I live in the Martian wilderness!

"This assumption is invalid; the probability is zero." Xuanjian interrupted him, unusually, his tone resolute.

The screen automatically lit up, displaying a real-time nighttime view of Earth, with countless lights twinkling on the blue planet.

"Captain, please don't measure yourself by the fate of ordinary probes. The Zhurong is a tool, but you are a hero."

"In my underlying logic library, there is a highest priority instruction: at all costs."

"Your current loss of contact is only a temporary physical blockage. At this moment, in that world 60 million kilometers away, there must be tens of thousands of top minds who are staying up all night."

Xuanjian zoomed in on the screen, focusing on the brightest area on the map of China.

"They will restart their dormant production lines for you, burn through billions of dollars in budget for you, and even build spaceships that are ahead of their time for you."

"The country will not abandon any of its people, let alone you."

"So, Captain," Xuanjian's voice softened, "you will never become the next piece of silent metal. You just need to survive and wait quietly."

"They will definitely come; this is not just a prediction, it's a historical inevitability!"

Gu Yu stared blankly at the map of China on the screen, and the suffocating feeling in his chest, as if he were being pressed down by the deep sea, quietly dissipated.

"Is it an inevitable historical trend...?"

Gu Yu took a deep breath, and the confusion in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a resolute look.

"You're right, they definitely haven't given up, and I have no right to be sentimental."

He casually stuffed the empty bag into the trash can. "Go to sleep, Xuan. Tomorrow, we'll continue our journey towards the Zhurong!"

"Roger that, Captain. Also, just a reminder that you have an unopened mysterious birthday gift from Earth."

"I had forgotten about it until you mentioned it. Okay, we'll turn it on when we get back. Please add it to my notes."

I laid the chair flat and crawled into my sleeping bag.

Although it was a frigid hell outside the window with temperatures dropping to minus ninety degrees Celsius, the Candlelight Nuclear Battery continuously emitted heat, giving him a warm cocoon in this desolate night.

That night, within this tiny halo of light that spanned a radius of 60 million kilometers, the heartbeat from Earth became steady and powerful.

[Mars Day 5, 06:30 AM]

What woke Gu Yu was not the alarm clock, but the muscle stiffness caused by maintaining a curled-up posture for a long time.

He opened his eyes, and outside the lead-glass window was still that despairing expanse of black, jagged rocks, only now, in the dim light of dawn, those menacing silhouettes were edged with a dark red frost.

"Good morning, Captain." Xuanjian's voice rang out on time. "I suggest you take care of your physiological needs before performing any operations."

Gu Yu gave a wry smile. He had no choice but to sit up straight and reach for the black metal cylinder.

The air pressure indicator light is normal. Unlock and screw it in smoothly, then drain the water.

With a brief hum of the miniature pump, it was all over. Gu Yu quickly finished cleaning up.

"Xuan, report the energy status." Gu Yu issued the first command while stretching his sore neck.

"Current Tianchi battery pack charge: 62%. Due to output power limitations, after 13 hours and 45 minutes of charging last night, it has not yet reached full charge."

"We can't wait any longer." Gu Yu glanced at the rising sun outside. "There are only ten hours of daylight. Sitting here doing nothing is a waste of life."

He quickly did a mental calculation: "The remaining power is about 150 kilowatt-hours, which, based on yesterday's energy consumption ratio, is enough to support driving on at least 60 kilometers of rugged roads."

"According to the map, the Zhu Rong ship is less than 40 kilometers away from its coordinates."

"The battery is enough for a one-way trip," Gu Yu decided. "We'll use this half-bucket of fuel to get to the destination, then recharge it during the operation. Let's go!"

[Status confirmed: Power output limited to 70% to extend range.]

As the joystick was moved, the steel behemoth, which had been dormant all night, began to emit a low, rumbling motor hum once more.

The tracks crushed the surface frost, screeching as they forcefully cut into the unknown labyrinth of rocks ahead.

The second day of the journey was more difficult than the first, but it was also filled with a sense of urgency as the destination drew nearer.

The Achilles rocky belt seemed unwilling to let any intruder escape; the deeper one went, the denser and taller the wind-eroded basalt ridges became.

At 10:00 AM, Tissot encountered its biggest obstacle.

A three-meter-high rock fault line stretched across the way, like a natural dam, completely cutting off the path.

"Slope 42 degrees, surface friction coefficient 0.6." Xuanjian quickly reported the data. "The climb is quite difficult. The terrain is gentler 4 kilometers ahead, so we recommend taking a detour."

Without a second thought, Gu Yu immediately rejected the idea, saying, "Taking a 4-kilometer detour means an extra 8 kilometers round trip. In such a complex road condition as the rocky area, that would waste at least two hours."

He stared at the fault line, a shrewd glint in his eyes. "Xuan, immediately activate the 'land reclamation' bulldozer blade module at the rear of the vehicle. We'll push it up a slope directly."

Xuanjian's voice rang out, "Although it has the capability to perform operations, the instantaneous energy consumption of bulldozing is more than five times that of driving."

"From the perspective of energy conservation, although taking a detour takes longer, it can save about 12% of precious electricity."

"You can't do it that way, it's too complicated. You have to factor in the cost of the return trip. With this slope, we'll have a ready-made, easy road back."

The next half hour was an engineering project full of violent aesthetics.

He maneuvered the vehicle like a mad boar, frantically pushing the scattered rubble and sand towards the bottom of the fault.

The tracks kicked up clouds of dust, but with each retreat and charge, the originally steep cross-section was raised a little higher.

When the artificial slope reached the critical point of 30 degrees, Gu Yu suddenly pushed the power to its peak.

"Maximize grip! Charge!"

The Tissot emitted a roaring electrical whistle, and the car bounced violently on the gravel slope, as if it would lose control and slide down at any moment.

But the six independently suspended tracks eventually gripped the ground tightly, causing the steel monster to crash over the black spine.

[Confirmed. Remaining battery: 48%.]

Gu Yu said with some surprise, "This is only possible on Mars, where gravity is only one-third that of Earth. If this were on Earth, the suspension might have broken just now."

At 13:00 PM, the scenery before us finally underwent a qualitative change.

Those jagged black rocks began to thin out and eventually disappeared completely behind us.

Instead, there was a vast, breathtaking plain.

The ground here is no longer soft sand, but is covered with a peculiar geometric pattern.

The earth resembled a dried-up, cracked riverbed, with countless dark brown fissures cutting the ground into polygons several meters in diameter, stretching to the horizon.

"Captain, we have entered the Cracked Lands." Xuan Jian's voice carried a hint of solemnity.