The Return of Stars to the Jianghu

Chapter 105 The Martian Pickup Truck Heads to the Accident Site

Solar System, Mars Outpost Base, Phase III Project Base.

Shen Cheng and Luo Yan were called to the conference room by Du Qi.

There were only the three of them in the meeting room.

"Here's the thing, Country A has sent another probe to Mars. This time it's relatively close to our base. If we were to drive a Mars pickup truck, it should take about seven Earth days to get there," Du Qi said.

"It wasn't easy, but they finally succeeded," Luo Yan said.

"Hmm." Du Qi seemed a little embarrassed, and continued, "Actually, strictly speaking, it wasn't successful. Their hatch was deformed when it fell, and some of the equipment inside may have malfunctioned as well."

"So?" Shen Cheng asked.

“Country A’s space agency has asked us for help, hoping we can send someone to assist with the repairs,” Du Qi said.

“We need their assistance to demonstrate our scientific research capabilities,” Luo Yan said.

"The higher-ups have decided to send the two of you over there," Du Qi said.

"What? The two of us? We're not professional engineers. We're just substitute engineers from the logistics department," Shen Cheng said.

"We didn't mistreat you when we were in Phoenix. You didn't suggest it to the higher-ups, did you?" Luo Yan asked.

"No, it's not that. The higher-ups specifically requested the two of you to come over. It's because only the two of you have a security clearance level of E," Du Qi said.

“Of course, this level is newly created for us, isn’t it? There are four security levels: A, B, C, and D. You wouldn’t even give us a D level, and you even created a new level separately.” Luo Yi’s voice gradually rose.

"There's also S-class," Shen Cheng reminded him.

“Yes, and there’s also S-rank.” Luo Yan stood up, turned to look at Shen Cheng, “The S-ranks haven’t even reached the heavens yet, let’s not talk about that.”

"The one I recommend you go to is an S-rank. You know this guy quite well," Du Qi said.

Luo Yan slowly sat down. The only person they knew whose security clearance level was S was their former superior, Captain Zhang.

"What does Lao Zhang mean by this?" Luo Yan asked.

"It's nothing, just the two of you go. Whether you can fix it depends on your skills. You need to do everything you can, using all the knowledge you've acquired. The base's engineering team will have engineers providing remote technical support," Du Qi said.

"Should we fix it or not?" Shen Cheng asked.

"According to the information provided by Country A, the situation isn't too complicated. The higher-ups want the two of you to help them fix it," Du Qi said.

“Sending two people from the construction team would have solved everything. Why bother sending our two substitutes?” Luo Yan said.

“That’s right. On the one hand, the fourth phase of the project is currently being planned on-site. The engineers really can’t leave. On the other hand, in terms of confidentiality, even if something unexpected happens, the information you can leak will be minimal,” Du Qi said.

Shen Cheng had already understood that the excuses about engineers being unable to leave for on-site planning were just that—excuses. The level of confidentiality was what truly mattered.

"Okay, we agree. You already have a detailed mission plan, right?" Shen Cheng asked.

Luo Yan nodded.

"I just sent it to you guys." Du Qi tapped the bracelet.

That afternoon, the two packed their things and set off in their Mars pickup truck.

This Mars pickup truck is a combination of an armored vehicle and a van on Earth, with solar panels on its roof.

Shen Cheng sat in the driver's seat and activated the automatic cruise control. Luo Yan sat in the passenger seat.

"The engineers can't get away? Who would believe that? I heard that the third phase of the project was optimized with the help of AI. Why can't the planning of the fourth phase be handled directly by AI?" Luo Yan said.

"It's said that there are still some concerns from above about fully intelligent AI. Currently, intelligent AI mainly focuses on auxiliary optimization, and the decision-making power is still in human hands," Shen Cheng said.

"The entire schedule was created by AI, clearly outlining what to do and when. The robot scheduling is also directly controlled by AI. All the monitoring data is also collected and analyzed by AI. Humans only control the 'confirm' or 'deny' buttons. If you press 'deny,' the AI ​​will provide another solution. You call this decision-making power?" Luo Yan said.

