on cloud nine as though a weight had been lifted off his chest. His anxiety was mostly relieved and he walked with a bounce. Even when he was writing an insipid historical treatise of the “First Industrial Revolution and Societal Development,” he couldn’t help but wear a smile.

Mai Dong would occasionally fantasize about her life after heading down. She didn’t have to live alone in the cramped space station any longer. Being able to step on hard, solid ground was like a dream to Mai Dong. She had dreamed of endless plains multiple times and towering mountains that reached high up into the clouds, and the horizon that stood at the ends of the world. However, all she faced when she woke up were the repressive cabin walls and control panels. The stark difference was enough to drive her mad.

Even though two people would drastically reduce the resources in Kunlun Station, it was better than dying alone.

All men must die.

There was more courage facing it together than alone.

Mai Dong didn’t wish to ask how much water Kunlun Station had left, nor did she ask how much food it had. She and Tang Yue had consciously or unconsciously avoided the topic. It wasn’t because death was a taboo, but that they didn’t wish to make it something that had to be shared.

“I believe we should free up a room for Miss Mai Dong. From today, shouldn’t the Hab have a curtain hung up to partition the area? After all, we need to respect the lady’s privacy…” As Kunlun Station’s butler, Tomcat was already preparing to welcome Mai Dong. “Also, Tang Yue, you can’t run around naked once Miss Mai Dong comes down.”

Kunlun Station was designed to accommodate six people. There were six cabins, but they weren’t occupied most of the time. In past Mars landing missions, there would often be team members who remained in the space station.

Now, all the other cabins had been used by Tomcat and Tang Yue as storerooms.

Now that Mai Dong was coming down, they needed to free up space for her.

“First, I need to correct your mistake. I’ve never run around naked in Kunlun Station. I wear boxers! In addition, there are only two humans left in the whole Universe.” Tang Yue curled his lips. “Is there a need to worry about such things?”

“I believe that human character, values, morals, and shame are the base rock of human society. By having it carried out to the very end, means that human civilization can continue on to the final moment,” Tomcat said. “Of course, there aren’t any rules that you have to abide by, and you can abandon them all. Actually, as long as you don’t twirl around a particular organ of yours, I have zero objections.”

“What are you talking about?” Tang Yue rolled his eyes. “I’m still an ordinary person, alright? Why do you make it sound like I’m an immoral person? I’m someone who received an advanced education, and thanks to more than a decade of education from school and society, I have a very normal character that remains impregnable.”

“People with normal characters were gone the moment Earth vanished,” Tomcat said. “You’re just crazy.”

…

That very night.

Tomcat continued working as Tang Yue got some rest. He could finally sleep now his body and mind were relaxed.

But for some unknown reason, Tang Yue had the same nightmare again. He dreamed that Orion II would plummet amidst flames in a lead-gray sky. Mai Dong’s signal would vanish amidst static and he and Tomcat would begin a desperate pursuit in Mars Wanderer, but fail to catch up to her. It was as though the spacecraft had plummeted to the ends of the world.

Tang Yue clearly remembered his limbs cramping up as he was unable to move. He wanted to shout out Mai Dong’s name but was unable to make a sound. All he could do was helplessly watch as the spacecraft’s massive, warped body slowly landed beneath the horizon like a dead whale. However, this whale was covered in flames as hot gases inundated him.

Before Tang Yue could jolt awake from his nightmare, he was slapped awake.

He opened his eyes and saw a pair of bright cat eyes in the darkness.

Tang Yue was just about to grumble about the darn cat’s disturbance for no good reason when he was stunned by the stern look in Tomcat’s eyes. He reeled in his stupor for a long while before asking, “What’s wrong?”

Tomcat stood by Tang Yue’s bed and enunciated each and every word. “The calamity circle has shrunk.”