Chapter 204 - Sol Three Hundred and Twenty-Six, Rescue Failed (1/2)

Chapter 204: Sol Three Hundred and Twenty-Six, Rescue Failed

Tang Yue didn’t know where Tomcat had hidden the petri dish away. It might even have thrown out all the bacteria, allowing those microbes to fend for themselves in the harsh Martian environment. Under normal conditions, this was a contamination of the environment, but no one cared anymore.

Whether the mutated bacteria could really evolve into Martian amoebas was left up to fate.

“How much longer before Tianzhou arrives?” Tang Yue slumped on the table as he pressed on the keyboard again and again in a listless manner.

“140 hours,” Tomcat replied. “In the past three sols, you have asked this question 167 times. That was the 168th time.”

“How much longer can the space station last?”

“I’ve no idea,” Tomcat replied. “Perhaps an hour, or maybe 150 hours. You have asked this question equally as many times as the last one.”

When Mai Dong was online, Tang Yue and Tomcat never discussed the lifespan of the United Space Station. The man and cat would appear rather calm, playing cards and engaging in nonsense as they usually did, as though they were certain that Tianzhou 37 would arrive in time. However, once the space station entered the no-signal zone, Tang Yue’s worry and unease would immediately show. He was like a cat on hot bricks, he was almost hopping. Yet, he had to force himself to remain calm. Tang Yue literally asked about Tianzhou and the space station every few minutes.

Tianzhou 37 was in a race against time, but this was a participant who couldn’t be whipped.

Tianzhou needed to reserve enough propellant for its deceleration and descent. Apart from that, Tomcat had used all the propellant to accelerate it. It was already going at its fastest speed, and it couldn’t go any faster.

“Strictly speaking, whether the cargo spacecraft can save Miss Mai Dong is a fixed outcome. There aren’t other variables in it,” Tomcat said. “That’s because Tianzhou’s time of arrival is fixed. Likewise for the space station’s time of crash. If the former is before the latter, we can save Miss Mai Dong. But if the latter is before the former…”

“That would be game over, right?” Tang Yue threw up his hands. “In the past three sols, you have told me the same thing 167 times.”

“That’s because, in essence, we are the same,” Tomcat said.

“A broken record?”

“No.” Tomcat shook its head. “We are all trying to find hope in a dire situation… Listen to me, Tang Yue, we need to have the greatest determination and confidence, but also make plans for the worst.”

“That the rescue fails?”

Tomcat walked over and pressed Tang Yue down into his chair. “Yes, we need to make plans for the failure of the rescue. Tang Yue, you need to think it through carefully. If the United Space Station can’t last until Tianzhou arrives… How are you going to face that reality?”

Tang Yue was taken aback.

If Tianzhou didn’t arrive in time, it meant that the United Space Station would crash.

The crashing of the United Space Station meant Mai Dong’s death.

Mai Dong’s death meant that he would be the last human left in the Universe.

“You have given me a conundrum,” Tang Yue said sullenly. “Even if I don’t face reality, reality will seek me out. The cruelest part about reality is that you have no way of escaping from it. As the last human in the Universe, what can I do? Stand in the middle of the desert to kowtow in every direction, thanking all my ancestors for their blessings for being the last one standing?”

“I’m being serious here.”

“Same here.” Tang Yue scratched his head and sighed. “I will not joke about such matters, but do you know what it means by asking me this question? You are asking me what will I do if the world were to be destroyed tomorrow… What can I do?”

He turned the monitor around to show it to Tomcat.

Tomcat looked up and frowned.

“What’s this? The historical information you’ve edited? Or your mission log?”