Qiongzhou Island, Wenchang Temporary Center.

The 11th International Multilateral Symposium on Mars Rescue.

The atmosphere at the meeting was somewhat somber.

“We detected an underground nuclear explosion on Mars, right where the ‘Bird’s Nest’ used to be.” Liao Changtian placed a report on the table in the lounge. “It should be the heavy nuclear fusion triggered by Mars Boy using the ‘Sun God’ missile core.”

"So, the queen cockroach's egg chamber is right under the 'bird's nest'?" Xiao Yimin asked, somewhat surprised. "Is this a coincidence, or is there some connection between the two?"

"I can't answer that question right now," Liao Changtian said. "From what we can see, we can't find any connection between the two; it seems to be just a coincidence."

“There are no such coincidences in the world!” Yang Jiandong put his teacup on the table, picked up the report and glanced at it briefly, then said, “I bet there is a connection between the two, we just haven’t found it yet.”

"Mr. Liao, I have a question," Brosnan interjected, "is there still no news about Mars Boy?"

“No, Mr. Brosnan.” Liao Changtian shook his head. “All our detection equipment, including the space telescope on the Soyuz space station, has failed to find any information about Mars Boy.”

"Is he...is he dead?" Brosnan asked, stammering.

“I don’t know, I don’t know.” Liao Changtian’s expression was somewhat gloomy. “The ‘Bird’s Nest’ is gone, the ‘Giant Beetle’ is gone, and the ‘Feather’ has disappeared. Theoretically speaking, the only place on Mars that is still suitable for human habitation is the ‘Soyuz’ space station, but it’s not there.”

"Can he... still create miracles?" Yang Jiandong asked, his expression somewhat dazed.

“If it were just a day or two, I would think it’s possible, after all, he once spent a night in the Martian wilderness without our knowledge. But…” Liao Changtian’s expression was grave, “a month has passed now…”

"Don't be like that, be optimistic." Xiao Yimin patted Liao Changtian on the shoulder. "What if? Right? Maybe one day he'll appear on the live stream screen again, all lively and energetic."

"You're still broadcasting live to Mars?" Yang Jiandong asked, somewhat surprised. "Can he see it?"

“Theoretically, it is possible.” Liao Changtian nodded. “The live broadcast signal will be relayed through the Soyuz space station and will be continuously transmitted to the entire Mars.”

"But the 'Bird's Nest' is gone, so Mars Boy's receiver terminal can only receive, not send."

"Just like after the new era, Earth can only passively receive video signals from Mars. If the monitor has a sufficient power supply and is working properly, it can see the images we give it, but it can only watch and cannot respond to us."

"This..." Yang Jiandong was speechless. "What did you all show him?"

"There are many, such as news from Earth, television programs, and greetings and blessings from some people."

"bless?"

"Yes. For example, praying for him is a regular part of worship services in various churches on Earth, just like praying to Jesus."

"All right."

“We try to diversify the programming,” Liao Changtian paused, then continued, “so we’ve also added some paid programs.”

"There are things you have to pay to watch?" Yang Jiandong's eyes widened.

"It's not real money, just virtual currency. We've set the account location to Mars just to restrict people on Earth from seeing these programs, so accounts from other places can't make payments."

"Mr. Liao, what kind of program requires Mars to pay to watch? We can't watch it?" Brosnan asked curiously.

"I have a copy here." Liao Changtian placed a stack of CDs on the table. "Let me state first that this was done after consulting with human behaviorists, psychologists, and physiologists, and after their review, they believe it is beneficial to Mars Boy's physical and mental health, and will help regulate his mental state and further stimulate his will to survive."

"This is not my private collection!" Liao Changtian emphasized the last sentence.

Xiao Yimin, Yang Jiandong, and Brosnan were completely confused.

What's so serious? It involves anthropologists and mental health, and all that.

The three of them began to look through the CDs...

Sister's juice... Black man... Widow... This...

A few minutes later, the three of them sat up straight.

“Which one…” Xiao Yimin said with a serious expression, “Make me a copy of these as well and put them in my room. As the director, I have a responsibility to strictly review any information sent to Mars.”

