Chapter Seventy-Four: Life on the Moon

Stepping down the stairs, Zhang Mingyang stomped forcefully on the ground, leaving a large footprint, then took out the camera attached to his spacesuit and snapped a photo for posterity.

Peng Dongli, standing beside him, shook his head at such childish behavior.

“Excuse me, are you Mr. Zhang Mingyang and Mr. Peng Dongli?” came a soft, gentle voice.

Hearing his name called, Zhang Mingyang turned around and saw a young person in a white spacesuit, thick glasses perched on their nose, staring at the two of them.

“I am,” Zhang Mingyang said, raising his hand and hopping over.

The young person quickly introduced themselves as the two approached. “Hello, Mr. Zhang, Mr. Peng. I am Xu Yuqing, biological researcher at Moon Palace Base.”

“Nice to meet you,” Zhang Mingyang and Peng Dongli hurriedly returned the greeting.

“Gentlemen, let me take you to your room.”

“Alright.” Xu Yuqing led the way, and the two men followed, bouncing along.

“Senior, do you think Xu is a man or a woman? I think she’s a woman,” Zhang Mingyang whispered, deducing from the voice and the spacesuit that she was female.

Peng Dongli shook his head, disagreeing. “I think he’s a man.”

“Why?” Zhang Mingyang asked, puzzled.

Walking behind, Peng Dongli explained through his spacesuit’s voice system, “You can’t judge someone solely by their voice. Just because it’s soft doesn’t mean it’s a woman. My analysis is, look at the way he jumps. If it were a woman, she’d keep her legs together while jumping, but he jumps with his legs apart. That’s definitely a man.”

Zhang Mingyang listened to his senior’s analysis and grinned mischievously. “Senior, why are you paying so much attention to people’s legs?”

Seeing Zhang Mingyang’s expression, Peng Dongli gave him a light smack on the head. “What are you thinking? I’m just analyzing.”

“Fine, fine, let’s make a bet. If Xu is a man, I’ll treat you to dinner back on Earth, one thousand yuan standard. If it’s a woman, you treat.”

“Deal.” They sealed the wager with a high-five.

Xu Yuqing led them down the slope, finally arriving at the camp.

“So this is what it looks like?” Zhang Mingyang had seen the camp from atop the launch tower, thinking it was composed of individual houses, but as he drew closer, he realized dozens of buildings were connected together.

“Why are all the houses joined?” he wondered aloud.

Xu Yuqing overheard and turned to explain, “Mr. Zhang, all the buildings in the base are connected to facilitate movement and daily life, and it also improves safety.”

Listening, the two nodded in understanding.

Passing through a cluster of white buildings, the three arrived at a small white house.

Xu Yuqing stood before the door while the security system scanned; the red light on the door turned green.

Pointing to the green light, Xu Yuqing explained, “Let me clarify the meaning of the door lights. Red means the room is empty, green means it’s occupied. Don’t mistake it and end up in the women’s quarters by accident.”

The two men nodded quickly in acknowledgment.

Xu Yuqing opened the door and let them inside. In the pressurization chamber, she explained, “This is an essential feature in every room. It’s a safety buffer between the interior and exterior. When entering or exiting, be sure to press the green button on the door. After you press it, the chamber will disinfect and refresh the air.”

She demonstrated, holding the button until the screen read one hundred percent, then released it. A burst of white gas sprayed from all sides, disinfecting the three of them.

Once the gas dissipated, Xu Yuqing opened the inner door and they entered.

As soon as they stepped inside, the sensation of weightlessness vanished. Zhang Mingyang looked around and saw everything was white and the space was quite small, with two single beds, two desks, and a combined bathroom and washroom.

“You may remove your spacesuits now,” Xu Yuqing said.

Relieved, Zhang Mingyang and Peng Dongli helped each other out of their suits. The moment they shed the inner layer, they drew deep breaths, faces full of delight—finally, they could breathe fresh air.

“Xu… aren’t you going to take yours off?” Zhang Mingyang asked.

Xu Yuqing waved her hand, replying, “No need. I’ll explain everything and then head to work.” She switched her suit’s speaker to external mode.

“Oh… so our plan failed,” Zhang Mingyang sighed.

Xu Yuqing saw their spacesuits lying on the floor and explained, “Don’t leave them there. Here are two dedicated racks.”

Taking Zhang Mingyang’s suit, she demonstrated how to hang it, then extracted an oxygen hose from the suit’s supply unit and plugged it into a square panel on the wall.

“When you return from outside, the first thing to do is recharge your suit’s oxygen. This screen controls the room’s oxygen, and this socket is for the suit.”

She continued, “The percentage on the screen shows the oxygen level in the room. If it’s above eighty percent, there’s plenty. If it drops below fifty, you must leave immediately.”

Pointing to another door, she said, “This is both the escape route and the passage to the dining and work areas. You don’t need your spacesuit to use it.”

She opened the door for them to look.

After they’d seen it, Xu Yuqing closed it again.

She then led them to the beds. “These are yours. Underneath you’ll find clean clothes and toiletries.”

Opening the drawers, she showed them a set of toiletries, two sets of white clothing, and a pair of cotton slippers.

After they’d looked, she closed the drawer and moved to the bathroom. Opening the door, she revealed a cramped space barely large enough for one person. “This is where you wash up. Water is scarce here, so try not to shower often—except for washing your face and feet.”

After the bathroom, she brought them to the desks, each equipped with a large monitor.

“This is the internal conference and communication system for the base. If you’re needed, the system will alert you automatically.”

“Oh, and it’s connected to the global network—you can use it to watch movies and TV.”

Xu Yuqing surveyed the room to ensure nothing was left unexplained.

Zhang Mingyang asked, “How do we eat, drink, and wash our clothes?”

“Oh,” Xu Yuqing replied, “There’s a map of the base on the conference system. You can use it to find the nearest dining hall. For laundry, just put your dirty clothes in the basket at the passage door, and someone will collect them. For drinking water, there’s a tap under the oxygen supply, and cups are there too.”