Die on Mars

There was a box at Tang Yue's feet. This box was the express delivery he was about to send... Tang Yue worked fussing for a long time, and finally delivered the first box to the foot of the Eagle spacecraft.

But now he faces a problem.

Tang Yue raised his head and looked up at the lander above his head. The courier was at his feet, but the courier truck was more than ten meters above his head. How was he going to send this box up?

Under normal circumstances, transporting goods to the cargo hold of the Eagle spacecraft requires the cooperation of at least three people. One person controls the winch and crane on the spacecraft, one person is responsible for packing and packaging on the ground, and the third person holds the goods up together. .

But now Tang Yue is only one person, and he can serve as three people.

Tang Yue lowered the gangway.

The old cat followed the gangway down.

One person and one cat looked at each other for a few seconds.

"What are you doing down here?" Tang Yue asked, "Aren't you inspecting the engine?"

"Are you having trouble with your brain?" the old cat asked.

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Tang Yue followed the gangway up slowly and climbed into the cargo hold with great difficulty.

Since he had to lift up the materials underneath, the bottom hatch of the cargo hold could not be closed. The cargo hold was connected to the outside atmosphere, so Tang Yue had to wear an extravehicular suit to complete the work.

There is a small electric crane and winch in the cargo hold. The purpose of the crane is to lift the cargo up from the ground. It can be electric or manual. Its maximum load capacity is 150 kilograms, which is about the weight of two Tang Yues. weight.

On average, each box packed by Laomao weighs about 100 kilograms, which is still within the capacity of the crane.

Tang Yue threw the cable through the hatch and dropped it to the ground.

"Damn, it's so troublesome." Tang Yue shook his head, carefully walked through the hatch and grabbed the gangway, "You have to go up and down every time, why can't they design an elevator?"

"Are you going to eat the extra weight?" Old Cat knocked on the lander fairing in front of him, and before he could do anything, he lowered the ramp together with it.

The old cat has black lines all over his head.

"Every time I have to go up and down with you, why can't they design two gangways?"

"Are you going to eat the extra weight?" Tang Yue happily seized the opportunity to fight back against the old cat.

Tang Yue stood on the ground, pulled the cable hanging above his head, tied it tightly to the box, and then pulled hard to test the firmness.

Lifting goods by one person is a very dangerous thing. Because there is no one else to help, the goods are likely to sway due to the wind in mid-air. The shaking of a large box weighing 100 kilograms is as terrifying as a battering ram. Whoever hits it will be destroyed. .

So Tang Yue must be careful.

He climbed into the cargo hold, looked at the cargo underneath to make sure it was correct, and then turned on the crane switch.

The motor hummed, the cable began to retract, and the box began to rise slowly.

"Old cat!" Tang Yue shouted on the channel, "Be careful with that box! It's a bit wobbly! Don't get hit!"

There was no response in the channel.

Tang Yue was startled, lying on the floor of the cargo hold and looking down.

have to.

The old cat has been smashed down.

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The old cat stood on the gangway, half of his body leaning into the access opening of the fairing, and beside him were the cables that creaked up and down.

Tang Yue was busy lifting supplies into the cargo hold. He went back and forth between the Kunlun Station and the lander, pulling a trolley and humming a tune. He piled boxes of various sizes at the feet of the Eagle spacecraft, and then added them one by one. Transported to the cargo hold.

They had been busy all afternoon, and the sun was already setting.

There are a total of fifteen boxes of supplies decided to be sent to the United Space Station, which weigh more than a ton in total. Most of them are food, and of course some daily necessities and medicines are included.

Tang Yue basically divided the supplies in Kunlun Station in half, keeping half for himself and giving the other half to Ophiopogon japonicus.

The man was standing in the cargo hold. There were already piles of boxes around him, and they were crowded. The cargo hold of the Eagle spacecraft was not big. In previous Mars landing missions, the cargo holds of the landers were filled with scientific research samples. The weight of these samples was average. They are all measured in grams and kilograms, and this is the first time a load weighing tons has been carried out.

Tang Yue used nylon straps to secure the boxes to the floor and walls to make sure they would not move around.

If the box rolls around during liftoff, it will change the center of gravity of the spacecraft, which may lead to launch failure.

