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

It felt like walking a tightrope high in the sky. He was completely focused on controlling the steering wheel, staring intently at the extremely thin ridgeline ahead, as if he could keep the heavy roaming vehicle balanced by sheer willpower.

Theoretically, it sounds simple: there are no obstacles, boulders, or cracks on the narrow ridge; as long as you stay close to the center line, everything will be fine.

At first, the ridge was so wide it was practically a road, stretching down a gentle slope, with enough space for the three team members ahead to walk side by side.

Sergei was even jumping around at the very front, occasionally peeking out curiously to look at the cliff on this side and then at the abyss on the other.

"Commander, how's the situation on your end?" Song Xingye's voice came through the communication channel.

He pressed the intercom button and replied, "Everything is going well so far."

"If you feel tired and want me to take over driving, just let me know."

"Received, we can manage for now."

However, as they went deeper, the ridgeline began to narrow sharply, becoming too narrow to accommodate both wheels on the left and right sides at the same time. Sheng Tianhong then turned the roaming vehicle sideways, making its body perpendicular to the ridgeline.

The "Rock Jumper" is equipped with an independent steering system, which it uses to turn all six wheels 90 degrees in place, allowing the rover to move along the ridge in a sideways straddle position.

The two middle wheels are firmly pressed against the top of the ridge, while the front and rear pairs of wheels utilize the extreme extension of the suspension struts to rest on the slopes on both sides of the ridge, clinging to the terrain like crabs to maintain balance. The chassis of the roaming vehicle is almost scraping against the rocks, but this is the only way.

In this way, the rovers' pressurized cabin was suspended directly outside the cliff. Through the porthole, Sheng Tianhong could see an endless slope below, pointing straight to a bottomless abyss.

Ahead, three team members wearing extravehicular activity suits had changed their formation to a long, single-file line, with Han Jing leading the way and Song Xingye following closely behind.

The narrow path that made the Rock Jumper difficult to traverse was relatively spacious for hikers, but they still slowed down because walking was equally fraught with danger.

Sheng Tianhong knew that Song Xingye, who was in the middle, was in the most dangerous situation. According to the rules of the rope, if Sergei in front accidentally slipped and fell down the ridge, Song Xingye had to jump to the other side of the ridge without hesitation and use the tension of the rope as a counterweight to pull him back. Otherwise, the momentum of Sergei's fall would drag everyone into the abyss.

Sheng Tianhong could keenly sense every bump on the road and every slight slip of the wheels. He adjusted the steering with precise micro-management, keeping a firm grip on the ridgeline.

As he moved sideways, his eyes were bloodshot, and he dared not look away for a moment. It wasn't until he finally had a chance to glance at the clock on the dial that he was surprised to find that the suffocating journey he had just experienced had actually taken less than half an hour.

The ridge descended gently at first, then began to rise slightly. By this time, they had passed the most treacherous half of the journey. As the ridgeline gradually widened again, the view became more open. Finally, all six wheels of the "Rock Jumper" landed firmly on solid ground once more.

His throat still burned, his eyes were dry and itchy, and the inside of his eyelids felt as if they had been rough sanded.

They successfully crossed this tributary valley.

But they all knew in their hearts that the next hurdle would not be so easy to overcome.

……

Han Jing had to devote a great deal of energy to watching the road conditions under his feet. In such a place, whether or not he was wearing a safety rope, a single misstep could be fatal.

But her legs moved mechanically as if they were on autopilot, as if she had handed over control of her body to someone else. The winding ridgeline stretched endlessly ahead, while Han Jing's gaze was fixed on the vast and boundless canyons on both sides.

On the steep canyon walls, horizontal rock layers of deep orange and light yellow are interwoven, interspersed with gossamer-like dark black textures. Under the slanting afternoon sunlight, these ancient rock layers refract a diamond-like brilliance.

Even the sky above was painted with vibrant colors, transitioning from a bright lemon yellow at the horizon to a deep terracotta hue. Han Jing racked his brains but couldn't find a more fitting adjective; the scene was simply breathtakingly beautiful.

