Chapter 3
"It's so cold. The weather here is weird, rising and falling at the same time. No wonder no one comes here!" Yao Si rubbed his arms exaggeratedly.
"The spacecraft's temperature control system is too severely damaged to be repaired. With only one outer shell, I don't know how much cold it can withstand." Wan Di said.
Although she was talking about difficulties, Wandi acted very calmly. Everyone was not too worried and started joking around instead.
"Will we all be frozen into statues tomorrow?" Ji Wenxue habitually sat next to Wandi, blinking as she watched everyone talking. Then, her imagination ran wild as she moved her body. "Then I'm going to strike a good pose."
Everyone laughed together. Jiang Zouwei looked at Ji Wenxue and smiled. She had been completely absorbed in her work before and had temporarily forgotten about her sister's death. However, now that everyone was sitting together, sadness lingered on her again.
Wandi noticed that Jiang Zouwei was in a low mood. She held Jiang Zouwei's hand and wanted to say something but swallowed it back. She didn't talk about uncertain things, nor did she give people false hope.
Being in an unfamiliar environment and so cold, chatting not only made everyone feel more relaxed, but also seemed to warm up their bodies.
Wandi looked around and made arrangements. "Two people will form a team, one for the door, one for the cab, and one for the storage room. They will be replaced after an hour. The others can rest and recharge their energy."
Jiang Zouwei was on the third shift, but she couldn't sleep, so she got up ten minutes early. She thought of going to the lobby, where there was a small balcony with floor-to-ceiling windows and skylights. Maybe the breeze would make her feel more energetic.
The footsteps, which were already very light, suddenly stopped. There was already someone on the small balcony. It was Wan Di.
Jiang Zouwei noticed Wandi still holding a pen, next to an open notebook. She recognized it. Wandi habitually kept a diary, mostly about trivial matters of life, but also about her thoughts. However, she rarely shared her worries or sorrows with others. Perhaps those emotions were hidden in her diary?
Jiang Zouwei pressed her fingers with her nails. She didn't know whether she should go over or pretend nothing happened and leave.
After a long struggle, Jiang Zouwei finally moved forward, her footsteps becoming even quieter, her arms barely moving. As she approached, she realized the book wasn't a diary, but rather names. She looked at each one, recognizing them as her comrades, their companions—those who hadn't boarded the ship.
However, those names were actually written in blood, the sticky blood that had not yet coagulated was dark red. Jiang Zouwei stopped looking at the book and frantically picked up Wandi's hand, "...Wandi, you..."
Jiang Zouwei swallowed again and spoke again: "Wait a minute, wait a minute, I remember there is gauze over there..."
Wandi stopped Jiang Zouwei and said, "Zouwei, do you remember that when we joined the guild, everyone had to drop a drop of blood into the pool?"
Jiang Zouwei didn't know why Wandi suddenly brought this up. She fumbled in her pockets and replied, "Yes, of course I remember. You were the first one to draw blood. You said that although we come from different places, our blood is thicker than water, and we can help each other..."
As Jiang Zouwei was talking, he suddenly thought of something and his eyes widened, "You..."
Wandi nodded. "Maybe everyone is not dead yet, right? We have a blood pact. As long as I complete the last step, I can find them no matter how far away they are." Such hope made her almost unable to feel the pain in her hands.
In addition to Caiwei, so many of her friends were forced to stay there and stay in the explosion. Those people trusted her, liked her, and respected her. It was her dereliction of duty that she failed to protect everyone.
Wan Di reflected on why her plan couldn't be more rigorous, and why it left such a big loophole... She wanted to make up for this negligence and this mistake more than anyone else. She knew that Wen Xue was such a kind person, so why did she assign her such a task?
"But..." Jiang Zouwei wanted to say more.
"I can get accurate information about Caiwei. Whether she's dead or alive, isn't it the uncertainty of life and death that's tormenting us right now?"
Wan Di's words were still sharp and hit her right in the heart. Jiang Zouwei was speechless.
Jiang Zouwei waited silently beside Wandi. She was used to seeing blood, but now it was on her friend's body, flowing continuously from the wound. She should be happy that the closer they got to completing the formation, the more their sister would be found, but she felt her heart grow colder.
So much blood... Jiang Zouwei was scared. Ever since she picked up the knife, the blood flowing from her own body or the enemy's was hard to scare her. Every time she saw that color, it only made her angrier and stronger.
"Wandi..." Jiang Zouwei screamed. She knew very well that the massive bleeding was the prelude to death. It was true that she was worried about her sister, but could she bear to see her friend die in front of her?
Then Jiang Zouwei hurried out again, and came back a few minutes later with gauze and something in his hand.
"Zou Wei, I'm not doing this just for your sister. All the sisters follow me, and I have to be responsible for them."
Jiang Zouwei was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
Wan Di looked at the time, took the gauze from Jiang Zouwei's hand, and wrapped it around herself casually, then said, "It's your turn next shift, go ahead."
Jiang Zouwei nodded in a daze. When he arrived at the duty station, he felt a little regretful. He forgot to help Wanti. How could he wrap the gauze by himself with his injured hand?
