Chapter 116 - Sol Hundred and Fourteen, Seven Heroes of Wudang (1/2)

Tang Yue snapped awake in the middle of the night as he reached his hand out to get an idea of the ambient temperature.

He got up and dressed, drew the curtains to his quarters as a biting cold rushed at him. Tang Yue trembled.

Kunlun Station was dim and silent. The communications system was still online, but Mai Dong wasn’t in the Crystal module. She was likely sleeping.

The plastic tent was propped up in the middle of the Hab. Over the plastic sheet were blankets and cloth, and the light from the blinding high-pressure sodium lamps was seeping out of the cracks in the blanket covering.

The computer monitor on the desk was black. The clock was flickering a red light every second.

Tang Yue walked over, crouched beside the greenhouse and through the plastic sheet, which was covered in dew, he could see the water troughs on the floor.

Inside the water troughs were the tomato sprouts. Their white kernels were buried in the soil as a light green tender leaf tenaciously stood out.

Tang Yue lost himself looking at the tomato sprout and he suddenly realized why Mai Dong gave names to the plants.

For the longest time, he believed that he was an advanced creature with intelligence. He had already left the primal world and was nothing comparable to lowly plants. But in fact, it was just humans putting themselves on a pedestal.

Only now that he was on the Martian desert and facing the Universe alone did Tang Yue realize that he was no different from the tiny tomato sprout.

If the Universe had supreme intelligence, would it believe that Tang Yue was more advanced than a tomato?

In the eyes of nature, perhaps there wasn’t any difference.

“According to usual practice, I should give you a name,” Tang Yue said to the tomato. “What should I name you? Washington? Roosevelt? Kennedy? Or Nixon?”

“Got it!” Tang Yue thought for a moment as he slapped his thigh. “From today, you’ll be named Zhang Wuji 1 !”

The tomato sprout didn’t respond, its thoughts were unknown.

The other sprout that had revealed itself was named Yang Dingtian 1 by Tang Yue.

Tang Yue crawled into the greenhouse and hugged the two water troughs tightly. He used his body temperature to warm these tomato sprouts, worried that the heat produced by the RTG and high-pressure sodium lamps was insufficient for the plants to withstand the cold Martian night.

Tang Yue sat on the floor, hugging them as he began droning on. “Wuji… Quickly grow up… Be strong, bloom, and have fruit. Your master, Golden Haired Lion King 1 , is still in the hands of those darn monks at Shaolin Temple and awaiting your rescue…”

The high-pressure sodium lamps cast a shadow of the man onto the plastic sheet as he hugged the water troughs as though he was hugging his children. This was the only beacon in the pitch-black Martian desert, tiny but bright.

…

“This is United Space Station. Mr. Cat, please answer if you copy… This is United Space Station. Mr. Cat, please answer if you copy.”

The Mars United Space Station was sweeping across the Isidis Planitia at an average speed of 3,500 m/s. The high-gain antenna was directed to the surface, and the girl’s voice was captured by an electret’s carbon membrane. This converted into a digital signal before being amplified and sent into an electromagnetic signal that the antenna broadcast onto the Martian surface.

A vacuum didn’t allow the transmission of voice, but electromagnetic waves didn’t need a medium. They were able to carry the information to pass through the void and reach distant spots.

Mai Dong pressed down on her earpiece.

“This is United Space Station. Kunlun Station, please answer if you copy.”

“This is Kunlun Station. I copy you five-on-five.”

“Tang Yue, the satellite image recognition has reached Number 7,750. We have already scoured an area of 1,550,000 square meters to no avail. Do we continue the search?” Mai Dong asked. “I can’t find Mr. Cat or contact the Chelomey.”

“There’s no way you can contact the Chelomey. That’s because it needs to be shut down while transporting it over. Therefore, Tomcat had switched it off from the very beginning. It wouldn’t be able to receive any commands.”

Tang Yue sighed.

“That cat must have eloped with the Mars Wanderer. Who knows, it might have had a litter of kittens by now… However, we still need to find it. If that cat doesn’t return, I’ll have to get used to living alone.”

Today was the sixth sol since Tomcat’s disappearance.

To be honest, it was possible for Tang Yue to live on alone. He had food, water, and power. He even had two containers of tomatoes. In time to come, when Zhang Wuji, Yang Dingtian, and the other Seven Heroes of Wudang 1 matured, Tang Yue’s scurvy would be treated, and he would be able to live for at least a year.

Tang Yue and Mai Dong wished to find Tomcat, even if they couldn’t do a thing after succeeding. They were still bent on seeing the cat, dead or alive.

“Tang Yue, how are the tomatoes?” Mai Dong asked. “Are you providing them with enough warmth and light?”

“They seem to be growing well.” Tang Yue shut down the sanitation system, opened the airlock’s latch, and stepped into the Hab. “Do you want to take a look? You are the agriculture expert. Why don’t you give some advice and guidance?”

Tang Yue took off the Radiant Armor and rubbed his hands in glee. It was as though he was about to look at his son in swaddling clothes.

“Be quick. The temperatures outside are too low. They won’t be able to last long.”