It was so beautiful, so desolate, so wild, that it surpassed any landscape she had ever seen in her life. She instinctively pressed the microphone and blurted out the shock she felt.

The channel was completely silent; no one responded. She turned around and looked at her two teammates who were tied to her with the same rope.

Song Xingye stared silently at the strange sight before him, while Sergei's face was deathly pale, his teeth clenched tightly, and his forehead covered in cold sweat.

He was terrified, she thought.

The Rock Jumper followed closely behind, climbing laterally along the ridge in an extremely contorted manner, looking like a giant mechanical spider.

Getting this behemoth to sit steadily on the razor-sharp mountain ridge was no easy task, but it moved as smoothly as flowing water, as if it had completely broken free from the constraints of gravity.

She couldn't help but marvel at how this was a miracle in mechanical engineering. Undeniably, no matter how controversial Sheng Tianhong was as a commander, he was absolutely a terrifyingly calm and top-notch pilot.

Looking at Sergei, she was suddenly overcome with intense pity. The young man looked to be no more than twenty years old, but at this moment he seemed to have been emptied of his soul.

They lured him away from Earth with their beautiful vision, and now he will perish here with them, frozen into a cold shell on this desolate red planet, gradually dehydrated and shriveled in the dry, biting wind, and finally buried forever by the endless yellow sand.

For Han Jing herself, this outcome was acceptable; she had prepared for the worst before she came. But for Sergei, it was far too cruel.

She sighed inwardly. This kid should never have left his music, his friends, and his obsessive virtual world. He should have been enjoying his youth safely on Earth, partying with his friends to deafening electronic music, experiencing life, and learning how to love.

"No, I can't think like that, it's too defeatist." She shook her head, trying to banish those thoughts from her mind.

But this place is so beautiful. They are like a drop in the ocean, standing alone under the magnificent dome of the Creator, looking down at this magnificent abyss that no mortal has ever set foot in since its birth.

At that moment, a sense of peace and reconciliation with the world welled up in Han Jing's heart.

……

The team advanced another thirty kilometers across the rugged terrain, reaching the end of the world in less than an hour.

At least, that's how it seems at first glance.

Commander Sheng Tianhong fell into a deathly silence. He was usually taciturn, but now he was even more like a pantomime actor, his lips tightly pressed together, only using stiff gestures to indicate the direction of advance, ignoring any questions from others.

The road ended abruptly, the horizon ahead carrying an eerie sense of unease; it was so close it sent chills down one's spine, and then it abruptly vanished like a cliff.

The Mariner Valley stretches across the Martian surface from east to west, almost parallel to the equator. Its westernmost point begins at the eastern edge of the chaotic labyrinth known as the "Night Labyrinth" and extends eastward for more than two thousand kilometers, eventually branching into countless winding, intersecting deep trenches at its end.

Unlike the tiny canyons on Earth that are formed by water erosion, Mariner's Canyon is a complete ditch.

Millions of years ago, the surging magma inside Mars created the massive uplift of the Tharsis Highlands, and the immense geological tension tore the Martian crust apart, like a loaf of bread fermenting in an oven with a huge crack on its surface.

At the same time, under the same geological tectonic force, many small secondary cracks are also distributed on the rocky crust of Mars. The mechanism of their formation is exactly the same as that of the main canyon. What they had previously struggled to cross were just some insignificant "small cracks".

But this time, what lies before them is not some geological branch.

This is the true main canyon of the Mariner, displaying its enormous size to them without reservation.

Han Jing stood quietly at the edge of the abyss, his gaze fixed on the distance, stretching beyond the void and into the distance.

The cliffs on the opposite bank were no longer visible at the end of the line of sight, and the width of the canyon had long exceeded the limit of the horizon. The hazy colors in the sky and the dust at the bottom of the abyss intertwined and blended together, making it look like a unified whole and completely eliminating any sense of distance.

Before them lay a sheer cliff with a vertical drop of one kilometer, followed by a gentle slope of loose rocks stretching for at least ten kilometers, or even longer. The slope twisted downwards and eventually disappeared into the thick fog of sand and dust.