"But the goal of helping humanity overcome the Martian tunnel crisis was set by humanity itself," Shen Cheng said.

"Who predicted the Mars tunnel crisis? Did those research experts use AI-assisted tools?" Luo Yan asked.

At this time, the two were unaware that a future AI agent would take over the entire Mars base's operations to deal with the crisis.

Just then, a hissing sound came from the roof of the car.

"What's that sound?" Luo Yan asked.

"Oh, the screen just showed that the solar panel orientation needed to be adjusted, and I clicked 'OK'," Shen Cheng said.

"So, you tell me, did you even have a choice? You could only click 'confirm'," Luo Yan said.

"The system's suggestion is correct. We need to charge as much as possible to ensure sufficient energy for the round trip," Shen Cheng said.

Luo Yan did not speak again.

After a long while, Luo Yan spoke up, "You think we'll be able to see them again?"

"Yes, they definitely can." Shen Cheng's voice suddenly choked up. "The Mars tunnel is open; they have a chance to come back."

"You said that our security clearance level in the Phoenix Group was A back then, but now that it's been reorganized into the Phoenix Society, how come our clearance level has dropped to E?" Luo Yan said.

Shen Cheng did not respond.

"If only we weren't A-rank back then! We were planning to have them follow in our footsteps and join the 100-Day Plan. Now look what's happened, they've joined the youth team, and now both of them are out of contact in another world," Luo Yan continued.

"Don't think about it. Maybe they're trying to find a way back too," Shen Cheng comforted them.

"Don't try to comfort me. Shen Lixi has been missing for four and a half years, and Luo Yifei only spent half a year in another world, during which time they made contact once. I'm the one who should be comforting you," Luo Yan said.

Shen Cheng remained silent. The two remained silent for a long time.

The Mars pickup truck traveled for a week on Mars and finally arrived at its destination.

When the people from Country A approached the landing site of their spacecraft, they found something strange. The deformed hatch appeared to have claw marks.

"Could this be... an attack by a wild animal?" Luo Yan said.

"Don't joke around, this is Mars, there's no air here," Shen Cheng said.

"Maybe it came from the other side of the tunnel," Luo Yan said.

"Don't talk nonsense. How could something that came from the other side of the tunnel survive on Mars?" Shen Cheng said.

"Maybe, anyway, there's no evidence to say it's impossible," Luo Yan said.

"Stop overthinking, let's check the spacecraft's condition right away," Shen Cheng said.

The two of them worked together to push open the deformed hatch and found that the equipment inside was almost intact, but all the hibernation pods were empty.

"What's going on? The information says that this is Country A's unmanned spaceflight program," Luo Yan asked in surprise.

"Don't make a fuss, isn't this hibernation pod empty? It's possible it's just for testing equipment stability," Shen Cheng said.

“That makes sense. Maybe they were just testing the equipment, and then the spacecraft flew back on its own,” Luo Yan said.

“Let’s go, let’s check it again, then send a signal to headquarters so we can connect with the engineering team for remote assistance,” Shen Cheng said.

The two inspected the equipment inside the spacecraft and found that, except for the hibernation chamber which was empty, all the other equipment was intact.

"Strange, why is the hibernation pod empty? Could they really just be here to test the equipment?" Luo Yan said.

"Let's not worry about that for now, let's send a signal to headquarters first," Shen Cheng said, and began operating the communication equipment on the spacecraft.

They quickly contacted headquarters. The engineering team's experts, with remote assistance, helped them inspect the spacecraft's various systems and confirmed that everything was functioning correctly.

"It seems the mission went smoothly; at least the spacecraft wasn't damaged. Next, Country A can remotely activate the robot," Luo Yan said with a sigh of relief.

After carefully checking all the equipment on the spacecraft and making sure nothing was missing, the two began their return to the Mars pickup truck.