Chapter 10 - Sol One, Mars Wanderer (1/2)

“Send half?” Tomcat was astonished.

“Why? You think it too little?” Tang Yue asked. “How about sending 60%?”

“Are you mad?” Tomcat said. “What will you eat if you send 60% of your resources to her? Do you have a death wish?”

Tang Yue sat down, his hand holding the half-meter long brush, as he wore the Radiant Armor EVA suit. It was extremely draining on his stamina to move about since the suit was thick and heavy like a turtle’s shell. Therefore, Tang Yue often had to rest for a while after a period of work.

“I can’t say why either. I feel like I have experienced a particular change in the way I think… It seems as though I’ve become rather indifferent towards living or dying,” Tang Yue said. “I feel like my life has become one with the Universe, reaching the supreme realm of being at one with the Heavens. I’ve come to understand how Gautama Buddha and Jesus thought, years ago. Tomcat, do you think I’m really becoming Buddha…”

“Become your ass. Speak something sane!”

“Alright. I only feel the resources should be split equally,” Tang Yue replied sulkily. “Between two people, isn’t it fair if each person gets half? Is there a problem?”

The wide solar panels were installed on the ground with a half a meter tall rack propping them up. They were, in fact, very heavy and couldn’t be handled roughly. Therefore, it wasn’t easy to move them about. Tang Yue typically used a tiny cart to move them into the garage.

“There’s no problem splitting it equally,” Tomcat said with a suppressed tone. “But Tang Yue, have you thought about it? There’s only one Eagle, and it can only be used once.”

Tang Yue stared blankly for a moment. “I know.”

There was only one Eagle and it could only be used once. This implied that Tang Yue only had one chance to send material resources to Mai Dong. This four-hundred-kilometer delivery trip could only be done once.

After sending the goods, Tang Yue would lose all capability of escaping Mars’s surface. Mai Dong would no longer get any replenishments, and the space station would lose some of its resources. In other words, Tang Yue could only push back the day of her expending all her resources without changing the outcome. There wouldn’t be any significant change to Mai Dong’s outcome.

Tomcat suppressed its voice. “That woman’s outcome has long been written in the sand. No one can change it, but you are different. You’re on Mars. You can support yourself in a much better way than on the space station. You have a larger quantity and variety of material resources and tools. There might still be a chance for you to live on for a prolonged period of time.”

Tang Yue pricked up his brows.

“If you were to send half of your resources, that would be equivalent to cutting off any outs you might have.” Tomcat’s tone was solemn. “There’s no way you can save her. At best, you will push back the day of her death, but it will only serve to bring you harm!”

“As emperor, my decision is final. There’s no need for you to persuade me otherwise.” Tang Yue waved his hand. “I’ve already said I’m sending half, not one gram less.”

“You…”

Tang Yue slowly got to his feet, walked to the garage’s door and exerted strength on the handle.

“Beep—” A green LED indicator lit up as the garage’s door slowly opened. Tang Yue once again saw the huge Mars rover.

The garage had a simple layout. It was a container with the logo of China’s XCMG hanging above, and it was used to store and protect the rover. Back when Tang Yue was tidying up the Kunlun Station, he had carried out a thorough inspection of the rover before parking the vehicle inside the garage. According to the original plan, the doors to the garage would only be opened two years from now.

The Mars rover’s name was Mars Wanderer. It was the only transportation vehicle the scientific team had for traveling on Mars’s surface. It was eight meters long, three meters wide, and three meters tall. It had six metallic wheels and was about the size of a truck.

Compared to the tiny, manually-powered lunar rovers that were the size of a tricycle, the Mars rover was a behemoth. At the head of the vehicle was the piloting station. It carried four people, including the driver. As the vehicle’s interior wasn’t airtight, there was a need to wear EVA suits inside.

Mars Wanderer was a mobile laboratory. The back of the rover hauled a trailer with a hinge. In fact, the trailer could be modified into a cabin for experiments.

During the mission, the scientific team’s geologists would often drive the rover, pulling an exploration drill’s boring crown and geologic hammer as they headed for all sorts of destinations. Mars Wanderer’s highest speed was 30 km/h—not much faster than a bike, which made Tang Yue nickname it as Mars Tractor.

Tang Yue stepped into the garage and looked at the temperature gauge hanging on the wall.