Chapter 1,256 The Last 1 Gram Weight

Mars.

It has been almost two weeks since the Ares was trapped.

Every day, devil bugs would emerge from the surface, swim around the cabin of the Ares, tap on the hull with their pair of sickle-shaped fangs, and then turn around and disappear into the desert.

Although the pair of sickles could not break the titanium alloy hull of Ares, the psychological pressure on the astronauts was huge. Especially when he recalled that bloody scene, his teammates who he used to train with were eaten away in front of him with only one space suit left...

An atmosphere of despair permeated the thirty-plus-square-meter space.

The communication module was damaged five days ago, and Ares has completely lost contact with the relay satellite. Like a lost traveler in the desert, he can only stare at the endless yellow sofa and pass the time counting down. life.

Fortunately, they carried enough supplies to last for a year without any problems. The only trouble is that if they don't roll out the solar panels soon, they might face a power shortage.

And this is also the most serious problem.

Without electricity, there is no water or air.

Several people get drunk every day and regard tomorrow as the end of the world.

"How are the negotiations with Star Ring Trade going at the headquarters?"

"I don't know...no one has shown up until now. I'm afraid there's no agreement."

"Damn, are we abandoned?"

"God bless, Amen..."

Sitting against the corner of the cockpit, listening to the desperate voices of his teammates, Blaise grinned and stuffed the mouth of the whiskey bottle into his mouth.

Helpless.

This is probably the only word that can describe his mood.

If in the first week he was still expecting that the Star Ring Trade would send people to rescue these "drowned people" from hell, but now a week has passed, and they have not even seen the rescue team.

It was almost time for him to give up on that unrealistic idea.

Walked to sit next to him,

The drunk Jewish astronaut walked over to him and sat down opposite him, burping from wine and murmuring something.

“How much power do we have left.”

"Probably until next Wednesday."

"Damn..." The man cursed and shook his head, "Do you know what I'm thinking now?"

"What are you thinking about?" Blaise grinned.

"I was wondering," the Jew burped, raised an index finger, and said drunkenly, "if we die of suffocation, will it be considered suicide or homicide?"

"...Is there any difference?"

"In my belief, you can't go to heaven if you commit suicide." Looking at Blaise, the Jew grinned, raised his glass, and made a toast, "My dear captain, I only ask you one thing. Today's meeting Put more sleeping pills in your dinner..."

"Then I will help you and let me go to hell with my sin-stained hands?" Blaise stood up unsteadily with his hands on the floor and cursed, "Don't even think about it..."

"What are you going to do?"

"Put up solar panels."

"You're crazy," the Jew grinned. "It's all that stuff out there."

"I was serious."

Under the surprised and dull gazes of his teammates, Blaise threw the bottle in the trash can, held his groggy head, and walked toward the stairs.

Can't wait any longer.

If he had to die anyway, he would rather die with dignity.

Although the bloody scene made him tremble just thinking about it, he was relieved to think that death was only a moment of pain.

"Don't do this, you are going to die!"

The man sitting in the corner stretched out his hand and took Blaise's arm.

Shaking off his teammate's hand, Blaise entered the password on the hatch without saying a word, and then stepped into the buffer cabin.

A sandstorm has gradually begun to blow outside.

He didn't know whether the sandstorm would reduce the devil bug's perception, but now was undoubtedly the best time.

Just be careful not to get blown away…

After checking the airtightness of the spacesuit, Brace put his hand on the suitcase-sized toolbox.

The buffer cabin opened, and the whistling yellow sand swept in. Brace took a deep breath, and was about to jump to the desert where death might be buried, but suddenly he saw a black shadow on the dim horizon.

He froze.

He reached out and wiped the dust off his helmet vigorously.

This time he saw a little more clearly.

At the same time, his pupils gradually dilated, magnifying a glimmer of hope.

"……God."

It's reinforcements!

It’s the convoy of Star Ring Trading!

He almost gave up!

At the same time, the astronauts inside Ares also discovered the situation about one kilometer away.

"what is that!"

"It's the Star Ring Trading convoy!"

"It's a rescue! Hahahaha! They must be here to save us! We don't have to wait to die!"

Cheers resounded throughout Ares.

Although it may not seem good to cheer for your competitors, they who were waiting for death can see the hope of life again. Who will care so much?

The outer door of the buffer cabin is closed and the inner door is opened.

Carrying their drunken bodies, one or two Americans hurriedly put the spacesuits on themselves.

