At this time, not long after the sun went down, the Martian night had already fallen.

But outside Mars City, the lights were brightly lit.

Rows of high-power street lights illuminate this deserted land like daylight.

Lu Yongchang looked up.

At the end of his sight, there was still deep darkness.

When he saw the combination of street lights and red sand and dust, Lu Yongchang couldn't help but hold his breath.

"How is it?" the old voice of the congressman came from the radio, "I didn't lie to you, did I?"

"This place has long been recognized as a relaxation area. I guess only you, the chief scientist, don't know this."

Lu Yongchang turned his head and glanced around, and slowly exhaled a breath.

Perhaps because he stayed in Mars City for too long, Lu Yongchang felt his whole body suddenly relax when he suddenly saw this vast world.

The heaviness that originally weighed on my heart also became much lighter.

He felt that his stiff brain began to slowly move.

That's enough.

Is it time to go back?

He turned his head and looked at the old man wrapped in the spacesuit, his lips moving slightly.

Before he could speak, the chairman of the parliament had already reached out and grabbed his arm tightly: "Follow me."

"What I want you to see is not just this wild scene."

After saying that, the old man dragged Lu Yongchang towards the hillside.

That's a small crater.

Walking on the sloping slope, Lu Yongchang's eyes showed some doubts.

"President?" Lu Yongchang asked tentatively in a low voice.

"..."

No response.

There are only some slight breathing sounds and electric sounds in the radio.

Obviously, the Speaker was not prepared to explain anything to him at this time.

Lu Yongchang, who was following the old man, had a wry smile on his lips, not knowing what the chairman was planning to take him to see.

He put aside the doubts in his heart and followed the old man silently, his mind involuntarily thinking about the problems that had troubled him for a long time.

…

"arrive."

The old man's voice came from the radio again.

Lu Yongchang, who had lowered his head and was thinking silently, suddenly raised his head.

His eyes suddenly widened.

Sparkling.

A small lake appeared in front of him.

On the lake, there were twinkling stars and the lights of Mars City.

Looking at the scene in front of him, Lu Yongchang's eyes flashed with a hint of trance.

If it weren't for the red soil around him reminding him all the time, he would have thought he had traveled back to the previous Earth.

"This lake slowly appeared more than a month ago." The old man's voice sounded again.

"At first, the soil was just a little wet, so we didn't pay much attention."

"But who knew that as time went by, it would gradually accumulate into a small lake."

"...The underground ice has begun to melt?" Lu Yongchang was silent for a while and asked softly.

The old man nodded silently.

"After the sun began to become a red giant, the surface temperature of Mars continued to increase."

"The underground ice in this crater also began to gradually melt, and finally this lake was formed."

"That's what the scientific researchers told me." The old man shrugged and added, "I don't know this either. I only know that this is a good scenic spot."

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Lu Yongchang's mouth.

Then, he remembered a question.

"Have they tested for biological conditions?"

"It won't do any harm, right?"

The old man waved his hand and said with a smile: "Don't worry, everything has been tested."

"Since the Gale bacteria incident, Mars City's disinfection measures have been strengthened a lot. With the use of medical nanorobots, these microorganisms will not be brought back under normal circumstances."

"Not to mention, Zero is monitoring this area all the time."

Hearing this, Lu Yongchang breathed a sigh of relief and looked up towards the lake again.

Suddenly, his eyes moved slightly.

He seemed to have seen something by the lake.

"President?" Lu Yongchang frowned slightly and pointed to a shadow in the distance, "Have you seen that?"

The old man's laughter came from the team radio.

Lu Yongchang's frown deepened.

Did he see it wrong?

Just as he was struggling, the old man's voice sounded again: "You finally found it!"

Lu Yongchang's eyes became more doubtful.

The old man did not tell the answer, but walked silently towards the small lake.

Fearing that something unexpected might happen, Lu Yongchang hurriedly followed the old man's pace.

As the distance got closer, Lu Yongchang gradually discovered the true identity of the circular shadow.

a plant.

No, to be precise, it should be fungi.

Just like mushrooms on Earth, only they are larger.

The purple-red cap, which is more than one meter in diameter, lies quietly on the ground.

"Is this the fungus we discovered before?" Lu Yongchang walked quickly to the fungus, turned to the old man and asked, "Is it revived?"

The old man smiled and nodded slightly: "Yes, it's the fungus that provides hibernation."

"Life will always look for that glimmer of hope when facing desperate situations."

Lu Yongchang's eyes were filled with wonder.

The miracle of life was completely revealed in front of him at this moment.

Even after countless millions of years of changes, life underground on Mars still survives in an extremely tenacious way.

"In the past month, traces of these fungi have been found in many places near the equator of Mars." The old man walked up to Lu Yongchang, stretched out his hand and gently touched the purple-red cap, "According to Zero's calculations

, in the next year, the underground ice on Mars and the ice caps at the poles will gradually melt."

"In the next few years, Mars will even become a second Earth."

"It's a pity." Lu Yongchang stood up and exhaled a long breath before saying, "The good times don't last long."

"When the helium flash breaks out, these lives that have finally waited for a second spring will still be in dire straits."

"Yes, it is indeed a pity." The old man nodded with emotion.

Then, the old man put his hand on Lu Yongchang's shoulder and patted it twice: "Don't put too much pressure on yourself, you have already done a good enough job."

Lu Yongchang nodded silently, staring deeply at the purple-red fungus in front of him.

At this moment, his thoughts that had been silent for a long time gradually became active.

At the same time, the expression on his face gradually became lively.

"What? Got an idea?"

There was a hint of laughter in the old man's voice.

Lu Yongchang nodded vigorously and cast a grateful look at the old man.

"Okay!" The old man laughed, turned around and walked towards the road he came from.

"Now that we have an idea, it's time for us to go back."

"Yongchang, remember, don't push yourself too hard."
Chapter completed!