Zhang Fan found it hard to describe how he felt upon seeing Ivanka again.
She looked like she was breathing lightly, with traces of tears still visible in the corners of her eyes. She was exhausted from what happened in the United States and was finally able to rest.
Her eyes were closed quietly, her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow, as if she might open them and wake up at any moment.
Her lips curved slightly, just like her usual happy smile.
Or perhaps I dreamt of something happy.
Yes, in her dreams, she will no longer be sad.
But Zhang Fan knew this was just his imagination; frozen people don't breathe and don't shed tears.
“She’s scared,” Su Muran said, her eyes glued to the screen.
"How did you know?" Zhang Fan turned to ask her.
"Didn't you see her hands gripping her clothes tightly?" Su Muran said, pointing at the screen. "That means she's very insecure."
Zhang Fan looked at the screen again and saw that Ivanka was clutching her clothes tightly to her chest with her right hand, making the clothes wrinkle.
"How can we save her?" Su Muran felt a pang of heartache after staring at the screen for a while. "She's so pitiful."
"Not yet, not yet." Zhang Fan shook his head, controlling "Pangolin" to install a small black box onto the crew cabin, and then took pictures of the surrounding area.
The surrounding situation was roughly as expected. The Beetle's body had been completely damaged by the powerful water pressure, and the most robust crew compartment had been separated and frozen to the bottom of the water.
"What is that black box?" Su Muran asked Zhang Fan, pointing at the screen.
“A radioactive isotope,” Zhang Fan replied. “It emits highly penetrating alpha rays, which can be used to examine the interior of metals. And through a special device that receives alpha rays, the location of the crew capsule can be determined at any time.”
After transmitting the last photo, the pangolin had completed its mission. The surrounding water began to freeze, the lithium deuteride used as energy had been exhausted, and the smelting engine could no longer start.
All parts of the "pangolin" have stopped functioning, and it has fallen to the bottom of the water, where it is gradually being frozen.
"Let's go back." Zhang Fan had already saved all the data sent back by "Pangolin".
"Going back already? Weren't you supposed to be saving her?" Su Muran looked at the last photo "Pangolin" sent back on the screen, feeling somewhat reluctant to leave.
"There's no way to save her here; we need to go somewhere else first." Zhang Fan had already activated "Firefly" and was preparing to return the way he came.
Where else to go?
"That depends on whether Katerina is ready."
After returning to the Bird's Nest, Zhang Fan transmitted the data collected from "Whale Bay" to Liao Changtian, and then began to modify the "MK8" exoskeleton.
Climbing a mountain over 20,000 meters high would be virtually impossible without the help of modern technology.
The modified "MK8" exoskeleton has removed many unnecessary parts, strengthened leg power and support, and provides excellent protection for the knees.
Hand dexterity has also been enhanced, and the biggest improvement is the addition of a carrying system that can support up to 100kg. The entire body is powered by a deuterium lithium battery located on the back.
Unable to land on the erupting Mount Olympus, Zhang Fan and Katerina had to first travel to the foot of Mount Olympus in the Apollo spacecraft, and then walk from the foot to the top.
Before landing, Apollo flew around Mount Olympus a few times and dropped several boxes with nets attached. After rolling around on the hillside, the boxes were secured to protruding rocks by the nets.
The locations of these airdrop crates are their rest stops along the way.
The Apollo spacecraft eventually landed in the center of a low-lying basin at the foot of Mount Olympus.
Zhang Fan stood at the foot of the mountain, looking up at Mount Olympus, where thick smoke from volcanic eruptions continued to billow from the summit.
"It's about time," Zhang Fan said, looking at Katerina.
“We’ve waited so long, it’s about time.” Katerina smiled. “I was imprisoned underground for six months, and she was imprisoned under the ice for six months. It seems that everything is truly connected in some mysterious way.”
