I live in the Martian wilderness!

Xuanjian's girlish voice rang out again:

[Captain, the current temperature in the direct sunlight area is 15°C, feeling comfortable.]

[WARNING: Temperature in the lander's shadow area is -52℃. Please avoid the shadows and be aware of the temperature difference!]

As Xuanjian said, outside the hatch, half was a warm-colored wasteland under the bright sun, and the other half was the cold shadow cast by the "Candle Dragon One".

On Earth, the thick, high-density air acts like a giant heater, blowing heat everywhere, so the shade is just cool.

On Mars, the atmosphere is less than one percent the density of Earth's, so low that it can barely conduct heat.

Therefore, the world inside the shadows and the world outside the shadows, even if separated by only one step, are two completely different worlds!

Gu Yu didn't dodge; instead, he reached one hand into the frigid shadows...

In the shadows, the terrifying -52°C temperature instantly enveloped him! But this wasn't even the main threat he faced at that moment.

What's truly deadly is the extremely low atmospheric pressure on the surface of Mars, which is almost like a vacuum, enough to make a person's blood "boil" within seconds.

However, at this moment, Gu Yu did not feel the slightest bit of cold, nor did he feel any pressure from the vacuum.

Almost the instant he stepped into the shadows, he could clearly sense the "Mystic Armor Combat Suit," a crystallization of human technology.

It is silently demonstrating its dual power—applying pressure internally and controlling temperature externally.

As early as 2025, those inflatable spacesuits like the Michelin Man will have to be filled with high-pressure gas to withstand the vacuum of outer space.

Inside, every time an astronaut bends his finger, he has to struggle with an inflated balloon, making him look as clumsy as a robot.

The "Xuanjia Combat Suit" took a completely opposite technological approach—Mechanical Counterpressure (MCP).

It doesn't expand, it contracts.

The inner layer of the Xuanjia combat suit is woven with millions of "electroactive polymer fibers" that are thinner than a human hair.

The moment Gu Yu stepped out of the cabin, a faint electric current flowed through his entire body.

These fibers immediately contracted synchronously as if they were alive, tightly binding every inch of his body!

Pressure cannot be applied to the concave areas of the body, but the "smart memory gel" in the armpits, spinal groove, and groin expands accordingly, precisely filling every undulating gap.

This powerful and even force firmly "pressed" his body down from the outside, forcibly pushing the blood that was trying to boil due to the vacuum back into his blood vessels.

It felt like being enveloped by water pressure when diving into the deep sea.

In addition to the pressure, this combat suit also made a revolutionary breakthrough in "breathing circulation".

For ordinary astronauts, the Xuanjia armor integrates a miniaturized closed-loop respirator on its back, providing life support through a solid oxygen candle.

However, for special cases like Gu Yu who do not need oxygen, the heavy oxygen circulation module was directly removed.

Instead, there is a "direct air filter valve" that is only the size of a palm.

This ingenious device, installed at the collarbone, resembles a one-way super mask.

It actively draws in the Martian atmosphere, which is 95% carbon dioxide, and after multi-stage dust removal and heating, continuously pumps it into the helmet.

He will never suffocate as long as the Martian atmosphere doesn't run out.

The two most critical issues—stress and breathing—were perfectly resolved the moment he stepped out of the capsule.

Furthermore, the reason why the "Xuanjia Combat Suit" can be designed to be so thin and light is not only due to violent heating, but also because of the "nano-aerogel composite heat insulation layer" used on its outer layer.

This is a product that fuses multilayer high-reflectivity MLI films with super thermal insulation aerogel.

Although it is only a few millimeters thick, it forms an absolute barrier with a thermal conductivity of less than 0.001 W/m·K, which is enough to block 99% of heat conduction and completely isolate the extreme cold of Mars from the outside world.

The system is powered by two backpack-mounted solid lithium sulfide graphene composite battery packs, each weighing a total of 10 kilograms.

This cutting-edge energy storage unit, designed for 2047, provides up to 20 kilowatt-hours of powerful energy while ensuring absolute safety.

At that moment, when his hand reached into the shadow of the lander at -52°C, without that aerogel barrier, his fingers would have been frostbitten the instant they touched it.

But the Xuanjia combat suit can make a judgment immediately, just like a smart home system that automatically turns on the heating and air conditioning when it detects that the room temperature is too low.

A powerful electric current instantly drives the carbon nanotube electrothermal film inside the glove. Without bulky liquid tubing, heat is generated instantly through the resistive effect.

It locks the fingertip temperature at a comfortable 26°C in just 0.8 seconds.

This system can support him to perform up to 20 hours of regular work or 14 hours of extreme high-power activity.

By 2025's technological standards, this would have seemed like a pipe dream. But the technology was realized in 2047.

As Gu Yu moved his hand out of the shadow, the combat suit immediately detected that the "room temperature" had risen, and the heating film instantly cut off power, switching to energy-saving mode.

The entire process was seamless, and the terrifying temperature difference of nearly 70°C, from -52°C to 15°C, was instantly and easily resolved.

............

at the same time.

Earth.

The Candle Dragon Project Command Center.

After the brief revelry came a suffocating silence. This was not the quiet brought about by discipline, but a collective speechlessness born of shock at the immense unknown.

Zhang Jianguo was the first to recover from it: "Space-based observation array, report target location."

"Report to Commander-in-Chief, target lost!" a voice crackled through the internal communication system. "The original coordinates are now just empty space."

"Activate the Celestial Mainframe," Zhang Jianguo's voice was completely calm. "Global gravitational lensing scan, I need the results."

The order was given, and for the humans in the hall, the next ten minutes were an agonizing ordeal. But for the nation's AI mastermind, "Sky Dome," it was merely a fleeting calculation.

The result appeared quickly, with a line of text displayed on the main screen:

[Target recaptured, distance: 6.02 x 10^7 km.]

"Found it! It...it has jumped back to its original orbit in the solar system! It's 60 million kilometers away from Earth!" The technician's exclamation was tinged with despair.

[Orbital Separation Warning: Due to the velocity vector difference between Earth's and Mars' new orbits, the two are moving away from each other at a speed of approximately 800,000 kilometers per day.]

[Settlement Result: It is estimated that the distance will exceed 80 million kilometers in 30 days.]

800,000 kilometers per day!

This number acts like an invisible wall, not only cutting off hope for rapid rescue but also serving as a countdown to the pressure.

Every day they waste increases the difficulty and cost of the rescue exponentially.

Zhang Jianguo swayed slightly, then immediately pressed on with the most crucial question: "What's the reason? Can we analyze why it jumped again? What about Queqiao? Where is our relay satellite?"

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief," the technical lead said in a hoarse voice, "During the Mars jump, the Magpie Bridge derailed due to inertia and is being thrown into deep space."

On the large screen, a green predicted trajectory line stretched alone into the depths of the universe.

"The reason for the jump remains unknown, just like a year ago. Our communication link with Candle Dragon 1 has been physically severed due to the loss of the relay station."

Zhang Jianguo, expressionless, issued the most reluctant yet only correct order: "Order the Long March 9 of the Fire Seed Squad to immediately terminate the mission, calculate the return trajectory, and return immediately!"

The command center was completely silent.

Everyone present understood that sending a fully loaded spaceship to chase a high-speed moving target was an impossible task.

"The instruction has been sent," the mission manager confirmed. "The Long March 9 is expected to enter the return-to-base window in 48 hours."

"Very good." Zhang Jianguo nodded, his gaze sweeping across the room. "Immediately convene a top-level emergency technical assessment meeting. All core experts, please gather in Conference Room One in ten minutes."