"Why aren't you wearing a respirator?" An Rong had been unconscious for three hours, but now she was stubbornly standing on the grassland, wearing a full-face oxygen mask. In front of her, Kid stood completely unprotected.
"Don't worry about me. I'm basically your poison tester," Kid said with a grin. "What else am I here for?"
An Rong gave Kid a strange look, full of suspicion.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm human—just got this strong through training," Kid said. "Think of me as humanity's trailblazer."
"You're a cultivator?" Having seen the secret realm of Mount Kunlun, An Rong had come to believe immortals existed.
"More or less. But I don't practice xianfa." What he practiced wasn't something he was going to explain.
"So is the air here safe now?"
"It's safe. You should save your oxygen. We'll probably be stuck here for ten days to half a month. Use the tanks only when necessary."
"What?! We only brought three days' worth of rations!" An Rong was shocked. "There's nothing to eat on this grassland. What are we supposed to do?"
"Too bad. This planet has twice Earth's gravity, and you didn't calculate the landing speed right." That was on the scientists.
An Rong went silent. They were the ones who'd guaranteed the lander could touch down under 2x gravity. With Ship One wrecked, Ship Two wouldn't be able to land unless it was modified, and the parts for that had to be delivered from Earth. Kid saying "ten days to half a month" was probably an understatement.
Still, An Rong was experienced. She quickly calmed down and started thinking ahead. "Should we request an airdrop for food?"
"Probably won't work. We don't have enough delivery pods that can survive reentry. We'll have to figure it out ourselves."
An Rong understood. This wasn't a regular airdrop from an aircraft. This was from beyond the atmosphere—a whole different ballgame. She recalled the drone-generated map. "There's a dried-up riverbed north of the landing pod. Maybe we'll find water there. As for food, I think we'll have to turn to the local inhabitants of Core."
"You really believe there's intelligent life here?"
"Not just intelligent life—humanoid, too." An Rong was certain. She'd found human-like footprints near the ruins of a wooden cart. Then she suddenly thought of something. "Didn't you say you're super fast? Why don't you go get us food?"
Kid laughed and dodged the question. "You're already panting. Go get some rest. You can't get used to 2x gravity that fast. We're heading out in an hour, and it's going to be a long trek. I doubt you'll last."
An Rong was clearly annoyed at how obviously Kid avoided answering, but she couldn't force him.
Kid thought to himself, 'If I do everything, how will you people ever grow?' Besides, this felt like playing an RPG—new map unlocked, gotta explore step by step. Now that the landing was done and the package was in hand, all that was left was unwrapping the box.
Sixty-five people formed a long line. The soldiers silently marched forward with essential equipment and supplies on their backs. Every step under 2x gravity was a struggle. Their pace was slow.
Kid watched them and thought, 'Not bad. At least they're pushing through.' The soldiers from the three countries were quietly competing, all gritting their teeth and toughing it out.
Still, Kid didn't want them collapsing. Once he felt they were reaching the limit, he called for a break. He stood alone not far off, gazing into the distance. All he saw was endless green.
The place where they found the ruined wooden cart wasn't far from the dried-up riverbed. If there was a village or settlement nearby, it was probably to the north. But it would take a long time to reach it, and with double gravity, everyone was struggling to keep going.
Kid figured it might be better to wait until everyone was asleep, then quietly carry them forward while they rested. That way, during the day, they'd keep walking on their own. As long as they didn't know he was helping, they wouldn't become dependent on him.
So Kid volunteered to take the night watch. Once everyone was asleep, he used the Force to carry them ahead, then gently set them down in a similar spot before they woke.
On Core, with its 48-hour day-night cycle, everyone was out of sync. 24 hours of daylight followed by 24 hours of darkness threw off their biological clocks. They'd work half the day and sleep the other half, do the same at night, and eventually no one could tell day from night anymore.
Everyone's physical and mental condition was deteriorating. Combined with the heavy gravity, someone finally fell ill.
They hadn't even made it through 48 hours, and the team was already unable to move forward. At this point, sheer willpower wasn't enough anymore.
"Please… help them. Help us," An Rong pleaded, her face pale and exhausted.
Kid had already been helping, but clearly not enough. He sighed and went around checking the sick—things really didn't look good. "Seems like there's only one option now. Wait here."
Boom!
Everyone looked up and saw Kid shooting through the sky, breaking the sound barrier like Superman. Even though they'd seen him fly in space, watching him tear through the air under 2x gravity still shocked them. The sonic boom was visible.
Kid had gone to retrieve the wreckage of Landing Ship One. He planned to use it as a transport to carry people while flying. Using the Force to levitate them while they slept had taken too much focus. This would make things much easier. Since he'd decided to help, he might as well go all the way. He couldn't just leave them to die.
Less than ten minutes later, Kid was back—holding the wrecked lander over his head. Everyone gaped in disbelief.
"Get in. I'll fly you to where people actually live."
"Can we stop by the wooden cart ruins on the way?" An Rong still hadn't let it go.
"Sure. Just sit tight."
They'd put off recovering the drones for now. Finding a place to recover was more important.
Since An Rong really wanted to see the cart ruins, they might as well go. It wouldn't take much time. She just wanted to confirm whether those footprints really looked human.
Kid flew fast—dozens of times faster than walking. In under 20 minutes, they reached the wooden cart ruins. He was even holding back for the passengers' comfort.
An Rong jumped out with her camera and started snapping photos of the wreck. The uninjured soldiers came out too, curious. They all agreed—it really did look man-made.
"Looks like there really are aliens. And this thing doesn't seem that old—probably just a few months," one of them guessed.
An Rong started looking for the footprints nearby. Around 100 meters from the cart, she found a few scattered prints.
"Ahhh—!"
She suddenly screamed. Kid rushed over and saw her frozen in fear. She'd found a skeleton. Looking closer, Kid saw that the bones were almost identical to a human's.
The soldiers ran over with their guns ready. When they saw the bones, they were stunned. This planet was incredibly far from Earth—how could there be human remains here?