Time suddenly seemed to slow to a crawl, each second stretching out as if it were an entire world.
Ou Zhanpeng silently counted down in his mind. As he reached six, the dust covering Mars was abruptly torn apart by streaks of light. Then, mushroom clouds rose one after another, blasting open conspicuous holes within the raging storm. They looked like the eyes of hurricanes, or like Mars suddenly opening its eerie eyes.
The multiple warheads had small yields but wide coverage. Hundreds of them were fired at once, almost plowing through half of Mars.
By the time this brief yet intense bombardment concluded, the surface of Mars was riddled with high-temperature sintered craters of various sizes. The storm, already weakening, actually intensified briefly due to the strong convection caused by the bombing.
When all the holes were smoothed over by the storm again, the regular Martian storm had descended into widespread chaos.
No one could see what had happened to the alien bases beneath the dust, but indirect observations from various monitoring equipment indicated that all exposed alien structures on the ground had been destroyed by the bombardment.
Ou Zhanpeng was very surprised. He had always assumed alien architecture would be incredibly sturdy. However, in the face of the immense power of the mushroom bombs, alien structures were no stronger than human ones. In fact, due to their sparse construction, their ability to weaken the shockwaves was limited. The surface structures of the three major alien bases were all destroyed by the mushroom bombs; any remaining ruins were a testament to their sturdiness.
From receiving the order to completing the bombardment, the entire process took little more than twenty minutes, a mere blink of an eye compared to the time the two spent lingering in Martian orbit.
Then again, it was precisely because of their patient wait that they were able to achieve the feat of destroying all alien bases in half an hour.
However, after it was all over, neither Ou Zhanpeng nor Xu Qing felt much joy. Instead, they both felt a touch of melancholy.
It wasn't for the sake of the alien species, but because their shared life aboard the same ship, which had lasted for more than half a year, was about to end. Perhaps a hint of the impending return journey also played a part.
No one missed the arduous living conditions, but this place, this orbit more than nine thousand kilometers above Mars, held an extraordinary significance for the two of them.
However, their melancholy didn't last long. Thirty minutes later, two beeps sounded, and the spacecraft received a message from the base.
Xu Qing reached out and tapped the screen, and Shan Qiuyu appeared. He first praised the two of them, then ordered them to temporarily remain in Martian orbit to maintain humanity's deterrence against the aliens.
At first glance, this statement was somewhat amusing. Although the bombardment had achieved unprecedented victory, the overall situation on Mars was more severe than ever.
Two weapon modules had been damaged, and the other two had expended all their mushroom bombs, leaving only anti-aircraft missiles to support them. Going back seven months, this was the weakest point of human military strength on Mars.
The Martian spacecraft was a scientific research vessel and had not been designed with weapons in mind from the start. Coupled with its hasty departure, this spacecraft was essentially an undefended, toothless tiger.
However, even a paper tiger, after two consecutive bombardments of Mars, possessed an unimaginable deterrent force. As long as the spacecraft remained in orbit, it represented a silent, lethal threat. The remaining alien species would not dare to appear recklessly!
Later, the two received new information: Expedition Two had departed months ago and was currently en route, expected to arrive within two months at the latest!
"Traveling a hundred miles, ninety is half done." Shan Qiuyu urged them to persevere for the final two months.
It was clear that throughout the year of Expedition One's operation, Earth had never relaxed for a moment. Analysis of Mars and Jupiter had been continuous, and all possible scenarios had been considered. The rebuilding of alien bases was identified as the number one possibility.
To this end, Earth had made comprehensive arrangements long ago. Before Expedition One had even departed, the construction of Expedition Two was already on the agenda. However, everything was highly classified, and almost no one, except for those involved, knew about Expedition Two.
According to Shan Qiuyu, Expedition Two had fully considered the shortcomings of Expedition One. It had a larger hull, was more advanced, carried more supplies, and possessed stronger comprehensive combat capabilities, while requiring fewer personnel.
Not only that, but Expedition Two also brought a batch of weapons and equipment, intending to refit the Martian spacecraft into a fortified armed space station in orbit, establishing a base to guard Mars and prevent the resurgence of the alien species.
Ou Zhanpeng could hardly believe it was true. The base had predicted their current predicament so long ago and made such targeted, comprehensive arrangements.
Shan Qiuyu gave Ou Zhanpeng and Xu Qing two options. The first was to continue staying there to guard Mars after Expedition Two arrived.
After all, they had been there for over half a year, familiarizing themselves with the environment and understanding the situation. It was natural for the authorities to hope they would stay.
The second option was to follow Expedition Two and leave, not to return to Earth, but to head towards the more distant Jupiter!
Upon hearing this, Ou and Xu, without hesitation, spoke in unison, unanimously requesting to fly to Jupiter.
The situation was now clear: Mars was merely a secondary objective. Expedition Two's true target was the alien species that had fled to Jupiter!
But it wasn't just the alien species there; Expedition One was also there, along with their companions from the past six months. Everything compelled the two to choose to go to Jupiter.
As for Mars, well, it would simply involve periodic scans of the planet's surface. If signs of alien bases rebuilding were detected, orbital bombardment would be immediately implemented to clear them.
In Xu Qing's words, such a simple task could be flawlessly executed even by two well-trained dogs.
The astronauts who would soon replace them were innocently caught in the crossfire.
What followed was patient waiting and anticipation. Every morning, the two would get together to meticulously calculate the speed and position of Expedition Two.
Handwritten countdowns became their greatest pleasure.
However, before Expedition Two arrived, an unexpected situation arose on Mars.
One day, during a routine observation, Xu Qing suddenly noticed that the Martian storm, which had persisted for over half a year, had significantly weakened.
She initially thought she was seeing things, but calling Ou Zhanpeng over yielded the same result.
Ou Zhanpeng immediately put his mind to work.
The situation was clear: the Martian storm had persisted for so long due to the aliens' interference. Now that their bases were destroyed, it was highly likely that their interference methods had also been destroyed by the bombardment.
The great storm, which should have ended long ago, had lost the aliens' support and immediately became like a tree without roots or water without a source. It only persisted for a few more days because the accumulated energy from the past had to dissipate over time.
At this point, Mars finally revealed its long-hidden true face.