Chapter Summaries

Bai Yixuan and Hong Fan continued drilling through a deep layer of reddish soil while, a kilometer away, a malfunctioning carbon dioxide scrubber threatened the lives of the United States' Mars Module crew. Andrew and Bruno found a replacement system and began a spacewalk to install it.

• Bai Yixuan told Hong Fan that the reddish layer had already extended five meters and that they needed to keep drilling to reach the underground ice.
• Andrew rushed to Module One after an alarm sounded and discovered that the central control computer had detected a failure in the air circulation system.
• Bruno identified the broken carbon dioxide scrubber and warned that toxic gases could become fatal within about three days.
• Joy confirmed that NASA had packed spare air circulation systems, and Andrew and Bruno found one in Module Three's storeroom.
• Andrew and Bruno entered the airlock in spacesuits and prepared to go outside to replace the scrubber.

Xia Wanyi, Bai Yixuan, and Hong Fan struggled to drill through a thick layer of crater fill on Mars before finally reaching ice. Outside the Mars Module, Andrew discovered that Martian dust had damaged the air circulation system, and the chapter ended with him finding a breach and a fist-sized rock inside the equipment.

• Xia Wanyi and Bai Yixuan found that drilling had reached twenty-five meters, with nearly twenty meters of crater fill above the ice layer.
• Hong Fan spotted the drill slowing as it reached the ice, and Bai Yixuan decided the team should keep drilling before reporting to Professor Lü.
• Andrew and Bruno went outside the Mars Module, where Andrew dismantled the air circulation equipment and found the carbon dioxide scrubber covered in Martian dust.
• Andrew installed a replacement scrubber, but Joy reported that the air circulation system still was not working.
• Andrew tried a second replacement, then found a breach and a fist-sized rusty-red rock inside the equipment and warned Joy and Bruno that they might be in trouble.

A damaged air circulation system forced the Pathfinder crew to abandon their Mars mission and board the Return Capsule, but the capsule's engine failed to start. The astronauts were left stranded on Mars as NASA officials learned of the new emergency.

• Andrew told Bruno and Joy that a Martian rock had torn the Mars Module's air circulation system, and he said the crew would have to contact NASA and prepare to return.
• Professor Chris received the crew's distress call and alerted Director Morton, who told President Albert that the damaged module had forced the astronauts into the Return Capsule.
• Bruno joked about being glad the damaged system had ended their stay on Mars, and Andrew reminded him that the capsule recorded audio and video.
• Andrew initiated the Return Capsule's ignition sequence, but the engine failed to respond despite his repeated attempts.
• Andrew, Bruno, and Joy exited the capsule and stood stranded on Mars while Andrew angrily blamed NASA.

After the Mars Return Capsule’s engine failed, Morton urged the United States to rescue the stranded astronauts, but President Albert rejected both a rescue mission and asking Xia Country for help. Morton told Professor Chris the decision was final, then revealed he had a plan.

• A staff member told Morton that the Return Capsule’s engine had shut down and could not be repaired remotely.
• Albert asked whether the United States should rescue the three astronauts, and Morton argued that they must not abandon them.
• Albert refused to seek help from Xia Country and ended the meeting with the rescue plan abandoned.
• Morton remembered Andrew, Bruno, and Joy, while the administration blocked channels that could spread news of the decision.
• Morton told Professor Chris that the president had abandoned the rescue and forbidden them from asking Xia Country for help.
• Chris grieved that the astronauts were still waiting for a solution, and Morton said he had a plan.

After the United States abandoned its stranded Mars astronauts, they contacted Xia Country’s Black Lady Two for help. Lü Yongchang ordered a rescue, despite the possible consequences.

• Professor Chris told Andrew and the other astronauts that the United States had abandoned them and that they would have to send a distress message to Black Lady Two themselves.
• Bruno prepared to leave the Return Capsule while Andrew worried about what would happen to them after returning to Earth.
• Bai Yixuan received a distress call from the United States’ Mars Module and told the astronauts he would consult his superiors.
• Fang Xu informed Lü Yongchang that the three American astronauts were asking Xia Country for help after the United States abandoned them.
• Lü Yongchang ordered Bai Yixuan to begin a rescue mission.

Lü Yongchang urged Senator Li to approve a rescue mission, arguing that the approaching changes to the Sun made it urgent for humanity to unite. He revealed the military Black Lady-X fighter, secured approval to begin production, and suggested announcing the rescue plan publicly.

