Reborn in 2011, I am the chief designer of aerospace.

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At this moment, the probe driven by Mira was rolling over the ground. The wheels first rolled over the sand, then over the pea-sized gravel, and finally onto the dark rock layer.

This type of land, known as "desert rock desert," was originally covered by sand, but is now completely bare.

Cracks appeared intermittently between the rock strata, with the edges covered with small stones. Although these cracks were not deep enough to threaten the safety of the exploration vehicle, the bumpy ride was really uncomfortable, and the wheels had very little grip on the rock surface.

This fault line runs east-west and echoes the unseen Sailor Valley beyond the northern horizon, leading her to speculate that it is another manifestation of tectonic stress.

Mira parked the probe on a small hill and leaned back comfortably in her chair, waiting for the others to catch up. She gazed into the distance at the rugged plain, but could see almost nothing.

Sheng Tianhong is the commander of this mission and holds the final say in deciding who gets to return. Can she use her status as a citizen of Country R to rightfully demand to return to Earth on the "Pirate 3"? Will he agree? Perhaps. In any case, it's worth a try.

If she could use a little charm to seduce him, perhaps she could get him to consider the issue from her perspective.

In fact, she had already noticed the dust raised before the Rock Jumper appeared. The dust swirled in the air, like a hazy, yellowish-brown giant worm crawling across the ground, while the green Rock Jumper, shimmering with iridescent colors, burst through the dust and sped towards her.

She saw Han Jing swaying precariously on the roof of the "Rock Jumper" like an elephant trainer, and as soon as the roaming vehicle came to a stop, he jumped off.

"As we get closer to Mariner Valley, this area is becoming more and more interesting," Han Jing said enthusiastically. "It's not just those craters and boulders; wasn't that a mound I just saw? Did you look closely?"

"I'm not here for sightseeing," Mira replied coldly. Was Han Jing blind or stupid? she thought to herself. Then she thought again, no, he just hadn't come to terms with reality yet.

This was a really tricky situation. The members of the expedition team were crammed into a small space like insects every day, with absolutely no privacy to hide from. Although Commander Sheng Tianhong had a good temper, he was too rigid and always wore his belt tightly.

Mira had noticed him peeking at her while she was changing, but he was usually incredibly reserved and followed the rules to the letter, which she found very incongruous. He spoke with the swagger of a street thug, and should theoretically be a pragmatist who believed in "a fool doesn't take advantage of a bargain."

But he acted as if he were being watched by God at all times, as if he was afraid of being struck by lightning if he stepped out of line even slightly. However, she also understood that most people who could sit in the position of commander were like this. Those who liked to play tricks and did not follow the rules would never be chosen to lead the team.

Song Xingye was completely different; he dared to break the rules, which of course meant he would never be able to climb to the position of captain.

Sadly, these people were sent to Mars, where they would at most dig around in the soil two meters deep or pile up a few meaningless mounds of rocks.

Damn it, maybe she should really consider changing her target to Song Xingye.

"What, you want that spot up there too?" Han Jing's words interrupted her thoughts. "The view is superb."

This proposal sounds quite... Mira wanted to stay in the cabin with the commander, so she shook her head. Then she realized that Han Jing couldn't see her movements through the thick dust mask, so she refused, "No, thank you."

To avoid seeming abrupt, she made up another excuse, "Let that kid go, he'll definitely enjoy it."

Han Jing nodded in deep agreement: "You're right."

……

Considering that the team members were still getting used to the new equipment, and that it was not advisable to overload the machinery on the first day, Commander Sheng Tianhong ordered the team to set up camp before sunset.

He and Mira worked together to inflate the living quarters, while Song Xingye simultaneously downloaded the electronic navigation logs of each rover.

"The data matches perfectly," Song Xingye announced.

Each vehicle is equipped with an independent inertial navigation system. By cross-comparing three sets of data, it is sufficient to verify whether the system is working properly during long journeys.

"Two hundred and ninety kilometers, which is quite an excellent performance for the first day."

