Dead on Mars

Chapter 108 - Sol Hundred and Twelve, I Believe I’ll Be Forever Alone
“Get up—! Get up—! Stay in bed any longer, and the sun will be burning your arse! Stay in bed any longer, and Zhang Fei 1 will be setting your house on fire!” A sharp voice broke the silence as it resounded across the Hab in a jarring manner.

“F*ck, didn’t I tell you to switch off that ridiculous alarm clock? Why is it switched on again? Tomcat! Did you hear me? Switch off that brain dead clock!” Tang Yue buried his head as he flailed his extended hand. “Tomcat! Tom…”

Tang Yue paused.

He crawled out of his blanket as he sat up. The air was biting cold as it seeped through his thin clothes like a winter morning in a southern city. The noisy alarm clock was still blaring away, urging him to wake up as though Zhang Fei was holding a torch outside the station, prepared to burn it down if Tang Yue didn’t get out of bed.

It was a mystery who had set such an alarm. None of what it said was normal. It revolved around “stay in bed any longer, and Zhang Fei will be setting your house on fire,” “stay in bed any longer, and Guan Yu 1 will slay you while drinking alcohol 2 ,” or “stay in bed any longer, and Liu Bei will come seek shelter under you 3 .” The most ordinary one was “stay in bed any longer, and you won’t be in time for the 50% discount on onions at the market.” It made Tang Yue seem like a housewife that had to make every second count just to save a few cents.

Tang Yue grumbled as he put his clothes on, wrapped himself in a thick blanket, and rushed into the Hab on tiptoes to switch off the alarm clock.

Kunlun Station instantly fell silent.

He turned his head to glance at the communication system. The stream only showed the space station’s wall—Mai Dong wasn’t there. He didn’t know if she was still in bed or if she was working. Tang Yue got a compressed biscuit from the cabinet and saw that its flavor was red-braised beef.

Tang Yue shook his head, threw the biscuit back, and took out a new packet. He was sick of red-braised beef-flavored compressed biscuits. Although it said it was beef-flavored, it tasted more like brick powder.

The new packet had pickled vegetable flavoring.

Tang Yue used a measuring cylinder to draw 500 milliliters of water. This was meant for drinking since Tang Yue had long stopped brushing his teeth daily. The main reason was that he had finished the toothpaste, and his toothbrush was pretty much unusable. Now, Tang Yue would just use his index finger to rub against his teeth. Even though the effect wasn’t as good as a toothbrush, it was better than nothing.

Legend had it that the ancients used salt to clean their teeth back when there wasn’t toothpaste, but Tang Yue found it an extravagance. He didn’t have that much salt to begin with.

Tang Yue took a bite of the biscuit and drank a mouthful of water. Indeed, the pickled vegetable flavoring tasted better than the beef flavoring. There was a faint taste of Earth.

What does Earth taste like?

Have you fallen down to the ground and end up eating a mouthful of dirt?

“Pui!” Tang Yue frowned as he looked at the blood he had just spat out. It was no wonder he tasted something raw. His gums were bleeding.

Tang Yue bared his teeth as he looked into a mirror. The bleeding was worse than before. The bright red blood was mixed with his spit, and his entire mouth was filled with blood. Yet, Tang Yue didn’t dare to spit it out, afraid that he would be wasting water and food. All he could do was swallow it.

The result of a serious vitamin deficiency presented itself. The symptoms of scurvy were becoming more apparent. This disease that plagued sailors who were out at sea for extended periods of time was enveloping Tang Yue. The spots that were a result of internal bleeding were increasing in number, and it was getting more common for his gums to bleed. In time to come, his teeth would begin to loosen, and his body would lose its strength as his muscles ached. It might even develop into pseudoparalysis.

In this godforsaken place, once he was paralyzed, it was a fate worse than death.

Tang Yue silently looked at the half biscuit in his hand.

There were still remnants of his saliva and blood on it, and the sight of it was alarming.