"Ah …"
The first thing that returned was the feeling of pain.
Immediately afterward, a cold feeling climbed from the soles of his feet to his spine. Johnson opened his eyes abruptly and woke up from his sleep.
"Sh * t! It's so cold … "
Johnson shivered from the cold. He tried to curl his body into a ball, but he found out that he was fixed to the bed with a nylon buckle.
He reached out with his cold fingers and undid the buckle. He held onto the bed with one hand and supported his body with the other. He slowly floated up and sat upright on the bed.
He noticed that the China researcher who injected him with the antibody was sitting on a bench next to the bed and looking at him.
"Your metabolic level is still very low, so it's normal for you to feel cold."
"How long … did I sleep for?"
Zhao Shuxuan looked at the timer on his wrist.
"About 27 days."
"Twenty-seven days?!" Johnson's eyes widened in shock as he muttered, "Unbelievable."
Zhao Shuxuan: "Is there a problem?"
"When I was serving in the Marine Corps, I was in a coma for a week because of an injury. I was in a hospital bed for a month. I remember when I was allowed to get out of bed, my muscles felt like they were being torn apart. With the help of the medical staff, it took me half a month before I could walk normally. "
Johnson raised his arms and looked at his hands in disbelief. He paused for a long time before he said, "But now, I feel like I slept for a long time … Nap?"
"It's really strange. Logically speaking, not exercising for a long time will cause muscle atrophy, but the pheromones secreted by the X-0172 bacteria prevent this. The pheromones secreted by the X-0172 bacteria promote dormancy and protect the dormant cells." Professor Zhao Shuxuan looked at Johnson and said, "The specific physiological and chemical processes are still being researched. If you are interested in this, you can pay attention to the follow-up research progress."
The second Johnson heard the words X-0172 bacteria, he suddenly became nervous. He looked at Zhao Shuxuan and asked, "How are the Martian bacteria in my body?"
"How are the Martian bacteria in my body?"
Zhao Shuxuan: "It's been cleaned."
When Johnson heard this, he sighed in relief.
The boulder that was hanging in his heart finally fell to the ground.
The Martian bacteria had been cleaned up.
Now, he could finally go home.
Now that his safety was guaranteed, he finally remembered that he still had two teammates.
After a pause, he asked casually.
"Where are Jones and Travis? How are my two teammates doing? "
Zhao Shuxuan looked at the timer on his wrist again and replied in an emotionless voice, "Jones woke up 15 minutes earlier than you. He's probably doing some personal hygiene in the multipurpose service cabin. As for Travis, his situation might be a little complicated. "
Johnson paused for a second and asked, "What happened to Travis?"
Zhao Shuxuan's eyes were a little solemn. After a moment of silence, he spoke.
"Generally speaking, the way we eliminate X-0172 bacteria is to prevent it from forming spores and then kill it with antibodies. However, his situation is a bit special. Because he has an innate immune response to the X-0172 bacteria, the spores in his body have been in a state of attack. Even though we injected him with blocking pheromones, the spores in his body were not awakened into nutrient cells. "
Johnson gulped and said, "Which means …"
"He's still in a coma, dormant." Zhao Shuxuan patted him on the shoulder and slowly stood up from his chair. He said, "Don't worry too much, we'll find a way to cure him."
"Thank you."
Johnson smiled weakly.
He wasn't worried about this.
He didn't like this teammate who didn't listen to orders. The reason why he asked was because he was the captain. As for whether or not Travis could wake up, that had nothing to do with him.
Anyway, the Ares plan had completely failed.
Just then, the door to the medical bay opened, and a bearded researcher floated in.
When Professor Stephen saw Johnson sitting on the bed, he immediately floated over and stood next to the bed.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! You guys suffered … How do you feel now? Do you feel any discomfort? "
Johnson was a little confused by Professor Stephen's enthusiasm, and he looked at Zhao Shuxuan with a confused expression.
Zhao Shuxuan coughed lightly and explained to him, "This is Professor Stephen from Stanford University. He is also a microbiology expert appointed by the US government."
He paused for a second and looked at the timer on his wrist for the third time.
"Looks like you guys need some time, I won't bother you guys."
After that, Zhao Shuxuan floated toward the door, leaving the two of them to "catch up".
Johnson looked at the cabin door slowly close, and he finally came back to his senses. He remembered the professor's words and hesitated for a second before speaking.
"I'm fine now, when can we … go home?"
Professor Stephen smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Soon. The Magpie Bridge is already on its way to the Moon Palace. The Chinese promised us to take the Magpie Bridge back to the International Space Station. There will be a special spacecraft to take us home. "
Finally go home.
John felt that this was probably the best news he had heard in the past two months.
Professor Stephen looked at Johnson and said, "Speaking of which, how does it feel to be on Mars? Do you have time to talk? "
Johnson: "… Is this part of the physical examination?"
"No, it's just my personal interest." Professor Stephen shook his head and said, "You guys are human heroes. No one has ever left their footprints on that desert planet, but you guys did it! I'm curious, what is life like on Mars? I heard you guys planted potatoes there? With Martian soil? How does it taste, is it delicious? "
Hero …?
Johnson smiled bitterly at Professor Stephen's barrage of questions.
Yes, they had successfully left their footprints on Mars, but it was the Chinese who had brought them back from there.
No matter how one looked at it, this wasn't a successful landing.
In the end, the life support system of the New Virginia sank in the sandstorm that swept across the world. After nearly a month, they were finally forced to retreat.
Johnson looked at the silver-white planet outside the porthole. He took a deep breath and slowly expressed his thoughts.
"This feeling … You don't want to experience it again.
"It sucks."
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