"Beep! Beep!"
"An unknown radio communication request has been detected."
Just as the three of them looked up at the Xuan Nu II hovering in the sky, an electronic notification startled them awake.
Andrew turned his head and glanced at the computer screen next to him.
It is a radio frequency band commonly used in the Xia Kingdom.
After exchanging glances with his two teammates, Andrew took a deep breath and pressed the call button.
"Hello?"
"Hello, my friends in the United States."
A fluent and standard English voice came through the radio.
Andrew was silent for a moment, then reached for the microphone: "Hello, this is Pathfinder, USA."
The next moment, a clear response came: "This is the second Mystic Maiden of Xia Kingdom!"
"We are about to proceed to crater ZHZ72 for scientific research. This is to remind you of that."
Andrew's pupils contracted slightly.
Crater ZHZ72.
Isn't this the next destination on the mission?
Without time to think, Andrew replied hastily, "Excuse me, that's us..."
"This is just a notification, not a discussion!"
A very calm voice came through the radio: "If this interferes with our research mission, we will take necessary measures to expel you. We hope you will consider this carefully."
The radio communication was cut off as soon as he finished speaking.
Andrew's face darkened instantly as he looked at the radio station emitting static.
"They're gone." Joey peered out the porthole and whispered, "Captain... Captain, what do we do?"
Andrew strode to the porthole, peered through the glass at the eerie blue tail flame of the Xuan Nu II, and took a deep breath: "What else can we do?"
"Prepare to report the situation!"
"Also... the drilling project for the ZHZ72 meteorite crater is temporarily cancelled!"
...
"Brothers, how was what I said just now? Wasn't it awesome?"
Excitement made Bai Yixuan's cheeks flush slightly: "Holy crap... this feeling is amazing!"
Hong Fan, standing to the side, curled his lip in annoyance: "Tch... We agreed to each person say one sentence, but you ended up saying it all!"
Seeing the resentful looks from Hong Fan and Xia Wanyi, Bai Yixuan's lips twitched slightly, and he coughed softly.
"Cough cough!"
"Next time, definitely next time!"
...
America.
Houston Ground Command Center.
"Hmph... Calling Houston..."
"Pfft... UFO, repeat, we've spotted an UFO!!"
The Houston ground control center was shattered by a sudden sound.
Upon hearing Andrew's words over the radio, Professor Chris's expression changed drastically. He grabbed the microphone beside him and shouted, "Pathfinder! Report details!"
"I repeat! Report the details immediately!"
After putting down the microphone, Professor Chris's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty. He suddenly turned around and shouted to the researcher beside him, "Quick! Report the situation to Director Morton! And... His Excellency the President!"
...
Mars capsule.
"...Report the details immediately!"
Upon hearing the belated inquiry over the radio, a bitter smile appeared in Andrew's eyes.
He picked up the microphone on the table again and reported the events that had just occurred to the ground command center in detail.
Then came another long wait.
"Houston received!"
"Temporarily abandon the meteorite crater drilling plan, suspend all field research missions, and await further instructions!"
...
The White House, United States.
Albert sat calmly behind his desk.
"You mean, Xia's Xuan Nu II has arrived on Mars and stolen our research targets?"
Morton nodded vigorously, his face full of anger, and said, "Your Excellency, Xia is too arrogant!"
"They even threatened to expel our astronauts!"
"Damn it, how dare they do this?!"
Faced with Morton's angry complaints, Albert's expression became increasingly indifferent.
He slowly waved his hand: "Never mind, just bear with it."
Albert’s reaction clearly surprised Morton.
Morton stared at Albert in disbelief: "Your Excellency, Mr. President? What, what did you just say?!"
"Endure? Are you sure?"
"That's our American research goal!"
Albert lowered his eyes slightly and sighed softly: "Morton, let me ask you, the Xia Kingdom's Mystic Maiden No. 2, shouldn't have set off 15 days ago?"
"It only took 15 days to fly from Earth to above our Mars capsule."
"Think about how long it took us?"
Morton's breath hitched: "But, but this isn't..."
"Enough!" Albert hissed.
"We have failed!"
"We have completely lost this competition!"
"Tell those astronauts to prepare to come back."
Seeing that Morton wanted to continue speaking, Albert waved his hand wearily, saying, "Alright, Morton, I'm tired."
"We've been dealing with each other for so long, so I'm giving you a friendly reminder."
"We should start thinking about our options."
Upon hearing this, Morton's expression shifted slightly.
After a long silence, Morton's eyes reddened slightly. He nodded gently and then turned and left the presidential office.
Seeing Morton leave, Albert sighed deeply again and turned to his secretary.
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