I live in the Martian wilderness!

Recording complete.

"Comrade Li Wei," Zhang Jianguo put down his hand and looked at the coding expert, "package this awarding video data and send it to Lieutenant Colonel Gu Yu immediately."

"yes!"

"At the same time," Zhang Jianguo turned to the communications department, "send a synchronization command to the Fire Seed team that is about to land on the moon."

"Inform Colonel Qin Manying that command has approved their application to make an emergency landing at the 'Guanghan Palace' research station. The 'Lunar Refueling Station' will provide them with all their fuel."

"They can rest for 24 hours in the 'Moon Palace' to replenish their supplies, and then continue their unfinished journey—to Mars!"

"Finally," Zhang Jianguo added with a slight smile, "I'll finish this last sentence."

"Tell them that we have completed the awarding of rank to Comrade Gu Yu online."

"From now on, they will be welcoming 'Lieutenant Colonel Gu Yu'."

......

Lunar orbit.

Inside the bridge of the Long March 9 heavy spacecraft, the atmosphere was so oppressive it was almost frozen.

Qin Manying and her four teammates—Wang Yang, Guo Peng, Wang Qing, and Lin Yishui—stood quietly in front of the holographic communication screen.

They had just finished a fateful meeting with Earth Command Center.

On the screen, the final instruction, displayed as a bright red, highest priority character, floated silently:

[Order: Approval granted for the Fireseed Team to make an emergency landing at the "Guanghan Palace" research station on the Moon. After replenishing all fuel and supplies, continue with the original "Fireseed Plan" and proceed to Mars.]

"Great!" The young medical officer, Lin Yishui, was the first to cheer, breaking the silence. "We can continue our mission!"

Mechanical engineer Wang Qing excitedly pumped his fist: "I knew it! We couldn't just leave Gu Yu there alone!"

But Qin Manying did not speak.

She simply stared at the line of orders, her sharp gaze sweeping across the faces of every team member beside her.

"You all heard that clearly." Her voice was cold and calm, devoid of any emotion. "Command approved my application. But it was a gamble, a gamble that we could succeed."

"Taking off from the moon, flying to Mars 60 million kilometers away, and making a powered landing on a planet without ground support..."

"Although Gu Yu is cooperating on the ground, the risks of landing are still not zero. The original plan was that we would only stay on the surface of Mars for three months."

"But now, once we land, the next window of opportunity to return to Earth is at least two years away. Or even longer."

Qin Manying turned around to face her teammates, her eyes showing no wavering, only absolute calmness.

"This is a one-way ticket with no return..."

"But I will not abandon Gu Yu. This is my responsibility as commander, and also my personal... obsession."

"But you have no such obligation. After landing at the Moon Palace, you can choose to leave. Stay at the lunar base and wait for the next spaceship to return to Earth."

"No one will blame you; this is your right."

Inside the bridge, a deathly silence fell once again.

Chief geologist Wang Yang, the usually most composed lieutenant colonel, was the first to laugh.

He raised his hand and patted the aerospace badge on his chest: "Captain, the Fire Seed Squad has never had the word 'withdraw' since the first day it was established."

Power expert Guo Peng adjusted his glasses: "My nuclear reactor hasn't even been ignited yet. Going back now would be a waste of time, wouldn't it?"

"Exactly!" Wang Qing exclaimed loudly, "I also want to see the base that Gu Yu built!"

Finally, there's Lin Yishui.

She didn't speak, but silently raised her personal tablet terminal. On the screen was a document that had just been edited.

"Captain, please stop talking." Her tone was incredibly firm. "I've already written the latest electronic version of my will."

Wang Yang, Guo Peng, and Wang Qing also silently took out their own terminals, with the same file displayed on their screens.

The purpose is self-evident.

Qin Manying looked at the group of comrades-in-arms who had been with her day and night and shared life and death with her, and saw the same resolute and unwavering expression in their eyes.

Even the hardest heart was deeply moved at this moment! This is what a team is, this is what comrades-in-arms are!

She turned abruptly, no longer looking at them, and gazed at the deep starry sky outside the porthole, whispering, "Thank you."

Then, she pressed the communication button, her voice regaining its usual coldness and decisiveness: "All personnel, target: Moon Palace! Prepare for the first orbital braking maneuver!"

……

[Mars Day 10, 23:50]

Only two days have passed since Gu Yu received Earth's "four-day appointment".

Inside the shelter, the piercing alarm blared again without warning!

"Captain! It's Tianwen-1!" Xuanjian's voice was filled with unprecedented excitement. "The communication window has opened again! Almost three hours earlier than the model predicted!"

"So fast?!"

Gu Yu suddenly looked up from the control panel of the Shennong module. In the past 48 hours, he had been frantically pushing forward every aspect of the Shennong Project.

"Establish connection immediately!"

[High-gain link: Established!]

"Xuan, stop talking nonsense! Package all our work from the past two days into a top-priority 'mid-term progress report' and send it back to me immediately!"

"Understood! [Shennong Project 1.5 Phase Results Briefing]...Sent!"

The moment the report was completed, the download indicator light on the Zhurong ship began flashing wildly.

[High-bandwidth downlink data stream received! Data size: 4.8 GB]

"4.8 GB?" Gu Yu was startled by this enormous number. "Did they send me a library?"

"Decode it immediately! I want to see what they said!"

"Decoding..." Xuanjian spoke extremely quickly, "Data packet decrypted."

"The contents include: a 3D engineering animation of the [Kuafu Project Amendment]; video messages for the [Fire Seed Squad]; and... a Supreme Command rank conferment order."

"Play the revised plan first!" Gu Yu made the choice immediately.

The next second, an engineering animation full of industrial aesthetics took over his entire HUD interface.

He saw Qin Manying's enormous Long March 9 heavy spacecraft, which did not return to Earth but instead performed an orbital maneuver in deep space, precisely parking in lunar orbit.

Inside the massive underground dock at the Guanghan Palace base, robotic arms are refueling it with ice-blue liquid methane and liquid oxygen.

Then, the resolute face of Commander-in-Chief Zhang Jianguo appeared in the center of the screen, his voice steady and powerful:

"Comrade Gu Yu, your judgment is correct. The country will not sacrifice the future for a reckless rescue."

"Command has approved the revised plan for Colonel Qin Manying to make an emergency landing on the moon and launch a second mission. Now, we need your cooperation."

The scene then switched again, becoming an extremely grand three-dimensional engineering blueprint centered on "Oasis One," where Gu Yu was located.

"According to the performance parameters of the Long March 9," Zhang Jianguo's voice continued, "it will arrive at Mars in 180 days."

"But for this behemoth to land safely with vertical thrust, we need you to complete two crucial 'preliminary infrastructure' tasks on the ground."

In the animation, a virtual Sky Shuttle engineering vehicle is performing the exact same operation as Gu Yu had envisioned on an open area north of the Gu Yu Shelter.

"You need to build a permanent landing pad with a diameter of at least 60 meters. And deploy a microwave landing guidance beacon as originally planned."

"This beacon will provide the Long March 9 with centimeter-level navigation signals, guiding Colonel Qin Manying to complete the final stage of precise manual landing."

The animation ends, and Zhang Jianguo's face reappears, his eyes filled with trust and expectation.

"Comrade Gu Yu, finish it within 180 days. We're waiting for you."

After the video finished playing, Gu Yu stood there in a daze, as if the blood in his body had been ignited in that instant.

This is no longer a passive wait for rescue.

This is a new mission! It's a trust from my fellow members of the Fireseed Squad!