The waves were unbelievably strong, tossing the entire spaceship from crest to trough relentlessly. Fish from the crates flew out, and dried seaweed danced in the air like flying snakes. Jiang Ye strapped Cen Yemeng to her seat with a safety belt, then held her close to prevent her from getting hurt. Cen Yemeng also held onto Jiang Ye tightly with her small hands to keep him from flying out.
The sound from outside was like a world war, with lightning and thunder continuously bombarding the sea, illuminating the black ocean with every flash.
Jiang Ye could understand why ancient people believed in gods. Faced with such terrifying natural phenomena, it always felt like divine punishment.
Fortunately, the spaceship had excellent waterproofing, and no seawater or rain had come in yet.
Cen Yemeng's face was pale, her brows furrowed.
"If you feel like throwing up, just do it," Jiang Ye said. "Holding it in isn't good."
Cen Yemeng shook her head painfully.
"It's alright, I can wash my clothes if they get dirty," Jiang Ye said. "You'll feel better after throwing up."
Cen Yemeng couldn't hold it in any longer and vomited with a loud "wah." She had already thrown up most of what she had eaten, and now only stomach acid was coming out. It stuck to the sleeve of Jiang Ye's shirt.
Cen Yemeng looked guilty. "I'll wash your clothes for you later."
"You should avoid cold water, you might catch a chill. I'll wash the clothes myself," Jiang Ye said, his tone gentle but firm. "Do you feel any better after throwing up?"
Cen Yemeng didn't answer and vomited again with a loud "wah."
Jiang Ye felt a pang of sadness. He regretted forcing Cen Yemeng to come out again. How many pregnant women could endure such storms?
The control screen suddenly turned red, followed by an alarm.
"High-speed impact detected, please fasten your seatbelts!"
"High-speed impact detected, please fasten your seatbelts!"
Jiang Ye's heart leaped. What did this alarm mean? Was it an attack? But where would enemies come from in this place?
Cen Yemeng couldn't speak and pushed him hard.
Jiang Ye lunged for the adjacent seat and quickly fastened his seatbelt. He was afraid that during a high-speed impact, he would involuntarily crash into Cen Yemeng, which would be disastrous.
The next second, with a loud bang, the spaceship soared into the air!
It fell, and with another violent tremor, both of them lost consciousness.
...
"Jiang Ye! Jiang Ye! Wake up!"
Jiang Ye woke up groggily. Cen Yemeng was leaning over him, shaking his collar with all her might.
"Are you hurt? Does anything hurt? I checked, and you don't have any wounds," Cen Yemeng said, her eyes full of worry.
"I'm fine, what about you?" Jiang Ye quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and checked her body.
"I'm fine too," Cen Yemeng said, relieved, and smiled.
The sound of the storm was gone. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, illuminating the mess inside. Dried fish slices and dried seaweed were scattered everywhere.
Jiang Ye got out of his seat and walked to the window.
"Holy shit!" His expression was one of horror.
Cen Yemeng also looked out the window.
"Holy shit!" she murmured. "Is this... a garbage mountain?"
The spaceship had landed on shore, likely pushed there by last night's storm, more than ten meters away from the sea.
Jiang Ye pushed open the cabin door and saw a beach covered in trash. Colorful plastic fragments were stuck in the ground, and plastic bags of all sizes were pressed under rocks or peeking out of the sand.
And about a hundred meters ahead, a garbage mountain dozens of meters high!
To be precise, it was a mountain range. From left to right, the entire field of vision was filled with towering garbage mountains. The visible mountain range alone stretched for at least ten kilometers, and how much lay beyond was unknown. Trash of all kinds was piled together, bizarrely shaped and colorful, dazzling the eyes!
The sheer amount of garbage truly shocked Jiang Ye. It was unbelievably spectacular. It would take at least several billion people producing trash for several years continuously to form such a colossal garbage mountain range!
"Did we land in a garbage dump?" Cen Yemeng asked, still shaken, and grabbed his hand.
"I'm afraid so," Jiang Ye said. "You wait here, I'll go take a look."
"I'll go with you," Cen Yemeng said, tightening her grip on his hand.
"No, who knows what's in this trash? What if there are pathogens? What if there's radiation? What if there are animals like snakes?"
"Then you shouldn't go either."
"We need to find a way to contact the people on this planet. I'll climb to the top of the mountain and see what's behind it. Maybe there's a garbage processing plant behind the mountain, and I can find staff there to rescue us."
"Where you go, I go," Cen Yemeng said, looking at him stubbornly. "We'll wear our spacesuits. Spacesuits are antibacterial and radiation-resistant."
Jiang Ye helplessly stroked her head. "Be good, you're pregnant. Wait for me here."
"Not good! You're more important than the child," Cen Yemeng frowned. "I must be your shadow. Wherever you go, I go."
Jiang Ye was very helpless. He was gradually getting a grasp of Cen Yemeng's temper. She was very easygoing about most things, and it didn't matter what happened. But occasionally, she would be stubborn about certain matters, and this stubbornness was often related to him.
Both of them put on their spacesuits and turned on the environmental detection function.
The current radiation levels were still normal, with no special pathogens, and the air composition was also normal.
Jiang Ye loaded his hunting rifle and slung it over his shoulder. If he encountered any wild beasts, he could shoot them. He also tucked a shovel and a hammer at his waist, which might be useful.
He walked over to the food printer, intending to get some food to take with them.
But the food printer's screen turned red.
[Air water collector is damaged, please replace it in time, or replenish water directly, otherwise food cannot be produced.]
Jiang Ye's heart sank!
He crawled down and followed the pipes of the food printer to the air water collector at the rear of the spaceship. It was shattered, completely fragmented, and beyond repair. It was likely damaged during last night's impact. He opened the cabin door to look and found broken reef rocks by the beach.
The violent impact last night must have been the spaceship being thrown onto the reef by the storm, and after the impact, it flew here. This impact, by sheer bad luck, had broken the air water collector!
Having no water was the most critical problem!
The spaceship had collected some water, but it had all spilled during the violent turbulence last night.
Cen Yemeng walked over and saw the warning on the food printer.
"Wh-what do we do?" she asked, also a little panicked. "Should we look for a river?"
"Let's collect some clean water here first. This place is full of garbage, so even if there's a river, the water would surely be too dirty to drink," Jiang Ye said. "Don't worry, I have a way."
Jiang Ye jumped out of the spaceship and searched the beach. Cen Yemeng followed closely behind him, like a child following an adult.
The entire beach was occupied by garbage, with bottles, cans, and plastic bags everywhere.
Jiang Ye walked for more than a hundred meters and finally found a piece of semi-transparent white plastic sheeting, about the size of a door panel. Most importantly, it had no holes.
He took the plastic sheeting to the seaside and washed it repeatedly, clearing off the dust and sand.
He found an empty spot near the spaceship and dug a pit with his shovel.
"What are you doing?" Cen Yemeng couldn't understand. "Do you need my help?"
"Go and pick up ten stones, about half a pound each," Jiang Ye said. "Be careful not to cut your hands."
Cen Yemeng ran to pick up stones. There were many small stones on the beach, and she soon collected ten, each slightly larger than a fist.
The pit Jiang Ye was digging was also finished, a circular sand pit about a meter in diameter and 60 centimeters deep. The surface sand was still yellowish-brown, while the sand at the bottom was very moist and dark brown.
Cen Yemeng reached out and handed him a bowl. "Do you need this?"
"You're so smart!" Jiang Ye said joyfully, taking the bowl.