Dead on Mars

Tang Yue’s heart sank when he heard that, as he secretly knew that things weren’t going well.

How could he have forgotten about this?

The Mars United Space Station was different from the Kunlun Station on the surface. Kunlun Station was often equipped with supplies to last a six-person team for six months.

However, space on the United Space Station was precious; therefore, it didn’t have a store for food.

Every mission, all the resources needed for survival were brought by Orion. The food was to be taken away by Orion after the mission to provide for the team on their journey back—it took months to fly from Mars back to Earth, and humans needed food.

For safety precautions, the astronauts would adhere to a principle when landing on Mars—supplies came and went with the people.

The supplies followed wherever the people went.

The space station was uninhabited for a very long period of time after the mission. Since it wasn’t inhabited, there was no need to stock it with food and resources.

Therefore, most of the space station’s facilities were shut down and placed in a hibernation state.

Mai Dong’s stay to wait for Tang Yue was a last-minute decision. After Tang Yue was done with his work on the surface, he could bring sufficient resources and enter orbit on the lander before docking with the United Space Station.

Then, the two of them could board Orion II and return to Earth.

But clearly, none of this was possible anymore.

Earth had vanished.

Tang Yue wasn’t able to return; same for Mai Dong.

With all possible paths severed, the meager amount of food they had on hand was their final possession.

“What do we do?” Tang Yue pulled Tomcat to the side. “That lady only has five days worth of rations.”

Tomcat didn’t say a word.

Mai Dong was trapped on the space station with no way of reaching the surface. The food would barely last her five days, making it appear like a hopeless situation in every other way.

This was a truly hopeless situation. Mai Dong was in orbit, hundreds of kilometers from the surface of Mars.

Putting the space station above Mars, even the space station that orbited Earth would no doubt be an island of death if no supplies were sent to it.

Tang Yue didn’t even dare look into the woman’s eyes as she waited for him helplessly, hoping that he could find a solution.

However, what could Tang Yue do? He wasn’t Superman from Krypton.

If he were Superman, he could directly fly into orbit and lower the space station.

“Tomcat? Tomcat? Give some suggestions. Say something.” Tang Yue had no choice but to rest his hopes on Tomcat in the current situation.

“What suggestions can I give?” Tomcat shrugged. “That lady is more than three hundred kilometers above us. On Earth, this distance is about as far as Hangzhou to Hefei. Driving on a highway would take five hours. Now, if you were in Hefei and a chick in Hangzhou were to tell you that she only has five days of rations left, what can you do?”

Tang Yue’s mouth gaped, momentarily at a loss for words.

“Tang Yue, you aren’t Superman. There’s nothing you can.” Tomcat sighed. “There’s really nothing you can do.”

“I… I can’t just watch idly, right?”

“There’s a phrase known as ‘ability falling short of one’s wishes,’ and there’s another phrase, ‘willing but powerless to render assistance.’ Now, we are precisely in a situation described by the two phrases.” Tomcat patted Tang Yue on the shoulder. “I know you wish to help that lass, a lot. But there’s really nothing we can do…”

Tang Yue looked out of the window and saw the huge, white lander standing not far from the garage. Its four feet were raised high, looking like a giant crab that stood more than ten meters tall.

The lander’s ascending fairing was plastered with a giant eagle’s head with bright, piercing eyes. This was also why Tang Yue named the lander the Eagle.

“The lander!” Tang Yue suddenly said.

Tomcat was taken aback.

“The lander!” Tang Yue smacked his thoughts in joy, finally finding a straw to clutch at. He nearly guffawed as he said, “Tomcat! Tomcat, I have a solution! We can use the lander! We can use the lander to send food to the space station!”

Tomcat didn’t share his joy and instead looked coldly at the ecstatic man.

“Tomcat, the lander can automatically dock with the space station, right?” Tang Yue asked.

Tomcat nodded. “Yes.”

“Then, it’s completely possible for us to load food and water into the lander and have it send the supplies up to the space station! That way, wouldn’t Mai Dong have sufficient food? Haha, I really am a f*cking genius!” Tang Yue turned around, about to share the good news. “Mai Dong, Mai Dong, you are saved…”

Tomcat reached out and stopped him.

Tang Yue turned his head over.

“Tang Yue, you have to understand the situation you are in. You are like a clay Bodhisattva fording a river, and you can’t guarantee your own safety,” Tomcat said softly and solemnly. “You… do not have the means to save that lady.”

Tang Yue was stunned as the corners of his eyes twitched.

You have to understand the situation.

Tomcat was a robot after all. Its thought processes were faster than those of anyone else.

It probably realized the cruel reality at the moment Earth disappeared… Things were no longer the same as before. With Earth gone, there were only two remaining humans in the entire Universe. They were lacking in food and resources. In such times, whoever had an additional kilogram of food lived on an additional day.

Tang Yue slowly sat down. “What do you mean?”

Perhaps by some sleight of hand, Tomcat held a glass cup. It placed it on the table and said, “Imagine that there’s only a cup of water now. You and Mai Dong are trapped in a desert and are about to die of dehydration. Whoever drinks this cup of water lives… Will you give this cup away?”

“Your resources are limited. If you were to send the food up the space station, what would you eat? What would you live on?” Tomcat asked. “Assume that you are now on the space station, while the lady is at Kunlun Station. Would she split and share her food with you?”

Tang Yue’s heart skipped a beat.

Tomcat was always incisive about problems in the calmest and coldest way. If Mai Dong was in his shoes, would Mai Dong share her precious, limited food with him?

“I know you wish to save her, but that stems from your compassion and morals as a human. But Tang Yue, from the instant the Earth vanished… you’re no longer human.”

“I’m no longer human?” Tang Yue asked. “Then what am I?”

“You are merely a Martian, carbon-based lifeform of unknown origins. All laws of humanity and moral ideas are no longer suited for you,” Tomcat said. “The good and evil viewpoints of human tradition are no longer something you need to abide by. Whatever you do no longer has any connotations as good and bad. This is because there’s no one to evaluate you for your actions. There are no rules to bind you to them. Nor are there any laws that can sentence you. And from the standpoint of the Universe, whatever you do is reasonable.”

Tang Yue shook his head.

“Completely incomprehensible.”

“It’s because your brain hasn’t completely gotten round to the situation you are in. You still believe yourself to be a Chinese man who’s honest, kind-hearted, and law-abiding,” Tomcat said. “But you have to understand that the country and even the Earth no longer exists… You can do anything for your own survival. Survival is a living being’s instinct. Working hard to live on is never wrong.”

Tang Yue slowly nodded.

“So, you want me to just watch as Mai Dong dies?”