"Andrew?!"
"Please respond if you receive this!!"
Bai Yixuan's expression turned somewhat strange after not receiving a response for a long time.
"First, retrieve the camera footage from inside Starship Number Two!" Bai Yixuan said in a deep voice.
As the leader of the six-person team, he naturally had the authority to check the status of Andrew and his team's starship.
The holographic image on the control panel subtly changed.
The scene inside the cockpit of Starship No. 2 appeared before everyone.
There was no one there.
Upon seeing this scene, Bai Yixuan and the other two's expressions changed.
At that moment, the words Professor Lü had spoken on the radio came to mind for all of them.
Based on the simulation results from Zero, the environment in Gale Crater during the ancient period was highly suitable, making it extremely likely that primitive life could have existed there. Extreme caution must be taken to prevent microbial contamination during sample transportation!
The impatient Hong Fan had already unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up.
"Something must have happened!"
"I'll go help them right away!"
With that, Hong Fan turned and walked toward the cabinet to the side.
There were three clean spacesuits in the cabinet.
"Stop!" Bai Yixuan's face darkened as he shouted, "Hong Fan! Come back here!"
"We haven't figured out the situation yet, so don't act rashly!"
Hong Fan turned his head, looking anxiously at Bai Yixuan, whose face was gloomy: "Captain! But..."
"return!"
Bai Yixuan's voice wasn't loud, but it was incredibly firm.
Looking at Bai Yixuan, who was completely different from usual, Hong Fan took a deep breath and turned back to his seat.
"First, retrieve the vital signs data of Andrew, Bruno, and Joey," Bai Yixuan instructed methodically. "Search all the cameras on the ship and find their locations."
The holographic image splits into two.
On the left is a constantly flashing image of the interior of Starship No. 2.
On the right are the vital signs data of the three astronauts.
Upon seeing the pulse and temperature readings of the three individuals, Bai Yixuan and the others' expressions darkened further.
Something's happened!
All three astronauts had body temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius!
Hong Fan opened his mouth and took a deep breath: "Captain Bai, I..."
Halfway through my sentence, a sudden wave of dizziness washed over me.
He swayed, his vision went black, and he collapsed into his seat!
"Hong Fan!"
This scene made even the usually composed Bai Yixuan unable to contain himself.
He quickly turned his head to glance at Hong Fan's watch.
Body temperature: 38 degrees Celsius.
"Damn it!" Bai Yixuan cursed, his face turning ugly.
Although he had spent several months on Mars, this was the first time he had encountered such a scene.
"team leader!"
Xia Wanyi's panicked voice came from the other side: "Call for help!"
A very slight feeling of dizziness came over me.
At this moment, even a slight feeling of dizziness immediately set off alarm bells in his mind!
His expression changed drastically, and in an instant, he realized the problem!
"Quick! Hold your breath and find an oxygen mask!"
"The air inside the spaceship is contaminated!"
Xia Wanyi didn't have time to think. Following Bai Yixuan's instructions, she held her breath and got up to walk towards the oxygen mask.
One step, two steps, three steps...
As soon as I reached the cabinet, a violent wave of dizziness washed over me.
Xia Wanyi didn't have time to make a sound before her body went limp and she collapsed to the ground.
Hearing the thud behind him, Bai Yixuan's face grew even more grim.
I don't know if it was due to the influence of unknown microorganisms or because of holding my breath for a long time, but the dizziness increased rapidly.
He slammed the communication button in front of him while glancing at his watch.
37.8 degrees Celsius.
The next second, it reached 37.9 degrees Celsius.
"Calling Mars City, we're contaminated! Repeat, we're contaminated!" Bai Yixuan shouted hoarsely into the microphone. "The initial disinfection measures upon entering the starship were ineffective!"
"The preliminary assessment indicates that the contamination is airborne!"
"Help, help me..."
The moment he finished speaking, he fainted in his seat.
The holographic images in front of the console were still constantly changing.
Suddenly, the surveillance footage inside Starship No. 2 stopped.
In the footage, Andrew and two others are lying on the deck outside the laundry room.
On the ground in front of the three people, there was a drop of damp, deep red sparkling sand!
...
A few seconds later.
The cameras inside the two starships began to rotate.
A holographic image of Zero appeared inside the starship.
After "seeing" a drop of damp Martian sand on the deck of Starship No. 2, Zero's holographic image quickly dissipated.
At the same time, the hatches of the two Xuan Nu II ships slowly closed, and several streaks of dark blue flame appeared at the nozzles of the Hall thrusters.
The Xuan Nu II starship traced a curve in the air and flew towards Mars City.
...
Meanwhile, in Mars City.
"Professor, something's happened!"
One holographic image after another unfolded in front of Lü Yongchang.
The footage showed the interior of the starship and the vital signs data of the pilots, which made up the majority of the images.
"Bai Yixuan and the other six were all contaminated by an unknown microorganism."
"The current health status of the six individuals is unknown, the type of microorganism is unknown, the source of infection has been preliminarily identified as drilling material from the bottom of Gale Crater, and the mode of transmission has been preliminarily identified as airborne transmission, with extremely high infectivity!"
Before Lü Yongchang could speak, Zero had already finished describing the general situation: "I have already taken control of the two Xuan Nu II ships and they are flying back."
In just a few milliseconds of reaction time, Lü Yongchang's expression suddenly changed drastically!
Subconsciously, he continued his habit from Earth, using his hands to brace himself against the table, trying to use the reaction force to stand up.
Bang!
Because of the weak gravity of Mars, he "jumped" directly off his office chair.
The office chair was also pushed to the ground by this tremendous force.
“Hiss…” Lu Yongchang’s lips twitched.
A throbbing pain came from the spot where I collided with the office chair.
Clearly, Lü Yongchang had no time to concern himself with such trivial matters at this moment.
"Zero, open Port 10 in Mars City and quickly evacuate the remaining personnel there," Lu Yongchang ordered urgently. "Activate the highest level alert in Mars City."
"All disinfection work is done by robots."
"Disconnect the air circulation equipment at Port 10. We absolutely cannot allow it to spread!"
"Have all researchers from the biological laboratory assemble outside Port Ten!"
"Understood, Professor!"
The moment Ling finished speaking, all the lights in Mars City turned a dangerous red, and piercing alarms blared from the city's loudspeakers.
Meanwhile, whether it was researchers in the laboratory or pilots preparing to land on the starship, wherever there was a holographic projection generator, they all saw a bright red holographic image.
Upon seeing the microbial invasion and contamination event depicted in the holographic image, the expressions of every resident of Mars City changed!
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