Rose, Red Field Castle.

“Mr. Prime Minister,” Defense Minister Khrushchev placed a stack of printed photos on the table, “based on the intelligence department’s analysis over the past few days, it can be confirmed that the person in the photos is Katerina.”

"Are you sure?" Prime Minister Medvedev examined the photos carefully. "I don't want guesses, I want a definite answer!"

"Mr. Prime Minister, please look at the photo. There are two astronauts in the photo, one of whom is wearing Katerina's signature red spacesuit."

“The red spacesuit was custom-made for Katerina by the nation, and it’s the only one of its kind in the world,” Khrushchev said. “As you know, NASA astronaut Ivanka isn’t on Mars right now, so this red astronaut can only be Katerina.”

"We also analyzed the projection of the red astronaut's body on the ground in the photo, and it matched Katerina's original photo perfectly."

"Therefore we are absolutely certain that she is Katerina!"

“That means…” Prime Minister Medvedev put down the photo, his eyes blazing with anger, “that the death report submitted to us by NASA is fake!”

"Yes, Mr. Prime Minister, based on the current situation, the video and photos submitted by NASA regarding General Katerina's accidental death on Mars are also fabricated!"

"Are the videos and photos of Mars faked?"

“Mr. Prime Minister, please don’t forget that they have a history,” Khrushchev said. “When they were competing with the great Red Soviet Russia for the honor of being the ‘first nation to land on the moon,’ they tried to fool us with ‘moon landing photos’ taken in the California desert.”

Bang! Prime Minister Medvedev slammed his fist on the table in anger.

"I demand a reasonable explanation from them!"

...

The Presidential Sanctuary in the United States.

“Yes, Mr. President, the person in the photo is Russian astronaut Katerina Gagarin.” Secretary of State Hillary placed the photo on the President’s desk.

"Ivanka is too willful; she's left me with a huge problem." U.S. President Trump rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache.

“We must be prepared, Mr. President,” Hillary said. “I think we should receive Prime Minister Medvedev’s protest letter soon, or we have already received it and it is on its way here.”

"I imagine these photos will also end up on Medvedev's desk, so there's nothing more to say," President Tekopf waved his hand. "Tell the Foreign Ministry to reply, and the principle is 'no comment' on everything."

“But Mr. President, Prime Minister Medvedev will not be satisfied with this answer, after all, he is…”

“Then let it drag on!” President Tekopf drew back the curtains, his eyes fixed intently on the sky outside the special tempered glass. “Ivanka has completed her final mission. If we can just drag it out for two months, then all the problems will cease to be problems.”

"The great United States will once again rise to the position of world leader! All of humanity will become citizens of the United States!"

"I understand, Mr. President."

...

Mars, the "Mercy Station" Mars base.

Zhang Fan is a notorious womanizer.

This is no joke, Zhang Fan is really picking flowers... roses.

Since leaving the "Number 5" living module, Katerina seems to have gone mad, taking three baths a day, each time soaking in rose petals.

Zhang Fan volunteered to take on the task of picking flowers.

Picking flowers isn't the main thing; the important thing is delivering them.

Katerina lay in the bathtub like a white swan, surrounded by petals of "Blue Enchantress" roses. Only her long, fair neck was visible above the water, and her legs occasionally dangled out to tease the petals.

Holy crap! Those legs must be two meters long!

Everyone says that goddesses have legs from the neck down, and today I saw it with my own eyes. It really does look like they have legs from the neck down!

The bathroom was filled with steam and a strong scent of female hormones, making Zhang Fan feel a little drunk.

"Alright, I'm getting up to get dressed. As a gentleman, shouldn't you excuse yourself?" Katerina lazily rolled over in the water, resting her head on her arms, and looked at the gentleman who had occasionally passed by the door crack many times.

"Huh? I was just passing by, I really was just passing by!"

"This is a perk for saving me, but that's all. Don't push your luck." Katerina stretched her long legs out of the water, pushed the bathroom door shut with her toes, and kicked open the bathtub drain cover with her other long legs.

Splash—the sound of water running in the bathtub came from the bathroom.

Sigh... Zhang Fan felt heartbroken upon hearing the sound. This entire tub of bathwater! If it were bottled and sold online, it would definitely be snapped up by male otaku! I guess we'd have to limit it to one bottle per person, no more.

The rest of the time, the two worked together to repair the only damaged Mars rover at the Peace Station base.

Fortunately, the Mars rover suffered mechanical damage from being hit by a signal tower, and its internal circuit boards and other precision components were not damaged. As long as the damaged body is cut and re-welded, the problem is not too serious.

While carrying out repairs, Zhang Fan is also working on modifying the Mars rover to make it a mobile home like the "Firefly." The No. 4 living module has been welded to the original location of the rover.

Zhang Fan was eager to return to the "Bird's Nest" base. He had been out for two weeks and wondered how the cute girl on the Soyuz space station was doing.

Katerina also agreed to leave for the "Bird's Nest". First, this place gave her very bad memories, and she didn't want to stay here anymore. Second, the conditions at the "Bird's Nest" were better than those at the "Peace Station". No matter how you looked at it, going to the "Bird's Nest" was a wise choice.

Zhang Fan was eager to return home, and aside from eating and sleeping, he spent all his time in the repair shop working. Meanwhile, Katerina could only stand beside him like a little follower, handing him tools and such.

Despite being a double PhD in aerospace science and nuclear physics, Katerina knew absolutely nothing about repairing Mars rovers.

"Fan, which university did you graduate from? I've never heard of anyone like you in your country before." Katerina was very curious. She knew all the Chinese astronauts, and Zhang Fan seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

“Northwest A&F University,” Zhang Fan replied, still focused on his work.

"Northwest... What? I've never heard of this school before?"

“It’s normal that you haven’t heard of it.” Zhang Fan looked up and smiled. “The lowest-ranked 985 university in China is not far from the Taklamakan Desert.”

"Is this university very prestigious?"

"Not impressive."

"Then why did you choose this school? With your level, I think Ross University would be more than willing to admit you without an exam."

"I missed one subject in the college entrance examination, and my score was only enough to get into this school."

"Uh... what did you study?"

"civil Engineering."

"Huh? Your school's civil engineering students can drive Mars rovers?"

"Of course, for example, all my roommates are talented and have nice voices. They can drive any kind of car, not just the Mars rover, but the one that goes to kindergarten."

Zhang Fan chatted idly with Katerina, and before long it was evening.

Zhang Fan started the Mars rover and drove it around the base. All the fault codes on the onboard computer had disappeared, and the living module was also functioning well.

Tomorrow is the departure day, and the two returned to their respective living quarters early to rest.

With his eyes closed, Zhang Fan dreamed again that Katerina was standing by his bed in her pajamas.

"Fan, get up quickly!"

When Zhang Fan opened his eyes, he saw Katerina standing by his bed in her pajamas.

Holy crap! Isn't this dream coming true way way too fast?

"stand up!"

"No, Katerina, this is too fast, I'm not ready yet." Zhang Fan was still in a daze when Katerina roughly pulled him out of bed.

"If we don't hurry, we're all going to die!" Katerina grabbed Zhang Fan and ran towards the decompression chamber.

"Mount Olympus has erupted!"