Mars.

Above the surface.

Arriving at the destination in the spare rover, two scientists in spacesuits quickly jumped out of the vehicle.

"The target location has been reached...... "Glancing around, Han Kangyu's face was full of solemnity, and he turned on the communication channel to report to the base, "Dr. Fan was not found nearby, and his rover was not seen." ”

This is the coordinates of 15° south latitude and 128.1° west longitude, which is the location stated in the last message that Dr. Fan sent before disconnecting.

But don't say it's human.

Not even the tire prints left by the rover are not visible here.

Soon, a calm voice came from within the communication channel.

"It may be that when we were dodging the sandstorm, we moved to a different position, and the positioning system was incorrect under the influence of the sandstorm...... Search the surrounding area. ”

"Yes."

After receiving instructions from Captain Liang Youcheng, the two immediately set their sights on the nearby mountain range called the Gate of Hell. If you want to escape a sandstorm, it's the best place to stay in the open sand dunes compared to the open area.

Thinking of this, the two immediately took action, and sure enough, they found new clues.

"The rover is ...... here"

Spotting the rover Dr. Fan was using next to a steep rock face, Ming Wenzhe pulled the car door and looked inside, his brow furrowed slightly, "There's no one in the car, and the toolbox isn't there." ”

After hearing the voice, Han Kangyu immediately walked quickly to his side, looking at the empty driver's seat, cold sweat suddenly slid down his forehead.

A punch slammed into a one-person-high tire, and he couldn't help but curse.

"Damn...... Where the hell did this guy go? ”

He is the vice captain of the scientific research team that went to Mars, and if someone has an accident on Mars, he and Liang Youcheng will bear the brunt of the responsibility.

Of course, compared to a living human life, responsibility or something is a trivial matter.

If someone dies here, it will undoubtedly give those with ulterior motives who are jealous of Huaguo's achievements an excuse to attack them, and it will undoubtedly be a heavy blow to the entire Martian colonization plan!

And now, they don't even know what happened to people.

At this time, Ming Wenzhe, who was standing at the door of the car, suddenly spoke.

"There's a possibility."

Han Kangyu immediately looked at him and asked.

"What is possible?"

According to his message on the rover...... Before losing contact, he was supposed to have witnessed the vanishing fault structure in the vicinity. Considering that there was a sandstorm at the time, the visibility outside the car was not very high, and the location of the crack should not be very far from here. ”

Looking at the gradually ugly expression on Vice Captain Han's face, Ming Wenzhe was silent for a while, and continued to say the guess that was difficult for everyone to accept.

"But now, the crack is gone."

"You mean, he jumped under the crack by himself, and then the crack quickly closed after he went down?"

Ming Wenzhe nodded silently.

"That's all it can be."

Although he knew that this was the most likely scenario, Han Kangyu couldn't help but complain.

"What tectonic movement is so fast, and it can still ...... Close in an instant? Don't have a chance to climb up? ”

"How do I know, I'm not engaged in geological research," a trace of bitterness appeared on the expression on Ming Wenzhe's face, "To be honest, I feel that there is a bit of an evil sect here, is it because it is called the gate of hell?" Otherwise, we'll have to name this mountain range again. ”

The communication module of the two is open on a public channel.

Liang Youcheng, who was standing in the communication room of the base, had been listening to the communication between the two.

After pondering for a moment, he gave the order in a deep voice.

"It's useless to be in a hurry now."

"Guess wildly, if that crack had randomly appeared around the 128 anomaly, there would have been a large amount of free space underneath this area. From this point of view, there is a high probability that Dr. Fan, who fell, is still alive. Of course, I am not an expert on this subject, and I can only say that everything is going in the most optimistic direction. ”

"Expand your range, search along the edge of the mountain range again, and if he's still alive, he won't sit still down there, maybe he'll already be in the opening of the next earthquake crack and waiting for help."

"In addition, I will apply for support from the ground command center."

“…… Regardless of the end result, we have to bring people back. ”

It may not be difficult to drill a rock core on the surface of Mars, but it is still quite difficult to dig through the rock layer more than 20 meters deep and fish people up from below.

There may be such engineering equipment on the moon, but it can't be here, so the only thing they can do is apply for support.

In fact, it is just a consolation to say that it is to apply for support.

Even if the support from the Moon Palace really came all the way and brought reliable excavation equipment, all they could do was collect his body.

Listening to the captain's instructions from the communication channel, Han Kangyu clenched his fists and was silent for a long time.

Eventually, he let go of his fist and sighed.

“…… That's all there is to it. ”

Ming Wenzhe proposed: "I want to apply for the permission to use the Xufu optical observation module. ”

Liang Youcheng: "It's already been assigned to you, and we will also help you keep an eye on whether there are any new cracks nearby." Remember, if that one is found again...... Abnormal cracks, be sure not to act rashly, especially forbidden to explore downward! ”

"Regardless of his current situation, we can't afford a second loss."

……

As soon as Liang Youcheng transmitted the situation at the scene and the distress message back to the earth, the entire ground command center had already entered a state of emergency because of the sudden situation.

An astronaut is missing!

Less than a week after the landing of the colonial module, something so serious happened that this was not just a simple space accident, but also a serious political accident.

At present, the whole country is still celebrating the complete success of the manned fire.

If this news gets out, where will they put their faces on the manned fire office?

in the office.

Hearing the on-site situation reported by Director Chang, Lu Zhou was stunned.

Although he had considered the possible risks of this "128 anomalous points" research project before, he really didn't expect it to appear in this form.

The crack closed when the person went down?

It sounds like you've been "eaten" by something alive.

After being silent for a long time, Lu Zhou couldn't help but ask.

"Are people still alive?"

"Life and death are uncertain," a bitter expression appeared on his face, and Director Chang continued, "The problem now is that the Mars base has sent a signal asking for reinforcements, but even if we send rescue now, I'm afraid it won't help." ”

This is indeed a problem.

Even considering the most optimistic scenario, the supplies on that Dr. Fan Tong could only last for about three days at most. Even if their Queqiao departs from the Moon Palace now, it will take at least two weeks to reach Mars.

This is not to discuss whether the problem can be solved after going there.

After all, the environment on the Moon is completely different from that of Mars, and engineering equipment tailored for the Moon may not be perfectly compatible on Mars.

After thinking in his heart for a moment, Lu Zhou made a decision and spoke.

"Don't send reinforcements just yet."

"But—"

"I know what you're worried about," seeing the worry on Director Chang's face, Lu Zhou continued with a calm expression, "But the most taboo thing now is that we mess up ourselves. ”

"Since it's just missing now, and it hasn't been confirmed that our astronaut has died, let's not make this matter public for the time being."

"In the meantime, let's use all available resources at our outpost on Mars to search and rescue the missing astronauts."

"If it still turns out to be irreparable......

"I'll take it all the responsibility."

Hearing this, Director Chang's shoulders shook and he looked at Lu Zhou in disbelief.

It was a long time before he nodded with a heavy expression.

“…… Be. ”

The office door was closed.

In the spacious room, Lu Zhou was the only one left.

Listening to the footsteps fading away outside the door, Lu Zhou, who was sitting behind the desk, was silent for a while, and finally sighed softly and set his eyes on the smartphone on the desk.

"Xiao Ai."

The signal light flashed slightly, and a message appeared on the screen.

[Master, are you calling me? o(〃▽〃)o】

"You should have heard that conversation just now, right?" After a pause, Lu Zhou continued, "Connect to the 'Reptiles' for me and search and rescue the missing astronauts. ”

In less than a second, the dialog box, full of credible writing, popped up again.

[Yes, master!] (??????)?? 】