On the fighter jet, Ou Zhanpeng and Xu Qing witnessed the entire process of bombarding Mars.
Mars' atmospheric pressure is very low, and it lacks erosion from rain, snow, or frost, so the weathering speed is much slower than that on Earth. Perhaps tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years later, those several huge bomb craters will still be clearly visible.
At this moment, the warship had turned to the other side of Mars, separated from the fighter jet by half of Mars. The effect of the bombing could only be seen from the side, and all frontal images were transmitted through the fighter jet's filming.
Ou Zhanpeng suddenly asked, "Don't you think the resistance from the alien species was too low?"
Xu Qing was slightly taken aback. After thinking for a moment, she said, "The landing time was so short, it's not surprising, is it?"
"I hope I'm overthinking... But don't you think the alien species should have gone all out at this moment? They just fired a few shots and it was over. I just don't feel right about it," Ou Zhanpeng said, full of doubts.
"It shouldn't be, right?" Xu Qing still hoped to solve the problem of the alien species on Mars in one go.
However, her thoughts turned, and a sudden idea popped into her head: Was this guy just nervous and talking to fill the silence?
Beep beep—
A prompt sound rang out, and Luo Tu's voice appeared: "Star Falcon, we are about to leave Mars. The rest is up to you. Take care!"
"Leave it to us... us, take care!"
The communication ended, and the Expeditionary Force on the other side of Mars was increasing its orbital altitude.
The warship's relative speed with Mars did not change significantly, but with the pull of the gravity assist, its actual speed increased by a large margin. Soon, it officially broke away from Mars, entered the asteroid belt, and headed towards the distant orbit of Jupiter.
That area was now just empty space, but in the near future, the giant red behemoth would have a fateful encounter with the Expeditionary Force in the void. It was unknown what sparks would fly between the Expeditionary Force and the alien species at that time.
Ou Zhanpeng no longer spoke, and neither did Xu Qing. The two of them were like a pair of fools, quietly listening to the sounds from the bridge, listening to it accelerate continuously and finally break away from Mars.
Suddenly, a great sense of loneliness struck both of them simultaneously— they were far from Earth, and once the warship left, only the two of them would be left!
Neither of them knew what to say. The cockpit was eerily quiet, with only the sound of breathing clearly audible.
The atmosphere became increasingly awkward. Ou Zhanpeng felt it was necessary to break the silence, cleared his throat, and said, "I've asked so many people, and no one would tell me who arranged for me to stay. Is it necessary to make it so mysterious?"
This time, he was really just talking to fill the silence, and he himself felt that his tone was not very natural.
"Of course, it's necessary," Xu Qing took off her helmet, her short hair neat and tidy. "If you had refused, how would I have saved face?"
"Refused?" Ou Zhanpeng finally felt a bit more at ease. "I'm not crazy. With a beautiful woman accompanying me, I couldn't be happier. How could I refuse?"
"Really not?" Xu Qing's eyes sparkled, and she looked at him with a half-smile.
Ou Zhanpeng opened his mouth, but the affirmative words wouldn't come out.
He was stunned for a moment before he couldn't help but ask, "You know me that well?"
Ou Zhanpeng had long guessed that they would arrange a female partner for him, which was why they were being so mysterious. But he hadn't expected the person to be Xu Qing.
It wasn't because he had much foresight, but because a male-female pairing was one of the few traditions in the space force.
This was not just idle talk. Research showed that half of male astronauts experienced symptoms like headaches, nausea, and general discomfort, which were collectively known as space sickness. Although they underwent comprehensive examinations, no reason for these problems in space was found.
After female astronauts were assigned, the problems experienced by male astronauts greatly reduced.
Therefore, male-female pairings became a strict rule for all space projects.
To this day, women constitute more than half of the total number of astronauts, truly holding up "half the sky" of the space force.
Not to mention the distant past, just the Expeditionary Force itself, with its crew of 48 people, had 25 women and only 23 men.
Ou Zhanpeng had to stay on Mars for half a year. Although his psychological evaluation was excellent, no one could guarantee that he wouldn't experience psychological problems during this period. If the alien species weren't eliminated, and Ou Zhanpeng lost emotional control, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Therefore, pairing him with a female companion was not entirely unexpected.
Another important reason was the limited space on the fighter jet. Even with an external pod, it could barely ensure the supply of materials for two people.
The reason Ling Xiao was rejected was not only because the Expeditionary Force lacked pilots, nor entirely due to gender factors, but also because men have faster metabolisms and require more food and oxygen.
For short-term missions, it was not a problem, but for a stay on Mars exceeding half a year, the accumulated savings in food and air would not be a small amount. Therefore, choosing a female astronaut was a very normal decision.
It was also a practice in the space force for a work group to usually consist of two men and one woman, or two women and one man, in any case, to avoid a man and a woman being alone together, preventing the development of feelings over time and causing some indescribable problems.
However, this time was different. Firstly, the Expeditionary Force was short-handed, and sending two people was the limit for the expeditionary team. Secondly, it was also a space issue. The supplies to sustain two people for half a year had already occupied all available space, making it impossible to fit a third person.
Under various factors, the decision was made to assign only two people, one male and one female.
This was a deviation from tradition and convention, but in the face of the major issue of confronting alien species, personal factors had to be placed behind collective interests.
In retrospect, since neither of them was married, even if any accidents happened, there would be enough room to remedy them and prevent an unresolvable mess.
Xu Qing put on a helpless expression: "No choice, we're the most familiar with each other. If it were Ling Xiao, it would be simple, and there would definitely be many people lining up to come."
Ling Xiao had a bad temper but was quite popular with women. His relationships with other female astronauts on the ship were indeed very good.
Ou Zhanpeng was different; he didn't have such great social skills. Wait, he suddenly felt that Xu Qing's words had a hidden meaning, as if she were saying: We are so familiar with each other, how could you possibly make a move on me?
He really wanted to say: You're mistaken. I'm two-faced. You've walked into the tiger's den now, and there's no hope.
But Xu Qing hadn't said anything explicitly, so even with thick skin, he couldn't just start talking nonsense without any reason.
After a while, Ou Zhanpeng asked with some curiosity, "You trust me that much?"
Xu Qing blinked her beautiful big eyes: "I'd rather believe in ghosts than a man's words. Do you think I believe or not?"
With that, she raised an eyebrow: "If you have any ideas, feel free to try. What if I'm willing to cooperate?"
Ou Zhanpeng almost spat out blood. He was physically and mentally normal, so naturally, he longed for beautiful women. But he never expected Xu Qing to be so formidable.
He suddenly felt that the one in danger for the next six months was not Xu Qing, but himself.