The vast garbage mountains stretched endlessly into the distance, one after another.
Looking out, it was a mountain range of ten thousand peaks!
Mountains like the Himalayas, the Rockies, or the Alps paled in comparison, appearing like mere pebbles before the garbage mountain range before them.
The entire landmass was filled with garbage, or rather, it was a continent formed entirely of trash. If cockroaches were to arrive, they would be overjoyed, but Jiang Ye was simply dumbfounded. His eyesight was good, and he could still discern the primary components of each garbage mountain. Most were piled with miscellaneous refuse, just like the garbage mountain beneath their feet. However, a small portion of the garbage mountains were specialized. For instance, there were mountains of discarded tires, with hundreds of thousands of tires of different models and treads crammed together, and mountains of scrap cars, with various models of automobiles stacked layer upon layer.
"My heavens!" Cen Yemeng was equally stunned. "Where did all this garbage come from!"
"This is bad," Jiang Ye's expression turned grim.
"What's bad?" Cen Yemeng asked.
"We might have arrived on a garbage planet," Jiang Ye's voice held a hint of unease. "I've heard of such garbage planets before. The planet's owner rents out the entire planet as a massive landfill. If other planets cannot process their waste, they simply package it up and dump it here. Over time, the entire planet becomes covered in garbage."
"If we really have arrived on a garbage planet..." Jiang Ye's face grew more somber, "we might not be able to find humans locally to rescue us."
Cen Yemeng fell silent.
She lowered her head and instinctively reached out to touch her belly.
"Actually, as long as I'm with you, even if we live on a garbage planet for a lifetime, it doesn't matter," Cen Yemeng said softly. "But I worry about our child. Can you deliver a baby?"
"I can't..." Jiang Ye sighed. "But someone will surely come looking for us. I'm a general, I have connections with the military. If I'm lost, they will definitely search. Before the child is born, we should be able to go home."
"But..." Cen Yemeng said softly, "the universe is vast."
Jiang Ye fell silent, standing sadly on the mountaintop.
She was right, the universe was vast.
In the immense expanse of the universe, searching for a crashed spaceship the size of a bus might be as difficult as finding a bacterium in the Pacific Ocean.
Technology was highly advanced in this era, but technology was not divine. Could it assign a number to every bacterium in the ocean?
The Node Star was at war. If the military believed he had been annihilated by artillery fire, they would stop searching.
Even if they searched, how long would they search? Expending vast human and material resources to find a young, minor general? The population under this general was less than that of a small city on a prosperous planet. Why would they launch such a large-scale search?
Supporting a new general seemed like a more cost-effective and labor-saving solution.
A profound despair enveloped Jiang Ye. The sunlight seemed to be blocked by an eclipse, and his vision went black in waves. His body swayed, and he nearly fell off the garbage mountain.
Cen Yemeng quickly grabbed him, "Jiang Ye, don't get agitated... One day, we will be discovered. Even if... even if we stay here for the rest of our lives, I will love you forever, and we can live a fulfilling life."
Jiang Ye turned to look at her.
He suddenly threw away what he was holding and tightly embraced Cen Yemeng.
...
Night fell.
Jiang Ye sat by the cabin door, using the moonlight to write and draw in his notebook.
This planet had two moons, one large and one small, both emitting white light. Oh, perhaps there were other moons as well, but they simply weren't appearing tonight.
Cen Yemeng walked over, sat beside Jiang Ye, and nestled against him, "What are you writing?"
"I'm thinking of ways for us to go back," Jiang Ye replied.
Cen Yemeng leaned over to look at the notebook. Several lines were already written on it:
[1. Hold fast and await rescue] (Uncertain if rescue will come)
[2. Search for parts in the garbage and try to repair the spaceship] (Repair difficulty extremely high, possibility almost zero)
[3. Search for communication equipment in the garbage and transmit a distress signal outwards] (Mobile phones have no signal, general communication equipment might not work)
[4. Burn garbage, create "SOS" with fire and smoke to send a message into space] (Has some hope)
[5. Build a boat from garbage, cross the sea, and go to other continents to find inhabitants] (The planet's environment is very habitable, so there should be inhabitants)
[6. Reclaim land by filling the sea with garbage, creating giant characters visible to passing spacecraft] (High hope, but very time-consuming)
[7.]
"What is 7?" Cen Yemeng asked.
"Haven't figured it out yet," Jiang Ye said.
"I've thought of one, let me write it," Cen Yemeng said.
Jiang Ye handed her the notebook and pen.
Cen Yemeng lowered her head, and every character she wrote was clear and graceful, forming a stark contrast to Jiang Ye's messy, scrawled characters above.
[7. If we cannot go home, then I will have many children with Cen Yemeng, and teach our descendants to survive and multiply on this planet. In this way, we will be Adam and Eve, Pangu and Nuwa.]
Jiang Ye shook his head, "No."
"Why not?" Cen Yemeng tilted her head to look at him.
"Close relatives cannot marry. If only the two of us have children, our children will not find partners," Jiang Ye sighed deeply. "We must find a way to leave here, no matter how many years it takes."
"What if... what if we're in our sixties or seventies and still haven't left?" Cen Yemeng asked softly.
"There are no 'what ifs,' we will leave!" Jiang Ye said firmly. "Let's make a plan first."
"Okay," Cen Yemeng nodded.
Jiang Ye flipped the notebook to a new page.
[1. Collect more food, store more water, ensure food and water safety]
[2. Find or make warm clothing, ensure clothing safety]
[3. Build sturdy and reliable houses, shelters that will not be shaken by storms, ensure living safety]
[4. Dig a bath, build a children's playground, collect daily necessities, improve quality of life]
[5. Find ways to send distress signals to space, such as burning garbage, reclaiming land, or transmitting signals with communication equipment, etc.]
Cen Yemeng smiled and nodded, "Isn't this great! Let's follow this plan!"
...
Before dawn, Jiang Ye woke up.
Cen Yemeng was still fast asleep, breathing evenly, her eyelashes long and elegant.
Jiang Ye gently moved away from her, picked up a shovel, and left the spaceship.
Next to the eight water collectors from yesterday, he continued digging!
One advantage of the beach was its ample moisture. Although the surface sand looked dry, the deeper sand was quite damp. Perhaps the tide had come in during the night, as he hit damp sand after only three shovelfuls this time.
He dug twelve new water collectors in one go, and the sun had just begun to rise.
Jiang Ye suddenly realized that the sun on this planet actually rose in the west and set in the east. In his lifetime, he had actually seen the sun come out from the west.
The cabin door suddenly opened, and Cen Yemeng came out holding a plate of food, "Busy so early? Eat first."
The plate held several types of raw fish slices, a few strands of dried seaweed, and a chocolate donut, clearly made by the food printer.
Jiang Ye took the plate, ruffled her hair, and Cen Yemeng blushed and squinted her eyes.
"You're like in ancient times, where the husband works in the field, and the young wife brings him food," Jiang Ye said with a smile. "Have you eaten? Shall we eat together?"
"Not yet, I'm not hungry for now, I'll eat later," Cen Yemeng shook her head and handed him chopsticks.
Jiang Ye then began to eat with the chopsticks. After a few bites, he frowned.
All the food was cold.
The morning weather was cold, and the food hadn't been heated, so it was naturally cold.
Moreover, the dried seaweed and dried fish were very unappetizing, tough to chew and got stuck in his teeth.
An idea suddenly popped into his head: why not build an outdoor kitchen and cook the food?