"Lass!"
Tang Yue's muscles twitched as he jerked his head up.
It was already bright outside. Bright sunlight shone through the porthole onto the floor, and dust swirled in the air. Tang Yue blinked hard and looked around. It was 9: 40 in the morning, and he was the only one in the hall. Old Cat must have gone out to move the solar panels.
Tang Yue's face was numb from the pressure, and his saliva was all over the table. Clearly, he had slept on the table the entire night, and that bastard Old Cat did not wake him up and let him sleep on the bed. Tang Yue recalled his last conversation with Mai Dong … She told him not to fall asleep no matter what and to wait for her to come back.
Thinking of this, Tang Yue's heart skipped a beat.
Not good, he stood her up.
Damn it.
Based on the current situation, he definitely did not last until the space station left the no-signal zone. He had slept from last night until now, and he was really like a pig.
Tang Yue picked up the draft paper soaked in saliva on the table and threw it aside. He then put on his earpiece and called the Joint Space Station.
He was thinking about how to apologize to Mai Dong.
There was only static in the earpiece. Tang Yue took it off and patted it, but there was still no signal. The quality of communication between Kunlun Station and the Joint Space Station was getting worse. Recently, even the most basic voice calls could not be guaranteed … Tang Yue looked at the time. At this time, the Joint Space Station was probably in the no-signal zone.
He simply washed up and began eating breakfast. Using this time, he could think about how to explain to Mai Dong later.
I'm sorry, I was too sleepy, so I couldn't hold on?
This is all the fault of my eyelids. They disobeyed the command of my brain and closed without permission?
I'm sorry, I accidentally fell asleep. As compensation, you can have all the lobsters on the cargo spacecraft?
Tang Yue slowly chewed on his biscuits as he waited for the space station's signal. He also wondered if he could use lobsters to stuff Mai Dong's mouth.
If lobster wasn't enough, then they could add canned fruit.
With a click, the airlock's hatch opened, and Old Cat came back with heavy steps. It locked the hatch and turned to look at Tang Yue. Without saying a word, it walked straight to the wall and put the tools on the shelf before returning to the table and sitting down.
"Is the solar panel ready?" Tang Yue asked.
"Yes."
"Even stray dogs are fine?"
"Yes."
"What's today's work?
Continue to refine the rendezvous procedure? "
"Yes."
"The communication with the space station is getting worse."
"Yes."
Tang Yue glanced at the Old Cat. This cat seemed to be quieter than before.
"Is this earpiece broken?
It's been buzzing the entire time. Tomcat, can you fix this? "Tang Yue took off the earpiece and shook it.
"There's no problem with the earpiece," Old Cat said lightly.
"Then is there a problem with the communication system?" Tang Yue frowned.
Old Cat raised its head and stared straight at Tang Yue. It was hard to tell what kind of gaze was in those cat eyes, but it was as if it wanted to penetrate Tang Yue's body. The latter was stunned, and Tang Yue felt his scalp tingle. "You … Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You're waiting for Miss Mai Dong?"
"Yes …" Tang Yue nodded. "She should be in the no-signal zone now. In a while, she'll …"
Tang Yue suddenly froze, and the latter half of his sentence was stuck in his throat.
He had been waiting for Mai Dong since he woke up. He had been waiting for her until now. After washing up and eating breakfast, even the Old Cat, who was doing his daily routine, had returned. However, there was still no news from the Joint Space Station.
If she was in the no-signal zone, then this no-signal zone was too long.
With a "thud," the headphones fell on the table. Tang Yue suddenly felt helpless.
"Don't wait anymore," Old Cat looked away and said softly.
Tang Yue was stunned and immediately realized what Old Cat meant. However, he did not believe it. How was this possible?
The Joint Space Station was clearly still at a safe altitude. It was clearly still at a safe altitude!
Tang Yue sat down and turned on the computer and the communication system. He frantically searched for the Joint Space Station's signal, but his hands were trembling, and then his whole body began to tremble. He held the mouse and clicked on the buttons on the computer's desktop, but he could not click on them even after several times.
"Don't scare me … Don't scare me, don't scare me, don't scare me, don't scare me, girl …"
Old Cat sat across from him and did not say a word. He watched as Tang Yue tried his best to contact the space station.
He watched as Zhang Zian's hands that had slowly stopped trembling began to tremble again. He watched as Zhang Zian's gradually accelerated movements slowed down again. He watched as Zhang Zian pushed away all the tools that he could use. Finally, he watched as Zhang Zian sat on the chair, motionless like a stone statue.
"We … We agreed on eleven days …" Tang Yue's Adam's apple moved, and his voice was dry and hoarse. He had never felt so helpless before. He looked around, but there was no one he could ask for help from. "We agreed on … a … a hundred kilometers …"
"Put on the headphones." Old Cat threw the headphones over to Tang Yue.
