Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

Andrew's voice came through the radio to his two teammates.

Bruno and Joey's breath hitched slightly, and a hint of fear flashed in their eyes.

"Andrew? What happened?!"

Bruno's voice trembled slightly.

Andrew slowly stood up and shook his head with a bitter expression.

"Just from what I can see, there's a gash that's over ten centimeters long..."

"It's probably because we didn't pay attention when we deployed the Mars capsule, or perhaps there was a problem with NASA's design in this regard."

The radio channel fell silent.

Bruno, standing to the side, trembled slightly and suddenly looked up at Andrew in front of him.

Through the glass mask, Andrew could clearly see Bruno's pale face and bloodless, trembling lips.

The next moment, Bruno reached out and grabbed Andrew's arm, growling in terror.

"Didn't NASA provide us with two sets of air recirculation device accessories?!"

"Why don't we repair the damaged parts...?"

Andrew shook his head, interrupting Bruno's question directly.

"While I'd love to say it can be replaced, the reality is... the gap is in the base component of the air circulation system, and the malfunction cannot be fixed unless we completely remove and replace it."

"NASA probably didn't consider the problems we encountered. They only equipped us with important removable parts, but we didn't replace the equipment for the basic, non-removable parts."

As he spoke, a bitter look appeared on Andrew's face.

As he carefully put each part back in its original position, he sighed and said, "Let's prepare to contact NASA."

"Ladies and gentlemen, our journey to Mars may be coming to an end."

……

Earth.

It was 3:15 a.m. US time.

Houston Ground Command Center.

"Pathfinder calling Houston, Pathfinder calling Houston."

The quiet command center was suddenly filled with a sound accompanied by a loud electrical hum.

"We...have run into some trouble."

"..."

Upon hearing the message over the radio, Professor Chris, who had been dozing off, suddenly jolted awake.

His lips parted slightly, and a look of disbelief flashed in his eyes.

Without a second thought, he grabbed the phone and dialed Chief Morton's number.

……

More than two hours later.

Inside the White House conference room.

Albert sat at the head of the conference table with a gloomy expression, reaching out to rub his tired face.

"So, our Pathfinder project is going to be forced to stop?"

Chief Commissioner Morton nodded grimly: "That's right."

"The Mars capsule is no longer habitable after the air circulation equipment was damaged."

"To ensure the safety of the three astronauts, I have ordered them to enter the return capsule."

As he spoke, Morton raised his wrist to check his watch: "If everything goes well, they should have taken off by now."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a series of urgent knocks came at the door.

Albert frowned slightly and turned to look at the conference room door.

"What happened?"

"How could someone disturb such an important meeting?"

Morton, who was standing to the side, glanced at him and stood up from his chair. He said in a low voice, "Your Excellency, perhaps it's good news from the Houston ground command center."

Albert paused for a moment, then nodded solemnly, managing a muffled reply: "Let him in."

Having received permission, Morton quickly turned and left his seat, a faint smile playing on his lips as he opened the conference room door.

"Chief Morton, the return capsule has malfunctioned!"

……

Mars.

After receiving the order to return, the three astronauts, carrying some important supplies, entered the return capsule one by one.

After fastening his seatbelt, a hint of excitement flashed across Bruno's face.

"Honestly, I even want to thank that damn air circulation system," Bruno said softly, rubbing his hands together. "If it weren't for it, we'd be stuck on this damn Mars for another month or so!"

Andrew looked at his teammates with a strange expression.

"What? Don't you think so?" Bruno had clearly noticed Andrew's gaze.

Andrew coughed lightly, his expression growing increasingly strange: "That's true... but there's one thing you might have forgotten."

"This return capsule is equipped with audio and video recording devices."

Bruno: "..."

"Ahem!" Bruno coughed twice, then chuckled awkwardly and changed the subject, "Captain, shouldn't we get ready to set off?"

Andrew's lips twitched, and he examined the area with a helpless expression.

After confirming that there were no problems, he took a deep breath and reached out to press a few buttons on the control panel.

"Watch out, I've lit it!"

Upon hearing Andrew's reminder, the two teammates immediately suppressed their smiles and solemnly prepared for takeoff.

"3!"

"2!"

"1! Ignition!"

A tremor came from the soles of my feet.

Just as everyone was bracing themselves for the impending force, the tremor suddenly disappeared.

The return capsule was completely silent.

"Captain... Captain?" Joey's voice came through the radio. "Are you sure you want to ignite it?"

Andrew paused for a moment, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

Didn't he press it just now?

You should have pressed it, right?

But why is there no movement?

Andrew's small eyes revealed a great deal of confusion.

"I...I'll press it again?"

As he spoke, Andrew reached out and pressed the engine start button in front of him again.

A few seconds later.

"..."

Seeing the strange expressions on his two teammates' faces, Andrew broke out in a cold sweat.

"I pressed it! I really pressed it!"

As he spoke, Andrew pressed the start button forcefully a few times.

There was no reaction whatsoever.

Seeing Andrew's actions, the expressions of his two teammates suddenly changed.

"Andrew? You're not kidding, are you?" Bruno swallowed hard. "Did you get the steps wrong?"

Bruno's questioning made Andrew's face turn red instantly.

He didn't say anything, but simply repeated the operation he had just performed.

"My God..."

Joey's pupils dilated slightly as she muttered to herself, "We can't be that unlucky, can we...?"

……

"Shit!!!"

Wearing a bulky spacesuit, Andrew plopped down on the dusty Martian ground.

Through the glass mask, one could see that his facial expression was extremely distorted at that moment.

"Damn NASA, how can they be so unreliable?!"

Bruno and Joey stood silently to the side, staring blankly at the slightly dilapidated return capsule that had endured more than a month of Martian sandstorms.