• Lü Yongchang told Senator Li that the Sun was about to undergo a major change and that the West would discover the problem within days.
• Lü Yongchang argued that humanity needed to unite and presented the Black Lady-X military fighter proposal.
• Lü Yongchang said Zero’s factory could produce the first Black Lady-X within three days if Senator Li approved it.
• Senator Li approved Lü Yongchang’s plan and agreed to begin with twenty Black Lady-X fighters.
• Lü Yongchang suggested announcing the rescue plan to the public, and Senator Li agreed to handle it.

Bai Yixuan and his crew launched a rescue mission to save the stranded Pathfinder astronauts on Mars. After Black Lady Two landed, the astronauts reunited, but Hong Fan’s demand for access to Pathfinder’s data drew Andrew’s attention.

• Lü Yongchang ordered Bai Yixuan, Xia Wanyi, and Hong Fan to begin the rescue mission.
• Bai Yixuan contacted Pathfinder as Black Lady Two approached the Mars Module, while Andrew, Bruno, and Joy feared they had been abandoned.
• Andrew heard that the Xia Country crew had arrived and repeatedly thanked them for coming to rescue the Pathfinder astronauts.
• Black Lady Two landed nearby, and the three Pathfinder astronauts were awed by the spacecraft and the Xia Country crew’s suits.
• Bai Yixuan and his crew greeted the Pathfinder astronauts, but Hong Fan muttered that access to the Mars Module’s data would be more useful than thanks.
• Andrew asked whether Hong Fan had just requested access to the Mars Module’s data.

Andrew offered Bai Yixuan access to the Mars Module’s data and black box, then asked him to help the three stranded astronauts apply for Xia Country citizenship. The next day, Xia Country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released footage of the rescue, and news of the astronauts’ abandonment spread across the internet.

• Bruno offered to grant Bai Yixuan access to the Mars Module’s data, and Andrew agreed to share its black box, drilling records, and experimental data.
• Andrew asked Bai Yixuan to apply for Xia Country citizenship for all three astronauts, explaining that they could not safely return to the United States.
• The next day, Lu Renbing found a video of the Mars rescue on Xia Country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs website and shared it with his group chat and campus forum.
• The video went viral, and online users reacted to the United States abandoning the astronauts and to Xia Country’s rescue.

Xia Wanyi detected fungi in a Martian drilling sample, and Bai Yixuan ordered more samples collected from the area. On Earth, Lü Yongchang learned of the discovery and told the team to return once they had enough samples.

• The Head Councillor agreed with Lü Yongchang's recommendation to accept the three American astronauts, despite the possibility that they were spies.
• Xia Wanyi processed Hong Fan's drilling sample and detected fungi on Mars.
• Bai Yixuan examined the dried fungus and ordered everyone to undergo decontamination before returning to Black Lady Two.
• Bai Yixuan and Hong Fan went to drill more holes nearby to collect additional samples.
• Lü Yongchang received word of the discovery and ordered the astronauts to return after collecting enough samples and to mark the site clearly.

After the Sun’s rapid aging was confirmed, the United States considered hiding the news while Xia Country prepared a nationwide broadcast. Senator Li announced that Earth would be destroyed within fifteen years and declared emergency measures, promising that Xia Country would not abandon anyone.

• Morton told Albert that NASA had found the Sun was aging rapidly and would become a red giant within ten years, but Albert had little time to respond before Lü Yongchang learned that the United States planned to conceal the discovery.
• Lü Yongchang asked Zero to contact Senator Li.
• Senator Li interrupted broadcasts and phone apps across Xia Country to announce that the Sun would enter its red giant phase within ten years and destroy Earth in a helium flash within fifteen years.
• Senator Li declared level-one war readiness, centralized allocation of supplies, a worldwide evacuation of Xia Country’s citizens, and the closure of international trade channels.
• Senator Li said Xia Country had spent a year stockpiling resources, would devote enormous resources to aerospace, and would not abandon a single person.

After Xia Country declared level-one combat readiness over a looming solar crisis, other nations examined its claims and weighed their responses. The chapter ended with Su Country confirming Xia Country’s data and urging international cooperation.

