Jupiter.
Under the illumination of the dark red light, a multi-purpose fighter detached from Ship Two and flew directly towards the Jupiter IV below. It circled the satellite once, scanned its surface, and sent all the data back to the warship.
"Bridge, what's the situation?" Ou Zhanpeng asked.
Ship Two had been following for several days, scanning several times a day and meticulously recording changes on the satellite.
"Same as yesterday, no discoveries," Liu Wenwen said with disappointment.
"What about other aspects? How's the atmospheric pressure?"
"Sea level pressure is 0.46 standard atmospheres, an increase of 0.01 from yesterday. It shouldn't change much more," Liu Wenwen said.
The changes were most drastic when Jupiter was first ignited. As time passed, the major moons were stabilizing, with very small fluctuations in data.
"Not bad, much better than Mars," Ou Zhanpeng said.
The sea level atmospheric pressure on Jupiter IV was already close to half of the standard pressure. If they landed now, they could move around wearing only an oxygen mask, without even needing a spacesuit.
"And the temperature?"
"Equator is 16 degrees, 0.4 higher than yesterday."
"Wow, nice!" Ling Xiao's exaggerated voice came through the radio. "I feel like getting some soil and planting a couple of rows of vegetables on Jupiter IV!"
"You'll have a long wait!" Ou Zhanpeng replied.
Jupiter IV's atmosphere had just formed and offered no protection. Moreover, Jupiter IV was constantly exposed to various cosmic rays, making its surface material highly radioactive. Although the ice had melted, the radiation remained, making it impossible for animals or plants to survive naturally.
Some extremophiles might survive, but extreme cases were of no practical significance.
"Alright, come back," Liu Wenwen said.
The fighter returned to Ship Two. As Ou Zhanpeng floated out of the cockpit, Ling Xiao floated over. "Did you hear? They replied. We're preparing to withdraw."
"Withdraw?" Ou Zhanpeng's eyes lit up. "Finally, some good news!"
The alien species igniting Jupiter had caused an overreaction from Earth, which was now solely focused on how to curb the alien species' development. Several documents were sent to Ship Two, with the core message being that humanity must maintain a military presence in the direction of Jupiter!
Specifically, the plan was to tow the wreckage of Ship One to the vicinity of Jupiter IV and convert it into an armed space station.
This plan was indeed somewhat feasible, as Ship One only had severe external damage, while its internal structure and functions were largely intact.
However, the problem was that Ship Two lacked both raw materials and technology, and was severely short of weaponry. Even if Ship Two were dismantled, it wouldn't be enough to cover the material deficit for building a space station.
"Who proposed this plan? It's sheer fantasy!" Liu Wenwen didn't hold back and immediately sent back a strongly worded objection.
The core meaning was equally clear: Expedition Two lacked sufficient weaponry and supplies to stay in Jupiter for an extended period. Furthermore, Jupiter had no industrial base to create a space station out of thin air. She requested the base to reconsider Expedition Two's actual situation and propose more feasible plans, urging them to abandon these daydreams conceived in isolation!
She was truly bold and fierce, saying anything that came to her mind. The others gathered around to persuade her, finally calming her down. However, the reply was still in line with her intentions, just phrased in gentler, more subtle words.
In short, the message was to consider the practical situation more, rather than making decisions impulsively without regard for objective conditions, and then expecting the forward commanders to overcome difficulties.
Even the mules in the production team weren't used like this!
With excitement and anticipation, Ou Zhanpeng rushed to the bridge to personally confirm the authenticity of the news.
The order had been received, but the timing of the withdrawal and the method of withdrawal remained uncertain.
Although the armed space station was no longer being built, Ship Two still followed the arrangements, flew to Jupiter I, towed back the battered Ship One, re-inflated its outer shell, and disguised it carefully, making it look formidable and imposing.
Then, this impostor was placed in a suitable orbit, ostensibly to monitor the alien species, but in reality, serving no purpose.
Ling Xiao mischievously gave this space station a very fitting codename: Scarecrow.
On a related note, despite the limited conditions, neither the military nor the expedition team intended to let the situation around Jupiter spiral out of control. Before long, several probes were released sequentially.
These included miniature probes specifically designed to survey the moons, as well as long-range detection devices for monitoring Jupiter. Each individual probe had very low power, requiring all signals to be relayed centrally.
This crucial task was naturally assigned to the wreckage of Ship One.
Ship One's power system had no issues. Once set to its operating mode, it could run safely for decades without external interference, making it an excellent, albeit overkill, relay station.
To add self-defense capabilities, the expedition team also dismantled four plasma cannons from Ship Two and installed them on Ship One to serve as a firepower platform.
Aside from their short range, their power was undeniable.
After half a month of busy work, Expedition Two finally completed all the arrangements and set off for Earth.
At the moment the warship set sail, everyone unconsciously gathered by the porthole, gazing at the gradually receding Jupiter IV and the unignorable Jupiter.
"How long do you think Jupiter will burn?" Xu Qing asked softly.
Ou Zhanpeng tightened his arm around her shoulder. "Who knows? Maybe a few years, maybe decades, or maybe it will keep burning forever."
No one knew what methods the alien species had used, but Jupiter, having been ignited, would not be easily extinguished.
"Why worry about useless things? Let's think about ourselves," Ling Xiao said lazily.
"Think about what?" Ou Zhanpeng played along perfectly.
"The alien species are all here. They'll definitely send more people and ships in the future. Do you think they'll send us, who are familiar with the situation, or choose a bunch of greenhorns?" Ling Xiao's tone was meaningful, his eyes deep and melancholic. If a photo of this were posted online, it would surely captivate countless inexperienced young girls.
Ou Zhanpeng and Xu Qing fell silent together.
Sentiments came and went quickly. Not long after, the crowd dispersed, and everyone returned to their posts.
Jupiter's sphere of influence was vast, and Expedition Two could not accelerate at full throttle without any reservations. It took a full ten days to break free from Jupiter's gravitational influence and officially embark on the long journey home.
Normally, it wouldn't have taken so many days, but the expedition team was not idle during the course change. They constantly adjusted their course and occasionally sent out fighter jets to install long-range observation devices on several moons, preventing the alien species from destroying the short-range detectors.
Thus, a monitoring network with staggered distances and heights began to take shape, like an invisible net, encircling and monitoring the alien species hiding near Jupiter layer by layer.