Sean didn't quite understand why Cheng Ping still looked as if his parents had just died even though his request had been granted, "What 'why'?"
Cheng Ping sighed, "Why would you agree to my request? I'm the former rotating chairman of the PDC! I've created so many problems for the Solar System State, I... I should be a prisoner."
Sean smiled and said, "This point the Wallfacer did mention. He said you're a capable person. The more trouble you created for us, the more it proves your exceptional abilities.
"Especially within the PDC's politically constricted system, the achievements you have made deserve our respect."
Cheng Ping rested his forehead on his hand, "I've always said that those around me are too extreme, but how am I any less so? Why didn't I think to seek help from the Solar System State before?"
Prior to this, he had always seen the Solar System State as the enemy, only now did he realize that the PDC really didn't qualify as an enemy of the Solar System State, which didn't take PDC too seriously.
Today, the Solar System State stands at a great height, and only those in the PDC are still living in the beautiful dream of 'human polarization.'
If he had sought help from the Solar System State before, perhaps he might actually have received support from the Solar System State.
"Let's go," Cheng Ping calmed himself. "We're going to attend the meeting convened by the Wallfacer. After the meeting, I'd like to have a good talk with the Wallfacer."
When the two arrived at the meeting room, the meeting had already started.
This was evidently a high-level conference of the Solar System State, with attendees including the Wallfacer Jiang Yu, Governor Bernice, one of the four Fleet Admirals of the Solar System United Military, Cao Yang, and every sitting person was a familiar face from the news.
Regarding Cheng Ping's mid-meeting entrance, everyone just paused briefly before continuing the meeting.
Number Three took Cheng Ping to a corner of the meeting room and handed him a set of meeting materials.
Upon opening the file, Cheng Ping immediately felt that he had wasted his time as the PDC rotating chairman.
Look at the topics of the high-level conference of the Solar System State, which truly possess a humanity-wide perspective, then think about what the PDC discusses—just some childish disputes over interests, with no topics of such magnitude.
The issue under discussion by Jiang Yu and others today is the latest discovery on Mars.
The preface of the document made it clear that one of the preparations for large-scale interstellar migration is in-depth research into Earth-like planets.
Humanity was born on Earth, evolved, and propagated here, but up to now, our understanding of places like Earth's core and the deep sea is still not comprehensive enough.
The Strategic Department of the Solar System State believes that to quickly stabilize and adapt to the complex environment of a new planetary system, it's imperative to thoroughly research Earth-like planets.
In the Solar System, there are actually not many cases available for study. Venus is not to be hoped for, as there are still a hundred Monster Cannons constantly aimed at it.
The majority of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn are too small in size, and studying them is even less valuable than studying the Moon.
The final four selected case studies were Earth, Mars, Ganymede, and Titan.
In the Mars research team, using the most advanced drilling tools, they successfully penetrated the core of Mars.
To their surprise, they discovered several large metal spheres in the heart of Mars!
The structure of these metal spheres was very strange. Although the temperature in the core of Mars was much lower than that of Earth, any metal should be able to melt at such high temperatures.
Upon examination, the spheres were found to be made of ordinary iron, raising the question of why they had not melted.
Later, the investigation team conducted several explorations of the core and found that these metal spheres were actually hollow and contained nothing inside, and the temperature inside was extremely low, which is why solid metal spheres had formed.
No similar structures were found on Earth or the other two study targets!
Now we can be fairly certain that these hollow structures are the culprits behind the weakening of Mars's magnetic field!
Then the question arises, how did these hollow structures come about?
It has been largely ruled out that they formed naturally, because their locations are just too coincidental; they act like stabilizing pins that prevent the motion of Mars's core.
With the core immobilized, the magnetic field has weakened significantly, hence the magnetic field can't protect Mars from the damaging solar winds.
As a result, hydrogen and oxygen atoms on Mars's surface have gradually drifted into space, leading over time to a dry and oxygen-deprived environment.
At the conference, Jiang Yu rubbed his chin, "Who would do this?"
He then asked Number Three, "What does Venus say?"
Number Three, who had just finished trading with Venus, said, "Venus only mentioned that there was a time when Mars was also suitable for the habitation of life.
"Because we haven't yet delivered the aluminum and water we promised him during the last trade, he only gave us this ambiguous answer."
Cao Yang, with his hands crossed on the table, said, "So are you saying, a long time ago, someone destroyed Mars and that's why it's in its current state?"
He asked further, "What would be the purpose of doing this? Could this be a Dark Forest Strike?"
Thirty-Six suddenly said, "Marshal Cao's line of thinking might be flawed."
All eyes turned to Thirty-Six.
Thirty-Six spoke calmly, "It shouldn't be a Dark Forest Strike, because any civilization capable of a Dark Forest Strike would surely find Earth more suitable for life than Mars.
"If it was a Dark Forest Strike, Earth would not have escaped its fate as well.
"Let's consider a different angle, perhaps they didn't destroy Mars just to destroy it, but destroyed it because it had a suitable environment for habitation."
Most people didn't quite understand what Thirty-Six meant, but a few like Jiang Yu who did immediately fell into deep thought.
Thirty-Six continued to explain, "Let's imagine, if Mars had always been habitable for life, then by now it should have also evolved intelligent beings.
"Setting aside whether Martians' technology would be more advanced than Earthlings', if Earth had the capability to explore Mars, and Mars at the same time had the capability to explore Earth.
"Think about it, what would be the outcome?"
Cao Yang also understood Thirty-Six's point, "The most likely scenario would be a Star Wars, and Humanity's chance of winning wouldn't be big!
"Mars would have access to the resources of the outer Solar System, while humanity could only exploit the resources of Earth and Mercury, with Venus being an unstable factor.
"It's likely we would be attacked from both front and back, completely blockaded by Martians within the inner Solar System!"
Cao Yang paused and then said, "Isn't this all too coincidental? Why would an advanced civilization target Mars and eliminate Humanity's potential competitor?"
Thirty-Six said, "The coincidences don't end there. Terrestrial planets have only a slim chance of capturing satellites as large as the Moon, yet Earth did precisely that.
"Moreover, why did Venus come to the Solar System for refuge? And Jupiter's size and resources seem as though they were tailor-made supply bases for us."
Jiang Yu said indifferently, "In the universe, are there really so many coincidences?"