Upon hearing Zero's answer, Lü Yongchang fell into deep thought.

As the largest plain on Mars, Utopia Planitia has an astonishing diameter of 3,200 kilometers.

It should be noted that the distance between the two farthest points of the Xia Kingdom's territory was only 5,621 kilometers.

Searching for traces of underground life within such a vast area is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"Zero, can we narrow down the range a bit more?"

Lu Yongchang asked softly, "I remember that the United States has launched many Mars probes before. Didn't they conduct a more in-depth investigation of Utopia Plain?"

“Professor, this will take a little time,” Zero’s voice followed.

Lu Yongchang nodded slightly: "Let's start the search. Time is not an issue."

...

"Professor, the results you requested are in."

Half an hour later, Lü Yongchang was awakened by Zero's electronically synthesized voice.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the computer screen in front of him.

The Mars satellite map was zoomed in even more at this point.

Looking at the few small, silvery-white dots on the satellite map, Lü Yongchang was stunned.

A strange thought slowly surfaced in his mind.

"zero?"

"Could this be one of those Mars capsules from the US?"

His question was quickly answered by Zero.

“That’s right, Professor.”

"Based on the information I found, the area within a two-kilometer radius of the Mars capsule is the most likely place on Mars to show signs of life."

Lu Yongchang frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "What's the reason?"

Ling quickly retrieved some data from Lü Yongchang's computer.

"Professor, this area is a region with many river valleys."

"After confirmation by three Pathfinder astronauts, it was found that there is a large amount of underground ice in this area, 1-10 meters below the surface."

"Although the Utopia Plain has relatively abundant underground ice reserves, the content in this area is about 20% higher than the surrounding area."

Lu Yongchang looked thoughtfully at the few lines of data marked on the satellite map.

"Is water resources the only basis?" Lü Yongchang slowly shook his head. "That's not enough to support your judgment."

“In addition, this area contains several large impact craters,” Zero continued. “Compared to plains, the interiors of impact craters receive less solar radiation, so the toxicity of perchlorates on their surfaces is several times weaker than in other places.”

Lu Yongchang's expression shifted slightly.

Compared to water resources, this is indeed a reliable basis!

It seems... it's necessary to compete with the United States for territory!

A glint flashed in Lü Yongchang's eyes. As he stood up from his chair, he said, "Zero, help me schedule a time with the Speaker. I need to apply to the Speaker for this."

...

That evening.

The capital city.

"Yongchang, you mean...we have to go to Mars and do some dirty work near the US Mars capsule?"

Representative Li looked at Lü Yongchang with a strange expression.

Lu Yongchang shook his head seriously: "Speaker, how can this be called a petty trick?"

"In order to search for possible signs of life, we may need to conduct large-scale drilling and sampling experiments within a radius of two kilometers of the Mars capsule."

Representative Lee: "..."

"Hiss... Let me think about it..." Councilor Li gasped, his eyes filled with conflict.

Although no one's name is written on this Mars, this action could easily be misinterpreted as a provocation.

“Speaker, this matter is very important.”

Lu Yongchang said with a solemn expression, "Hibernation technology is a prerequisite for interstellar travel. If we cannot master hibernation technology, at least 99% of the people in Xia Kingdom will not survive."

Representative Li's expression shifted slightly.

After a brief silence, the conflict in his eyes lessened somewhat: "Never mind!"

"Our conflict with the United States was bound to happen sooner or later."

"Since you're so insistent... just go for it!"

"However, as far as I know, it probably won't be easy for Xuan Nu 1 to go to Mars, right?"

Lu Yongchang smiled and shook his head: "Speaker, I never said I would use Xuan Nu No. 1 to go to Mars!"

The councilor's breathing quickened slightly.

"You mean..."

"With Zero's help, Academician Cao should be able to complete the design of Xuan Nu II in no time," Lü Yongchang said with a smile. "Furthermore, with the helium-3 resources extracted from the Lunar Palace Project, the second-generation nuclear fusion reactor project can be realized soon!"

Representative Lee's eyes widened suddenly.

"This...so fast?"

Lu Yongchang's smile grew even wider: "Speaker, you still underestimate the role of zero."

"With Zero's help, the laboratory's research efficiency has increased by at least ten times."

"Next, Xia Kingdom will usher in a true era of technological explosion!"

...

Mars.

Inside Mars Module 1.

Andrew frowned, staring intently at the computer screen in front of him.

"strangeness……"

He touched his stubble-covered chin and muttered to himself, "Why did the satellite suddenly..."

"Um?"

Bruno's slightly nervous voice came from the side: "Andrew, what happened to the satellite?"

The next moment, Bruno put down his work and quickly came to Andrew's side, looking at the screen in front of Andrew with a nervous expression.

Andrew frowned and slowly shook his head: "I don't know what's going on, but I feel like the satellite response speed is much slower today."

"Maybe it's just my imagination."

Upon hearing this, Bruno breathed a sigh of relief.

He raised his hand and slapped Andrew's broad back beside him: "Captain, I'm not trying to be mean, but we're on Mars right now."

"Isn't it normal for satellite signals to have some problems?"

Andrew nodded thoughtfully, but a hint of doubt lingered in his eyes: "Perhaps it's because of what you said."

"But I always feel..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Bruno interrupted Andrew with a wry smile. "Captain, have you forgotten?"

"You said a couple of days ago that you felt there was a problem with our air circulation equipment."

"Good heavens, that one sentence of yours almost scared Joey and me to death!"

"Don't even mention us, even the NASA staff on duty were scared half to death by your words!"

Andrew paused for a moment, a hint of embarrassment flashing in his eyes. He chuckled awkwardly and touched the tip of his nose. "This... it's just an illusion, an illusion."

Bruno glanced at Andrew beside him with annoyance: "Captain, NASA told me and Joey that if you have a few more episodes like this, you can basically be diagnosed with a mental illness."

Andrew's lips twitched slightly.

Surely not...

It was just a little blunder...