Han Jing's voice trembled, carrying a tone of reverence.

"Oh God," she murmured, "are we... really going down into there?"

Sheng Tianhong's voice came through the channel, sounding somewhat hoarse: "Yes, we need to go down, all the way to the very bottom."

He paused for a moment, then added in a very faint voice, almost drowned out by the radio: "We have no choice."

……

Sheng Tianhong walked alone along the edge of the cliff. The bottom of the canyon had long been swallowed by shadows and plunged into a deathly darkness.

He felt as if he were standing on the edge of a dark ocean, and if he wasn't careful, he would fall into the churning black whirlpool below.

Sergei came to talk to him again. This time, the young man even gave up on hiding his true feelings, his tone full of pleading. But Sheng Tianhong still coldly dismissed him.

In fact, Sheng Tianhong knew better than anyone else that he had reached the point where he had to face that cruel decision.

The returning spacecraft had limited carrying capacity and could not possibly take everyone with it.

So, who should be allowed to live?

This is a reality he has been desperately trying to escape. No matter how treacherous the road ahead, no matter how painful the price he has to pay, he will do everything in his power to escort his team members to the return spaceship.

But when the spacecraft ignites and lifts off, he himself will never sit in that cramped reentry capsule.

……

Dear Sephna:

I don't know when I'll be able to send this letter yet, but I promised to write to you, and I will. We're resting at the edge of the canyon right now, and we'll be going down to the bottom tomorrow morning. It's definitely going to be a thrilling adventure.

Mars possesses a desolate yet awe-inspiring beauty, rugged and primitive, far more barren than any desert on Earth. People often call it the "Red Planet," but when we actually landed here, we were surprised to find that it is not actually red.

It has a deep yellowish-brown color, darker than the sand on the beach, and if you had to make a comparison, it looks more like a piece of bread spread with peanut butter... or a piece of bread baked to a golden brown.

The dark rocks had a hint of magenta, while in the shadows they settled into a dull brick red.

I'm sorry I haven't been able to write to you often. I think of you every day and sincerely hope you're doing well. I remember when I was your age, life often made me feel discouraged, but you must never give up easily. You don't need to force yourself to be the most popular or fashionable girl in your class; just be your most authentic self.

I look at your photos every day. To be honest, I still think it looks a bit funny for a girl to have a shaved head. But since everyone says it's a new trend and many of your peers dress like that, I guess I'm just too old-fashioned.

I'm so sorry, we can't talk to each other every day anymore. The Earth is gradually moving to the other side of the sun, and our high-powered communication antenna has unfortunately been left in that spaceship.

Take good care of yourself for me, focus on your studies, everything will be alright, I promise.

After finishing writing, Han Jing repeatedly examined the letter in front of the screen. Was the writing too cold and old-fashioned? She had never really known how to communicate with teenage girls.

She deleted Han Jing from the signature and replaced it with the more intimate Xiao Han. Then she checked the entire letter word by word, afraid that the tone might sound too harsh anywhere.

What else could be added? Didn't she already tell Sephna that the scenery on Mars was breathtakingly beautiful?

Just then, night fell, and Mars' two small moons chased and played in the night sky. The larger moon, Phobos, moved extremely fast, and its trajectory across the sky could be seen with the naked eye.

In just one night, it can complete the cycle of waxing and waning from new moon to full moon and back to new moon.

"Forget it, this is enough," she sighed. After all, she didn't even know when she would be able to send the letter.

After they descend to the bottom of the abyss tomorrow... what they see and hear there will surely provide her with a lot of new material, allowing her to say more to the girl in her next letter.

As dawn broke, they began their descent down the canyon.

The night before, Song Xingye had already installed safety anchors on the rock face. Then, they secured the "Rock Jumper" all-terrain vehicle, along with the supplies, firmly to the descent support.

They first lowered the vehicle vertically for about 1.5 kilometers until it reached the scree slope below. Then, Song Xingye descended along the rope and secured the vehicle properly.