Outside of Mars, a small asteroid hovered above Phobos, drifting close and then retreating, always following its path.
It was a Xinghun fighter, disguised as an asteroid, orbiting Mars at a slightly higher trajectory than Phobos.
Inside the cockpit, two people, four eyes, scanned the Martian surface like radar. The remnants of alien bases were the primary focus of their attention.
"Anything?" Xu Qing asked.
"No. You?" Ou Zhanpeng retorted.
"No."
Just three sentences, ten words, and the routine conversation ended.
Ou Zhanpeng wanted to say something, even just a funny joke, but the fighter was cramped, and it was just the two of them. To avoid Xu Qing mistaking him for deliberately trying to get close, he swallowed his words several times.
Xu Qing didn't know what to say either. She remained silent precisely because she didn't want Ou Zhanpeng to think she was deliberately trying to get close and thus look down on herself.
They were familiar with each other, but it was a professional familiarity, not a close personal friendship. In terms of closeness, there wasn't a shred to be found, and they were far from being able to talk about anything and everything.
The result was that after not being together for long, it felt as if all possible conversation had been exhausted, leaving only silence and awkwardness.
Xu Qing had worried if Ou Zhanpeng might be two-faced and suddenly exhibit bestial urges. However, after spending some time together, she found no anomalies and finally put her heart at ease.
While she couldn't be certain what kind of person Ou Zhanpeng was, at least on the surface, she hadn't found any abnormalities, nor had his words been excessive.
The fighter turned to the side of Mars, and the once full hemisphere of Mars slipped into darkness, becoming a waning crescent moon.
Xu Qing's gaze shifted away from Mars to the more distant void. Her eyes carefully scanned a small patch of space, searching for the Expeditionary.
She really wanted to talk to the sisters on the ship to relieve her loneliness, but to prevent exposure, the Xinghun had to maintain absolute radio silence.
There was no indication that the alien civilization used radio waves, but given their level of civilization, it was impossible for them not to know about radio.
Xu Qing stared at that patch of sky for a long time, but ultimately found nothing. Disappointed, she retracted her gaze and asked with reluctance, "Ou Fei, can you find the battleship?"
She still held a glimmer of hope that she might have been looking in the wrong direction.
Ou Zhanpeng shook his head. "Can't find it."
The Expeditionary itself was black, blending perfectly with the background of the universe. From the beginning, only a faint blue tail flame could be seen. But with each orbit, the tail flame dimmed a little more; the last time he found it, it was almost invisible.
He thought for a moment and said, "They must have shut down the thrusters."
The Expeditionary had limited fuel and only activated its thrusters when leaving Mars. Once it escaped Mars's gravitational pull, it would shut them down promptly and continue to its destination by inertia.
As long as there was a sliver of light on the Expeditionary, he was confident he could locate it.
Ou Zhanpeng had discovered that his uncontrolled abilities had significant limitations. He needed to know the battleship's location; only with a clear target could there be a chance of triggering his abilities.
Ultimately, it was still his lack of skill, his inability to control his own abilities.
The fighter quickly emerged from Mars's shadow, and the red surface reappeared in their view. However, Ou Zhanpeng's gaze narrowed slightly, and he suddenly pointed to a spot in the southern hemisphere of Mars. "Here, it looks like a dust storm!"
The area he pointed to was covered by red dust, and its scope was constantly expanding.
Xu Qing quickly calculated, "220 kilometers from South Base Two."
For ease of use, the three alien bases were designated "North Base One," "South Base Two," and "Polar Base," indicating both their order of establishment and their general locations.
"Has Mars's annual super-storm passed yet?"
Xu Qing thought for a moment and said, "It seems not."
Mars had a very strange characteristic: a global super-storm occurred once every year.
A category 17 super-storm on Earth had a wind speed of no more than 60 meters per second, whereas the strong storms on Mars reached wind speeds of over 180 meters per second!
If it were just a localized storm, it would be no big deal. But if it developed into a global super-storm, they might not see the Martian surface for several months.
Time passed quietly as they waited. When the fighter entered the dark side, the storm had already covered a small area of the southern hemisphere.
The fighter entered the Martian shadow, the cockpit transitioning from bright to dark. Only the faint lights within their helmets managed to illuminate their faces.
From light to darkness, the atmosphere in the cockpit suddenly became somewhat peculiar.
Although it wasn't the first time, Xu Qing's heart still felt uneasy, and her breathing had become noticeably heavier.
"You say..."
"Ah!"
Ou Zhanpeng had only spoken two words when he was interrupted by Xu Qing's startled cry. He looked taken aback. "What's wrong?"
"No, nothing!" Xu Qing's face flushed, and she quickly tried to cover it up. "What were you going to say?"
If he knew what she had just been thinking, she would be too embarrassed to live.
"Oh!" Ou Zhanpeng hadn't thought that far. "I was wondering if this storm might have been created by the aliens, or if they could artificially intervene in the storm's progression, turning what was originally a localized storm into a global one."
Xu Qing was stunned and then couldn't help but laugh. "How is that possible?"
"Why not?" Ou Zhanpeng looked serious. "Weather weapons have not been a new concept for a long time. Just because we can't do it doesn't mean aliens can't."
Xu Qing thought for a moment and said, "If you could find a way to cool Mars, the storm would end quickly."
Ou Zhanpeng was at a loss for words and wanted to retort immediately, but after thinking about it, he said nothing in the end.
Xu Qing hesitated for a moment, then finally made up her mind. "I'll report this situation later and let the superiors make the decision."
The Xinghun had to maintain radio silence, but the fighter was equipped with a laser communication system that could maintain contact with Earth.
If they knew the Expeditionary's location, they could also communicate with the battleship.
As the fighter circled around to the sunlit side, an inconspicuous protrusion outside the fighter quietly pointed towards Earth. A beam of laser light was emitted from it. The communication satellite stationed in orbit received the signal and immediately relayed it to Cloud Palace Base.
At this time, the storm had moved from the central part of the sunlit side to near the terminator line, and the center of the storm was about to enter darkness.
However, it was evident that the storm's scope had expanded further, clearly visible to the naked eye.
More than ten minutes later, the fighter received feedback from Earth: Monitor the storm's development closely.
The dust storm's scope continued to expand. Just one day later, the storm covered South Base Two and was still spreading.