Earth, North America.
NASA headquarters.
Director Carson sat at his desk, leafing through the documents in his hands.
Just then, the office door opened, and a man in a suit hurried inside.
Looking up at the assistant who had entered, Director Carson took off his glasses and spoke with a hint of weariness.
"How are things going? What about the three astronauts?"
The assistant replied.
"They're aboard the Moon Palace spacecraft's space station now."
Carson twirled his pen, then tapped it lightly against his desk.
"What about the handover schedule? When does Hua Nation intend to send them back?"
They had paid at least one billion US dollars for this expensive Mars Rescue operation.
Although Hua Nation had publicized its contribution of 713 million dollars toward the rescue on humanitarian grounds, who the hell knew how much it had actually spent?
After all, Starry Sky Technology was currently the only company capable of bringing people back from Mars before the launch window closed. Whatever price it quoted for the operation was entirely up to it.
Carson estimated that Hua Nation had spent three or four hundred million dollars at most. There was no way the entire rescue had cost anything as outrageous as 1.7 billion dollars.
Meeting Director Carson's gaze, the assistant hesitated before speaking with an awkward expression.
"...That's still uncertain."
"Uncertain?" Director Carson froze for a moment, then frowned. "What do you mean... are they planning to hold our people there?"
"No, nothing like that. It's just that our astronauts... seem to have developed a slight problem."
"...What problem?"
Under Director Carson's questioning gaze, the assistant's face filled with distress.
"Suspected Martian bacteria were detected in the three colonists' metabolic waste..."
After the Rosy Glow successfully docked with the Moon Palace spacecraft, news that the three New