• Zhao Zijie realized that Xia Country’s Moon Palace, Southern Heavenly Gate, and Heavenly Court projects, along with its shift toward heavy industry, might prepare its people to leave Earth.
• President Albert rejected public disclosure of the crisis and ordered the United States to screen its population for a limited evacuation, while Britain and Gaul also cast doubt on Xia Country’s claims.
• The Emperor of Su Country received Xia Country’s solar data, confirmed it was accurate, and sought to discuss possible responses with Senator Li.
• Xia Country’s National Astronomical Observatory published its solar observations and Lü Yongchang’s mathematical model for countries to verify.
• After more than ten hours of scrutiny, Su Country publicly confirmed Xia Country’s data and called on all countries to discuss countermeasures.

Albert accepted that the United States had to abandon its original plan and agreed to negotiate with Xia Country before an emergency United Nations meeting. Meanwhile, Black Lady Two returned from Mars carrying alien life, and Lü Yongchang ordered the crew and spacecraft disinfected and quarantined.

• After Britain and Gaul yielded to public pressure, Anthony urged Albert to abandon the original plan, and Albert agreed to negotiate with Xia Country and convene an emergency United Nations meeting.
• As Black Lady Two headed back from Mars, Bai Yixuan told Andrew and his companions that Xia Country had approved their long-term residence, and promised they would be reunited with their families.
• Bai Yixuan reported Black Lady Two's arrival in geostationary orbit, and Fang Xu welcomed the crew home.
• Lü Yongchang ordered Black Lady Two's hatch kept closed while the craft was drenched in disinfectant and treated with flamethrowers.
• Lü Yongchang told Bai Yixuan and the others they would undergo full-body disinfection and fourteen days of quarantine and observation.

After Bai Yixuan and the other astronauts were sent into a strict fourteen-day quarantine, Lü Yongchang and Mao Zhengzhi examined samples of an alien fungus. Their microscope revealed that its cells had unusually thick walls and occupied only a fraction of the space inside them, then Lü Yongchang noticed the cells absorbing water.

• Lü Yongchang ordered the astronauts to stay aboard while staff collected the samples and began their daily medical examinations for the fourteen-day quarantine.
• Bai Yixuan and the others learned that quarantine rules allowed only prescribed foods, disappointing Hong Fan's hope of eating hot pot.
• Lü Yongchang met Mao Zhengzhi in the biological laboratory and examined a dark, twisted fungus whose samples averaged about twenty centimeters long.
• Lü Yongchang and Mao Zhengzhi prepared tissue slides and observed fungal cells with thick walls and unusually shrunken interiors.
• Lü Yongchang noticed that the fungal cells were absorbing water.

Lü Yongchang and Mao Zhengzhi discovered that Martian fungi remained alive after spending ten to twenty thousand years underground. Their tests suggested the fungi survived by breaking down parts of their own cells and entering deep hibernation, and Lü Yongchang prepared to test whether they could induce hibernation in lab mice.

• Lü Yongchang and Mao Zhengzhi watched some Martian fungal cells swell after receiving water, confirming that they were still alive.
• Lü Yongchang received test results showing that the fungal samples were between ten and twenty thousand years old.
• Lü Yongchang and Mao Zhengzhi examined the cells with an electron microscope and found that many organelles in the viable cells were incomplete, as though parts had been consumed.
• Lü Yongchang concluded that the fungi survived through self-digestion and extreme hibernation, then asked Mao Zhengzhi to bring lab mice so he could test whether the fungi contained a substance that induced deep hibernation.

Lü Yongchang tested Martian fungus on lab mice and discovered it induced a powerful suspended-animation state, but the mice could not be awakened. After finding an unfamiliar protein in their blood, he suspected it caused the effect and considered another way to investigate it before the United Nations General Assembly.

• Lü Yongchang and Mao Zhengzhi injected fifteen mice with fungal solutions of varying concentrations while five control mice received saline.
• The experimental mice collapsed within minutes, and examinations showed their breathing, heart rates, and body temperatures had fallen to levels consistent with suspended animation.
• Lü Yongchang and Mao Zhengzhi failed to find a way to wake the mice, and the lowest-dose mouse began consuming its body fat.
• Mao Zhengzhi reported that the mice's blood contained an unusual protein with a structure unlike Earth's biological enzymes.
• Lü Yongchang rejected the idea of slowly decoding the fungus's genetic information and hinted that he had another approach.

Lü Yongchang persuaded Mao Zhengzhi to use lab mice to rapidly test whether they could produce antibodies against an extraterrestrial protein, despite the containment risks. At an emergency United Nations meeting, Xia Country rejected Albert’s proposal to form an Earth Human Alliance, leaving the question of international cooperation unresolved.