"This is the hydraulic system," Zhang Fan explained to Katerina, introducing the MK8. "When we rest, we can take off the exoskeleton. There's a ejector cone on the waist, used for emergency self-rescue. Pull the safety buckle on your shoulder, and the cone will be launched by high-pressure gas and driven into the rock. The cone rope is 30 meters long. Don't pull the wrong one; if the cone hits someone, it's no joke."
"I understand." Katerina said impatiently. "I've already read the instructions and tried it on at the base. Let's go!"
“Okay.” Zhang Fan was a little speechless. “I’ll take the role of ‘Little Fatty’ first, and then we’ll switch roles this afternoon.”
"no problem."
Katerina carried the 200-pound "little fat man" onto Zhang Fan's back and secured him, and the two set off up the mountain.
Mount Olympus is 1,500 meters high, and the distance from the foot of the mountain to the top is quite long.
Mount Olympus is a cone-shaped volcano, similar to Mount Fuji in Wano Country on Earth. Mount Olympus has an extremely wide base, reaching a maximum width of 600 kilometers, and covers an area of 300,000 square kilometers, equivalent to the land area of Italy.
One advantage of this type of cone-shaped mountain with a large base is that the slope is relatively gentle, making it more friendly to climbers.
Zhang Fan opened the arm monitor and looked at the map, which Liao Changtian had given him. It marked their mountain climbing route, starting from a relatively gentle slope at the foot of the mountain and almost S-shaped up to the summit, with a total length of more than 20 kilometers. Along the way, they had to avoid many "small rivers" composed of lava.
The mountain is over 20,000 meters high, and the climbing route is 10 times its height. This peculiar situation only occurs at volcanoes.
According to the plan, the first day requires climbing 10 kilometers to reach the first rest stop, the second day 5 kilometers, the third day 3 kilometers, and the last day 2 kilometers to reach the summit.
The descent will be quick; you can reach the foot of the mountain in a day. That means a round trip will take four days.
The first day was relatively easy; the two were even able to chat as they walked.
"Fan, have you ever climbed mountains before?"
“I’ve climbed, but I don’t mean this kind of thing.” Zhang Fan stomped his foot on the ground. “I grew up in the mountains.”
"Grown up in the mountains? So you really like the mountains?"
“People who grow up in the mountains generally don’t like mountains. They always feel that the mountains separate them from the outside world. I might be an exception.” Zhang Fan said as he walked. “My mother said that after I was born, the first time she took me outside, she called out to the mountains. When I was learning to walk, I always wobbled towards the mountains.”
"So she said that from the time I was a child, she knew that I would go to higher and farther places when I grew up."
"Hehehe, so you came to Mars." Katerina laughed. "Compared to Earth, the place you went to is really high and far enough."
“Mountains are really strange things,” Zhang Fan continued. “When you climb a mountain, you always see mountains further away, and then you want to climb them again.”
"How should I put it?" Zhang Fan thought for a moment and said, "The distant mountains are like those things in our lives that are clearly visible but can never be reached, like a distant dream."
"I may never reach it, but I will always want to pursue it."
"And you? As an 'angel who descended upon the Ural Mountains,' don't you have any feelings about the mountains?"
"Hahaha." Katerina laughed somewhat unrestrainedly, "Don't make fun of me. A 33-year-old woman who is still unwanted and still thinks she is an angel will be laughed to death by young men in their twenties."
“You’re not old at all, and it’s not just Russia that calls you ‘the angel who descended to the Ural Mountains.’” Zhang Fan suddenly grinned mischievously, deliberately teasing Katerina to lighten the mood. “And for a young person in their twenties, maybe someone in their thirties like you… isn’t so bad… maybe even better!”
"Really?" Katerina quickened her pace and walked alongside Zhang Fan, winking at him. "Then why don't you give it a try? You're just a young man in your twenties."
"Well……"
Zhang Fan wanted to slap himself. Why did he have to talk so much? Why did he have to provoke her for no reason?
Besides, you can't do anything while wearing a spacesuit, isn't that just asking for trouble?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com