Tang Yue stared blankly at the letter in Old Cat's hand, then suddenly shook his head and sneered.
"Why is this only coming now?
What is it trying to tell me?
That the disappearance of Earth is just an insignificant accident?
That they want us to live, so they let us live, and they want us to die?
That we are just insignificant ants?
That our existence is actually meaningless? "
Old Cat stared at him.
Tang Yue became angry. He snatched the letter from Old Cat's hand, crumpled it into a ball, and slammed it on the floor. "Compensate me with an Earth?
Compensate me with seven billion people?
There are so many lives on Earth, and they are just toys to them?
Human civilization is actually not worth mentioning. If I destroy one, I will compensate you with another? "
From Tang Yue's point of view, this letter was full of contempt and contempt.
Look at the wording and tone. The disappearance of Earth was just an operational accident. There were 500 million planets that evaporated with Earth. How big of a deal was that?
If it's gone, I will compensate you with another.
"Then what am I?
What is Mai Dong?
All the hardships we've suffered are nothing … "Tang Yue slowly squatted down and covered his face. His voice was choked with sobs." Why did we risk our lives to live to this day? What's the point … "
"No."
Old Cat walked over and stood in front of Tang Yue. He held his cheeks and bumped his forehead against his. "Tang Yue, it's not like this. It's not like this."
Tang Yue looked up.
"This is the meaning." Old Cat's big eyes shone brightly in the shadows.
"Meaning?"
"Yes."
Old Cat forcefully buried Tang Yue's head into his arms. "If you didn't survive until now, then this letter is undoubtedly a piece of waste paper. No matter where it came from, it is because you saw it that it has practical meaning.
Its appearance does not tell us that there is a higher civilization in this universe, nor does it tell us how advanced and powerful it is. It also does not tell us that the existence of Earth and humans is worthless. "
Tang Yue leaned his head against Old Cat's chest and whispered, "What is it saying?"
"It tells us …" Old Cat hugged Tang Yue tightly and rested his cheek on his forehead. "You and Miss Mai Dong, your existence, your persistence, your struggle, and your efforts … are all meaningful. Tang Yue, all of this is meaningful.
We've worked so hard to live until now. We've overcome so many difficulties. All the disasters and sorrows we've experienced will finally have results and rewards. "
"It doesn't deny the value of our existence. Because you're still alive, there's hope for the future," the Old Cat said softly. "That's what the letter said."
Tang Yue opened his mouth.
"Does my life have any meaning?"
"Yes."
"Mai Dong's life is meaningful too?"
"Yes."
Tang Yue's body trembled. He buried his face in the cat's fur and held on to its shoulders. He gritted his teeth to stop himself from crying.
"We … we're not worthless weeds?
We're not garbage in the cupboard struggling to survive?
Our … our existence is meaningful? "
"Yes, Tang Yue, Miss Mai Dong …" Old Cat slowly patted Tang Yue's back and said softly, "Our desperate cries … have been heard by the world."
·
·
·
On the cold night before he was about to fall into despair.
Tang Yue burst into tears.
In the end, this cold and heartless universe leaned over and gently hugged this man. It kissed his forehead and said to him:
You haven't been forgotten by the world.
·
·
·
“88.2°E，17.6°N。”
"88 degrees east longitude, 17.6 degrees north latitude. This location is in the Isidis Planum. It's very close to us, very close, very close."
Old Cat found the coordinates on the map and lowered its head to measure with a ruler. "It's almost at our doorstep. It's northeast of Kunlun Station, which is the direction of the Utopia Plains."
Old Cat turned around and found the northeast direction. It extended its paw and pointed.
"It's in that direction."
"How far is it from us?"
"The straight-line distance is about …" Old Cat calculated. "280 kilometers."
"Be more precise."
"I'm using the Isidis Planum 3D model map left behind by Zheng. Fortunately, the Isidis Planum doesn't have any major topographic undulations, so the error in the calculation isn't too big … The accurate distance is 283.1 kilometers."
Old Cat quickly gave an accurate number. "If we want to reach this location, on the Mars Wanderer, we can only travel at most 30 kilometers per Martian day. That means it will take us at least nine days."
"Let's set off tomorrow." Tang Yue didn't want to wait a day longer.
"Not tomorrow."
Old Cat shook its head. "We need a day to prepare. We need to repair the Mars Wanderer, dismantle and empty the experiment module, bring enough food, water, solar panels, and finally bid farewell to Kunlun Station."
Old Cat's words made sense. Tang Yue was too impatient. A distance of 280 kilometers was indeed at their doorstep on the scale of the universe, but for them, this was an unprecedented long journey. With the Mars Wanderer's tortoise speed, they would need to crawl slowly for nine days to reach their destination. They wouldn't be able to get any help from anyone from the beginning to the end, and they would have to deal with any accidents on their own. Moreover, Tang Yue was going with them this time, so they had to be fully prepared.
Tang Yue pressed his palm against the inner wall of the Kunlun Station hall and sighed softly.
He and Old Cat had a tacit understanding. In fact, they both knew that they wouldn't be able to come back after this trip. This was destined to be a one-way trip with no return.
Kunlun Station had a total of six emergency oxygen units. On average, an oxygen candle could be used for a maximum of forty hours. Six candles could be used for a total of 240 hours, which was less than ten Mars days.
In other words, Tang Yue's oxygen reserves were seriously insufficient. At most, they could barely hold on until they reached their destination, but there was absolutely no extra oxygen to return to Kunlun Station.
He and Old Cat didn't know what would be at these coordinates. Would there be a spaceship waiting there?
Or an office with a sign hanging on it?
Or maybe it would be empty. This letter was simply toying with them. This was a risk, and once they set off, there was no turning back.
Tang Yue asked Old Cat to bring a shovel. If they unfortunately lost their way, missed their target, or if there was nothing at these coordinates, then Old Cat could dig a hole and bury Tang Yue's body there.
No matter how one looked at it, this would be the last journey of Tang Yue's life. He set off in a completely unknown direction, holding a one-way ticket in his hand, to a destination that no one knew of.
No one knew what was waiting for him there.
Hope.
Or death.