Once the sampling was complete, the motor reversed, swiftly pulling the long drill rod out of the ground.
Nothing seemed unusual about the first five meters.
The drill rod was covered in rust-red rock fragments.
But what emerged next looked rather different.
Deep red all over.
Seeing the obvious difference in color, Bai Yixuan felt a flicker of unease.
On an alien planet, faced with something unknown, unease and worry were perfectly natural reactions.
It wasn't just Bai Yixuan. Concern appeared on the faces of his five teammates as well.
"Captain, this..."
Xia Wanyi's voice came over the radio.
"Stay calm," Bai Yixuan said softly, taking a deep breath. "Let's wait until the whole drill rod is out before we assess the situation."
The team's radio channel fell silent.
Everyone stared fixedly at the drill rod before them.
The motor stopped.
As the two people closest to the drill rod, Bai Yixuan and Hong Fan spotted the problem immediately.
"Wet?" Hong Fan stared blankly at the drill rod.
Bai Yixuan instinctively reached out and touched it lightly, then rubbed his fingertips together.
"No. To be precise, it's damp."
Mars City One.
"The soil five meters underground is damp?!"
Lü Yongchang stared incredulously at the holographic image before him.
"Professor, it appears to be damp Martian dust clumped together," Zero meticulously corrected Lü Yongchang's wording.
"That doesn't matter!"
Lü Yongchang waved a hand dismissively, his brow deeply furrowed.
"The point is, why is it wet? How can it possibly be wet?!"
"Zero, what's the current surface temperature on Mars?"
Zero promptly answered his question. "It is currently noon at Gale Crater, and the surface temperature is ten degrees Celsius. Due to the Sun's influence, it is approximately twenty degrees Celsius higher than at the same time in previous years."
Lü