Dead on Mars

Chapter 117 - Sol Hundred and Fourteen, The Straw That Broke the Camel’s Back
“Tang Yue, don’t be disheartened. It’s only the first batch of seeds. There are still other tomato seeds on Kunlun Station,” Mai Dong said. “You can continue planting them. I believe that you will eventually succeed.”

“That’s right… Definitely. I know.” Tang Yue sat in the plastic greenhouse, leaning against the RTG as he held the frozen plants in his hands. “I know.”

Although he was saying that, Tang Yue didn’t move at all. He just sat on the ground, the glint in his eyes gone.

Mai Dong became anxious. To survive in perilous conditions, what mattered most was willpower. At times, it was that tiny difference that determined if one would survive the dire conditions.

Once one lost the confidence and willpower to struggle for survival, a person would rapidly collapse—a complete breakdown. Nothing was more dangerous than giving up fighting for salvation.

Ever since Earth vanished, Tang Yue had presented an optimism that exceeded Mai Dong’s. Every day, while drinking cold water and swallowing those hard biscuits, he would tell her jokes.

He and Tomcat had created an atmosphere as though human society still existed, preventing them from thinking about the Earth that had disappeared a hundred million kilometers away.

But now, even Tomcat had disappeared.

There was no way for them to engage in any comic dialog.

The tomato sprout’s freezing might very well be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Tang Yue’s last efforts for salvation had been declared a failure. It had drained away the remaining bit of valor he had. Of course, Tang Yue could continue planting the remaining tomato seeds, but the continued failures might be the final outcome.

The tomato-planting failure meant scurvy.

His condition would worsen until his body began bleeding, and his ulcers would rot. He would lose calcium in his bones as his muscles atrophied. Finally, he would slump onto the ground, unable to move a muscle. All he could do was wait for death.

This was a foreseeable future. It was enough to plunge someone into despair, into madness.

Therefore, Tang Yue had long dug his grave. As the last two humans in the Universe, he represented all the men. Therefore, even if were to die, he needed to die with dignity. Collapsing in Kunlun Station and slowly rotting was just unsightly and unimaginable.

Mai Dong had no idea what Tang Yue was truly thinking, but even she herself had mild signs of depression. It was not difficult for her to guess that this man was burdened with stress that was greater than hers. Such stress would only worsen with time.

Even though Tang Yue appeared on screen like a care-free person, no one knew what he was thinking when he saw his body covered with internal bleeding when he was outside the camera’s vision.

Tang Yue silently held the corpses of the sprouts.

He had just been enlightened about how equally important the plants were before their lives had been stolen by the cold. Tang Yue didn’t understand what had gone wrong in his plans.

Was the heat provided by the RTG and the high-pressure sodium lamps insufficient?

Or were the thermal insulation measures inadequate?

However, he had used every means and object possible.

Yet, he had still failed to keep them alive.

Tang Yue had exhausted all his time and effort. He was tired.

“Mai Dong.”

“Yes?”

“Back on Earth, I never realized that staying alive was that difficult. There’s air everywhere, water that’s easily reachable, so much food that it goes to waste.” Tang Yue looked up at the airlock hatch. “We have never struggled for survival. When did it begin that survival wasn’t a goal we strive for?

“In the natural world, any life suffers from birth, illness, aging, and death. Every life is seeking survival with great difficulty, so nature has failed entities. Faced with these failed entities, you should be more optimistic and honest. That’s because they are also part of the natural world…”

“Tang Yue, Tang Yue… Let’s not talk about this. Why don’t I tell you a joke? Let me tell you a joke.” Mai Dong stammered, “What do you get from a cow at the North Pole?”

Tang Yue turned his head over.

“Ice-cream!”

Tang Yue was taken aback for quite a while.

“Is it… not funny?”

“It is.” Tang Yue nodded and said, “Hahahaha.”

“Why don’t I tell you another? Back when I was in college, there was a hide-and-seek society. Its main activities were to play hide-and-seek everywhere. The society’s president hasn’t been found to this very day.”

Tang Yue was dumbfounded.

…

Tang Yue’s low spirits left Mai Dong reeling in anxiety. However, she had no idea what she could do to make him regain his will.

“There’s Mr. Cat! We still need to find Mr. Cat! That’s why you need to work hard to survive. If you give up, who will find it? Didn’t you say that we need to see the cat, dead or alive?”

“That’s right. We need to find Tomcat.”

“So you need to make every second count to plant the remaining tomato seeds. Let them grow up, bloom, and bear fruit. Only then can you save yourself.”

“Yes, every second counts.”

“Then take action now! Time waits for no man! The faster you progress, the better. Your vitamin reserves are limited. You can’t delay any further. Do you hear what I say?”

“Yes… I need to take action.”

Regardless of what Mai Dong said, Tang Yue nodded in agreement, but she didn’t see him moving. All he did was sit against the RTG with a numbed look on his face.

This was what Mai Dong worried about the most. Tang Yue had sunken deep into self-doubt. He had lost his direction in life, as well as his goals and motivation to live on.

“Then, get moving. Tang Yue, please move! Do it again. It’s just another vernalization and planting of the tomatoes. Is it that difficult to put in a bit of effort? What problems can you solve sitting there in dejection?” Mai Dong’s voice rose to a crescendo as she bellowed angrily, “Are you even still a man?”

“Of course.” Tang Yue cocked his head, looking somewhat exasperated. “I’m sitting here because my legs are numb. I can’t stand up.”

Mai Dong shrank her neck … Oh.

“Look at these tomato sprouts. I’ve given them all I can give them. I’ve even given them all my clothes and blankets, but they still froze to death. I don’t know why.”

Tang Yue pointed at the Seven Heroes of Wudang in his hand, raising them high.

“Do you really think the results would be different if I try again?”

“How would you know if you don’t try it?”

Mai Dong’s eyes glimmered as she stared at Tang Yue. From some unknown source, she had drawn immense energy. “Remember what you said previously? If you don’t wish to live, let me do the thinking for you!”

Tang Yue palpitated before he shook his head with a smile and let out a long sigh.

With the help of the table beside him, he slowly got up and stretched his legs.

“I just can’t bear sending these pitiful little guys to their deaths…”