Tang Yue was stunned for a moment, then put on the headphones.
There was no static in the headphones. It was very quiet, and only the soft breathing of a girl could be heard.
Tang Yue jumped up as if he had been electrocuted. He looked at Old Cat in surprise.
The latter shook his head and pointed at the computer. "This is a recording."
Tang Yue did not have time to say anything. He pressed on the headphones, held his breath, and waited for the person in the headphones to speak.
"Mr. Cat." Mai Dong spoke. It was still the familiar crisp voice. Tang Yue's body trembled.
"Miss Mai Dong."
It was Old Cat's voice.
"Is Tang Yue asleep?"
"Yes, he's sleeping on the table. He's sleeping like a log."
Old Cat said, "I just gave him three big slaps and kicked his butt, but he's still sleeping like a dead pig."
The girl smiled bitterly and sighed faintly. "Then let him continue sleeping. He's too tired."
"Okay."
"Tang Yue said he wouldn't fall asleep, but he fell asleep again. He still owes me a lot of stories."
Mai Dong said, "When he was in middle school, did the class monitor who beat up the teacher get expelled? Did his physical education teacher and art teacher get together? And is the old man guarding the school gate a relative of the principal … He didn't tell me."
"There will be a chance in the future."
"Mr. Cat, it's already the seventh day."
"Yes."
"The life of the space station is coming to an end."
"No, the remaining life of the space station is seven to eleven days …"
"Mr. Cat." Mai Dong interrupted it.
Old Cat was silent for a moment. It wanted to say something, but in the end, it didn't say anything.
"I'm looking at the Martian land under my feet now, and I feel that it's very close to me. I'm on the space station, so I know best how long the space station has left."
Mai Dong said softly, her tone calm and steady. "This is a small boat that's about to sink. It's an old man with a terminal illness. Every day, I watch its life slip away bit by bit. It's just like us, working hard and tenaciously to live on …"
"Miss Mai Dong." Old Cat couldn't say anything. At this time, it was useless.
"It's just like us, working hard and tenaciously to live on. Live on …" The girl's steady voice was suddenly broken, and she began to tremble. She bit her lip and tried her best to suppress her sobbing. "But Mr. Cat … I … I want to live on too. I really want to live on. I want to go down and meet all of you. I want to marry Tang Yue. I want to have my own children …"
"Why … Why can't I have my own life … Why do I have to face such a fate …" Mai Dong couldn't suppress her emotions. She hugged herself tightly and cried out loud. She cried until her whole body trembled, and tears rolled inside the glass mask. "What did I do wrong … What did I do wrong … Why do you have to treat me like this …"
Old Cat was silent.
"Bastard!
Bastard … Bastard … Bastard … "
Mai Dong hammered the inner wall of the Crystal cabin again and again. She cried until her whole body became weak.
Old Cat still didn't say anything. It was indeed a bastard. Tang Yue was also a bastard. All humans were bastards. There were so many people, such a big civilization, but they couldn't even protect the happiness of a little girl.
Mai Dong had never cried so loudly before. That irresistible sadness seemed to crush people into pieces.
After some time, the girl's cries gradually subsided.
Mai Dong sniffled and calmed herself down. "I've embarrassed myself in front of you, Mr. Cat."
"No, I should apologize to you. Tang Yue and I should apologize to you." Old Cat shook its head. "I'm sorry, Miss Mai Dong. We can't save you."
We can't save you.
There was a long silence in the channel.
"This isn't your fault, Mr. Cat."
Mai Dong looked up from the sunlight. "My heart aches for Tang Yue … When he wakes up tomorrow morning and learns of this news, what will he do … You will take good care of him, right, Mr. Cat?"
"Yes."
"Then I'm relieved," Mai Dong said. "You will take good care of him."
"Miss Mai Dong, do you have any words for Tang Yue?"
Mai Dong leaned against the inner wall of the core module. She could feel the Crystal cabin trembling violently. The cabin's structure was letting out a sharp wail. The space station's orbital altitude had already dropped to such a level that the air resistance was beginning to tear apart its structure. The girl looked at the setting sun in the distance, closed her eyes, and shook her head.
"Mr. Cat."
"I'm here."
"The sun is going to set again. I'm going to enter the no-signal zone again." The golden sunlight fell on the girl's face. "Do you think I'll be able to see the next sunrise?"
"Yes, Miss Mai Dong," Old Cat replied. "Definitely."
The communication was cut off.
Seven days after the Joint Space Station accident.
The space station crashed.
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(Author's Gossip: End of Tomorrow.)