This was a frozen world, silent, desolate, constantly assailing this lonely planet in the universe.
Everywhere was blanketed in white, and the relentless wind howled through the valleys.
Yes, this planet had an atmosphere, but its composition was mostly comprised of gases harmful to humans, so one could not be exposed to the air without the protection of a thick space suit to venture outside.
In the midst of the fierce wind, a man struggled forward, taking heavy steps along the ridge until he came to the point where he could go no further and stopped.
Before him was a hole about twenty meters in diameter, bottomless at a glance, and it was just one of countless abysses.
Clad in his space suit, he gazed out into the distance to see endless desolation, a cold white world.
Daylight lasted for sixty-seven hours here, and the night was the same.
There was no life, at least not at the moment. According to the data they had analyzed, no life form could survive such a severe test and continue to live.
Obviously, besides him, a visitor from beyond this world, there was nothing here; it was a world abandoned by "life".
This man was none other than Cao Ge.
They had reached the vicinity of Planet 12 a day ago and managed to dock their Space Station in its orbit.
They had made a simple plan on board the Space Station before descending in two Space Shuttles; they did so because they couldn't pinpoint Dr. Mann's signal source due to the hostile environment of the planet.
They had to come down to search, and of course, that was the official reason. Cao Ge insisted on bringing down his own Explorer for another reason, to prevent accidents.
Cao Ge stood on the permafrost that hadn't thawed in millennia, looking at the endless expanse of rolling, apparently endless ice and snow in the distance.
His heart was profoundly shaken. In his past life, he had only seen this on a screen; now, a world completely covered with ice and snow appeared before him, which was completely different from seeing it in a video.
This was a world utterly different from Earth.
Seeing the harsh environment of this world, Cao Ge suddenly understood the mindset of Dr. Mann at the time.
Ordinary people, who could resist the temptation to survive?
He had sent a message. Although it violated morals and would make him a criminal, it allowed him to live. If he didn't send it, he would only die on this planet.
As long as this planet had no value for colonization, then whether he committed suicide or entered hibernation, no one would ever come to his rescue.
"Ding!"
Just as Cao Ge stood on the frozen ground looking into the distance, the communication system inside his space suit received a transmission.
"Dr. Miller, the ship has received a communication request from Dr. Brand."
"Put it through."
"Dr. Miller, we've received Dr. Mann's spacecraft signal. I've sent you the coordinates. Please head to the destination immediately to meet us," Brand's voice came through the speaker.
"Received, on my way," Cao Ge replied.
"Good, we'll wait for you at the destination," Brand answered and then ended the communication.
Since there were no communication satellites above Planet 12, their communication could only be carried out through the Space Shuttle's system; the devices in their space suits did not have long-range communication capabilities.
That was an unavoidable issue.
"Murphy, bring the ship over," Cao Ge looked back and spoke to the Space Shuttle some two hundred meters away.
Almost instantaneously after Cao Ge's order, the Space Shuttle began to ascend slowly, flying towards him.
In about ten seconds, it arrived in front of him, hovering less than half a meter from the ground.
Cao Ge climbed aboard the spaceship; then, he pressed the hatch lock and entered the space shuttle.
"Murphy, fly according to Dr. Brand's coordinates," Cao Ge said to Murphy after taking the pilot's seat.
"Roger that, Dr. Cao Ge."
With a roar, the engine burst into a strong thrust, propelling the spaceship upward, then off into the distance.
The latitude and longitude coordinates Dr. Brand sent were in another hemisphere.
When they first arrived, to facilitate better contact, Dr. Brand designated that location as zero degrees so that the computer, knowing where zero degrees was, could easily calculate the global latitude and longitude.
About an hour later, Cao Ge arrived at the destination sent by Dr. Brand.
It was a flat area.
Dr. Brand, Kupa, and Luomi stood beside the spaceship, watching as Cao Ge piloted the space shuttle down for a gentle landing.
And in the distance, at the foot of a hillside, there was an old spaceship, surrounded by many Stars and Stripes flags—it must be Dr. Mann's spacecraft.
"Click~"
The hatch opened, and Cao Ge walked out of the space shuttle.
"Dr. Miller," the three came forward to greet.
Cao Ge nodded at them and then glanced at the old spaceship, "Have you gone inside to check?"
Dr. Brand shook her head and said, "We also just arrived not long ago; when I called you, I had only received the spaceship's signal."
"If that's the case, let's go have a look. From what I see, this planet doesn't seem suitable for human survival."
"Yes, that's also what we wanted to ask you. According to the detection equipment on the space shuttle, the planet's environment is extremely harsh; a person would die from breathing if exposed on the surface for just a minute," Luomi said, pointing to the computer in his hand.
"Let's go."
The four made their way down the hillside, walking through the uneven terrain formed by frost.
........
"Hum~Click~"
Upon entering the spacecraft, the first thing they saw was a hall with a hibernation pod in the center, rust-marked everywhere, surrounded by repair tools on the floor. Both inside and outside, the spaceship gave a sense of dilapidation, but Cao Ge and the others weren't particularly surprised; after all, it had been here for over thirty years.
To the left of the hibernation pod was the cockpit, to the right were the rest area and space for daily tasks—overall, the spaceship was very "simple" and quite small, no more than sixty square meters.
This spaceship differed from the space shuttles on the Space Station but was the same as Cao Ge's Explorer.
Compared to the space shuttles of the Space Station, this spacecraft was larger and better equipped, featuring hibernation pods and various life-support devices.
After all, the Space Station's landing craft were just that—landing craft—whereas this space shuttle existed as an independent spaceship.
"Drip, drip, drip"
Water seeped through the gaps at the top of the spaceship, drop by drop, a condensation caused by the temperature difference inside and out.
Cao Ge and the others stepped over the scattered tools on the floor and arrived at the hibernation pod's location, standing around it in a circle.
Kupa looked at the three of them and then pressed the button to raise the hibernation pod.
As a "clang" resounded, the hibernation pod slowly rose from within the thick shell.