Mars: Thanks for Nature's Gift

"Attention, esteemed passengers, attention!"

"The fleet is about to enter Mars's gravitational range. Please find a nearby 'cabin support handle' to secure yourselves. Hold on tight and remain seated to brace for possible turbulence."

"Esteemed passengers—"

The broadcast repeated over and over, echoing through every corner of the spacecraft.

People hurried to find somewhere to sit or lie down, gripping the handles beside them—the so-called cabin support handles—to keep from rolling all over the floor during violent shaking.

On that expanding planet, the major factions were either recuperating or attending the 'exchange conference.' Two months had passed without anyone noticing; meanwhile, the American fleet that had departed the planet was gradually approaching Mars, about to be caught by its gravity.

Mars and the planet they had lived on both orbited the Sun.

At times, the two planets would reach their closest approach, nearly 'sticking together' one behind the other.

At other times, they would rotate to opposite sides of the Sun, separated by hundreds of millions of kilometers.

America's spacecraft used nuclear fission technology—the 'cold nuclear reaction system.' Compared to a thermonuclear reaction system, it produced greater pollution, less energy, and more wear and tear. But it was still superior to an ordinary internal-combustion system.

Even so, interplanetary travel was impossible when the two planets were at their farthest apart.

That was why America's elites and superhumans had fled so quickly—not merely because supernatural disasters were frequent on that planet. If they missed this window, they would have to wait another twenty months.

"We've finally arrived."

"Good thing the 'Space' didn't impose any restrictions."

Ordinary passengers and average superhumans naturally clung tightly to the cabin support handles beside them.

But the Veteran Guild members stood in the control rooms of their respective spacecraft, arms crossed as they gazed at the