Mars, the "Bird's Nest" base.

Judging from the past few days, Su Muran seems to have adapted well to life here, especially since she seems to have a good relationship with Yui, and the two spend a lot of time together.

This made Zhang Fan feel quite gratified, after all, Su Muran was his mentor to some extent, and Yui was practically his fiancée, right?

Katerina would often look at the two of them and laugh for no apparent reason.

"What are you laughing at!" Every time he saw Katerina laughing in such a filthy way—yes, Zhang Fan thought it was filthy!—he felt dissatisfied. He had kept it to himself before, but this time he finally said it out loud.

"Hehe, don't you think those two are quite interesting?" Katerina continued to smile meaningfully.

"What do you mean?" Zhang Fan asked, clearly dissatisfied.

Why do you think they spend all their time together?

"Isn't this great? They get along well, unlike you! You're so irresponsible! Plus, Yui can also ask Professor Su for help with her studies, killing two birds with one stone. One is my teacher, and the other is my... I'm very pleased."

"Yui only started spending every day with her after she found out she was your teacher," Katerina said, still smiling.

"Why? What does it have to do with me?"

“Don’t you understand?” Katerina laughed even more. “Yui only started pestering Su Muran because she knew that Su Muran was the only girl you had ever been in contact with after graduating from university, and also the female peer you had been in contact with the longest in your life.”

"The longer they spend together, the less time you and Su Muran will have to be alone. Your little lover is already aware of the crisis; she's protecting her territory."

Zhang Fan broke out in a sweat. After Katerina's words, the way he looked at the two of them completely changed.

It's true what they say, three women make a drama.

"Don't think you're some respectable person!" Katerina looked at Zhang Fan with disdain. "You think I didn't know you used a lot of dirty tricks when we wrestled?"

"Don't wrong an innocent person!" Zhang Fan's face flushed red. "We young people value martial ethics; Chinese martial arts know when to stop..."

"Alright, alright," Katerina said impatiently. "Are you still going to practice? Didn't Mr. Liao want you to climb that mountain? With such weak physical fitness, you won't be able to reach the top."

"Practice! Anyone who doesn't practice is a dog!"

"Okay, if you can knock me down once today, I'll let you touch me through my clothes, how about that?"

roar--

Without saying a word, Zhang Fan pounced on him.

To complete Liao Changtian's plan, Zhang Fan must climb to the top of Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in the solar system, where lung capacity will be a major issue.

I can't breathe!

Practicing wrestling with Katerina was the best way Zhang Fan could think of to improve his lung capacity.

He was now unable to breathe because Katerina's legs were wrapped around his neck, but he did not surrender!

This is Katerina-style wrestling: it's painful yet you don't want to give up, it's scary yet you want to keep going, it's incredibly addictive, and the effects are remarkable!

Because Yui was constantly pestering Su Muran to "declare her territory," Zhang Fan and Katerina ended up spending more time together.

Sometimes Zhang Fan thought Yui was adorably silly; this lioness beside him was the most dangerous woman, wasn't she?

Because Yui had Su Muran with her, Katerina was able to go out and mine with Zhang Fan, which greatly improved her work efficiency.

At the mine, Katerina sat on the roof of a mine cart. Zhang Fan dug out the ore and passed it to her, then she slid down into the cart.

"Fan, are you really going to rescue Ivanka?" Katerina asked Zhang Fan while they were waiting on the roof of the car.

“Of course!” Zhang Fan answered while mining. “If you do something wrong, you have to be punished. Ivanka has already been punished enough, and she knows she did something wrong. She has corrected it. You can’t deny her a chance to correct it, right?”

"You like her?"

Clang—

Zhang Fan hammered his pickaxe into the pile of rocks, the impact making his hands go numb.

"Hahaha, then I won't ask anymore." Katerina laughed loudly from the roof of the car. "Be careful not to dig your own foot."

Zhang Fan ignored her and focused on mining.

"Men are just like that," Katerina sighed, "always wanting more than they have."

"Not a single one of them is any good."

Although Katerina looked away when she spoke, all conversations on Mars are conducted through earpieces. What's the difference between that and speaking directly to Zhang Fan?

Zhang Fan continued mining, pretending not to hear.

At noon, the two sat side by side on the roof of the mine cart to rest.

At this moment, Mount Olympus in the distance looks like a small mound, not at all like a mountain.

The Mariana Trench on Earth is at its deepest point, measuring meters. If Mount Olympus were placed in the trench, the part of it above the water would be more than 1,300 meters higher than Mount Everest.

"Are you really going to climb that thing?" Katerina asked, gazing at the distant mountains.

"There's no other way, we have to climb!" Zhang Fan nodded.

"I'll go with you."

"Hmm?" Zhang Fan turned his head and looked at Katerina.

"Only I can go with you." Katerina's charming smile returned. "Or perhaps your little lover? Or that scheming Ms. Su?"

Yui would never climb Mount Olympus; she couldn't handle that kind of strenuous mountain climbing. Su Muran's physical condition was slightly better than Yui's, but only slightly.

In terms of physical fitness alone, Katerina is currently the most suitable and only candidate.

"You seem to have a lot of issues with Professor Su?" Zhang Fan asked curiously. "You two haven't really interacted before, so what could she have done to offend you?"

“No, it’s just that our personalities are quite different, so we don’t get along well.” Katerina looked at Zhang Fan and asked, “Do you really believe her? The things that happened on the ‘Firebird’ are all based on what she said. No one can verify that what she said is true. Perhaps the truth is beyond our imagination.”

“Of course.” Katerina looked away. “No one can prove that what she said is false, and I have no evidence. I’m just guessing, just making a hypothesis. Believe it or not.”

“I believe her.” Zhang Fan nodded.

"Why?" Katerina asked, somewhat surprised and puzzled.

“Although saying this might make me seem like a failure, Professor Su is indeed the first person of the opposite sex I’ve spent the most time with since graduating from university. Of course, I don’t mean in a romantic sense,” Zhang Fan said. “If Professor Su is really such a good actor that he can keep deceiving this college graduate from the beginning until now, then I’ll accept it.”

“If you have to be suspicious of your family, friends, and teachers, then life is too hard.” Zhang Fan looked at Katerina. “For example, you, Yui, and Ivanka, I have always thought you are all good people, and I still think so now. Of course, you can call me stupid or idiot like Professor Su did, but that’s how I see it.”

After hearing this, Katerina looked directly into Zhang Fan's eyes, and Zhang Fan did not look away, but looked directly into Katerina's eyes as well.

Finally, Katerina was the first to lower her head and look away.

"When are you planning to climb Mount Olympus? Let me know so I can prepare in advance."

"It's still early; there's so much to prepare." Zhang Fan got off the mining truck, ready to continue mining.

"If I ever get back to Earth, the first thing I'll do is beat that brat Liao Changtian to a pulp."

"What kind of terrible ideas are these?"

"Any one of these methods could be deadly."