When Tang Yue opened the hatch of the airlock of Kunlun Station alone and stepped onto the land of Mars, before he could express his feelings, he smugly said, "This is just a small step for me, but a big step for mankind."
The assistant told him.
Earth exploded.
.
.
.
Tang Yue's mood collapsed.
He later estimated the time his brain was blank. The subjective time was about a few hours. All the brain cells in his brain stopped working.
The electric current on the nerves and synapses suddenly stopped. All the cells, tissues, and organs in his body were petrified.
(Congratulations on discovering a flaw above — there can't be electric current on the synapses.
Author's Note: There are electric synapses, and there is electric current between the synapses.
My respects to you!
Happy reading.)
In other words, he should have been brain dead once.
Tang Yue threw all his work aside and turned to check the computer system in Kunlun Station.
A good Earth.
Such a big Earth.
How could it explode just like that?
Soon, Tang Yue figured out what was going on. The computer didn't make a mistake. It did lose all contact with Earth. The routine connection that was done every half an hour was suddenly interrupted. No matter how much he called and waited, there was no response.
The computer decided to call the police.
It asked the assistant robot, Old Cat, to inform Tang Yue.
But the words "lost contact" in the mouth of the stupid robot became a frightening "Tang Yue, your hometown exploded."
Tang Yue really wanted to kill this stupid assistant.
.
.
.
This is Kunlun Station, calling Jiuquan Center!
This is Kunlun Station, calling Jiuquan Center!
Can you hear me?
Kunlun Station, calling Jiuquan Center!
Calling Jiuquan Center!
No response.
This is Kunlun Station, calling Xichang Center!
No response.
This is Kunlun Station, calling Baikonur!
No response.
Calling Plesetsk!
Calling Houston!
Calling Kennedy!
Calling French Guiana!
Damn, calling Kenya!
Calling Pakistan!
Calling Afghanistan!
Tang Yue was sweating profusely.
He had already tried all means of communication.
However, all of them failed without exception.
Being alone on an alien planet and losing contact with Earth was a terrible problem.
If he still couldn't get in touch with them, he would have no choice but to call the Buddha Gautama and the Jade Emperor.
"You've been foolishly calling for six hours. You haven't even established a communication mechanism with French Guiana. What's the use of calling them?" Assistant Old Cat stood by the side. "Can't you see the big words on the screen?"
A huge "NO SIGNAL" flashed on the computer screen.
"How long is the communication delay between Mars and Earth at this time?" Tang Yue asked.
"About fifteen minutes," Old Cat replied.
Tang Yue's hands and feet were numb. The airtight uniform was not breathable, and the inner lining was already soaked with sweat.
He followed the emergency procedures and strictly checked the various systems of the workstation. Tang Yue even took out the "System Maintenance Manual" that was as thick as a dictionary and compared it word by word.
"Your inability to contact Earth obviously has nothing to do with the delay. The computer of the workstation has checked itself ten thousand times. There is no problem with the communication system. The problem can only be with Earth," Old Cat explained. "It's probably the signal relay satellites collectively disconnected."
"What kind of problem would cause the satellites to disconnect?" Tang Yue asked.
"Earth exploded."
"I'll strangle you if you keep talking nonsense."
"Okay, I'll be serious. The probability of the signal relay satellites collectively disconnecting is very small because relay satellites are a public resource. If the United States disconnects, there's still China's. If China disconnects, there's still Russia's. If Russia disconnects, there's still Japan's. If Japan disconnects, there's still Europe's …" Old Cat was long-winded. It had always been this talkative.
"So?" Tang Yue interrupted it.
"So isn't it more reasonable for Earth to explode?"
Tang Yue pounced on it and pinched it.
Because he couldn't find the neck of this thing, he sprained his finger.
"Don't worry, if there's a problem on Earth, it's much easier to solve it than if there's a problem here. We've lost contact for seven hours. The people in Jiuquan are more anxious than you right now." Old Cat comforted him. "Maybe they'll send a greeting in the next second.
You can wait patiently. If you don't want to wait, then go and finish your work. "
Tang Yue was silent for a few minutes.
Not being able to contact Earth was most likely the problem on the other side. It was useless for him to be anxious on Mars. If he had the time, he might as well finish his work.
As the last payload specialist of this Mars exploration mission to return, Tang Yue had the last scientific research mission to wrap up, so he had to stay behind for a while to finish all the work. After that, he would check and shut down Kunlun Station and prepare for the next batch of astronauts to come to Kunlun Station.
The work of organizing and counting the supplies was very simple. Kunlun Station was the first scientific research station to be built on Mars. It was very small, with a living area of only 100 square meters. It was enough for one person, but it was very cramped for six people. In the words of Captain Old Wang, "7.5 billion people spent 75 billion US dollars to build a 75-square-meter house in the desert 75 million kilometers away. This is definitely the most insane real estate project in history."
The astronauts in the same batch as him had already returned, and the work was going very smoothly. Tang Yue estimated that he would be able to complete his task very soon. Then, he would be able to return to the space station and take the last Orion spacecraft to return to Earth.
The next batch of people to come to Mars would have to wait at least until the Heavy Falcon launch in June next year. They would have to stay on the road for at least half a year.
So, it would be at least two years before anyone stepped through the doors of Kunlun Station again.
The floor and corridor were already piled with boxes of various sizes. These were all necessities that Tang Yue had organized and stored, including food, medicine, and drinking water.
Everything was placed on shelves by category, and the list was pasted on the boxes. The remaining supplies in the station were enough for a six-person team to survive for more than six months.
Of course, these things alone were not enough. The unmanned cargo spacecraft to provide supplies for the next round of scientific research had been launched. It was on the Hohmann transfer orbit and was expected to arrive in a year.
The cargo spacecraft was launched a year earlier than the manned spacecraft, and it was fully loaded with supplies enough for an entire scientific research team to survive for six months.
Tang Yue counted the boxes on the ground. Some of the supplies on the side of the wall were prepared to be taken to the spacecraft. After all, it would take a few months to return to Earth.
The sun was about to set, and a small fireball hung on the edge of the desert. It was a windless and sandless day, and the sun on Mars looked slightly smaller than on Earth. The sky had darkened, and it looked like a piece of dark blue velvet.
Tang Yue suddenly froze. He took two steps forward and slowly widened his eyes.
"Old Cat."
"Hmm?"
"Is Earth in the western sky at this time?" Tang Yue asked.
"Yes, it's in the western sky at this time, and it's very bright. It's the brightest star you can see, just like how you see Venus on Earth."
Old Cat replied, "If the weather is good enough, and your eyesight is good enough, you can even see the moon."
"Then … then come over and take a look."
Old Cat turned around and squeaked over. He looked in the direction Tang Yue was pointing, and his eyes suddenly shrank.
"Oh, f * ck, where did Earth go?"
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August 11, 2052 AD.
Beijing Time 15: 22: 13.
Coordinated Universal Time 07: 22: 13.
A high-speed stream of particles with a diameter of 200,000 kilometers passed through the solar system at an angle of 5 degrees, 12 minutes, and 22 seconds with the ecliptic plane at the speed of light. In 0.009 seconds, the third terrestrial planet in the solar system evaporated.