I live in the Martian wilderness!

Chief Engineer Zhang Zixuan was taken aback for a moment, then a look of pride immediately appeared on his face: "Chief Zhang, this is my doctoral student, Qin Nuannuan."

"Oh?" Chief Zhang's eyes showed even more appreciation.

Without saying much, Chief Zhang looked at his secretary and gave the order:

"After the meeting, immediately draft a commendation order. Award Comrade Qin Nuannuan a second-class merit. In addition, notify the personnel department of the Aerospace Group that her doctoral stipend will be increased to the 'assistant professor' level starting today."

This commendation finally drew a burst of enthusiastic applause from the conference room.

However, the brief joy brought by a solution was quickly pulled back to the bottom by another, more pressing real problem.

A project manager wearing black-rimmed glasses, sitting next to the chief engineer, was rapidly swiping his fingers across the screen of his personal terminal.

His expression grew increasingly troubled, and his dry voice broke the newly eased atmosphere: "Commander... I've roughly estimated the direct cost of this rescue operation..."

"First, there's the Kuafu mission spacecraft. To support 700 tons of afterburner thrust and 40 gigawatts of violent energy, the engine used 150 tons of expensive hafnium-rhenium carbide alloy and high-temperature superconducting magnets."

"Based on the cost of a fusion reactor of the same level, the manufacturing cost of a single engine along with the hull is as high as 140 billion."

"Secondly, there's the Queqiao-2 orbital node and the three tungsten alloy resupply probes, with a total cost of approximately 4.5 billion."

"Finally, and the largest expense—launch and fuel."

"According to Academician Wang's plan, we need to use fourteen Long March 9-2 rockets. One will carry the spacecraft, and thirteen will carry a total of 5900 tons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen."

"The production and transportation of 5900 tons of cryogenic propellant, as well as the logistical support costs for thirteen intensive launches... that's an astronomical figure."

"The total cost for launch services and refueling alone is estimated to be around 15 billion."

The project manager swallowed hard and announced the breathtaking total:

"In total, 160 billion. This is equivalent to the entire budget for our manned space program over the next five years."

160 billion.

This number made everyone present feel dizzy.

To save one person, 160 billion was burned. Not only was a state-of-the-art nuclear-powered spacecraft destroyed, but nearly 6,000 tons of fuel and the entire nation's strategic reserves were also consumed.

From a purely input-output perspective, this is by no means a worthwhile deal.

Commander Zhang slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping over everyone before finally settling on the orbital map, as if he could see through 80 million kilometers of deep space to reach that lonely figure.

"Everyone, we don't have a foolproof plan. We only have one thing: we must save lives."

"If 160 billion can buy back a hero's conviction, and restore our nation's unwavering dignity in the face of deep space, then we'll do this deal, however much we have!"

His voice was firm and decisive, ending all discussions about costs.

"But 75 kilograms of food is still too little. It's just prolonging his life, not giving him hope."

"Academician Wang, I need a worst-case scenario plan. In a 'wartime' situation where the entire nation is mobilized, how long would it take to rebuild a Kuafu engine?"

Academician Wang pondered for a moment, his face showing difficulty: "We have spent a full ten years building this engine. Even in wartime, starting from the refining of raw materials, it would take at least two years."

"Two years?" Chief Zhang frowned. "Gu Yu can't wait two years."

"Yes, that's why we can't build it from scratch." Academician Wang changed the subject, a resolute glint in his eyes. "We still have a 'Ground Hot Test Verification Machine' at our western base."

"Although it was designed for ground testing and lacks a space radiation shielding layer, and some of the piping is made of heavy steel that cannot be flown..."

"Academician Wang, I don't care about that!" Chief Zhang interrupted him. "I just want to know how long it will take to convert it into a flight-ready component?"

Academician Wang and Zhang Zixuan exchanged a glance, reaching a kind of crazy consensus at that moment.

"If we disregard cost and bring in all the nuclear engineers in the country for 24/7, three-shift extreme modification... three months!"

