Die on Mars

Tang Yue was confused.

This voice was so familiar to him that he thought he was hallucinating.

Tang Yue jumped up in excitement and turned around. The old cat was standing in the airlock, with a slight chill all over his body. It had obviously just stepped into the gate of Kunlun Station, and was covered in mud and sand. It was very embarrassing and the decontamination system couldn’t even clean it.

Tang Yue reached out and pinched the old cat's ears, his fingers trembling slightly.

"No need to touch it. It's really alive." Old Mao grabbed Tang Yue's hand and slapped the latter's cheek. "Does it hurt? You're not dreaming."

"You...you..." Tang Yue opened his mouth. In this second, he had thousands of words and questions to say, but the thousands of words were stuck in his throat and nothing came out.

The old cat stepped into the hall and closed the airlock door.

When the cat walked under the light, Tang Yue realized that the old cat had not had a smooth journey. When the old cat left, it was still a white cat with very soft fur, but when it came back, it had turned into a wild cat wallowing in the sand. , the hair all over its body was matted, and large areas broke off, revealing the polymer material skin underneath, and its beard, which it regarded as life, was all broken off, like a wounded soldier who had just stepped off the line of fire.

The old cat was panting heavily. It was using air to cool its body, which meant that it was at full power and approaching its limit.

Tang Yue stood in front of it, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, his eyes were sore.

He didn't know whether he should go up and beat it or hug it at this time.

"Don't cry. What does a grown man look like when he cries?" The old cat waved his paws, "At this time, you should be like the tough guys in the movies and say with a smile that you are late."

Tang Yue held back his tears again and nodded.

"You're late, many days late, do you fucking know that?"

The old cat took a step forward and said, "Stretch out your hand."

Tang Yue stretched out his hand as he was told.

Lao Mao put a small black chip in Tang Yue's hand, "This is the Intel TCU1524M temperature control processor. This is the last one in the world... Keep it safe. You must keep it safe. When the time comes, Remember to install it for OGS."

Tang Yue nodded.

The old cat had completed its task here. It took a step forward, and with a "clang", the old cat's left arm fell to the floor.

Then the old cat tilted and fell to the ground.

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"Don't move, all the hair on the back of your head is bald." Tang Yue straightened the old cat's head and used a comb to groom it, "I'm trying to help you cover these bald patches...otherwise It’s just too ugly.”

The old cat is sitting on the chair and charging.

It used up the last of its power as it returned to Kunlun Station.

"What happened to you? Why did you lose contact for so long?" Tang Yue glanced at the mirror, "For so many days, Maidong and I have tried every means to find you, including radio and telescope, but we can't find it. Not where you are."

The old cat was holding the severed left arm in his right hand and was doing an examination.

"That's a long story."

"It's okay, I have plenty of time anyway." Tang Yue shrugged, "Speak slowly."

"You can't find me because the Martian stray dog ​​and I are not on the ground at all, but underground." Old Cat explained, "I found the Chelome probe on the third day after departure, but after Something went wrong on the way back and we encountered a huge quicksand pit, and the rover and I fell into the pit."

Tang Yue was surprised.

"The bottom of the pit is very deep. The vertical pit walls are as high as two or three stories. The Mars Stray Dog's communication antenna was broken. Fortunately, the power system can still be used."

"Then how did you climb out of the pit?"

"Climb out of the pit? No, I didn't climb out." The old cat shook his head, "It's impossible for a Martian stray dog ​​to climb out of such a deep and steep pit. I drove the Mars rover and walked underground - yes, There is a huge space underground, big enough for a Mars rover to pass through. It looks like a tunnel or the remains of an ancient underground river. Do you still remember the wall I encountered on the way to find the Chelome?"

"Remember."

"I thought it was a natural landscape at the time, or it might be the remains of intelligent creatures. If it was the latter, then the underground tunnel might also be some kind of fortification." Old Cat said, "But time was tight, and I didn't have time to examine it carefully. After all, I have to rush back to Kunlun Station, but the tunnel has many branches. It is a huge group of underground tunnels, or the ruins of an intertwined underground underground river system. The paths are intricate and maze-like. I lost the space station. and satellite navigation, we can only estimate the direction based on our own data and that of Mars Stray Dogs.”

The old cat's description was understated, but Tang Yue could imagine the hardships involved. He was driving alone in a car underground where he couldn't see his fingers. If he didn't pay attention, he would be completely lost in the darkness.

After all, he is an old cat who doesn't panic when things happen. Someone else might have despaired in such a desperate situation.

"What about electricity? What to do with electricity?" Tang Yue asked, there is no sunlight underground, how do Mars stray dogs and old cats charge themselves?

"Depend on the pits." Old Cat said, "There are often pits on the top of the tunnel, and the sun will shine through the holes, but the sunlight is only abundant around noon, and the underground space is narrow, so it is impossible to fully unfold the panels. , so charging is very slow, which is why I'm late for so many days...I have to stop and charge frequently."

"You escaped the underground maze in the end?" Tang Yue held the comb and peeled off the sand mixed in the cat's hair bit by bit.

"Yes, the result is obvious, but I went in the wrong direction. I groped underground for two whole days, hit many walls, and went through many dead ends before I found the exit." The old cat replied, "But this exit is completely It deviated from the correct direction. It was not on the route from where the Chelomei landed to return to Kunlun Station, but fifty kilometers northwest of Kunlun Station... I was also confused when I first got out. In the end, I relied on the stars for navigation. Confirmed my position."

"Then this hand..."

"It was broken." The old cat shook his broken hand. "It wasn't so serious when I first fell. I made a simple repair, but then I did a lot of heavy work, carrying battery panels, carrying rocks, and pushing. The damage to the car and so on became more and more serious... Fortunately, it persisted until the end, and it has only completely broken now."

"Can it be fixed?"

"Let's repair it. Life or death depends on fate." Old Cat smiled, "But the first priority is to repair the temperature control system of the OGS cabinet... Did you make this tent for the tomato seedlings?"

"Yeah, but it failed. All the tomatoes froze to death. If you come back a few days later, I will go to see the Buddha." Tang Yue put his hands on the old cat's shoulders and moved the mirror over, "Let's take a look. Look, how’s the effect?”

"On the top of your head, there is a bunch of hair sticking up. Are you blind, Tang Yue?"

"This is called stupid hair."

"You are the only one who is stupid!"

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"Good morning, Tang Yue, how is the germination of tomato seeds... Cat... Cat Cat Cat Cat..."

"Good morning, Miss Maidong, hey, hey, hey, girl, why are you crying? Don't cry, don't cry, stop crying..."