Ou Zhanpeng and Ling Xiao drifted into the bridge, and the other 22 people had all arrived without a single absence. They had secured themselves in various ways, and all eyes were fixed on the main screen – a familiar red planet filled the screen, half hidden in darkness, the other half illuminated by sunlight, resembling a red disc.
The alien escape pod hovered outside the planet, slowly flying.
It was no exaggeration to say that the 48 people on the Expedition were among the most concerned about Mars in all of humanity, but the ship's optical equipment did not have such high resolution. The scene before them was an image jointly captured by six deep-space telescopes in Earth's orbit and then optimized and synthesized by professional software.
Although everyone saw a panoramic view, upon zooming in, the mountains and rifts on the Martian surface were still clearly visible.
Not only that, but in the corner of the screen were several other special perspectives from the Martian surface, those of Mars rovers launched over the years, and probes orbiting Mars.
Although it was a mere coincidence, they had played a significant role in monitoring the escape pod.
"By the looks of it, are they landing today?" Ling Xiao guessed without basis.
"Not necessarily," Ou Zhanpeng had a different opinion. "They weren't in such a hurry on the Moon, so they should circle a few more times, right?"
Until the escape pod circled into Mars' shadow, there was still no sign of landing. Ou Zhanpeng knew he couldn't wait any longer, and clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention: "Alright, stop crowding here, go do what you need to do!"
Waking up once every three days, besides personal hygiene, there was another very important task: physical exercise.
The reason was the same as before; it was still because cryogenic sleep was not freezing.
By the time everyone had completed their designated training and lay back into their sleep pods, the escape pod had already circled Mars seven times. Except for the time it entered Mars' shadow and disappeared from human sight, no alien species had been found to have landed on Mars.
With some regret, everyone entered deep sleep.
Although the answer would be revealed soon enough, and knowing where the alien species landed immediately wouldn't make any difference, everyone still had an irrepressible urge to know the final result sooner.
Upon waking again, Ou Zhanpeng learned that the alien species had landed on Mars shortly after they had gone to sleep and were now busy on the Martian surface.
After hurriedly tidying up his personal hygiene, Ou Zhanpeng immediately rushed to the bridge.
The main screen still showed the appearance of Mars, but it was no longer a panoramic image. Instead, it was a small part of the ground where a group of giant beings and several brain-fish machines were busy moving back and forth in an open area.
But his gaze fell on a corner of the screen, which was a panoramic image of Mars, and the escape pod was slowly rotating around it.
He was instantly startled: "The escape pod didn't land?"
A few people, led by Lu Tu, turned around in unison: "It didn't. Only a group of alien beings landed."
Ou Zhanpeng was a bit bewildered.
In his view, the alien species should have piloted the escape pod to land, utilizing the remaining resources within the escape pod to establish a base as quickly as possible.
But why weren't the alien species playing by the rules?
He really wanted to know what the alien species were busy with, but no one was familiar with the alien species, so asking would be futile.
From then on, every time he woke up, Ou Zhanpeng would immediately rush to the bridge to understand the enemy's new developments.
The technology of the aliens was far more powerful than imagined. Every time Ou Zhanpeng thought about the speed of the alien base construction, his mood would become very heavy.
In late July, Ou Zhanpeng woke up again. The second team was already on duty, and the first main building of the alien base had taken shape.
According to the news from the Moon, it should be part of the life support system, its function being to collect water.
In addition, some simple buildings were being intensively constructed.
The speed of the alien species had once again refreshed Ou Zhanpeng's understanding.
Since the water collection system was completed, the enemy's base must have basic functions. However, judging by the scale, the number of surface buildings was small, so there must be a considerable amount of underground space.
At least a large number of pipelines.
What was even more worrying was the escape pod, because during this period, no more alien species had landed, but the escape pod remained in orbit.
This situation had not exceeded the command's expectations, but it weighed heavily on everyone's hearts like a giant stone.
In early August, the second batch of alien species finally landed on Mars and established a second base at the Martian North Pole.
In the blink of an eye, it was late August, and the third batch of alien species landed.
Three groups of people and three bases; the ambition of the alien species was not small!
At the end of August, Ou Zhanpeng led the third team to take over the warship. Their tasks, in addition to daily maintenance and maintaining contact with Earth, were to constantly monitor the movements of the alien species.
Up to this point, everything was still developing according to the orbital plan. However, as soon as August ended, Ou Zhanpeng suddenly discovered that the aliens' escape pod was increasing its orbital altitude!
This situation immediately drew his high attention.
In just a few hours, the escape pod's speed and orbital altitude had improved by leaps and bounds. Ou Zhanpeng immediately woke up the other team leaders.
Notify the ground?
Don't be ridiculous. The Martian images obtained by the warship came entirely from the ground, and the command would receive the news even earlier than the Expedition.
The team leaders quickly arrived at the bridge. This was the first time the four team leaders had gathered since the warship departed.
"What happened?" Lu Tu asked.
Not only was he the leader of the first team, but he was also the official captain. No matter what problem arose, he was the first responsible person.
Ou Zhanpeng replied in a deep voice: "The alien species' escape pod is accelerating. I judge that it is about to leave Mars."
Everyone's expression changed simultaneously. Lu Tu immediately checked the escape pod's orbital data: "From the current situation, the possibility of escape is very high. Just as we feared!"
Everyone hoped the aliens would stay on Mars, so that the enemy could be dealt with once and for all. But they also knew that the alien species would not be so foolish, and the probability of leaving Mars was very high.
"It's still early, we have to wait a bit longer," said Xu Qing, who was appointed leader of the fourth team because she was good at communicating with people and was very popular.
Lu Tu said with a sense of loss: "There are only two possible destinations, one is the asteroid belt, and the other is Jupiter... Alas, where is Jupiter?"
Ou Zhanpeng immediately brought up a top-down view of the solar system: "Here!"
Upon seeing it, everyone's mood became even more somber.
Everyone present was an expert. They could tell at a glance that it was currently the window period for Mars to fly towards Jupiter.
"Some alien species remain on Mars, and some fly towards Jupiter. It's obvious that the alien species also know the principle of not putting all their eggs in one basket, so they are dividing into two groups to disperse risks," Ou Zhanpeng said.
"The alien species must have discovered our warship long ago, otherwise they wouldn't be in such a hurry to leave," Xu Qing said.
Lu Tu's gaze was deep: "The problem is ours now: should we continue with the original plan to destroy the Martian base, or change course to pursue the escape pod!"