Han Jing silently did the math in his mind. This progress wasn't bad at all. At this rate, they would only need twenty days to reach the North Pole. Once everyone was fully familiar with the feel of driving the physical equipment and was no longer limited by their habits from virtual training, the speed would definitely be able to increase even further.

Han Jing found the terrain of this area quite peculiar, with the surface becoming increasingly rugged, and the dark volcanic rocks covered with deep grooves, pits and crisscrossing fissures.

Light-colored sand filled the depressions, outlining strange patterns, like some kind of mysterious alien script. He couldn't help but reach out and touch the rock. Even through the thick spacesuit gloves, when his fingertips probed into the shallow pits and crevices, he could still clearly feel the rough texture.

After the "bubble" in the living pod fully inflated, Mira and Sheng Tianhong both disappeared behind the pile of rocks, which aroused Han Jing's suspicion.

He couldn't help but secretly speculate about Mira's true motives. On the surface, Mira seemed carefree and unrestrained, with her strengths and weaknesses laid bare. However, Han Jing gradually realized that beneath her outer shell lay a thick fog, concealing a hidden self that she had never revealed to anyone.

……

It was dusk on Mars, and the habitation module was fully inflated. Taking advantage of the rare free time before the sun had completely set, Sergei went for a walk outside.

Song Xingye followed closely behind, and Sergei was certain that the commander had specifically instructed Song Xingye to keep an eye on him.

This infuriated him. He wasn't a child and didn't need a nanny at all, but he knew that complaining was useless, so he simply accepted his fate.

Fortunately, Song Xingye was one of the more amiable people in the team. He usually treated Sergei as an equal adult, as a formal member of the team, rather than a spoiled rich kid.

"Come and see this." Song Xingye stood at the edge of a depression, leaning over to look down.

Sergei stepped forward and followed his gaze downwards. There was a deep pit with an extremely irregular shape, and the bottom of the pit was filled with clusters of very dark-colored stones, almost shiny black.

I'm currently reading Chapter 138 of the novel "I Want to Tap on This Mars"... completely engrossed in it.

"What is that?"

"It's probably a collapsed lava pipe."

Song Xingye bent down and picked up a rock. The flat rock was slightly curled up, like a broken piece of pottery.

He examined it carefully for a moment, then handed it to Sergei. The outer surface of the rock was as smooth as a mirror, but the inner recesses were full of jagged, sharp edges.

"This thing doesn't look like something that's two billion years old at all," he said thoughtfully. "I bet there was some volcanic activity here recently."

That sounds pretty novel.

"Recently?" Sergei pressed.

"I guess it's definitely less than a billion years ago," Song Xingye said confidently, "and it's very likely that it's been within the last million years."

"Oh," Sergei replied indifferently.

"Do you think you're a three-year-old? Be realistic, kid," Song Xingye teased.

After saying that, Song Xingye turned around and walked away. Sergei found it a bit unbelievable, since he should have been watching him the whole time. However, he didn't think much of it and took the opportunity to climb up a few towering rocks, looking around from above.

This place is extremely desolate, even more lifeless than the Arizona desert. You can't find a single patch of green, let alone cacti or a clump of wild grass. All you can see are pebbles and sand.

Sergei suddenly realized that Song Xingye, who was talking to himself, was actually singing.

"If I had a hammer," he sang in a strange, exaggerated voice, "I would strike it on Mars..."

The melody doesn't sound pop, rock, or even synth dance music; it's just some old folk songs from the last century. Singing this on Mars does seem a bit eerie.

"If I had a stone..." he began to sing again.

Sergei turned down the volume of the communication receiver with disdain.

However, the singing suddenly stopped. Sergei paused for a moment, then carefully turned the volume back up.

Song Xingye stood there blankly, staring intently at a rock. Sergei curiously approached to see what he was looking at, only to find that it was just an ordinary stone wall, nothing special.

"What is that?" Sergei asked.

"Did you see that?"

"What do you see?"

"It's moving. That stone, did you see it? It's flowing like water." Song Xingye suddenly knelt down and placed his hands on the surface of the stone. "It's moving, I can feel it."