The next day, everyone got up early and started moving. Tonight was safe, but who knew what would happen next? They were currently only on a half-destroyed planet. At the very least, they had to find an intact planet first.
Wandi led Jiang Zouwei and Yao Si out of the cabin. She observed the stones along the way, squatting down from time to time to knock on them and observe. There was no one here, and the planet itself could not speak, but these relics could tell them what had happened.
"Wandi, how about it? The map I made is pretty good, right?" Yao Si said as he looked at Wanti's actions. She did the same thing yesterday.
Wandi nodded and praised him generously, "You did a great job."
Stopping in front of a rock, the three of them took their tools and started digging.
"Logically, there should be groundwater here," Wandi said as she worked. As she spoke, she recalled, and then pondered what else could there be besides groundwater in this environment.
Yao Si nodded excitedly. She moved quickly and skillfully. "I saw something like this in a book about a planetary exploration before, but this is the first time I've used this method!"
"But this planet is incomplete, and the ecosystem has probably been destroyed." Jiang Zouwei said.
Jiang Zouwei's words were exactly what everyone was worried about, so for a moment no one spoke, and everyone continued digging with greater effort. Wandi finally called a halt. She squatted down, rubbed up a little mud and sand, and sniffed it. "No need to dig anymore, it's dry down there."
Wan Di took out the map and led everyone to another place. The three continued to try to dig, but unfortunately, they still found nothing in the end.
"This planet is already a dead planet, and living water is hard to find. Just now on the road, I saw a cave that seemed to be able to form crystals. Let's go and have a look." Wan Di came to this conclusion. It was not surprising that there was such a situation. Her nose was very sensitive to various temperatures. When she just arrived on this planet, she could already feel that there was no water vapor in the air.
Yao Si was still full of fighting spirit. "Okay!" She asked curiously, "What kind of crystal do we need? When I was exploring the universe before, every time the spaceship ran out of fuel, I just added energy packs."
"Moon crystal," Wan Di replied. She thought Yao Si's question was very cute. "Your energy pack is this before it's processed." Wan Di then looked at Jiang Zou Wei. "Zou Wei once discovered this resource in a garbage dump. Together we refined the crystal into energy packs and sold them. We made a lot of money."
"How amazing!" Yao Si exclaimed, and then said enviously: "I want to do that too."
From a distance, the three of them saw a dark cave entrance. The entrance was low and lightless, full of mystery and unknown. Yao Si's previous expeditions had mostly been to places built by humans, and he had never been to a place like this.
Before Yao Si left, she was worried that Wan Di would disregard her wishes like her father and brother had done before, simply saying, "You stay outside." Or, "Why would a girl like you go in and take risks? You'll just get in the way and cause trouble."
Wandi just walked in front, first carefully observing the cave entrance and then knocking on a few stones to study them. Then she walked in without even looking behind her. "You two follow me. Zuo Wei, load the flint and bullets. Yao Si, hold the fireworks."
"The heavy structure inside this cave is partially damaged and won't hold out for long. The crystal is hidden deep within the thick rock. I'm going to use gunpowder to blast it out. We only have one chance."
"I..." Although Yao Si was excited and happy, she couldn't help but hesitate when Wan Di entrusted her with such an important task. Her family was a family of adventurers, but she had always been surrounded by doubts. "Yao Si is just a girl, how can she do such an important thing?" "She went to the C5 galaxy by herself, and she was okay, but her brother hasn't grown up yet. In a few years, the gap will become bigger and bigger, and she will definitely not be able to compare with her brother." "She likes to go out and have fun, and she can't even wash clothes or cook. Who will want her when the time comes!" "..." Those derogatory remarks often popped up in her ears, making her feel that she seemed to be indeed weaker.
She had previously gone to the cave with her father and brother to look for crystals. She had spent ages searching for information and had practiced for days, but when she got there, they just handed her a knife and said, "Go chop some firewood and cook. Your brother and I will be out soon so we can eat."
Yao Si still hates them to death when he thinks about it now, and is angry at himself for thinking that he might as well have just taken a knife and killed them.
Wandi smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. Don't be afraid if it's your first time. Just follow my instructions. It's very simple. I believe in you."
Yao Si felt trusted and seemed to have gained confidence all of a sudden. She looked around more cautiously, with her ears standing up like a rabbit, for fear of missing Wan Di's instructions.
On the other hand, Wan Di and Jiang Zou Wei had done this many times. It was as common as taking a walk for the two of them, chatting as they walked.
"Right here." Wan Di looked at the scene in front of her and said, "Everyone, get ready. As soon as I split the stone, Zou Wei will throw in the gunpowder. At the same time, Yao Si, you throw fireworks towards the ten o'clock direction."
After Wan Di finished speaking, both of them stood in the right position and waited for Wan Di to take action. There was a "bang" sound accompanied by sand and stones flying everywhere.
The three people had already hidden behind a large rock nearby.
"Wait a moment, Yao Si takes the left, Jiang Zouwei takes the right, and I'll take the center. Follow my gestures. There's not enough time. Forget about the crystals. The most important thing is to escape."
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