Chapter 23: Iron Will

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“On February 8th, that is, next Thursday, there will be a massive stellar flare in the trash planet cluster. The planets that will have a greater impact would be trash planets 6, 9 and 13. Public interplanetary travels will remain unaffected. However, to avoid unnecessary damages, the Environment Department will halt all trash disposals scheduled for these three trash planets. The government appeals to the public to reduce waste disposal during these times to cooperate with the Environment Department’s efforts.”

Stellar flare?! Ye Chong felt a little unsteady upon hearing the news.

He laughed harshly. After so many years of enduring his life on that Godforsaken planet, it seemed that he was not destined to leave it, ever.

A stellar flare was destructive to all forms of life. It was like a comb that groomed the extents of its reach, and eliminating all life in its path.

Ye Chong climbed out of Mu’s cabin being scared out of his wits.

Upon his return, Mu gasped, “This is bad. The pulse signals are cut off!”

Ye Chong shrugged at Mu’s worry as he was too distracted.

His and Mu’s connection with the outside world was severed. Ye Chong slumped lazily on his chair feeling unreasonably at peace. Ye Chong had made his peace with death after surviving on this trash planet for years while escaping countless of demise along the way. Although, he felt a little helpless for he had struggled relentlessly to survive and believed that he could overcome his destiny, but it seemed that fate was ignorant of his efforts. Now, he realized that he was nothing but a speck of dust amongst the stars, and could not help but feel a little bitter.

Mu did not speak, but its electronic blinking eyes suggested that its photon processor was racing for a solution.

The duo kept their silence in the darkness, interrupted only by the haunting flashes of Mu Shang’s bionic eyes.

The next morning, Mu woke Ye Chong up.

The first thought that came to Ye Chong’s mind was to begin his physical training, but that was immediately replaced by the realization that his life was about to end in a few days. No human body could withstand a stellar flare; not even with Ye Chong’s intensive training, and so he dismissed his plans.

Mu on the other hand was focused on something else. “Ye, there’s something I have to tell you!”

“What is it?” The mech looked solemn, and Ye Chong thought it appeared funny. Fortunately, Mu will not die with him because stellar flares were harmless against non-organic matter. Ye Chong took solace in that, but Mu will have to face the loneliness that he himself had gone through. Now, that was something Ye Chong would like to find out - what would Mu be like without anyone else to talk to!

“Ye, based on my calculations, we still have a chance of survival!” Mu exclaimed in all seriousness.

“Chance? What chance? What do you have in mind?” Ye Chong asked skeptically.

Mu, “We leave this planet!”

Ye Chong immediately put a hand on Mu’s forehead to examine its temperature. “Mu, did you get short-circuited from all the tension? Leave this planet? How can we do that without a space ship? If it was possible, I would not have continued to stay in this awful place.”

Mu was unperturbed. “Based on my calculations, while I have no experience in space travel, the attempt is still theoretically possible!”

“Theoretically? What do you mean?”

Mu explained, “I did a few simulations, and the probability of success is nonzero!”

Ye Chong fixed his eyes on the mech. “How much is that?”

Mu replied calmly, “About 20 to 47 percent!”

Ye Chong stroked his chin, evaluating the odds. “Hmm, it’s a little low…”

“And your decision is?”

Ye Chong gave a strong and decisive wave of his arm while declaring firmly, “We’ll do it! Of course we will, it’s better than sitting around doing nothing!”

“Very well,” Mu Shang calmly responded.

Ye Chong looked at the mech intensely. “You don’t have to do this. The stellar flare will not harm you. You don’t have to take the risks for me.”

Mu Shang opposed coldly, “Based on value theory, this decision would yield the maximum value.”

Ye Chong smirked, and shrugged. “Sure, whatever you say. Now, what do we have to do?”

“Repair the pilot’s cabin, and replenish our energy supply. I will require a great amount of energy!”

The pair made haste to gather all the energy cells, and connected them to the solar panels.

Ye Chong sat in the pilot’s cabin and inspected the palm-sized hole on the left wall. By the seared edges of the hole, it must have been the result of a laser weapon. Ye Chong sighed dishearteningly, “This will not be easy, and we don’t have the required materials or the tools!”

“If you can’t fix it, the chances of your survival in the cabin are zero!” Mu said sternly.

Ye Chong was despondent, but gritted his teeth and continued to resolve the problem. Materials, materials… Ye Chong mumbled quietly. The metals in the trash were not fit for interstellar travel, so what now?

What he needed was a strong and resilient material with good impact endurance; preferably flat pieces since he did not have the tools to shape the raw material.

Unexpectedly, Ye Chong finally pieced the puzzles together - he knew exactly where to get what he wanted!

Mu flew past mountains and mountains of trash with Ye Chong sitting in its cabin, and enjoying the thrill of the rapid flight. But the hole in the cabin whizzed from the winds, dampening his mood.

“Are you sure they are useful?” Mu Shang asked, evidently doubtful.

Ye Chong replied unconvincingly, “It should be… I remembered even Winnie could not pierce through them.”

Ye Chong was referring to the scales of the iron lizard. The creature sat firmly on top of the trash planet’s food chain. It was vicious, and boasted impossible strength, but the most troublesome feature of all was the defensive system of scales covering its body - scales that were so strong, they defy metallic blades and bullets.

Ye Chong had found an iron lizard’s nest by accident once, but dared not have purposes to fight the beast. He was certain that Winnie would not be able to withstand a blow from the reptile’s humongous tail. He had also witnessed the lizard’s clash with a group of crimson newts which ended in minutes. The lizard had plunged its way mightily through the newts, unhindered by the greater number of its enemies, and that left a deep impression in Ye Chong. The sharp claws of the crimson newts would normally slice through metal, but they left no marks on the scales of the great lizard. That too was something that Ye Chong remembered, and was now convinced they were exactly what he needed.

They were closing in on the lizard’s nest, and Ye Chong signaled Mu Shang to slow down.

The seven-meter long titanium pole was sharpened to a point, gleaming coldly.

As expected, the iron lizard was in there, delightfully savoring the meat of a crimson newt. Newt meat was good fare, and was the lizard’s favorite food as well. Ye Chong knew how delicious the crimson newts can be too, but those creatures hide well, and were not easy prey; only the iron lizard could put their claws to the challenge and claim them as food.

As Mu Shang flew calmly towards the lizard, Ye Chong bubbled in excitement - this was going to be a duel between the strongest of Trash Planet 6, how could he not?

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