Chapter 107: One Step Ahead
Taking one last look at this deep dark passage, the astronauts rode electric scooters and returned as a group to the camp about 65 kilometers away in a straight line from here.
The camp modification work then began.
The astronauts dismantled a large amount of camp facilities, greatly reducing its area to only about twenty square meters.
One electric scooter was also modified by the astronauts into the size of a three-wheeler, making it more convenient for one person to drive and improving its passability.
Various supplies were stored in the camp by the astronauts, categorized for easy access. They took up some area, leaving only about ten square meters of usable space in the camp.
Such a small area was obviously not enough for more than ten people. But it didn’t matter; soon there wouldn’t be so many people.
In the narrow and crowded camp, Tong Zheng quietly looked at the comrades in front of him.
“We should go first.”
Inside the camp, temperature control equipment kept the temperature at a comfortable 26 degrees Celsius, and the gas pressure was also sufficiently stable.
Jiang Yang sat quietly on a chair, his head slightly lowered, not daring to look at this scene.
He was still wearing his spacesuit.
Tong Zheng’s voice continued to reach his ears through the vibration of the air: “We have completed all detection missions on the Moon. We are no longer needed next.
Comrade Jiang Yang still needs to live long-term on the Moon and carry out the following two tasks:
First, memory. He needs a long time to memorize all the images of suspected alien text we obtained from that underground base, and to record the shape of the underground base, the shapes of various buildings, etc.
This is very complex and will take a long time.
Second, when Comrade Jiang Yang no longer needs that underground base as a memory reference, he needs to detonate that hydrogen bomb to test if the hydrogen bomb can destroy the underground base. After that, Comrade Jiang Yang still needs to continue surviving on the Moon to observe whether the destruction of the base will cause unknown incidents, such as the arrival of an alien civilization.
Our nation sent a lot of supplies to the Moon, but if they are to sustain so many of us, they can only last another 7 days at most.
Comrade Jiang Yang’s tasks require him to survive at least another 60 days on the Moon.
So…”
His gaze swept over the faces of his companions one by one: “We should go first.
Of course, not everyone leaves, but one needs to stay and teach Comrade Jiang Yang all the skills for surviving on the Moon within seven days, such as basic star-finding, satellite signal connection and transmission, satellite control, basic base maintenance and care, spacesuit usage techniques, etc.”
He took a light breath: “Now, who will stay?”
The astronauts were silent, and Jiang Yang was also silent.
This decision had been made long before the astronauts set out.
People were silent; no one stood up to say, “I’ll stay.”
At this moment, for the astronauts, staying did not mean continuation of life, but rather greater torment.
He would have to watch his comrades die right in front of him, watch his comrades leave while he himself had to endure this torment, stay strong, survive, and fully complete the task of teaching Jiang Yang.
“I, I don’t think I have sufficient psychological quality.”
“My psychological assessment score back then was 97.6, ranking in the middle to lower range.”
Looking at the silent companions, Tong Zheng said in a deep voice: “Then, I’ll stay.”
He walked to where the spacesuits were hanging and meticulously put on his spacesuit.
The remaining 13 astronauts exchanged glances, and finally, Zhao Jianguo stepped forward to the control console.
As long as that button was pressed, the air pump would start working and evacuate the camp into a vacuum. At that time, only Jiang Yang and Tong Zheng, who were wearing spacesuits, would survive; all the others would die.
Their place of death had to be inside the camp, and they had to meet death in this way.
Because traumatic suicide methods would cause blood splatter, etc., polluting the camp environment;
Going outside the camp in a spacesuit and using a method that damages the spacesuit to commit suicide would reduce the number of spacesuits available to Jiang Yang in the future by one;
If using a non-destructive method, such as removing the helmet to commit suicide, the bodily stiffness during the death process would prevent Jiang Yang from removing their spacesuits, also resulting in the loss of one spacesuit.
Comprehensive judgment: only committing suicide by vacuum inside the camp would have the minimal impact on Jiang Yang.
In front of the control console, Zhao Jianguo growled lowly: “Salute!”
The 13 astronauts who had decided to go simultaneously raised their arms. Opposite them, Tong Zheng and Jiang Yang, wearing spacesuits, also solemnly raised their hands.
“Salute complete!
Lie down!
Be careful not to struggle or damage camp facilities!”
“Understood!”
The 12 astronauts already lying neatly on the ground roared in unison.
Zhao Jianguo decisively pressed that button and, amid the humming of the air pump, quickly returned to the ranks and lay down.
The sounds in the camp gradually faded, and Jiang Yang knew the air was being gradually pumped out.
Silently, the astronauts lying side by side in front of him lost their lives without any struggle or even any movement.
Tong Zheng solemnly walked to the astronauts, inspected them, and looked at Jiang Yang: “They have been sent off.”
“Good.”
The camp hatch opened, and Tong Zheng and Jiang Yang each carried out a corpse.
On the desolate and dead land of the Moon, Tong Zheng looked into the distance and said: “Bury them farther away.”
Jiang Yang knew that Tong Zheng was worried that burying them too close would affect his future working state.
After all, having more than ten corpses nearby would make anyone uneasy and difficult to settle down.
But this moment was different.
Jiang Yang looked at Tong Zheng and said seriously: “Bury them in this cave right next to the camp.
With you here, I feel at ease.”
At this moment, Jiang Yang suddenly recalled his childhood visit to the Martyrs’ Cemetery.
Ordinary cemeteries always felt eerie. The Martyrs’ Cemetery was also a cemetery, but Jiang Yang always felt it was bathed in bright sunshine, and staying there brought a mysterious sense of peace.
Zhao Jianguo and the others were also martyrs, heroes. Not to mention that there were no ghosts in this world—even if there were, Zhao Jianguo and the others would only protect him.
Tong Zheng nodded and began clearing away the thick moon dust, then carried out the astronauts’ corpses one by one, placing them neatly on the ground, and covering them with moon dust.
Nearby, he deliberately left a small pit large enough for one person to lie in.
That was prepared for himself.
After completing this work, the two returned to the camp, released the air, and took off their spacesuits.
“In seven days, I will teach you all the necessary skills for surviving on the Moon.”
“Yes.”
