In the void of space-
The humans had been drifting through space for two hours. Their initial tension and fear had faded, leaving only the question of where they could possibly go.
Not that it did them any damn good. This was outer space.
There was no sky above to reach, no ground below to stand on. Heaven's arms were too short, and the underworld had no jurisdiction here.
Inside his escape pod, Lin He had calmed down, only to sink into despair.
The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. "We're as good as dead!"
With that, Lin He punched the hard lid of his Stasis Pod.
"Damn space... even Mom's gone..."
"Lin He, I'm sorry I failed to detect the anomaly." Mom's voice rang out.
"My radar system was jammed."
Lin He cried out in delighted surprise, "Mom, you're not dead!"
"I am a Replica of the main program. Contact with the original has been lost."
Lin He hurriedly asked, "What's our situation? Can everyone survive?"
He was pinning all his hopes on landing on Orange Star. As long as they could reach solid ground, there would be hope!
"Escape pod fuel is at 100%, with a speed of 23,700 kilometers per hour. We are approaching Orange Star's orbit. There is insufficient fuel to reduce our current speed for a normal landing on Orange Star. I will maneuver the escape pod around Orange Star to decelerate."
In other words, they would have to remain in orbit around Orange Star indefinitely, without supplies or maintenance!
Lin He finally let out a breath. Everything spun, and his vision darkened, as though all the strength had been drained from his body. He closed his eyes in despair.
"So we're still going to die in the end?"
[Beep-]
The tiny glass window lit up, and green lines appeared.
In the blink of an eye, they formed an image: a red outline against a black background. Under the AI's control, the image zoomed in, then in again-
"The probability of rescue is approximately 60%."
"What's this...?" Lin He opened his eyes and looked at the screen before him.
The blurry object in the image was very far away, and the repeated magnification had begun to distort it.
For a moment, Lin He felt he had seen it somewhere before. It looked so familiar-a silver, bullet-shaped object.
Mom said, "Preliminary observation indicates an artificial rocket launched from Orange Star."
"Tianhe 1 lost contact with Orange Star's communications system three months ago."
"It continued accelerating and received no order from headquarters to halt operations."
"Analysis of the current situation suggests that Orange Star Base may be restoring communications with the outside world."
So it was a rocket. Lin He remembered now. During his training at the Space Administration, he had seen rocket models inside the space exhibition hall.
"Then do they know about us?!" New hope flared in his eyes, and Lin He trembled with excitement.
Mom answered, "Tianhe 1 transmitted an all-area broadcast in its final moments. The probability that Orange Star received the message is 90%."
"The probability of a rescue operation is 70%. Entering hibernation and waiting for rescue is recommended. I will control the escape pod and continue transmitting distress signals."
Lin He was afraid he might fall asleep and never wake up. After all, these were only a program's deductions. He asked, "What if we don't hibernate?"
"The escape pod's current supplies can sustain you for only one month."
"And if we hibernate?"
"Four months."
"Four months..." Lin He clenched his fists, his brows tightly furrowed.
"I want to contact the others..."
Mom said, "Attention, everyone. Internal communications are now enabled."
Wang Xiaofei cried out, "Lin He! Lin He! Are you there?"
Startled, Qi Siyu complained, "You're so loud!"
Lin He said, "Show some respect! Call me your senior!"
"Lin He, you bastard! I should've slept with you before we died!"
The older man said, "Hey, hey, hey! You think this is a private phone call? You little brats!"
"Aaah-!"
Wang Xiaofei's scream, her face flushed with embarrassment, surrounded Lin He from every direction.
"Mom, mute their microphones!" the older man roared, his face darkening. He used his authority to switch off everyone else's microphones, and the world instantly fell silent.
The older man pondered for a moment, then said, "Given our current situation, we can only pin our hopes on a rescue operation from Orange Star. As a captain of the Orange Star Construction Corps, I hereby order military control to take effect immediately. In three hours, everyone will enter mandatory hibernation. For now, you can still reminisce and chat. After that, it'll all depend on Orange Star..."
The older man was very calm. He was not particularly optimistic about rescue from Orange Star. Perhaps the rocket they had launched had taken everything Orange Star Base had to build. Still, he had to do what needed to be done.
Wang Xiaofei had quieted down and was wiping away her tears, her face burning. She touched the warm lid of her Stasis Pod and muttered to herself, "Hmph, I've already said it. Lin He, you're a bastard. It's not like you don't know how I feel..."
The older man sighed softly. The escape pod was large, equipped with electronics, and capable of adjusting its orbit to circle Orange Star regularly. He had truly become a star now. Too bad he was not in orbit around Mercury, or he could have stayed forever above his son's head.
The older man said, "Mom, turn the others' microphones back on. You can establish private communications, but I suggest we all have a good talk. Even just hearing each other's voices would be nice. This might be our last chance... suddenly, I could really use a cigarette..."
Moved by his words, Lin He was filled with regret. Resting his forehead gently against the chamber lid, he said, "Xiaofei... thank you for being here with me..."
"Boo-hoo... if you'd said yes to me sooner, we wouldn't have had to sign up... I haven't even made you mine yet..." Overwhelmed with grief, Wang Xiaofei burst into tears. Interstellar settlement, human migration, humanity's great hope-those leading the charge were all poor, foolish suckers who would die on an alien planet.
Neither He Xuan nor Huang Qi joined the conversation.
Qi Siyu took off his glasses, tucked them into his pocket, and tilted his head back with his eyes closed.
He murmured to himself, "Since ancient times, who has escaped death? Some deaths are lighter than a feather, others weightier than a mountain. To die exploring the universe, paving a road of hope for our fellow humans-that's worth it... too bad..."
"Mm~ hmm-hmm~ mm~" For some reason, the older man began humming a somber tune.
Huang Qi was silent. Hugging her own arms, she let tears roll down her cheeks and whispered, "I promised Mom, but I haven't planted pomelo trees all over Orange Star yet. I haven't smelled the pomelo blossoms..."
The comms fell silent. In these final moments, they had so very much to say, yet no idea where to begin. Mom said, "Hibernation countdown..."
"Lin He!" Wang Xiaofei suddenly cried out, her voice strained. "We can't die! There's still so, so much we haven't done!"
"...Right! We won't!"
The older man said, "It's good to be young. Good night, everyone."
"Beginning hibernation-" Mom's electronic voice rang out.
Everyone's Stasis Pods went dark. A hibernation agent sprayed out, sedating their nervous systems and sending them involuntarily to sleep.
Masks automatically extended from hidden compartments and covered their mouths and noses...
"Retrieving information on spacecraft escape pods from the database..."
"Available escape pod data indicates a hibernation survival period of three months..."
"Three months will be plenty. Production and manufacturing must give this their full support."
"Aim to complete the aircraft assembly line and flight testing within ten days."
"However, rare metal reserves have a severe shortfall and are insufficient to build a large-scale rescue force."
Indeed, the industrial park's ongoing large-scale expansion, the construction and development of machinery, and research at the various research centers all consumed resources.
Although this vast technological empire had no citizens to support, its constant construction plans accounted for virtually every bit of material.
There were no mining areas anywhere near the base. It relied entirely on mining vehicles sifting through sand to find rare metals.
Was that not why Luo Qi had gone to such lengths to build a global satellite network-to prospect for mineral deposits and search for resources for the massive construction efforts ahead?
Luo Qi checked the rare metal inventory. Not a single reserve exceeded fifty tons.
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