"Mr. Tang Yue? Are you there?"

"Here." Tang Yue grabbed the cable of the crane, took a deep breath, and pulled up the supply box hanging underneath, "Are you awake?"

The girl nodded and yawned, "Wake up."

Ophiopogon japonicus on the space station spends most of the time sleeping in order to save energy until Tang Yue and Lao Mao deliver supplies.

Now that I think about it, Lao Wang was really careless in what he did. They left too little food for Ophiopogon japonicus.

If Lao Wang could leave more food for Ophiopogon japonicus, Tang Yue wouldn't have to worry so much - but this idea is purely an afterthought. The food reserved in the space station was originally enough to support Tang Yue until he returned, but who could have expected that the earth would disappear , Tang Yue can't go back? Maidong said that Lao Wang was actually quite interesting. The temperature control of the storage compartment of the Orion 1 spacecraft failed, and a large amount of food was reimbursed. Lao Wang and the others had to live a life of restraint, and what was left for Maidong was already the upper limit of their capabilities.

"I just had a dream. I dreamed that the earth was back. I took a spaceship and returned to the earth..." Maidong said. "The people at the center made a lot of delicious food to welcome us, including roast duck with beer and chicken wings with Coca-Cola. , braised lion head, hotpot mutton, braised pork, and many, many more delicious foods.”

"What a wonderful dream." Tang Yue was silent for a few seconds, "Then what?"

"Then I woke up from hunger." The girl's voice dropped.

"How much food do you have over there?"

"I still have three compressed biscuits and two sandwiches." Ophiopogon japonicus replied, "But this is tomorrow's food... Can I eat them?"

Tang Yue felt a little distressed. It was already the 21st century, but what Maidong said was still the same as when there was a famine.

"No." Tang Yue stopped her cruelly, "You must save these foods for tomorrow, otherwise you will not be able to maintain enough strength tomorrow."

"Oh." The girl nodded, "Then I won't eat it."

"We have packed the supplies into boxes and sent them to the spaceship. Everything is ready and we will send them to you tomorrow." Tang Yue comforted her, "Hold on just a little longer, hold on for twelve hours! The express delivery has been packed into the car, and it will be delivered to you tomorrow." The goods will be shipped in two hours, girl, just hold on a little longer and carry forward the perseverance and revolutionary spirit! Comrade Maidong!"

"Mr. Tang Yue, what you said is really interesting." Maidong smiled and hesitated for a while, "Tang...Mr. Tang Yue? I have a question."

"Um?"

"I...I've been thinking...what if I fail?"

"fail?"

The girl nodded, "What if the Eagle spacecraft fails to launch? Will I...will I die here?"

"No nonsense!" Tang Yue interrupted her very sternly, "Can you hope for something better? With me and Lao Mao here, how could it possibly fail? Lesbians just like to think wildly. Maidong, you obviously don't have enough ideological consciousness. How can we have defeatist tendencies towards the great revolutionary cause?”

"Yes...I'm sorry."

"Are you a party member?" Tang Yue asked.

"yes."

"Comrade Maidong, you are now one of the only two remaining humans in the universe. The task assigned to you by the organization is to survive well and do your best to live optimistically."

Tang Yue was serious and fixed the box in his hand.

"So there can be no negative thoughts, no defeatist thoughts. We assure you that tomorrow's launch will be successful."

There are now ten boxes in the cargo hold. The supplies at the feet of the Eagle spacecraft have been transported up, and there are still five boxes left at Kunlun Station.

Tang Yue climbed into the command module. He decided to rest and regain his strength before moving the remaining boxes.

Tang Yue raised his head and looked around, suddenly stunned.

"Old cat!" Tang Yue lowered his head and shouted.

"Um?"

"Why do I feel like the weather is going to change outside?" Tang Yue tried his best to look at the sand dunes in the distance through the porthole, where there was faint dust rising.

The old cat was startled, and immediately put down the flaw detector in his hand, climbed up, stood next to Tang Yue, and looked in the direction of his finger.

In just a few seconds, the light outside the window had dimmed.

This is not because the sun has set, but because the dust in the air has increased significantly and the luminous flux has decreased.

"Is the situation going to change?" Tang Yue asked.

The old cat's expression suddenly changed.