I live in the Martian wilderness!

"This is a unique fingerprint left by the cold Martian climate; every crack is the result of repeated freezing and expansion of underground water ice."

"More importantly," Xuanjian marked a green dot on the map, "this is the final home of the Zhurong."

Gu Yu's heart began to beat faster involuntarily.

Only 15 kilometers remain to reach the target.

During the 15-kilometer drive, Tissot was extremely careful, as soft cavities often lurk beneath the seemingly flat, polygonal terrain.

15:45 PM.

Battery remaining: 35%.

"Target coordinates 200 meters away, initiate optical search."

Gu Yu stopped the car.

The high-magnification optical camera on the roof of the Tissot car began to slowly rotate.

In an attempt to find that touch of "China Blue," which originally belonged to human civilization, on that boundless reddish-brown wasteland ahead.

But it was much harder than expected.

This area is not completely flat, but is covered with countless horizontal aeolian sand ridges.

These small sand dunes, half a meter high, spread across the land like solidified ocean waves, with countless basalt blocks of various shapes scattered among them.

"No obvious human targets were detected." Xuanjian's report carried a hint of confusion. "The visual recognition system has scanned three times and has not detected any specific color contrast."

Gu Yu squinted, staring at the screen.

All I could see were endless shades of earthy yellow and ochre red.

Under the pale sunlight, this yellowish-brown land, rich in iron oxide, stretched all the way to the horizon, with no vibrant colors standing out.

"Twenty years of wind and sand erosion..." Gu Yu muttered to himself, immediately realizing the problem, "It may not have been buried, but it has been 'assimilated'."

"The iron oxide dust here has an extremely strong adhesion. The Zhurong may have completely shed its blue coat and become part of this red wasteland."

Finding a piece of red metal among a pile of red stones is not something you can rely on your eyes.

"Turn off optical search, turn on ground penetrating radar, and switch to 'Metal Dielectric Constant' scanning mode."

[Scanning...]

This time, the wait wasn't too long.

In the electromagnetic field of view of the radar, the camouflage was instantly stripped away. The echoes from the natural rocks were dim, except for one point, which shone brightly on the radar screen.

"High-intensity metallic echo detected! Azimuth 11 o'clock, distance 120 meters. It's not below the dunes; it's standing on the flat ground between two sand ridges!"

Without any hesitation, Gu Yu maneuvered the Sky Shuttle to slowly approach.

As the distance closed, a familiar silhouette finally emerged from the background amidst the jumble of rocks and sand dunes.

It was not buried into a mound.

It remains upright, like a steadfast sentinel.

But it looks more like an ochre-red terracotta warrior.

Thick Martian dust, like a red skin, tightly enveloped its entire body.

Those butterfly-shaped solar panels that once shone with a deep blue light, those towering mast cameras, those silver-white wheel rims…

At this moment, everything was dyed an ochre red, indistinguishable from the earth.

If it weren't for radar guidance, even if Gu Yu were standing ten meters away from it, he might have mistaken it for a strangely shaped wind-eroded rock.

"Found it."

Gu Yu's voice was somewhat dry, as if something was blocking his throat.

He stopped the shuttle five meters away and did not immediately perform any operation, but simply watched quietly.

At that moment, the visual impact was more heartbreaking than being buried.

It didn't die in the sandpit; it just stood there, straining to keep its eyes open and looking in the direction of Earth...

Until the dust clouded our vision, until it completely melted into this red planet.

It was the most dazzling star of China's aerospace industry in that era, but now it is like an old soldier wearing a red battle robe, standing exhausted and stiff.

"Xuan, do you know?" Gu Yu said softly, "On Earth, if a person has been missing for twenty years, he is legally declared dead."

"But in the eyes of aerospace engineers, as long as it is still there, as long as its core can be awakened, it will live forever."

He took a deep breath and unbuckled his seatbelt.

"Check the external environment. Prepare to exit the spacecraft."

"Captain," Xuanjian reminded him, "your emotional state is still quite volatile. Should we administer a small dose of sedative?"

"No need." Gu Yu put on his helmet, and with the hissing sound of the airlock depressurizing, his eyes became incredibly firm.

The hatch opened.

Gu Yu stepped out of the Tian Shuttle and onto this land full of history.

The ground felt surprisingly firm underfoot; beneath the flat sand lay hard permafrost.

"Xuan, the terrain here is a bit strange." Gu Yu looked down at the faint patterns under his feet. "Although the surface is covered with sand, I can feel that the ground is hard."

"Yes, Captain. This is a typical polygonal terrain area in Utopia Plains."

A light blue AR analysis layer covered Gu Yu's field of vision, revealing the surface sand and outlining the neat grid underground.

"The surface here looks like sand, but several meters underground it's filled with water ice."

"The expansion and contraction of the earth over millions of years has carved these polygonal cracks in the foundation, but the cracks are usually filled by quicksand and are difficult to see with the naked eye."

Gu Yu nodded, his gaze fixed on the "red sculpture" in front of him.

He walked step by step to the Zhu Rong ship and slowly squatted down.

Facing this senior colleague who was only the size of an office desk, Gu Yu extended his hand, which was covered by a heavy glove.

He didn't dig hard; he simply brushed the butterfly-shaped solar panel gently, as if wiping a dusty medal.

As the fingertips slid across the surface, the layer of ochre-red dust that had accumulated over twenty years was wiped away.

A deep and pure dark blue stubbornly pierced through the disguise and was exposed again to the pale sunlight!

That's its original color!

It was once the Chinese blue that shone brightly on the red planet!

Gu Yu stood up again.

Despite wearing heavy black armor, he still tried his best to straighten his spine and keep his feet together.

Facing the silent old machine, he slowly raised his right hand and gave a standard and solemn military salute.

"Xuan, activate full-band broadcast mode."

"Command confirmed. All frequency bands are enabled, and recordings are being uploaded to the black box simultaneously."

Gu Yu took a deep breath and pressed the communication button.

His voice was no longer the previous sentimental murmur, but an absolutely calm and serious tone.

The sound did not vibrate the thin atmosphere, but transformed into invisible radio waves, solemnly covering this desolate wasteland.

"Calling the Zhurong Mars rover."

"I am Gu Yu, an astronaut from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation's Spark Program advance team."

"Number: CN-Mars-001"

"Your location has been confirmed."

Gu Yu gazed at the five-starred red flag still pointing towards the Earth, his voice deep and powerful: "Now, on behalf of the motherland, I welcome you back to your unit!"

At this moment, time seemed to stand still.

The spacefaring capabilities of two eras of China have converged in a historic moment on the Martian wasteland, 60 million kilometers away.