I live in the Martian wilderness!

"Gods...Heavenly Eyes...109 vertical and 25 horizontal! What is this? It's utterly unbelievable!"

"Mysterious! Immediately conduct the most in-depth, pixel-level analysis of this image! I need to know whether this is an AI-generated image or not!"

"Understood, Lieutenant Colonel. Initiating the 'Source Authenticity' verification procedure..."

Xuanjian's computing power was pushed to its limit, and the familiar burning sensation returned to the neuron synchronization chip.

The magnificent image on the screen was divided into millions of pixel grids, with light and shadow, noise, perspective, and even atmospheric scattering models being frantically deconstructed and compared.

A few minutes later, Xuanjian gave Gu Yu a conclusion that made him feel hopeless.

"Colonel, analysis complete. The probability that this image was actually taken with an optical lens is higher than 99.9%."

"Its angle of illumination and shadow perfectly matches the current angle of illumination on Mars; its atmospheric scattering parameters conform to an atmospheric model with a density approximately 0.6 times that of Earth."

"The spectral reflectance curve of the vegetation also matches the characteristics of real chlorophyll... I... I can't find any trace of AI generation. All the physical details are perfect."

"The only minor anomaly is the detected order of the moss leaves in the image." Xuanjian outlined a few red lines on the screen. "Their spiral trajectory conforms to a left-handed spiral. Over 98% of the moss samples are right-handed spirals. However... we cannot rule out whether this moss is a new species."

Gu Yu stared blankly at the screen, feeling his worldview being dismantled and deconstructed, just like that picture...

If the picture is real...

The green-eyed girl really did see a grassland with nothing in it...

And this desolate Mars where I am now is truly...

Confusion, bewilderment, shock... countless emotions assaulted his brain like a storm of cosmic rays.

Is it a parallel world? A temporal displacement? Or some kind of high-dimensional projection that he cannot comprehend at all?

Gu Yu shook his head vigorously, trying to banish these countless speculations and fantasies from his mind. "It's all too mysterious; we can't believe it too easily! The known information, like the photo of me and the Zhurong spacecraft, has already been released globally, and the coordinates of the Zhurong spacecraft are an open secret. This perfect photo of Mars… we can't rule out the possibility of it being created by even more powerful AI!"

"In short, the only thing that puzzles me right now is how they cracked the military protocols of the Zhurong! If it was some country or organization on Earth, what would their purpose be?"

"Xuan, don't believe things so easily! Unless there is truly irrefutable evidence."

Xuanjian's voice continued, "I understand, Lieutenant Colonel. I'll make a bold guess, based on the information recorded during our first contact."

The screen split in two: on the left was the vibrant grassland of Mars, and on the right was the portrait of the mysterious girl and the key translated text.

Are you playing a human from the planet Mars a thousand years ago?

"Lieutenant Colonel, we can logically connect these two pieces of information. When they first contacted us, they referred to you as a human from the constellation Yinghuo from a thousand years ago."

"And this time, she sent me this real-life image of the Martian landscape."

"If we substitute the timescale of one thousand years into the model of planetary terraforming..." Xuanjian instantly pulled up a development timeline on the screen.

"The conclusion could be..."

"What we are seeing is not a parallel world, nor a spatial displacement. What we are seeing is very likely the future of this planet beneath our feet, a thousand years from now!"

Gu Yu felt as if his heart had been squeezed shut by an invisible hand.

"A thousand years..." he murmured to himself, "Could Mars really be terraformed like this?"

"From a timescale perspective, it's entirely possible, Lieutenant Colonel. The most difficult part of planetary terraforming is not seeding, but 'creation'—that is, rebuilding a planet's magnetic field and atmosphere."

"Once these two fundamental problems are solved, subsequent evolution is only a matter of time."

Xuanjian highlighted the azure sky in the picture.

"Their first step will definitely be to release the massive amounts of carbon dioxide and water ice that lie dormant in the polar ice caps and underground."

"This would create a super greenhouse effect that lasts for a century, enough to raise Mars' temperature from minus 100 degrees Celsius to above freezing."

"The atmosphere will become thick enough again to retain the warmth of sunlight. Then we'll find a way to change Mars' magnetic field."

"When the atmospheric pressure is high enough and the temperature is warm enough, water will start flowing again. Riverbeds that have been dry for millions of years will be filled again...like the Marwath Valley,"

"Then the world will be revived, and the first genetically edited 'pioneers' will be sown—perhaps some kind of cyanobacteria and lichen that can survive in high concentrations of carbon dioxide."

"They will take hundreds of years, like the most tenacious legions, to breathe carbon dioxide and then exhale oxygen. They will die, rot, and become the first inch of soil."

"Then, more advanced tundra, shrubs... a completely new and fragile ecosystem that can already self-circulate was born."

After the simulation ended, a long silence fell over the command center.

That photograph is no longer just a strange picture; it has become an epic documentary that encapsulates a thousand years of time.

Gu Yu felt as if he were witnessing firsthand how this red, dead planet could regrow its rivers, grow vegetation, and eventually re-establish its atmospheric circulation.

