“The Thousands of Miles Journey Has Been Crossed, a Step Toward The 400 Billion Galaxies”
When Lu Zhou looked at the newspaper in his hand, a smile appeared on his face.
This was in the latest issue of Everyone Daily.
On the cover of the newspaper was a photo taken on Mars.
The five astronauts stood on a sand dune, arms around each other’s shoulders. Behind them were a silver-white circular colony capsule and a red flag fluttering in the wind.
This hard-won photo was destined to be recorded in history and become one of the most important memories in the history of human civilization…
Lu Zhou folded the newspaper in his hand and quietly finished eating his breakfast.
Xiao Ai’s drone flew from the side to clean up the dinner plates. Just as Lu Zhou was about to get up and go to the bathroom, his phone began to ring.
Lu Zhou picked up the phone and put it next to his ear. Before he could speak, he heard a trembling tone of a girl saying “Professor Lu”.
“Looks like you have arrived in Boston safely.” Lu Zhou heard the anxiety in her voice. He said with a smile, “Why didn’t you call back yesterday? Yushan was worried about you.”
“I… forgot.”
I didn’t have the time to call her!
Han Mengqi gulped and whispered in a nervous voice, “Teacher, teacher… Yesterday, what was with the convoy that picked me up outside the airport?”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “Convoy? That was probably to show respect for us. Attend the academic conference and do a good job at the report. Don’t worry about other things too much, just take part in the meaningful events. If you’re not sure, call me.”
Although there was still some anxiety in her heart, she felt relieved after hearing her teacher’s words.
“Um… Okay then.”
Lu Zhou continued to chat with his little apprentice about the academic conference. After he hung up, he temporarily put the International Union of Materials Research Societies conference issue aside and went to the bathroom to wash his face.
It was getting late.
He still had to go to the launch site in a bit.
If colonizing Mars corresponded to going “deep into hell”, then “treasure hunting in hell” was obviously implying that the gift from the Void should be on Mars?
Or at least the clue was there.
Lu Zhou thought of his previous dialogue with The Observer. He was even more certain that something was on Mars. The only thing that worried him a little was that even though his all-terrain reconnaissance vehicle had been roaming on Mars for almost two years, it had yet to find any clues.
This made him wonder whether the gift from the Void was still there.
After all, billions of years could cool a hot planet’s core and give birth to life in a chaotic atmosphere. Over such a long time, anything could happen…
…
Jinling launch site.
Lu Zhou asked Wang Peng to drop him off at the entrance of the command tower. He then went straight to the lobby of the ground command center.
When he arrived, people were already working.
Lu Zhou saw Director Chang Hezhi walk toward him as he asked, “How is the situation at the Mars Scientific Research Station?”
“Everything is normal. According to the schedule submitted by Captain Liang Youcheng, their work today is mainly to lay solar panels.”
Lu Zhou nodded and was about to ask if there were any unusual discoveries, but Director Chang suddenly took the initiative to speak.
“Speaking of which, there is something I have to report to you.”
“Yeah what?”
“Dr. Fan Tong at the Mars scientific research station discovered an unusual fracture structure near the basin, about 4.5 kilometers away from the research station, when he drilled a core sample from the water source. The fault structure may have been formed by an earthquake.”
“Earthquake?” Lu Zhou looked at Director Chang with a strange expression on his face. He frowned and asked, “I remember that geological activities on Mars have stopped long ago?”
“I’m not sure either.” Director Chang Hezhi shook his head and said, “Basically, according to him, the research on this fault structure is of great importance, it may even subvert academic research on the geological structure of Mars. Therefore, he submitted an application for further exploration.”
Lu Zhou: “Is the fault structure deep?”
Director Chang Hezhi shook his head and said, “It doesn’t seem to be very deep. According to the records in the work log, it is probably only a dozen meters.”
A depth of more than ten meters is considered dangerous on Earth.
But it’s nothing dangerous when it comes to Mars terrain.
“Then let him go down and take a look… Also tell Captain Liang, in the future, unless they plan to explore the crater or conduct other risky scientific research activities, trivial matters like this don’t need special permission from us. I remember that I have given him on-site command authority before leaving. He can make his own decisions on most matters. He just needs to update the records in the work log.”
Director Chang nodded seriously.
“Okay, I’ll tell him that right now.”
Lu Zhou nodded.
“That’s that then.”
…
Tens of millions of kilometers away; Mars.
The billowing dust was lifted by the wheels. A Mars rover with tires as high as the shoulders of an adult was marching on this endless sea of sand.
Ming Wenzhe sat in the co-pilot seat. He was wearing an extravehicular spacesuit. As he looked at the screen of the on-board positioning system and the green dot that was getting closer, he casually asked, “Are you sure it’s an earthquake crack?”
Fan Tong, who was sitting in the driving seat, nodded and spoke in an affirmative tone.
“I’m willing to put my academic reputation on the line.”
“I’m not saying you’re lying… I mean, could you have read it wrong? The data on the thermal radiation image clearly shows that the geological activity of Mars has been suspended. Even if there are seismic structures, it is unlikely to be violent or on the surface, right?”
Although his major was bioengineering, this did not mean that he had no knowledge of geology. In fact, most of the people who were sent here were a jack of all trades.
Although he was not a professional, he still knew some stuff.
Fan Tong: “I was just as surprised as you. But I am sure that my judgment is correct. As for why, we will know when we get there. Look, do you see the ridge in front? It’s at the foot of the mountain…”
After a pause, he spoke.
“We’re here!”
They approached the edge of the ridge. Fan Tong and Ming Wenzhe got out of the rover, grabbed the safety ropes from the trunk, and hooked them on the metal locks on the waists of their spacesuits.
“There is hematite here everywhere. I don’t know how the signal is down there.” The PhD in planetary geology looked at his teammate and said, “If I flash the flashlight upward, pull me up.”
Ming Wenzhe nodded.
“Okay.”
After discussing the plan, Fan Tong walked to where he was yesterday.
However…
Something unexpected happened.
When he stopped by the side of the ridge, his whole person froze; he had a ghostly expression on his face.
Ming Wenzhe saw his face through the transparent mask. He glanced around the rugged terrain around him and asked in an uncertain tone, “What about the fractured structure?”
“Impossible…”
Fan Tong took two steps forward quickly, groping on the ground like he was crazy. No matter how he searched, he found nothing except sand.
It was like the fracture structure…
Had disappeared into thin air.
“Could it be a mistake?”
Had it not been for the thin atmosphere on Mars, he would have asked if it were a mirage.
Fan Tong firmly shook his head. He fixed his eyes on the flat ground in front of him and said in disbelief, “Impossible! It’s not a mistake! I took a photo and uploaded it to the work log!”
Ming Wenzhe also saw that photo before, yet he couldn’t help but show hesitation on his face.
“Is it possible… that this is the wrong location?”
Fan Tong continued to shake his head.
“Unless Xu Fu’s positioning system is wrong…”
Ming Wenzhe had a strange look on his face.
A deep fault structure…
Even if a sandstorm occurs, it would take months to wipe out its trace.
It has only been a day.
This is so strange…