"Alright!" Chief Zhang quickly calculated this life-or-death arithmetic problem in his mind:

Gu Yu's current limit is 66 days. With the first batch of supplies extending his life by 80 days, his total survival window is 146 days.

The second ship required three months to refit, plus forty days for the flight, for a total of 130 days.

130 days versus 146 days, that's still half a month's margin. We can fight this battle!

He raised his head, his eyes no longer showing any hesitation, but instead displaying an extremely clear two-step plan.

"Therefore, our rescue operation will be conducted in two phases simultaneously!"

"The first phase objective remains unchanged: launch within fifteen days and arrive in thirty-nine days. Deliver our message and the 75 kilograms of life-saving supplies to Gu Yu."

"This will extend his original 66-day survival limit by another 80 days! These extra 100-plus days are our precious time for the second phase!"

"Academician Wang, Chief Engineer Zhang," he said, looking at the two of them, "I'll go to the highest command immediately to apply for the budget to start the modification of 'Kuafu II'."

"Your task is to dismantle, modify, and reassemble that ground demonstrator! I want to see it standing on the launch pad in three months!"

"This time, we still won't return; we only need the payload!" His voice was full of determination.

"Since it's a one-way trip, let's replace all the working fluid and structural weight reserved for the return voyage with something useful!"

"I demand that you design a more radical 'heavy impact chamber.' Next time, I want to send at least a ton of food, adhesives, spare parts, and even small medical robots!"

"Its flight time must also be reduced to around 40 days! We must deliver true hope to Gu Yu before his supplies run out!"

The project manager was about to speak when Chief Zhang waved him off.

"I know what you're trying to say, but it's just double the budget. I've said it before, if it can inspire a hero's belief, I'll do as many deals as I can!"

His gaze swept across the entire room, and finally he slowly said, "Be grateful for Gu Yu's superpower, everyone."

"If he hadn't solved his breathing problem himself, we would be discussing not only food, but also the more expensive oxygen."

"We have already made a strategic oversight due to the unpredictable nature of the weather. I don't want to see it happen again."

"Meeting adjourned! Old Wang, you stay behind for a moment."

Everyone immediately stood up and saluted.

The most insane and cost-insensitive rescue operation in the history of human spaceflight has officially begun!

...

The crowd in the conference room quickly dispersed, their footsteps filled with anxiety and urgency.

In less than a minute, only two people remained in the huge room.

Academician Wang Tianyuan took off his glasses, rubbed his bloodshot eyes, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Sir, you want to ask about the data analysis of the second Mars jump, right?"

"I don't ask for data, I only ask for intuition." Chief Zhang turned around, his gaze frighteningly deep. "You saw it too, didn't you? That trajectory."

Academician Wang remained silent for a long time before taking out a neatly folded blueprint from his pocket.

That was the moment Mars disappeared, the last image captured by China's "Tianqin" space gravitational wave observatory.

"I saw it..." Academician Wang's voice was very low. "A year ago, Mars jumped to a million kilometers away from Earth. We thought it was a coincidence of some kind of rule in the universe rolling dice."

"But this time... Commander, have you read 'The Three-Body Problem'?"

Commander Zhang was taken aback, then nodded: "You mean... the water droplet?"

"That's right. The droplet detector that destroyed the human fleet."

"Its most iconic feature is its 'acute-angle turn' at full speed. In science fiction, that's a god-level technology that uses materials with strong interaction forces to withstand overload."

A hint of unprecedented worry flickered in Academician Wang's eyes: "But the water droplet is just a man-made object a few meters long! We're facing... an entire planet!"

"If a rocky planet were to perform this maneuver using conventional power, the immense overload would instantly tear it to shreds! But Mars is completely unharmed... not even its atmosphere is disturbed."

"What does this mean?" Chief Zhang pressed.

"This means it wasn't overloaded at all. It means that at that instant, Mars' inertia was eliminated, or its spacetime was folded."

"This power... is ten thousand times more terrifying than the Trisolarans in the novel! It is a true... miracle."