Dead on Mars

Chapter 217 - Epilogue
Chapter 217: Epilogue

Three days later.

The Tianzhou 37 cargo spacecraft slowly landed on the desert as its reverse engine roared sent sand flying into the sky. Fifty meters from Kunlun Station, sounds from the rocket engines should have sounded like a thunderclap, but due to the thin atmosphere, they sounded like a two-wheeled tractor in Tang Yue’s ears.

He turned to look out. The cargo spacecraft’s white, circular body looked extremely striking in the brownish-yellow sand. Tang Yue could even see the blue acronym plastered across the fairing: CNSA. He even saw Tomcat’s tiny figure standing amidst the sand, guiding the spacecraft’s landing. Its fur was being ruffled by the strong airflow.

This was the first time Tang Yue had seen a man-made object after Earth’s disappearance descend on Mars. Tianzhou 37 was no doubt a beautifully contoured spacecraft with a huge bullet head. It was one-use, and couldn’t fly again after landing. Therefore, it wasn’t split into an Ascent and Descent Vehicle. The white, smooth fairing reflected the sunlight as the spacecraft slowly unfolded its landing gear. A few millimeters from landing, it cut the engine’s power as it stably landed.

Everything was perfect.

The spacecraft had traveled more than a hundred million kilometers with no human guidance, finally landing five meters away from its originally scheduled landing zone.

Tomcat lowered the spacecraft’s accommodation ladder and elevator before unloading its cargo.

They had waited for this spacecraft for far too long. It brought all the hope that Kunlun Station needed for survival and continuation.

Tang Yue should have been happy.

He had eaten more than half a year of compressed biscuits and tomatoes. Now, he could finally eat canned beef and Australian lobster. If this were any time in the past, it would be like the festive New Year.

But when he watched Tianzhou 37 land, there wasn’t so much as a ripple in his heart. He had even declined Tomcat’s invitation to unload the cargo with it.

It was not as though he even liked lobster.

Tang Yue sat in his chair, his gaze on the monitor on his desk. He was in a daze. This was common for him over the past three days. His brain was just too tired to process anything.

The computer was still showing the orbit equation he had calculated three days ago. He had tried everything to design a rescue plan, but fate didn’t give him a chance to carry it out. He couldn’t understand why the space station would crash. Tomcat said that he needed to discount the numbers Mai Dong gave by 30%, and even that would be an overestimate.

This cat knew everything, but it didn’t say anything.

This was the way artificial intelligence worked. It forever maintained rationality, forever choosing the optimum solution. Tomcat had probably estimated the outcome on the sol the space station crashed. It was the one who peeped inside the dice container. However, it had told Tang Yue that it didn’t, leaving him unaware of the outcome inside.

When Tomcat was designing the rescue plan, what was it thinking? It was using completely fake numbers to construct a plan that couldn’t be carried out. Then, it put on a show to do one calculation at a time, making sure that it was airtight, giving Tang Yue the confidence that everything was real.

It had probably long given up.

Far earlier than any one of them.

Tang Yue continued maintaining his habit of wearing the earpiece. He had repeated the final recording over and over again, listening silently with a deadpan expression. Tomcat didn’t disturb him, allowing him free reign to do whatever he wanted. Tomcat knew very well that such low spirits were only temporary. Time could wash away everything. No matter how important or impressionable a person was, given time, it would eventually blur under time. This was a self-protection mechanism of the brain.

Unfortunately, Tomcat didn’t have such a mechanism. No matter how long it was, the crash of the space station would appear as though it was yesterday.

Every sol, it would wake up from its sleep, able to recall what Mai Dong said to it like it was yesterday. To take good care of Tang Yue.

Therefore, it had to take good care of Tang Yue.

With a click, the airlock’s hatch opened. Tomcat dragged a heavy crate in, then tore off the seals. The crate was filled with soft-packaging canned food. Tianzhou 37 had brought plenty of supplies to them. It had carried a load enough for six people. From food to water to medicine, there was everything. It was enough for Tang Yue to eat for a very, very long time.

Tomcat returned to unload. It stacked the crates in the landing zone and went back and forth with a tiny cart. It did so in a regular and unhurried manner. Apart from food and water, the rest was stored in the garage.

“A-type canned food… Sixty sets.”

“C-type canned food… Eighty sets.”

“E-type reconstituted food, thirty kilograms.”

Tomcat held a tiny notebook as it took stock. It resembled a farmer’s gathering of the harvest.

Tianzhou had landed at ten in the morning. It had begun work then, all the way until half-past eight in the evening. It went back and forth between the spacecraft and Kunlun Station, watching the supplies in the Hab pile up. It didn’t feel any fatigue until its power had nearly depleted.

Tomcat plugged itself in.

“Tomcat.”

Tang Yue’s voice was hoarse. He hadn’t spoken the entire day.

“Yes?”

“I’m very tired.”

“Have some rest then,” Tomcat said.

Tang Yue shook his head.

“I can’t live on.”

The young man turned to look at Tomcat, leaving the latter alarmed. Tang Yue’s face was pale. It looked like he had lost weight. Something in him had collapsed.

“Tomcat, I think… this is the end.”

Only God knew how Tang Yue had endured this long. Earth had vanished. If any other person was in his shoes, they would probably suffer a mental breakdown. However, Tang Yue had pumped himself up to face a life that had only grown worse. Whether it was him having a strong, optimistic will or him having a screw loose, he had ultimately relied on himself to support this tiny abode on Mars.

But now, Tang Yue had reached his limit. The space station had crashed. Mai Dong was dead. His only pillar of support had collapsed. Everything was bleak and he was the only person left.

He wasn’t one who would live for the sake of living. Under such situations, living on was just endless torture.

Tomcat fell silent. It looked at the wealth of supplies on the floor. Mai Dong had once told it to take good care of Tang Yue, but if Tang Yue had given up on living, what could it do? It couldn’t tie Tang Yue up and daily stuff food into his mouth.

“Is the grave we dug still there?” Tang Yue asked.

“It’s still there.”

The conversation came to an end. Neither one spoke again as Kunlun Station fell deathly silent. Only the clock was ticking the seconds away.

Tang Yue sat on the chair, the lights above him casting his shadow onto the floor. He was the last human being in the world.

Outside the window were the stars slowly moving across the sky.

The world was very lonely.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Three dull knocks suddenly broke the silence. Tang Yue, who had been in a daze all this time, was taken aback. He momentarily failed to realize what it was or where it had come from. The next second, he believed that he was hearing things because when he subconsciously traced the sound, he realized that it came from the airlock’s hatch. And in the next second, Tang Yue turned back to look at Tomcat.

At the same time, Tomcat had turned its head to stare at Tang Yue. The man and cat confirmed that the other party was in the room.

Both of them were stunned as they widened their eyes. They silently and rapidly communicated with their eyes.

Tang Yue: An illusion?

Tomcat: An illusion?

Tang Yue: An illusion!

Tomcat: An illusion!

Just as Tang Yue and Tomcat were staring at each other, there was another knock on the airlock. One knock after another.

Knock! Knock! Knock!