Die on Mars

Sixty hours have passed since the old cat lost contact.

Tang Yue stayed up all night again, looking haggard and his eyes were bloodshot.

Tang Yue and Maidong used the topographic map of Kunlun Station to expand the search area, centered on the location where the old cat might have rolled over, but still found nothing. Maidong's method failed, and they had to continue the arduous and violent search work of sequential scanning. Tang Yue threw the searched images into a folder. There are now more than 3,200 photos in this folder.

No one knows where the old cat is. It disappeared inexplicably like the earth. When he woke up, he disappeared. Seeing the time passing by, Tang Yue wore headphones and guarded the communication system all day long. He didn't dare to let go of the signal, but Lao Mao didn't even send another comma.

The situation is getting more and more serious. At first, Maidong could comfort Tang Yue, but now even Maidong himself has fallen silent... The two of them were immersed in the vast sea of ​​image data. They stopped talking except comparing the images. They did not dare to imagine what the old cat was like. What problems encountered.

Maidong looked at the files on the screen. The most terrifying ending might be buried in these millions of pictures, but no one dared to mention it, as if it would become a reality as soon as he mentioned it.

This is like a scratch-off gambling. If you scratch the ticket in your hand, it may be safe and sound, or it may be a car crash and the cat is dead.

Tang Yue huddled on the chair in front of the table, wrapped in a thick blanket and shivering from the cold.

He had maintained this posture all night, like a statue. Maidong could only see Tang Yue's eyes and fingers moving every few seconds. The latter curled up like a koala. The purpose of forming a group is to reduce the loss of heat. The indoor temperature of Kunlun Station has always been minus ten degrees Celsius, and the hall is covered with hoarfrost.

The isotope thermoelectric generator stands in the center of the floor. Apart from Tang Yue himself, it is the only heat source in Kunlun Station. There is a circle of toilet barrels surrounding the RTG. Tang Yue no longer has any extra energy to take care of seeds and fertilizers. At this point, he is planting tomatoes. The plan had to be postponed, so he could only put the generator there and let the poop brothers ferment themselves and seek their own blessings.

"3277...3277..." Tang Yue couldn't take his eyes away and muttered to himself as if he were chanting sutras.

He clicked the mouse, "3278, Ophiopogon japonicus, look at this picture. Is it my illusion? Why do I feel that this picture is not normal."

"Yes, it's your illusion."

"Where is 3279? A man's intuition tells me that there is something unusual about this picture."

"A woman's intuition tells me that this picture is ordinary."

"Well, I'll listen to you. Your intuition is more accurate than mine." To be honest, Tang Yueshan wanted to try metaphysics when he was at the end of his rope. He gave full play to Mai Dong's female intuition and asked her to poke around on the map to see what she could do. It's impossible to pinpoint the old cat's location, but given that the probability is too low - the corridor marked by Tang Yue covers an area of ​​190 square kilometers, and the Martian stray dogs only occupy a maximum area of ​​30 square meters, so Ophiopogon japonicus casually The chance of hitting the old cat with a poke is only 6,333,333.

Ophiopogon japonicus may not be able to poke an old cat in a lifetime.

Tang Yue continued to recite sutras, "3280...3281..."

"Tang Yue, Tang Yue? Please drink some water and take a rest..." Maidong was very worried about Tang Yue's condition. He hadn't slept for several days in a row, his hair was disheveled, his beard was unkempt, his work and rest were extremely irregular, and his expression was extremely haggard. This trend will continue. , I'm afraid the old cat didn't find it, so Tang Yue fell down first.

"Oh." Tang Yue nodded, but still showed no sign of moving. His eyes stayed on the computer screen, "Maidong, what did you find over there..."

Before he finished speaking, Tang Yue coughed violently, as if he was a seriously ill patient with tuberculosis, holding on to the table as if he wanted to cough out his lungs.

Continuous violent coughs emptied the air in his lungs. In the end, Tang Yue couldn't even cough. He opened his mouth wide and couldn't take a breath, and his face turned red.

"I'm sorry, I... I have to go drink some water." Tang Yue's voice was hoarse, and he waved his hand. He shrank under a blanket and went to pour water. The sink was placed next to the RTG. If there was no isotope thermoelectric generator, fresh water would have been available. It froze.

Tang Yue took a cup, bent down, and carefully scooped out a little bit of fresh water. A shallow layer could only cover the bottom of the cup, but the cup was trembling before it could be brought to his mouth. His fingers were stiff from the cold. It slipped, the cup clattered to the floor, and water spilled all over the floor.

"Holy shit! My water!"

Tang Yue quickly knelt down and sucked up the water spilled on the floor. He picked up the cup again, stretched out his tongue and slapped the bottom of the cup... He really felt sorry for his water. Tang Yue's daily limit The maximum water consumption is only 1.5 liters, which is not enough for drinking alone, let alone for brushing teeth, washing face, and cleaning the body. Wasting even one milliliter is a huge sin.

At that time, the great poet Tao Yuanming did not bend down for five buckets of rice. He was really outstanding. A milliliter of water could make Tang Yue sink to the ground.

After confirming that there was no waste of fresh water, Tang Yue straightened up with satisfaction, feeling inexplicably satisfied that he had made a lot of money.

"You...are you okay?" Maidong was stunned.

"I drank some water, and I'm much better now. I feel refreshed and full of strength." Tang Yue took a deep breath, choked hard on the biting cold air, and coughed violently.

"Tang Yue, you need to rest!" The girl said with a serious face, "You have to rest! Just leave the work to me, you! Now! Immediately! Lie down!"

"Okay, okay, I'll take a rest immediately after I finish looking at this batch of photos." Tang Yue agreed, "I know my physical condition best. You don't have to worry, I can still hold on."

It was daybreak, the sun was rising, and it was time for him to go out and carry the panels.

Tang Yue hung the life support system on the wall, unzipped the Mingguang Armor, and then bent down to get in. Without the help of anyone else, putting on and taking off the Mingguang Armor alone was a very difficult task. Tang Yue felt that his body joints were all broken. I was frozen stiff, not only had cervical spondylosis, but also had a herniated disc in my waist. I felt like an old man when I stretched my legs and arms.

Tang Yue awkwardly put on the Mingguang Armor, buckled and locked the life support system, connected all the messy pipelines, and checked that there were no problems. The green indicator light on his wrist came on.

It was much warmer after putting on the Mingguang Armor, and the moisture vapor exhaled fogged up the mask.

"Ophiopogon japonicus, I'll go out and move the solar panels, and you can continue to investigate." Tang Yue waved his hand, "Remember to inform me if you find anything."

"Are you really okay?" Maidong also waved his hand.

"No problem! I'm strong now, and I just want to go out and run five kilometers!" Tang Yue smiled and gave a thumbs up, turned around and opened the door of the airlock, walked out majestically, and then tripped. On the edge of the hatch, slumped down in the airlock.

"Tang Yue!" Maidong exclaimed.

She watched the bloated figure fall into the airlock, motionless and unable to get up again.