Outside Ares.

An earth-penetrating bomb blasted into the desert.

A high-heat fireball exploded five kilometers underground, filling all the drilled tunnels. At least five devil bugs lurking in the tunnels were engulfed by the exploded flames, and the remaining ones who survived also fled away from the heat source. .

Relying on the suppression effect of the incendiary bombs, the two infantry combat vehicles rushed to the door of the Ares cabin, recovered the seven astronauts waiting in the cabin one after another, and then quickly recovered before the devil bug underground came back to their senses. Remove from the area.

Sitting in the infantry tank of Star Ring Trading, Blaise was stunned and couldn't say a word.

Everything that happened ten minutes ago was like a dream.

Is this the so-called difficulty in rescue? Can't help?

Although he should probably show a happy expression at this moment after being saved, he couldn't help but smile.

He felt cheated.

It was as if the despair and suffering they had felt for more than a week were all fake...

However, he couldn't complain.

The Star Ring Trade saved them, and those sitting in front of him were all his saviors.

This is not true!

…

Along the way, Brace had no communication with the Marine sitting across from him. First, he didn't have the spirit, but the other party obviously didn't intend to talk too much nonsense with him.

When the infantry vehicle approached the Martian colony, Brace looked at the behemoth through the sight glass on the side of the vehicle cabin.

The cuboid fortress is like a foot of God in the gravel of Mars. Compared with it, the so-called Ares is as small as an ant, not even as big as the brine desalination pump outside the colony...

In addition to being shocked, Blaise could not help but have a trace of bitterness on his face.

Perhaps the mission was the wrong choice from the beginning.

Let alone ten years, I am afraid that if NASA is given another fifty years, it will be difficult to catch up with the gap between it and the Star Ring trade. Not to mention that the capital investment between the two parties is not of the same order of magnitude, and the current technological gap is even more different.

In fact, the Star Ring Trade has begun to use aerospace technology to achieve profitability, and has established such a large-scale bridgehead on Mars...

Maybe they are the hope of mankind?

Shaking his head to drive this inappropriate thought out of his mind, Blaise followed the Marines into the colonial hall.

A man with a Chinese face stood in front of them.

Judging from the aura of a superior person in him, he should be the leader here.

Looking at these embarrassed Americans, Hong Zewei moved the corners of his mouth slightly and said in a deep voice.

"Who is your captain?"

"It's me." Blaise stood up, hesitated for a moment, and thanked him sincerely, "Thank you for lending a helping hand."

"You're welcome," Hong Zewei said calmly, "Starring Trading is a responsible enterprise that is responsible for the future of mankind. Even out of humanitarian considerations, we will not leave you alone. I hope you don't Complaining that we arrived too late, after all, we need to formulate a battle plan and analyze the depth of the devil bug's lurking depth..."

Blaise was confused when he heard this, but he still nodded blankly.

After the man who looked like a colonial governor finished speaking, Brace hesitated for a moment and asked the question he was most concerned about.

"When...can we return to Earth?"

"We may have to wait until the flights to and from Mars are launched next year. We can't restart the Expedition's engines just to send you there," Hong Zewei shrugged, "But you don't have to worry, we have plenty of food and fresh water here, and some can Something to relax your mind. I'll have someone arrange a room for you later and register an ID card. Except that you don't have the power to update Twitter and you don't have a job, you are just like everyone else in the colony."

Blaise nodded, "Thank you..."

He was very satisfied to be alive.

As for staying here for a year, maybe it's not a bad thing.

"You're welcome," Hong Zewei said softly, "That's all I have to say. For the rest, I suggest you take a shower first, change into clean clothes...and then take some sobering medicine. If there is still some time left, you can You can take a nap. But remember, it’s dinner time in three hours, and there will be an interview after that.”

"Interview?" Blaise asked.

"That's right." Hong Zewei shrugged, "We have to let the outside world know that you have been rescued and have not killed another black man by mistake. So, I hope you can cooperate, and I think you should also want your family to know your current situation as soon as possible. Condition."

Blaise nodded, but didn't think much about it.

Regardless of whether the other party was sincere in saving them, they were still able to snatch them back from the hands of death.

Even if it was out of repayment, he would fully cooperate with their interview.

But Brace would never have guessed that his sincere gratitude and tears in the interview two hours later would become a political bargaining chip in the hands of a certain candidate.

And this chip will become the last gram of weight that overwhelms the balance in the party's preliminaries in a few days...