novelMars Rescue
| ← Ch.1235 | Ch.1237 → |
"How long until the rescue?""If you say a few words less, maybe we can last a few more hours." Wang Qiang said wearily as he looked at the remaining power and oxygen on the holographic screen.
The oxygen in the rover came primarily from two systems.
One was an oxygen tank placed in the trunk, and the reserve inside could provide oxygen for a crew up to a week. The other was the carbon fixation device that automatically started when the oxygen tank was empty. The device consumed electrical energy to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen until the battery is depleted.
In an optimal scenario, the device could maintain oxygen for two weeks.
However, now, five days had already passed.
Looking at the fiery red desert outside the window, and the "worm" that crawled out onto the surface from time to time, Wang Qian had a bitter smile on his face.
However, at this moment, a black dot appeared in his field of vision. There was a cloud of dust behind that black dot.
"Hey, James, wake up!" Wang Qiang immediately kicked the man facing him and woke up the man that just managed to fall asleep.
"What happened..." James was rubbing his eyes as he wanted to ask what had happened, but then he saw the black dot.
All his drowsiness disappeared in an instant as he crawled beside Wang Qiang while staring out the window with his eyes squinted, desperately trying to identify what it was, then he screamed in excitement, "It's our people! They're back! They didn't abandon us!"
"Hurry up and get ready."
Wang Qiang patted him on the shoulder and walked into the buffer room. Then, he took off his spacesuit.
At the same time, the action outside the window began.
A Devil Worm near the rover raised its head and opened its sharp teeth in the direction of the vehicle that was coming in from the distance. Just as it was about to plunge back into the ground, the vehicle launched a rocket.
Like a burning iron fist, the rocket directly hit the Devil Worm's abdomen and instantly exploded.
Its green blood and remains splattered in the air, which sent the upper half of the Devil Worm into the air before it smashed into the sand five meters away.
"REEEEEE!"
The repressed and anguish scream came from its vocal cord, and the Devil Worm that had been split in half squirmed wildly in the desert with its organs and blood spilled everywhere.
"Still not died, " Looking at, the gunner said with a troubled tone as he saw the troublesome bug through the scope.
"Make it shut up! It's attracting its kind!" the captain shouted.
The 20mm gun released its fiery at the worm's upper half.
The driver quickly turned the steering wheel and the vehicle made a quick thirty degrees turn toward the rover.
Almost at the same time, dust exploded from the side of the vehicle, and another Devil Worm crawled out from the ground. The sickle-like fangs barely scratched the vehicle as its mouth opened and closed, creating a cringe-worthy sound.
"Go to hell!" Gnashing his teeth, the gunner adjusted the gun and pressed down on the trigger.
The gun unleashed its bullets and tore apart the belly of the Devil Worm.
While that Devil Worm collapsed in anguish, the whole desert seemed to have begun to boil.
Devil Worms crawled out beside the vehicle one by one. When they failed to hit the target, they immediately dove back into the ground. The gun continued to fire, but it could not handle multiple targets at once.
"Damnit! How many of them are there!" The driver exclaimed.
"Don't worry about how many there are, hit them! Hit the tires of the rover!" The captain tightly held onto the seat as he roared.
The vehicle escaped from the blockade formed by the Devil Worms. It crashed into the heavy rubber tires of the rover and slid the rover seven to eight meters on the sand before it finally came to a stop. However, the tipped rover remained upside down.
"SH*T! Are they trying to save us or trying to kill us?!" James stood back up and he held himself against the cabin. He was in a state of complete daze.
"The car body is damaged... not a big problem. They're probably trying to knock us back up, but they underestimated the width of our chassis." Wang Qiang was already squatting in the corner as he anticipated the impact and so he did not get hurt.
The rescue plan seemed to have issues from the very start.
Seeing that Plan A had failed, the vehicle did not stop completely before the captain immediately ordered, "Enable Plan B! Fast!"
The vehicle continued to accelerate and pushed the rover forward. At the same time, the top cover of the rover was opened, and a soldier stood up with a hook lock in his hands. Soon, he attached the hook locks onto the two tires of the rover.
"They are trying to make us go outside? Don't even think about it, " James exclaimed.
"Then you can stay inside."
Wang Qiang did not waste any more time. Immediately after he saw the action of the soldier, he reached for the safety lock next to the driver's seat. After he entered the password, he yanked the valve.
The instant he pulled valve, the cover of the safe passage of the rover chassis slammed outward. Under the huge air pressure difference, the air inside the rover rushed outward. With one foot on the seat, Wang Qiang forced himself out of the rover from the safe passage, grabbed the soldier's hand, jumped to the vehicle, and got into the other vehicle.
"It is hitting our belt!" The driver slammed on the gas pedal as he shouted.
"It can't move us! Our tonnage is much more than the rover... DAMN IT!"
The vehicle was installed with a stabilization module before the mission. The vehicle with a higher tonnage did not get knocked over like the rover, but it was still lifted two centimeters into the air. While the gravity on Mars was not comparable to Earth, to be able to lift such a giant piece of metal into the air showed the explosiveness of the Devil Worm.
"Fast! Hurry!" The soldier at the top struggled to maintain his balance as he nervously looked at the gravel under the vehicle, and anxiously shouted at the rover, "Give me your hand!"
Despite the fear, James still gritted his teeth and climbed out of the rover behind Wang Qiang, he grabbed the soldier's hand and jumped onto the vehicle.
However, the situation took an unexpected turn.
The Devil Warm that was smashing against the vehicle suddenly stopped and immediately moved to the side of the vehicle, then it opened its fearsome mouth. When James, who just managed to maintain his balance on the vehicle, saw the series of green eyes, his pupils were gradually covered with horror.
"Thank—"
"NOOO!"
The air screeched, and the sickle collapsed.
Blood gushed two meters high and formed a misty fog among the sand cloud...
"Mission failed. Engineer James died and Sergeant Miller was seriously injured..."
"Sergeant Miller is still in critical condition."
"The rescue forces are returning to the colony."
On the big screen in Celestial Trade Command Center, the icon of Engineer James was marked with a red cross.
Kelvin stared at the big screen as his expression turned more and more serious. He slowly sat back down on his chair, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
His political sense told him that some things may be out of his control now...
| ← Ch. 1235 | Ch. 1237 → |