Three days later.
The Tianzhou 37 cargo spaceship slowly landed on the sand. The reverse-thrusting engine roared, raising dust that covered the sky. At a distance of more than fifty meters, the sound of the rocket engine should have sounded like thunder, but the thin air weakened the noise. In Tang Yue's ears, it was just a hand-guided tractor that had arrived outside.
He turned his head to look out. The cargo spaceship's white and round body was very conspicuous in the brownish yellow dust. Tang Yue could even see the blue letters on the fairing: CNSA. He also saw Old Cat. That small shadow stood in the dust, guiding the spaceship to land. Its fur was flipped by the airflow from the engine.
This was the first time Tang Yue had seen a man-made object after Earth disappeared. The Tianzhou spaceship was undoubtedly a body with beautiful curves. It was like a huge warhead. It was a disposable spaceship. After landing, it couldn't take off again, so it wasn't divided into upper and lower stages. The white and smooth fairing reflected the sunlight. The spaceship slowly unfolded its landing gear. At the last few centimeters of the landing, the engine shut down, and the spaceship stood steadily.
Everything was perfect.
The spaceship had crossed a distance of more than a hundred million kilometers. Without any guidance or interference, the final landing point was only five meters away from the predetermined landing point.
Old Cat lowered the gangway and elevator in the cargo hold of the spaceship and began to unload the cargo.
They had waited for this spaceship for too long. It brought the hope of Kunlun Station's survival and continuation.
Tang Yue should have been very happy.
He had eaten compressed biscuits and tomatoes for more than half a year. Now, he finally had canned beef and Australian lobster. In the past, this would have been the New Year.
But when he saw the Tianzhou spaceship land on the ground from afar, his heart didn't stir at all. He even rejected Old Cat's invitation to unload the cargo with him.
Anyway, he didn't like lobster.
Tang Yue sat on the chair and stared blankly at the monitor on the table. In the past three days, he often couldn't help but stare blankly. His brain was so tired that he didn't want to think.
The computer monitor was still showing the orbital equation he had calculated three days ago. They had tried their best to design a rescue plan, but fate had not given them a chance to implement it. He did not understand why the space station would crash. Old Cat said that if he discounted the number given by Mai Dong by thirty percent, it would be the true height.
This cat knew everything.
But it said nothing.
This was the way artificial intelligences worked. They were always rational and always chose the best outcome. Old Cat had probably predicted the final outcome on the day of the space station's accident. It was the one who had peeked at the dice in the cup, but it had told Tang Yue that it did not know because the lid had not been opened.
What was Old Cat thinking when it was designing the rescue plan?
It had used completely fake data to construct a plan that was impossible to implement. Then, it pretended to push it forward step by step. It was so rigorous and meticulous that Tang Yue believed it from beginning to end.
It had probably long given up hope.
It had given up hope earlier than anyone else.
Tang Yue still maintained the habit of wearing his earpiece at all times. Tang Yue listened to the last recording repeatedly without saying a word. He did not cry or make a fuss, and his face was expressionless. Old Cat did not disturb him. Tang Yue could do whatever he wanted. Old Cat knew very well that this depression was temporary. Time would eventually dilute everything. No matter how important or unforgettable a person was, as long as time passed, it would eventually become blurry. This was the self-protection mechanism of the human brain.
Unfortunately, Old Cat did not have such a mechanism. No matter how much time had passed, the space station's crash was like yesterday to it.
Every day when it woke up from its hibernation, it could recall Mai Dong telling it to take good care of Tang Yue.
Therefore, it had to take good care of Tang Yue.
With a "kacha", the airlock's hatch opened. Old Cat dragged a heavy crate through the door and opened the seal. The crate was filled with soft canned food. Tianzhou 37 had brought rich supplies. It was loaded according to the needs of six people. There was everything from food and water to medicine. It was enough for Tang Yue to eat alone for a very long time.
Old Cat returned to unload the goods. It piled the crate in the landing zone and then pulled a small cart to move it back and forth. It was methodical and unhurried. Other than food and water, everything else was stored in the garage.
"Canned A … 60 pieces."
"Canned C … 80 pieces."
"Rehydrated E food, 30 kilograms."
Old Cat held a small notebook to its chest as it counted the supplies one by one. It had the gratification of an old farmer harvesting his crops.
Tianzhou 37 landed at ten in the morning. It started at ten in the morning and worked until half past eight at night. It went back and forth between the cargo spacecraft and Kunlun Station. It watched as the supplies gradually piled up in the lobby. It never got tired of it until its power was almost depleted.
Old Cat plugged itself in a charging cable.
"Old Cat."
Tang Yue's throat was hoarse. He had not spoken all day.
"Yes?"
"I'm so tired."
"Lie down and rest if you're tired," Old Cat said.
Tang Yue shook his head.
"I can't live anymore."
The young man turned his head to look at Old Cat. The latter was shocked. Tang Yue's face was pale and haggard. He looked like he had lost half a kilogram. Something in his body had collapsed.
"Old Cat, I'm really … done."
Only the heavens knew how Tang Yue had persevered until now. Earth had disappeared. If it were anyone else, they would have had a mental breakdown long ago. However, Tang Yue could still pull himself together to face a life that was getting worse by the day. It could be said that he was strong-willed, optimistic, or simple-minded. In the end, he had relied on himself to support this small residence on Mars.
But now, even Tang Yue had reached his limit. The space station had crashed, and Mai Dong was dead. His only mental support had collapsed. The world was vast, and he was finally left alone.
He would not live for the sake of survival. Under such circumstances, living on was only endless torture.
Old Cat was silent. It looked at the rich supplies on the floor. Mai Dong had once told it to take good care of Tang Yue, but if even Tang Yue had given up on survival, what could it do?
It could not tie up Tang Yue and stuff food into his mouth with a mallet every day.
"Is the grave we dug still there?" Tang Yue asked.
"Yes."
The conversation ended. No one spoke again. Kunlun Station was silent. Only the ticking of the clock could be heard.
Tang Yue sat in a chair. The light above his head cast his shadow on the floor. He was the last human in the world.
The stars outside the window were dim.
The world was lonely.
"Dong! Dong!
Dong! "Three muffled sounds suddenly broke the silence. Tang Yue, who had been in a daze, was stunned. For a moment, he did not realize what the sound was or where it came from. But in the next second, he thought he was hallucinating. This was because he subconsciously looked towards the source of the sound and realized that it came from the inner hatch of the airlock. In the next second, Tang Yue suddenly turned around to look for Old Cat.
At the same time, Old Cat also turned its head to look at Tang Yue. The man and cat were confirming that the other was in the room.
Tang Yue and Old Cat were both stunned. They widened their eyes and communicated silently with their eyes.
Tang Yue: "Hallucination?"
Old Cat: "Hallucination?"
Tang Yue: "Hallucination!"
Old Cat: "Hallucination!"
Just as Tang Yue and Old Cat were staring at each other, there was another knock on the airlock's inner hatch door.
"Dong!
Dong!
Dong! "