The Fire Guard was not large, but the cavern was not small. The cave walls were very rough, with traces of artificial excavation everywhere. There was no sign of the neat order of alien warships, but rather an indescribable dullness and oppression.
After all, this was space, and sunlight could not penetrate. The cave was so dark that one could not see their hand in front of their face. Only outside the blown-open entrance could the red Mars be seen.
This was not a literary description; it was truly that dark. In such an environment, the naked eye was useless, and one could only see their surroundings through the images captured by the night vision goggles displayed on the helmet.
Night vision goggles were very advanced now, and the processed images were both clear and bright.
This was the power of technology.
After drifting tens of meters, Ou Zhanpeng deliberately stopped and placed several mines to guard their rear.
He did not want to solve the enemies in the cave only to find his fighter destroyed by aliens when he emerged.
Just as he finished placing the mines, the drone transmitted the latest discovery: after penetrating more than a hundred meters into the cave, there was a very large space!
Just as he was about to proceed further into the cave, an emergency door appeared without warning, sealing the blown-open cave entrance, and the air pressure began to normalize.
It became even darker inside the cave, and even the images on the helmet display showed slight shaking and distortion.
"Be careful!" Ou Zhanpeng whispered, "There should still be aliens."
The two floated slowly toward the depths of the cave and soon reached the location of the drone.
The drone's program was very intelligent. After discovering this space, it had waited outside instead of rashly entering and alerting the enemy.
Ou Zhanpeng made a gesture and drifted to the left, then to the right.
Xu Qing understood and tacitly drifted to the right. Their two rifles formed a small crossfire.
Ou Zhanpeng gave a signal, and two drones immediately rushed out, displaying the situation ahead on the helmets of both individuals.
It was a very spacious, flattened, oval-shaped cave chamber. The left wall was smooth, which should be considered the floor, while the right wall was rough and could be identified as the ceiling.
The two were not facing the chamber directly but at an angle. Ou Zhanpeng was diagonally facing the ceiling, and Xu Qing was facing the floor directly. Their positions were quite awkward.
But it didn't matter. There were no aliens in the chamber. The drones circled around and found only a row of cultivation tanks on the wall, along with a batch of alien equipment whose names they couldn't recognize. Additionally, two alien fighters were fixed on the ground, and there was one half-finished product.
Ou Zhanpeng signaled Xu Qing to maintain vigilance, then floated into the chamber. The design of the cultivation tanks was familiar; it was the model specifically used for nurturing giant breeds. In one of the tanks, there was a juvenile giant breed.
Ou Zhanpeng's intuition told him that since the aliens had created such a cave on the satellite, they wouldn't just keep a few giant breeds here. However, after checking all four sides, he couldn't find any trace.
Xu Qing's voice came over the radio: "How's it going?"
"Nothing found, but I still feel like something is wrong."
"Then what do we do? Waiting here isn't a solution."
"Give me a moment!" Ou Zhanpeng swept his gaze, executed a clean flip, and fired a grappling hook head-down, allowing him to stand on the ceiling. He took out the remaining mines and buried them carefully.
One mine was intentionally buried above the head of the giant breed that was still in the tank. As soon as the cultivation tank opened, it would detonate immediately.
After thinking, he took out all the remaining explosives and placed them in the center of the chamber, setting the detonation method to vibration.
As long as the mines exploded, the explosives would detonate. They certainly wouldn't destroy Fire Guard One, but they would definitely collapse this cave.
Ou Zhanpeng suddenly felt a pang of regret: it was a pity that time was too short. Otherwise, if he could have dismantled a nuclear bomb, one would have been enough to turn Fire Guard One into history.
Of course, he was just thinking about it. Those were missiles, and if he really had to dismantle one, he wouldn't dare. What if it exploded halfway through the dismantling?
"Let's go!" The two, along with the two drones, returned the way they came. Upon reaching the emergency door, Xu Qing was slightly stunned: "All the explosives are used up. How will the door open?"
She instinctively felt that Ou Zhanpeng shouldn't have made such a low-level mistake.
"Simple." Ou Zhanpeng floated over, reached out, and pressed. The emergency door slowly opened, and the air inside the cave immediately rushed out, making a sound like a raging wind.
Ou Zhanpeng suddenly froze.
The sound was like poking through a layer of paper. The consciousness in his mind suddenly became incredibly clear: "I remember, it's the air!"
Xu Qing looked confused: "What air?"
"The emergency door and the air!" Ou Zhanpeng turned back to gaze at the dark cave. "If there are no aliens, is there a need to seal and pressurize it?"
Xu Qing frowned: "Isn't it an automatic system?"
Ou Zhanpeng wanted to say no, but if they left without finding any trace of the enemy, why add to their troubles?
"I don't know either." He shook his head, leading Xu Qing forward. The emergency door slowly closed behind them.
Emerging from the cave, Ou Zhanpeng signaled to recall the fighter jet. They flew back to their original orbit and found the external pod with little effort.
As they cautiously approached in the fighter jet, Ou Zhanpeng's face contorted with distress.
The external pod had seven or eight holes the size of a fist, and many of them penetrated the pod.
The various supplies, which had been neatly categorized and arranged, were in disarray. Many of them floated out of the pod, accompanying it.
Xu Qing couldn't help but look back. Were they left with only the provisions in the cockpit? She calculated mentally for a while but couldn't figure out how long they could last.
Ten days? Or half a month?
As things stood, they had to see for themselves no matter what.
Ou Zhanpeng maneuvered the fighter jet to redock. After securing the fighter, they immediately rushed into the external pod. As the hatch opened, both of them were dumbfounded.
The situation was far more serious than they had imagined.
Ou Zhanpeng sighed: "Let's clean up little by little. Keep what's usable, and discard what's not."
Xu Qing nodded silently. At this point, that's all they could do.
Provisions were the largest part of the supplies, accounting for more than half. The rest were regeneration medicine plates, oxygen candles, and other necessities.
Small celestial bodies were constantly exposed to the vacuum of space, and their surfaces were bombarded by cosmic rays for a long time, thus carrying high levels of radiation. Therefore, all damaged food was inedible, and even after removing the damaged parts, there was still a great risk.
The remaining supplies could be preserved depending on the situation, especially the medicine plates and oxygen candles.
After an inventory, everything that could be carried was transferred into the fighter jet until no more could fit.
Ou Zhanpeng calculated carefully and arrived at the final answer: "If we eat sparingly with our provisions, we can last for more than two months. We have enough oxygen for four months. It's alright, not as bad as I imagined."
Xu Qing could hardly believe her ears: "At most two months, and we'll starve to death. You call this alright?"
"What else can we do? Will being gloomy solve the problem?" Ou Zhanpeng retorted with conviction, "Be happy, and live one day at a time."
Xu Qing sighed helplessly, suddenly feeling that Ou Zhanpeng was not as reliable as she had imagined. How could she have found him dependable before?