Beep—
A familiar alert tone from the cockpit startled the two people immersed in their intimacy.
Xu Qing gently pushed Ouzhan Peng, who instinctively resisted. His strong arms were like cast iron, unyielding.
"You!" Xu Qing slapped him. "Let go of me!"
"Oh, okay!" Ouzhan Peng reluctantly released her, earning an eye-roll from Xu Qing.
Floating into the cockpit, Xu Qing opened the message from Earth. A single glance turned her face ashen. "Oufatei—" httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Her panicked, angry shout made Ouzhan Peng's heart clench, thinking an alien species was attacking. But upon entering the cockpit, he found no anomalies on the radar. He asked, confused, "What's wrong?"
"Look for yourself!" Xu Qing gritted out the words.
Was she on edge?
Ouzhan Peng was even more bewildered, but after a single glance, his expression changed. "How is this possible?"
The message from the base contained a string of coordinates and a brief explanation. It stated that to facilitate landing on Mars, the return capsule and various supplies consumed during the landing had been pre-positioned on the Martian surface. Once they landed and retrieved these supplies, their current predicament would be solved.
Ouzhan Peng felt utterly dismayed. After enduring contaminated food for so long, they were now being told there were provisions on Mars?
Xu Qing also wore a look of resentment. What was the point of her days of fear and near starvation?
At this moment, their feelings were perfectly aligned. Ouzhan Peng almost roared, "Ask the base what they were thinking! How long has it been? Why didn't they say anything sooner! Do they even know what we've been through?"
Xu Qing immediately sent the question back to the base. Just ten minutes later, she received a reply: "They said it's too dangerous to land on Mars now, so they only informed us after waiting."
After a ten-minute buffer, she had calmed down.
Ouzhan Peng opened his mouth but found himself speechless.
The base's actions were indeed questionable, but not fundamentally flawed. When the situation was reported, the remaining supplies had been accounted for. Based on normal consumption, they shouldn't have run out, but the remaining amount was certainly not abundant. This message was sent precisely timed.
Perhaps because they knew additional supplies were available, the base hadn't been in a hurry. However, they hadn't anticipated that Ouzhan Peng would choose to eat contaminated food, saving the safe provisions for his companion, while Xu Qing ate as little as possible, nearly starving herself.
Blame the base?
It seemed justifiable, but upon closer reflection, the reasons weren't entirely convincing.
Blame themselves?
That was even more absurd. In their situation, how could they have eaten and drunk meticulously without any thought for the future?
It could only be attributed to fate and misfortune.
However, after calming down, Ouzhan Peng's gaze fell upon Xu Qing, and he suddenly felt that this turn of events wasn't a complete loss.
Finally, the base reminded the two that the Martian dust storm was still ongoing. If there were any surplus provisions, they should wait a while longer.
After a long silence, Xu Qing said, "We still have enough supplies for over a month. Let's wait and see."
As she spoke, her eyes held a warmth and relief, mixed with an unspoken责怪.
As if sensing her thoughts, Ouzhan Peng chuckled and explained, "Don't worry, I cut off all the contaminated parts. It'll be fine."
"If you say it's fine, then it's fine," Xu Qing replied, her tone filled with lingering grievance.
They had been eating this way for over a month. What was the point of arguing about whether it was okay now?
She cast her gaze towards Mars, shrouded in dust. "But how are we going to land on Mars? The airdrop pod is too dangerous?"
Xu Qing knew there was an emergency airdrop pod on the fighter jet, and also that Mars had not only supplies but also a return capsule. Ouzhan Peng could completely use the airdrop pod to descend and then use the return capsule to re-enter orbit.
The problem was that using an airdrop pod itself was a technical feat, requiring precise control of altitude and speed. Currently, Mars was experiencing a fierce dust storm with extreme wind speeds of up to 180 meters per second everywhere. Even if the airdrop pod successfully entered the atmosphere, it wouldn't be able to land safely, and the inevitable outcome would be a crash into the Martian surface.
As expected, Ouzhan Peng wore a look of disbelief. "Don't be silly. I haven't lived enough. Of course, we'll use the fighter jet!"
"In this weather? Can it work?" Xu Qing asked.
She didn't understand flying, but even with no prior knowledge, she knew that such high wind speeds made flight conditions impossible, let alone a space launch.
"Yes," Ouzhan Peng said with absolute certainty.
The multi-purpose fighter jet was originally an atmospheric and space fighter designed for combat within the atmosphere. Earth's gravity was strong, and once the fighter entered the atmosphere, it could only land at an airport and required booster rockets to re-enter space.
However, Mars' gravity was only 37.5% of Earth's. The fighter jet was fully capable of returning to space using its own power.
Xu Qing simply didn't believe it. "Such a huge storm, and you tell me it's fine? What do you think you're flying, an alien spaceship?"
"No need for an alien spaceship, our own fighter jet will do," Ouzhan Peng said confidently. "The wind speed is indeed high, but Mars has low atmospheric pressure. The air density is equivalent to an altitude of 30,000 meters on Earth. Even slightly larger sand particles can't fly, so wind speed isn't the critical factor. The real big problem is the extremely low visibility."
Blind landing was a mandatory course for all pilots, but in most cases, blind landings weren't entirely without visibility. On Earth, there were not only flat runways but also complete guidance facilities.
But on Mars, everything was unknown.
They didn't know if the intended landing zone was flat, what the visibility would be in the storm, the airflow variations in the storm, the precise atmospheric pressure data, or even where the ground was once they landed!
Entering the Martian atmosphere under these conditions wasn't a landing; it was simply courting death!
However, given that the storm was at its peak, waiting a while longer might allow the wind speed to decrease.
Xu Qing asked worriedly, "What if the storm still hasn't ended in another month?"
Ouzhan Peng replied without hesitation, "If we're at our wits' end, we'll have to risk it. If it doesn't work, we'll crash on Mars together, a pair of doomed lovers."
"Get away with you! Who's your doomed lover!" Xu Qing glared fiercely at the unreliable man. "I'm talking seriously here, can you be more solemn!"
Having broken the ice, Ouzhan Peng seemed to have a breakthrough. "Alright, I'll get serious until after we've finished discussing the important matters!"
Before he could finish, he couldn't help but laugh.
Although Xu Qing's mood was heavy, Ouzhan Peng's teasing seemed to lighten her burden.