“Meto,” Brosnan quickly added, “As the Director General of the European Space Agency, I also have this responsibility.”

"Give me one too."

Um?

Well?

ah?

Xiao Yimin, Liao Changtian, and Brosnan all stared at Yang Jiandong.

"What? You can see it, but I can't?"

"No." Xiao Yimin felt a headache coming on. "Teacher, you don't need to do that, do you? This thing is easy to get a nosebleed from looking at."

"My blood pressure has been high lately, would it be alright if I could have some blood drawn?"

"Alright, alright!" Xiao Yimin stopped trying to persuade him. If you're old and don't want to admit defeat, there's no need for your apprentice to embarrass you.

"There's one more thing..." Liao Changtian returned to the main topic, "It's currently beyond our level of understanding, or rather, beyond the current level of human technology. We can't explain it..."

“Those insects…” Xiao Yimin also became serious, “right?”

"Where did they go?" Yang Jiandong asked as well.

"I don't know." Liao Changtian shook his head. "All I can tell you right now is that they are leaving the solar system."

"The solar system..."

Everyone present fell silent, remaining silent for a long time.

"Sigh..." Yang Jiandong sighed, "In the eyes of the universe, humanity is still just a child, and we know too little."

“Mars is far more complex than we know,” Xiao Yimin nodded and said. “For the past 100 years, human exploration of Mars has only been superficial. It’s quite normal if there are things underground that we cannot understand.”

"Flying into space..." Brosnan murmured to himself, "That's so romantic."

"How did they do it? There's no air in space, so what do they rely on for interstellar travel? And how do they solve the problem of breathing?"

“Mr. Brosnan,” Liao Changtian said, “if we can solve these problems, humanity will enter a new interstellar age.”

"Humanity's previous exploration of space was nothing more than a child wearing flip-flops collecting seashells on the beach."

"If humanity wants to understand the universe, it must sail out to sea."

“You said it yourself, we’re just kids collecting seashells on the beach,” Yang Jiandong said. “How can children sail the ocean?”

"So we need a 'ship' that can sail on the sea!" Liao Changtian's eyes shone brightly, filled with fervor.

"Changtian, don't be like this." Xiao Yimin patted Liao Changtian's shoulder helplessly and didn't say anything.

Sometimes men don't need to talk to each other.

A silent comfort.

Liao Changtian's gaze dimmed instantly, then returned to its rational and wise state.

"What's wrong?" Yang Jiandong asked, somewhat bewildered.

"Changtian's proposal has been rejected by the higher-ups again," Xiao Yimin said.

"Oh." Yang Jiandong nodded knowingly. "Changtian, I'm not trying to be mean, but your idea is way ahead of its time."

"There are still many things to do on Earth, such as the livelihood issues facing us, each of which is urgent."

"Humanity's goal..." Liao Changtian said quietly, "is the stars and the sea."

“We should look up at the stars, but we also need to keep our feet on the ground,” Yang Jiandong advised. “You can start with theoretical research first; perhaps the conditions will be right soon.”

"The theory is no longer a problem; 'Phoenix' has provided us with a complete theoretical framework." Liao Changtian smiled, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. "What we lack is simply the courage to put the theory into practice!"

“Changtian, do you know?” Xiao Yimin also joined in the persuasion, somewhat helplessly. “The plan you proposed is beyond the capacity of our space agency, or even our country. It would require mobilizing almost all the manpower and resources of the entire planet to complete.”

"If this were a matter of life and death for humanity, this plan might be implemented. But now that humanity has finally had a chance to catch its breath, there are just too many things that need to be done with manpower and resources."

"And your plan, to be frank, Changtian," Xiao Yimin said seriously, "is still a luxury for humanity at present..."

“No, you’re all wrong.” Liao Changtian shook his head with a wry smile. “On the contrary, it’s a necessity for modern humans.”

"Changtian, you..."

"I'm fine, Director." Liao Changtian said calmly. "I'm only responsible for providing the plan. As for how to implement it or whether to implement it at all, that's not my concern."

