Chapter Seventy-Six: The Confused Zhang Mingyang

“Hurry up and get your food and eat. Aren’t you embarrassed?”
Zhang Mingyang shook his head. “Senior, remember this: only those thick-skinned live long.”
Peng Dongli was at a loss for words. After getting his meal, he found a secluded spot and ate hastily.
Once finished, he dragged Zhang Mingyang, who hadn’t eaten yet, out of the cafeteria and rushed back to their dormitory.
Back in their room, Zhang Mingyang sat on the edge of his bed, pulling a few meat buns from his pocket. As he ate, he watched Peng Dongli, who was still fuming.
“Junior, when have I ever suffered such a loss? And to be played like that!” The more Peng Dongli spoke, the angrier he got.
“No, I have to go find Xu Yuqing and ask her.” With that, he started getting dressed to head out.
Seeing things were getting out of hand, Zhang Mingyang quickly stopped him. “Senior, let it go. You don’t know your way around here—where would you even look? Besides, we were in the wrong.”
“We were wrong?” Peng Dongli glared, as if he could devour Zhang Mingyang.
“Calm down… just calm down.”
Zhang Mingyang soothed his senior and explained why it was their fault. “Senior, Xu Yuqing must have overheard our bet.”
“Huh? No way.”
The thought made Peng Dongli’s anger fade. “She could hear our conversation?”
Zhang Mingyang explained, “Do you remember when we first arrived at camp, I asked why all the buildings were connected?”
Peng Dongli thought for a moment, and his expression changed instantly. “Damn, she replied immediately.”
Zhang Mingyang nodded. “Neither of us noticed at the time—I didn’t expect her to answer.”
“Junior, weren’t we on a private voice channel then?”
Peng Dongli hurried over to his spacesuit and checked the display on his suit for the voice connection.
“Damn, we had the short-range mic on! That means anyone within twenty meters could hear us talking!”
Zhang Mingyang nodded. “That’s why I said we were at fault. Xu Yuqing must’ve overheard us betting about her and retaliated.”
“So that’s how it is!”
The matter was clarified, but Peng Dongli was now troubled. If he confronted her, he’d have no grounds; if he apologized, he found it hard to speak. What should he do?

Zhang Mingyang didn’t take it to heart. “Senior, don’t worry. We teased her, she retaliated, so it’s settled between us.”
“That’s true,” Peng Dongli said, but he still felt uneasy. “Forget it, Junior. Next time I see her, I’ll apologize.”
Over time, Zhang Mingyang had come to understand Peng Dongli’s character. He seemed unreliable at times, but his sense of right and wrong was admirable.
“Let’s change the subject.”
“Hey, Senior, when are we going to the mine?”
Peng Dongli glanced at the wall clock—9:20 p.m. Beijing time. He turned to Zhang Mingyang, “Aren’t you tired? It’s nine at night, you haven’t rested all day.”
Zhang Mingyang shook himself and shrugged. “No, I feel quite energetic.”
Peng Dongli walked to the window and looked outside. The number of pedestrians and vehicles was much fewer than when they’d arrived.
“Forget it, let’s go tomorrow. Tonight, get some rest.”
With his senior unwilling to go, Zhang Mingyang lay on his bed, staring at the white ceiling and counting sheep.
“Click!”
Peng Dongli switched off the hanging lamp, plunging the room into darkness.
Both lay in their beds, unsure what to do.
“Hey, Junior? That book you mentioned last time—do you have a digital version?”
Zhang Mingyang asked, “Which one?”
Peng Dongli thought for a moment. “I think it’s called ‘Resource Game’?”
“Oh, that book—I scanned it myself. I’ll send it to you.”
Zhang Mingyang took out his communicator and sent the digital version of ‘Resource Game’ to Peng Dongli. “Sent. Check it out.”
Peng Dongli opened his communicator, found the email from Zhang Mingyang, and indeed, there was a book of over three hundred pages. He opened the first page and started reading.
Seeing his senior engrossed, Zhang Mingyang decided to read as well.
Time passed unknowingly, and soon Zhang Mingyang’s snores reached Peng Dongli’s ears.
Peng Dongli glanced at his side and found Zhang Mingyang hugging a pillow, already asleep.

“This kid claimed he wasn’t tired.”
With that, Peng Dongli lay back down and resumed reading. He felt as if the book possessed some magic—each page seemed to describe things that had already happened or were about to happen.
The book was titled ‘Resource Game’. At first glance, it seemed like a game guide, but having read some content, Peng Dongli felt it was more a ‘prophetic tale’. Though he’d only read a small portion, he could sense hidden mysteries. As the book said, “The affairs of the world are a chessboard, the world itself is a chessboard, and so much more the universe.”
After a while, Peng Dongli couldn’t hold out any longer, his eyelids drooping. He put down his communicator, stretched, yawned, and gradually drifted off.

…

“Ding…!”
The alarm woke Zhang Mingyang first. He got up, turned it off, squinted at the window, and saw it was still dark outside. “Is this alarm broken? It’s still dark, why is it ringing?”
With that, he lay down and went back to sleep.
Five minutes later, Peng Dongli groggily climbed out of bed. He checked his communicator; it was seven in the morning. He rubbed his eyes and, barefoot, walked over and switched on the lamp.
The moment the lamp lit up, its glaring white light pierced Zhang Mingyang’s eyelids, making him get up, intent on turning it off.
Peng Dongli, feeling more awake, saw Zhang Mingyang about to switch off the lamp and stopped him. “You idiot, it’s not nighttime—it’s seven in the morning.”
Still groggy, Zhang Mingyang pointed at the window. “It’s pitch black outside, how can it be morning?” He moved to turn off the lamp again.
“Damn, this kid really is out of it!”
Peng Dongli quickly stopped him and pried Zhang Mingyang’s eyes open, pointing at the clock on the wall. “Look closely, it’s seven in the morning.”
With his eyes forced open, Zhang Mingyang finally saw the time—indeed, it was seven.
“Hey, that can’t be right! It’s not winter, why is it still dark at seven in the morning?”
Peng Dongli held his head, utterly speechless. He replied, “We’re on the moon, we’re on the moon, we’re on the moon.” He repeated it three times.
“The moon?”
Suddenly, Zhang Mingyang was wide awake. “Right! We’re on the moon!”
“Why did I ever come out here with you!”