This process was grand and magnificent, filled with scientific rigor and the romance of creation.

But it also made Gu Yu feel a profound sense of insignificance.

He used all the cutting-edge technology of the 21st century and his own supernatural abilities to barely manage to carve out a small 5-square-meter "paddy field".

The other side, however, already possesses the power and patience to transform the entire planet and wait a thousand years for it to blossom and bear fruit.

He took a deep breath, forcibly pulling himself out of the overwhelming sense of disparity that was almost crushing him.

Gu Yu decided to temporarily set aside this incredible mystery of the "future," as any speculation would be futile until more information was obtained.

If the other party really comes from a thousand years in the future, then the technological gap between them and themselves may be even greater than the gap between themselves and Qin Shi Huang.

Gu Yu's voice regained its composure. "Xuan, draft a reply in Small Seal script to conduct a simple probe and see how goodwill and technological level the other side has."

Xuan Jian's voice immediately became extremely serious: "Lieutenant Colonel Gu Yu, I must remind you of the four ironclad rules of the 'Emergency Response Plan for First-Class Contact of Chinese Astronauts'."

"Do not proactively expose yourself, do not proactively make contact, and do not proactively respond."

"Life safety comes first, mission second."

"All actions must be reported to the ground and await instructions."

"Record everything, protect the data."

"The standard procedure is to immediately cut off all communications upon discovering an unknown signal source, seal and store all raw data, and report to the ground command immediately to await instructions."

"Only passive observation is permitted before receiving instructions; no form of response is allowed."

Xuanjian paused, then spoke in the calmest tone, uttering the most serious words: "Lieutenant Colonel, your reply has seriously violated the regulations."

Gu Yu did not refute, "Xuan, if I were still in Earth orbit, if I could receive Commander Zhang's order within seconds, I would absolutely not move."

"But the situation is completely different now! We didn't just happen to hear some background noise in the vast universe. The other side has pinpointed us! They even reported the coordinates of the Zhurong!"

"They might already be standing on our doorstep! In this situation," his voice suddenly rose, "there's no point in not making contact! That's not caution, that's sitting and waiting to die!"

"Moreover," he pointed to the line of archaic text on the screen, "their script is not entirely incomprehensible to us!"

"That 90% interoperability with Small Seal script is itself a key—a key to communication and exploration!"

Gu Yu sat up straight again, all the confusion on his face gone, leaving only the decisiveness of a commander.

"Xuan, I have violated the rules. You can record my actions truthfully and file a report."

"But according to Article 11 of the 'Spark Project Emergency Plan,' as the supreme commander, I have all the 'rights to make decisions on the spot' when I am physically isolated from the Earth command."

"I now, as the Supreme Provisional Commander of Project Fireseed, order you to formally exercise this authority."

"Our coordinates have been locked; we can't hide them anymore. Before they fully figure out our hand, let's find out their intentions and their skill level!"

He stared at the photo of the green-eyed girl on the screen, as if he were playing a game of chess with an invisible opponent.

"Furthermore... if she really is not in the same time and space as me, then our probing might be able to be a little bolder."

After a moment, Xuanjian said, "Lieutenant Colonel, according to the simulation, when our coordinates are locked, the Earth Command's decision-making rate to initiate contact will be greater than 70%."

"Lieutenant Colonel. I agree with your initiative to contact them. This operation has bypassed the four ironclad rules of the 'Emergency Response Plan for First-Class Contact among Chinese Astronauts'."

Please describe the content of your reply.

"The gist of the message is as follows: Hello madam, the coordinates are accurate, but I have a way to prevent others from finding me. As you can see, I do need help, but I have no currency."

"If you can pay on credit, I urgently need a set of blueprints and repair instructions to fix my spaceship's 'nuclear fusion engine'."

"Also, could you tell me how you cracked my spaceship's communication encryption protocol?"

"Oh, right, Xuan. One more thing, in return for your generosity, please allow me to do something for you."

"Please... state a request... or a wish. Whatever it is, I will do everything I can to make it happen for you."

Gu Yu knew that asking strangers for things would ruin the first impression, but an equal exchange could always overcome all obstacles. He had to show that he also wanted to give something back to the other person.

"Xuan, that's roughly the idea. You can polish it up for me, or even praise it, it's fine. The main thing is that it's a character that exists in Small Seal script."

"Received, Lieutenant Colonel. We have optimized the poem and added suitable verses for you. Would you like to check it?"

"No need, I know your abilities very well."

Gu Yu leaned back in his chair, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the control panel, lost in the deep thought typical of an engineer.

Gu Yu pondered this risky test. By using the nuclear fusion engine and cracking the communication protocol, he could probe the other party's technology, but he also exposed the lower limit of his own civilization's level.

Just before Gu Yu was about to send the question that was powerful enough to reach the core of the other civilization into the void, Gu Yu stopped.

"Xuan, we're having a conversation with an extremely unequal amount of information. What they consider common sense might be an encyclopedia to us! I'm worried... the Zhu Rong's storage space is too small."