“I will submit your proposal to the World Government. It’s not something that needs to be kept secret. Perhaps one of the member states will be interested.”

"Excuse my bluntness, Mr. Xiao," Brosnan said, "I've also seen Mr. Liao's plan, and it's brilliant. If even your country doesn't have the courage to implement it, I don't think any other country will."

“If this plan can be completed even one percent… no, one-thousandth!” Brosnan said with longing, “it will change the course of human history.”

"Hehe." Xiao Yimin laughed. "Since Mr. Brosnan appreciates it so much, you can try to persuade the European Union to let you implement it."

“That’s impossible.” Brosnan said, deflated. “Our system dictates that such advanced proposals don’t even have the chance to be submitted to Parliament for discussion.”

“Let’s not discuss things that are so far away. How about we talk about those insects?” Yang Jiandong said. “Where do you think they are going? What are they going to do? We don’t need theoretical support. Let’s just use our imagination.”

“Actually, we can find similar answers around us,” Liao Changtian said. “For example, insects on Earth burrow underground, develop underground, and finally emerge and fly. What do they do next?”

"Foraging for food."

“Yes.” Liao Changtian nodded. “So I guess they’re heading to space to ‘forage’.”

"Then why don't they come to Earth?" Yang Jiandong asked, somewhat puzzled. "Looking at the entire solar system, Earth is quite resource-rich, isn't it?"

"This is also our question, but there is a reasonable explanation." Liao Changtian said with a bright look in his eyes, "Don't forget, who changed the insect's form? Who put the insect on Mars?"

"It is ourselves, human beings."

“Strictly speaking, humans are the creators of Martian insects. We have reasonable grounds to suspect that when scientists performed DNA surgery on the insects 100 years ago, they had already considered their foraging problems. They provided some guidance so that after the insects emerged, they would migrate in the direction they desired.”

"100 years ago..." Yang Jiandong said with some longing, "What kind of era was that? What exactly did the scientific community experience back then?"

“That was a truly borderless era of science.” Xiao Yimin nodded with deep emotion. “The unprecedented unity of the academic community at that time was due to their almost coercive efforts that persuaded countries to agree to launch the ‘Human Backup Project’.”

"Hehe." Yang Jiandong chuckled. "It's a pity Changtian wasn't born in that era, otherwise your plan might have been implemented."

“Indeed.” Brosnan agreed wholeheartedly. “The academic community at that time had advanced ideas; they were already planning to colonize Mars before humans had even landed there.”

“If I think…” Liao Changtian looked at everyone and said, “Could the Martian worms be part of their plan?”

"What's the meaning?"

“You see, the people who devised the ‘Human Backup Plan’ and performed DNA surgery on the insects are, strictly speaking, the same group of people,” Liao Changtian said, pointing to the report on the table. “‘Bird’s Nest’ and ‘Egg Chamber’—aren’t they connected?”

"The 'bird's nest' of the human backup plan and the 'ovary' of the Mars colonization plan are both in the same location." Xiao Yimin was somewhat stunned. "Could this be...could it just be a coincidence?"

“There aren’t that many coincidences in the world!” Yang Jiandong interrupted Xiao Yimin. “Anything that seems like a mere coincidence is actually connected in countless ways!”

"I really want to go to Mars and take a look." Liao Changtian looked up at the ceiling. "There are things left behind by our predecessors there."

“At present, going to Mars is still just a pipe dream.” Xiao Yimin shook his head. “Even without considering the technical issues, the shortest interstellar flight would take at least 5 months. By the time we reach Mars, it will be too late.”

"By the way, how are those girls doing?" Yang Jiandong asked.

“Ishihara Yui is already in hibernation,” Liao Changtian replied. “Before learning about Mars Boy’s situation, Katerina and Su Muran induced her into hibernation under the pretext of insufficient space station resources.”

"What about the remaining two girls?"

"If the space station runs out of food, they will also enter hibernation and wait for us..."

"Waiting for the Mars boy to return and awaken them."

"Sigh..." Yang Jiandong sighed.

"I hope so."