• Lü Yongchang convinced Mao Zhengzhi that testing the alien protein in mice was necessary to avoid delays in genetic analysis.
• Lü Yongchang and Mao Zhengzhi prepared facilities for hundreds of thousands of mice and ordered space for at least a hundred million, with strict containment and kill protocols.
• Senator Li attended the emergency United Nations meeting, where the secretary-general called for nations to cooperate against the Sun’s imminent changes.
• Albert proposed forming an Earth Human Alliance, but Xia Country voted against the proposal.
• Albert challenged Senator Li, who asked how the alliance would handle national governments, leadership, and resource allocation.

Senator Li presented footage of Black Lady-X at the United Nations meeting, helping secure the creation of the Human Federation to address the solar crisis. At Xia Country First Laboratory, Lü Yongchang faced mass deaths among lab mice undergoing enzyme experiments, but one mouse woke up, giving him hope.

• Senator Li showed the United Nations representatives a video of twenty Black Lady-X aircraft taking off together.
• The United Nations announced the creation of the Earth Human Community of Shared Destiny, known as the Human Federation, to address the solar crisis.
• Lü Yongchang learned that more than five million of the one hundred million lab mice had died after receiving a low-concentration enzyme injection.
• Zero estimated that nearly all the mice would die within five days, and the death toll rose to twenty million by the following day.
• Zero reported that a mouse in cage FN1A2 had woken up and was eating, so Lü Yongchang ordered Zero to wake Mao Zhengzhi and hurried to the cage.

Lü Yongchang and Mao Zhengzhi discovered that a white mouse named Aurora had produced an antibody that neutralized the Martian fungus’s proteases, and an injected mouse began to wake. Lü Yongchang then unlocked Deep-Sea Mode, a hypergravity technology that could help humans endure the acceleration of future starships.

• Lü Yongchang and Mao Zhengzhi found the awakened white mouse in cage A2, and Lü Yongchang named it Aurora.
• Blood tests revealed that Aurora had developed an unknown antibody that eliminated the proteases.
• Mao Zhengzhi injected the antibody into an experimental mouse, which soon woke and began moving around its cage.
• Lü Yongchang entered the Technology Tree System and achieved basic mastery of Hibernation Technology.
• Lü Yongchang discovered the Deep-Sea Mode node and learned it could help humans withstand the high G-forces of interstellar travel.

After confirming the mice had recovered from the hibernatin treatment, Lü Yongchang asked Senator Li to approve land near the equator for a space elevator and its spaceport. The Human Federation approved the African construction site under the codename Tower of Babel, while Zhao Zijie decided to learn to pilot a starship before Earth’s destruction in fourteen years.

• Lü Yongchang saw that all fifteen mice had recovered without lasting side effects, named the protease hibernatin and its antibody anti-hibernatin, and told Mao Zhengzhi to test the treatment on chimpanzees before using it on humans.
• Lü Yongchang assigned Mao Zhengzhi another research task involving deep-sea mode.
• Lü Yongchang asked Senator Li to launch a space elevator project and explained that its foundation and surrounding spaceport required land at least the size of an ordinary city near the equator.
• Senator Li suggested Africa as the construction site, and the Human Federation approved the first space elevator project there under the codename Tower of Babel.
• Zhao Zijie saw the announcement and chose to study piloting aerospace planes and starships so he could take part in the evacuation from Earth.

Lü Yongchang learned that the Second-Generation Quantum Computer had reached 500,000 qubits, and Zero moved into it. Zero confirmed it could oversee most of the space elevator construction, but warned that the project depended on cable technology and could take three to five years alongside the laboratory’s other work.

• Mo Zeyang told Lü Yongchang that the Second-Generation Quantum Computer had 500,000 qubits, and Zero confirmed that it performed well.
• Lü Yongchang oversaw Zero’s transfer from the first-generation computer, during which Zero disconnected factory controls and paused laboratory computing tasks.
• After moving into its new system, Zero optimized its algorithms and told Lü Yongchang it felt very good.
• Zero estimated that it could complete more than 90% of the space elevator construction tasks in about a year if all computing power went to the project, provided cable technology advanced.
• Zero estimated the project would take three to five years while it also handled laboratory and manufacturing work, citing rapidly growing workloads.