Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

"Beep! Beep!"

"An unknown radio communication request has been detected."

Just as the three of them looked up at the Xuan Nu II hovering in the sky, an electronic notification startled them awake.

Andrew turned his head and glanced at the computer screen next to him.

It is a radio frequency band commonly used in the Xia Kingdom.

After exchanging glances with his two teammates, Andrew took a deep breath and pressed the call button.

"Hello?"

"Hello, my friends in the United States."

A fluent and standard English voice came through the radio.

Andrew was silent for a moment, then reached for the microphone: "Hello, this is Pathfinder, USA."

The next moment, a clear response came: "This is Xia Kingdom's Mystic Maiden Number Two!"

"We are about to proceed to crater ZHZ72 for scientific research. This is a reminder to everyone."

Andrew's pupils contracted slightly.

Isn't this the next destination on the mission?

Without time to think, Andrew replied hastily, "Excuse me, that's us..."

"This is just a notification, not a discussion!"

A very calm voice came through the radio: "If this interferes with our research mission, we will take necessary measures to expel you. We hope you will consider this carefully."

The radio communication was cut off as soon as he finished speaking.

Andrew's face darkened instantly as he looked at the radio station emitting static.

"They're gone." Joey peered out the porthole and whispered, "Captain... what do we do?"

Andrew strode to the porthole, peered through the glass at the eerie blue tail flames of the Mysterious Maiden II, and took a deep breath: "What else can we do?"

"Get ready to report the situation!"

"Also... the drilling project for crater ZHZ72 is temporarily cancelled!"

……

"Brothers, how was what I said just now? Wasn't it awesome?"

Excitement flushed Bai Yixuan's cheeks slightly: "Holy crap... this feeling is amazing!"

Hong Fan, standing to the side, curled his lip in annoyance: "Tch... We agreed to each say one sentence, but you ended up saying it all!"

Seeing the resentful looks from Hong Fan and Xia Wanyi, Bai Yixuan's lips twitched slightly, and he coughed softly.

"Ahem!"

"Next time, definitely next time!"

……

America.

Houston Ground Command Center.

"Hmph... Calling Houston..."

"Pfft... UFO, repeat, we've spotted an UFO!!"

The Houston ground control center was shattered by a sudden sound.

Upon hearing Andrew's words over the radio, Professor Chris's expression changed drastically. He grabbed the microphone beside him and shouted, "Pathfinder! Report details!"

"I repeat! Report the details immediately!"

After putting down the microphone, Professor Chris's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty. He abruptly turned to the researcher beside him and shouted, "Quick! Report the situation to Director Morton! And... His Excellency the President!"

……

Mars capsule.

"...Report the details immediately!"

Upon hearing the belated inquiry over the radio, a bitter smile appeared in Andrew's eyes.

He picked up the microphone on the table again and reported the events that had just occurred to the ground command center in detail.

Then came another long wait.

"Houston received!"

"The drilling project into the meteorite crater is temporarily abandoned, all field expeditions are suspended, and all further instructions are pending!"

……

The White House, United States.

Albert sat calmly behind his desk.

"You mean, Xia's Xuan Nu II has arrived on Mars and stolen our research targets?"

Morton nodded vigorously, his face full of anger, and said, "Your Excellency, Xia is too arrogant!"

"They even threatened to expel our astronauts!"

"Damn it, how dare they do this?!"

Faced with Morton's angry complaints, Albert's expression became increasingly indifferent.

He slowly waved his hand: "Never mind, just bear with it."

Albert’s reaction clearly surprised Morton.

Morton stared at Albert in disbelief. "Your Excellency, Mr. President? What... what did you just say?!"

"Endure? Are you sure?"

"That's our American research goal!"

Albert lowered his eyes slightly and sighed softly: "Morton, let me ask you, the Xia Kingdom's Mystic Maiden II departed 15 days ago, right?"

"It only took 15 days to fly from Earth to above our Mars capsule."

"Think about how long it took us?"

Morton's breath hitched: "But, but this isn't either..."

"Enough!" Albert hissed.

"We have failed!"

"We have completely lost this competition!"

"Tell those astronauts to prepare to come back."

Seeing that Morton wanted to continue speaking, Albert waved his hand wearily, saying, "Alright, Morton, I'm tired."

"We've been dealing with each other for so long, so I'm giving you a friendly reminder."

"We should start thinking about our options."

Upon hearing this, Morton's expression shifted slightly.

After a long silence, Morton's eyes reddened slightly. He nodded gently and then turned and left the presidential office.

Seeing Morton leave, Albert sighed deeply again and turned to his secretary.

"Tell the media that I will be holding a press conference tonight."

……

That evening.

The White House, at a press conference.

"...Hereinafter, I strongly condemn this extremely domineering behavior of the Xia Kingdom!"

"Mars belongs to humanity, not to any particular country!"

"I hope that Xia Kingdom can correct its attitude and contribute to the common development of humankind!"

"Alright, that's all I wanted to say."

"Does anyone have a question?"

As soon as Albert finished speaking, countless hands were raised.

"President Albert, is it true that the Xia Kingdom provoked our astronauts on Mars?"

Albert remained calm and nodded slightly: "That's true. In fact, I overheard their conversation. The Xia astronauts' words were extremely harsh, showing absolutely no respect for our astronauts!"

"In response to Xia Guo's actions, what countermeasures does the United States have?"

Albert's expression darkened slightly.

"The United States is a peace-loving country. Faced with such unreasonable behavior from Xia, we cannot resort to violence; we need to..."

"Your Excellency, are you saying that the United States has backed down in the face of Xia's provocation?" A reporter interrupted Albert directly.

Albert's face flushed red, and he angrily slammed his hand on the podium in front of him: "Damn it, let me finish!"

"Listen, the United States will not back down!"

"As for how to retaliate against Xia Kingdom's provocation... we are still discussing it!"

"Alright, that concludes this press conference!"