"Where did it move?" Sergei also placed his hand on the rock, but he didn't notice anything unusual.

"Hey, can you feel the heartbeat? This rock is alive. It's not just a rock; it's an animal. I can feel it, right here!" He grabbed Sergei's hand and pressed it firmly against the rock. "Can you feel it?"

The texture of what Sergei was touching was clearly rock, rough, and full of holes—typical volcanic rock.

Suddenly, Song Xingye sprang to his feet, staggering backward. He walked with faltering steps, seemingly about to collapse. Was this guy drunk? Song Xingye's body tilted strangely to one side, as if he would fall to the ground at any moment.

These rocks could not possibly be living things. Sergei, refusing to believe it, pressed his hand tightly against the boulder again, closed his eyes, held his breath, and tried to concentrate on sensing the surface of the rock.

When he focused his attention to the extreme, he did feel a faint throbbing in his fingertips, but it was clearly his own pulse. The rock remained just a lifeless stone.

"Maybe it's a dinosaur," Song Xingye muttered somewhat nervously, "but it's sleeping right now. Kid, listen to me, I've finally figured it out. We're not on Mars at all. This is all a fucking hoax! We're definitely still in some desert in the East. Don't be fooled by how well the surroundings look. I'm sure the real secret is hidden over there on the horizon."

As he spoke, he suddenly raised his hand and covered the visor of his helmet, as if to block some kind of light.

"This outfit is ridiculous. Why are we wearing these hideous things?" He subconsciously reached out to pull on the helmet's clasp, but pulled back halfway through the air.

"Kid, we've all been tricked. This is just a virtual exercise. Look at this gravity."

He casually picked up a stone and threw it on the ground. Under the gravity of Mars, it took more than a second for the stone to hit the ground.

"See that? This falling speed is so slow it looks unreal! Is that Martian gravity? I can't tell the difference."

He picked up another stone and threw it down.

"Maybe it's real? How did those guys manage to fake this weightlessness effect?" He bent down to touch the stone again, but seemed to have forgotten what he was supposed to do.

"Hey, look, this stone is carved," he said mysteriously. "It's definitely man-made. Why would I lie to you?"

He threw away the stone in his hand and tried to move another, rounder one.

"Look, this is a bowling ball." He tried to pry it off, but he couldn't get it out no matter what he did.

Sergei was terrified. Had Song Xingye completely gone mad? Would he suddenly go on a killing spree like those psychopathic killers in horror movies?

Sergei looked around in alarm, only to realize that they had somehow wandered out of the camp's sight. In fact, amidst this bizarre array of rocks, he couldn't even tell which direction the living quarters were in.

Song Xingye collapsed heavily to the ground, and Sergei felt as if even the thin air around them trembled.

Song Xingye casually grabbed a handful of sand. "If I had a bowling ball..." he began humming that eerie little tune again, "I would go bowling."

Sergei approached him. On the control panel below Song Xingye's collar, there was a switch to activate the emergency broadcast frequency. Sergei reached out, lifted the protective cover, and pressed it lightly. The indicator light did not light up, so he pressed it a second time.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Song Xingye asked as he brushed the dust off his spacesuit.

"What?" Song Xingye looked down at himself. "Ugh, these clothes are pretty dirty, aren't they? Do you think I should take them off?"

"Uh, no, I think that's a terrible idea," Sergei quickly said.

"Alright." Song Xingye started singing again, changing the song to something else: "I was once lost, but now I've been reborn..."

At that moment, a figure wearing a bright purple spacesuit appeared on the opposite side of the ridge, rushing up the hillside and approaching them.

Song Xingye looked up and called out, "Han Jing! Hey, Han Jing, come quick! Where's the beer?"

As he spoke, he staggered as he tried to stand up.

"Stay where you are!" Han Jing shouted sharply. "Damn it! Kid, how long has he been like this?"

Song Xingye stood up unsteadily, but even standing still was difficult.

His voice was filled with confusion: "I think I'm drunk, which is strange, I haven't even had a beer yet."