Dead on Mars

Chapter 198 - Sol Three Hundred and Twenty-Five, Let’s Play
Chapter 198: Sol Three Hundred and Twenty-Five, Let’s Play

“Why are you asking such a question?”

“Just asking,” Mai Dong said. “Didn’t Mr. Cat say that the space station is about to crash? It has only seven to eleven sols to live… If the space station really crashes on the seventh sol, wouldn’t that mean that I only have three sols left to live? In three sols, what can I do?”

Tang Yue frowned. This wasn’t anything positive.

With regards to Tianzhou 37 still needing seven sols to reach Mars, Tang Yue was on tenterhooks. He basically counted downtime by the hour, staring at the clock in the Hab for prolonged periods of time. Every minute that passed meant that Tianzhou 37 had inched closer towards Mars.

No one knew if Tianzhou 37 would arrive in time; therefore, Tang Yue and Tomcat had made it taboo to talk about this topic. They didn’t dare mention failure, afraid that this irreversible outcome would become reality from the mere mention of it.

However, the girl’s tone and casual words just couldn’t anger him. It was as though the topic she was talking about wasn’t death or crashing, but a question of where to go on a lovely, bright, breezy afternoon.

Tang Yue hesitated for a moment. All his words about pessimism and defeatism transformed into a “well… get some rest” when spoken.

They no longer had a family to reunite with or friends to bid farewell to. If one only had three days left to live, all they could do was enter an eternal sleep amidst the stars.

“We’ve woken up early all our lives. Finally, we can have a good sleep,” Tang Yue said. “To sleep to whatever time I want is the life I was most envious of when I was young.”

Mai Dong and Tomcat were somewhat surprised.

“You only have thoughts of sleeping during your last three sols?” Tomcat carried a fertilizer bucket and walked past Tang Yue. “Have you a see-through life, or are you numb to everything? Or were you severely lacking in sleep in your previous life? In life’s final moments, don’t you have something to say to me? There’s also Miss Mai Dong. Don’t you want to say something to her?”

“To you?” Tang Yue slit his eyes, looking full of contempt.

“You and I have been through thick and thin; yet, you have nothing to say?” Tomcat felt heartbroken. It felt that it had all been one-sided, all his deep feelings nothing but a waste. “What a heartless and single wretch.”

“The saliva I waste from talking to a talkative cat like you takes up 90% of my daily water ration. What else do you want me to say to you?” Tang Yue was unmoved. “If I’ll die in three days, I have one thing to say to you.”

“What is it?”

“You have no chance in this life. Perhaps you can be human in the next one.”

Tomcat placed the fertilizer bucket on the rack. “What about Miss Mai Dong? What do you have to say to her?”

“Mai Dong…”

The comms fell silent, but there was the rhythmic sound of breathing. Clearly, the girl was listening.

Tang Yue wasn’t in a hurry to give an answer. He leaned against his seat, sighing slightly. He turned his head to look at Tomcat to see that it understood. What can I say to her?

In the last three sols of her life, nothing seemed appropriate. After Earth vanished, Tang Yue and Mai Dong had become the last two humans in the Universe. The connection between them was special and was the most special connection in history. In human history, never had there been two such people. They were like two fundamental particles interacting with each other. No matter how far the distance, their connection was strongly tied.

Tomcat had once crossed its legs saying, “You are the last pair of socks in the world. You are the left one, and she’s the right one. Both of you prove the existence of the other.”

What could Tang Yue say to her?

Live on for the Party, for the nation, for humanity?

What bullsh*t.

“There’s nothing special to say. What should be said has been said,” Tang Yue said after a long silence. “If there’s something that needs to be said… it’s sayonara.”

Sayonara.

When you had nothing else to say to someone, saying this couldn’t be wrong.

Sayonara was the word to say during separations.

Mai Dong held a hemisphere-shaped glass helmet. The IVA suit was tethered to the Crystal at her waist, making her look like a baby floating in her mother’s womb. When she slept, she would maintain a motionless state to conserve strength and to reduce energy and oxygen expenditure. At a glance, it was impossible to tell if she was sleeping soundly or awake. Only her thick eyelashes would slightly tremble.

She curled up into a tiny bundle, wearing the bulky spacesuit.

Mai Dong removed the IVA suit’s gloves and stuffed them into her pocket, revealing her fair, slender hands. Her bones seemed pronounced, a result of her prolonged lack of nutrition. Her weight had already dropped to less than 45 kilograms.

“Tang Yue, Mr. Cat. Both of you are really gloomy people. Why are you sending me into the coffin before I’m dead?” The girl leaned her head on the helmet. The glass was ice-cold to the touch. “If I’m given three final sols to leave, I’ll definitely not stay at home to sleep. I’ll head out and party crazily with my friends. I’ll party from day to night, all day. I want to play all the games I never managed to play before. I’ll eat everything I was forbidden to eat before. I’ll curse everyone I didn’t dare curse before. I’ll let myself loose until the sun sets on the final sol. Then, I’ll head home to have dinner and sit on the balcony to stargaze.”

This question was akin to Helen Keller’s “Three Days to See.” Darkness and death forever stood waiting on the night of the third day.

No matter what you saw in the three days, the darkness would ultimately descend.

“What a crazy lass.” Tang Yue shrugged. “I thought someone like you would probably spend the last moments of your life reading a few more books…”

“That’s because you don’t understand me well enough. I’m not as goody-two-shoes as you deem me. I’m actually quite wild. Darkness and death will ultimately arrive. They are waiting for me in three sols.” Mai Dong smiled. “Do not go gentle into that good night.”

At this point, Tang Yue found his thoughts a little adrift. He was suddenly shocked by Mai Dong’s words. It’s true he didn’t understand this seemingly frail lady. Perhaps deep in her heart, Mai Dong was like him—she had the courage to watch all things end in the eye. Furthermore, she was not one to silently walk into the endless night. They would roar, angrily roar. They would burn their lives just to produce their final cry.

“Impressive, Lass.” Tang Yue suddenly laughed.

“Tang Yue, Mr. Cat!”

“Yes?”

“Let’s play!” Mai Dong pushed a wall to straighten herself. She pushed the helmet to the other end of the Crystal and held the notebook computer. Her voice suddenly became excited.

Tomcat and Tang Yue were alarmed, finding it odd. This request was truly out of the blue.

“Play? What do we play?”

The girl giggled over the comms.

“Let’s play ‘Fighting the Landlord!’”