Chapter 174: Existence_1

Di Fengyi arrived at Eden with a video from Mars on a tranquil afternoon.

He saw Jiang Yu half reclining in the shade of a tree, staring at a fishing rod not far away.

Yang Dong was sitting beside Jiang Yu, reading a book.

Strangely, neither of them was speaking, yet the atmosphere between them did not seem the least bit indifferent.

The sense of calm and ease seemed to cleanse all the impatience within Di Fengyi's heart.

If it were not absolutely necessary, Di Fengyi wouldn't want to disturb Jiang Yu's peace.

He had been by Jiang Yu's side all along, knowing full well how much Jiang Yu had dedicated to the wall-facing plan, and it was time for Jiang Yu to rest.

But the rest had to end there.

Di Fengyi walked over and was about to speak when Jiang Yu beat him to it, "Wait, let me catch one more fish."

Di Fengyi nodded and returned to the cabin to wait for Jiang Yu.

Suddenly, the fishing rod trembled. Jiang Yu began reeling in, and Yang Dong helped him lift the fish out of the water.

After removing the hook, Jiang Yu looked at the lively fish and smiled, "We probably won't eat it tonight, let it go."

Yang Dong nodded and handed the net over to Jiang Yu.

As Jiang Yu walked into the lake to release it, he said, "I have to get back to work."

"I'm also about to hibernate," Yang Dong laughed, "I've been very happy these days; I have no regrets. Consider this time as our shared good times."

Watching the fish return to the water and swim away quickly, Jiang Yu remarked, "Because it's fleeting, it's precious."

After that, he returned ashore, took Yang Dong's hand, and went back to the cabin. They quickly packed their bags and left the haven that very night.

On the way back to Earth, Jiang Yu watched the video sent from Mars.

...

The background of the video was the not-so-spacious activity room at Mars Base.

The walls of the activity room and all utilized objects were in cool colors, making the entire environment look somewhat stark.

You Haoming was the first to speak, "We have been searching the area where the intelligent signals were emitted for six months, but we have found nothing."

They had tried almost every method they could think of, including simple excavation, drilling, and even blasting, as well as the use of various sophisticated instruments.

But they found nothing.

Rolf even prayed for more than two hours, asking God for help, but unfortunately, God did not make an appearance.

You Haoming continued, "We only have about ten days left before the time the other side has given us runs out. Now let's discuss whether there are any other methods of searching, or if we have any new interpretations of the hints previously given by them?"

Seated on the left, Theodore with slightly greasy short hair and a look of fatigue said, "Xichang side speculated that they are the ancestors of carbon-based life, and their physical structure might be far beyond our expectations!

"But there's another possibility. What if they are not carbon-based but silicon-based life-forms?

"What if they are gaseous life-forms that we may not be able to see with the naked eye?

"Or perhaps, they have transcended as life-forms, existing only as a conscious thought?"

Bishkov, with an unkempt beard and slightly red eyes, also looking unrested, waved his hand and said:

"No matter what kind of creatures they are, the device they used to send electromagnetic wave signals to Earth, we should be able to observe it, right!"

Theodore did not agree, "Their technology might have far surpassed our imagination, just like when they sent a second message to Earth, we mobilized all satellites and still couldn't find their transmission device."

"So we can't judge their technological devices by Earth's level of technology."

Bishkov frowned, "I don't think so! When they made contact with Earth the second time, they obviously could manipulate space and time.

"If they have obtained the grand unified theory and opened the doors to other dimensions, then our entry point in searching for them can only be through their devices."

Rolf, who had grown noticeably thinner, also disagreed with Bishkov's view: "We have been searching for so long and proved that we are unable to observe their devices!"

Bishkov leaned back into his chair, exhausted: "Maybe we missed something, but their communication facilities are at least a breakthrough point.

"If, as you say, their form of life is invisible to us, then how shall we search?"

Theodore and Rolf fell silent, both looking helplessly towards You Haoming, who was deep in thought with his arms crossed. Bishkov, too, had had enough arguing, took a sip of water, and also looked towards You Haoming.

Among the astronauts, You Haoming was in the best spirits, at least his face was clean-shaven without a beard.

He noticed the gazes of the three men, unfolded his arms and said, "Everything is an unknown variable; any hypothesis could be valid."

Bishkov and Theodore continued to stare at You Haoming, who smiled and said, "There's no answer on my face, but I just thought, what does that phrase 'I do not exist' that they sent to Earth mean?"

At that moment, Mi Jingtiao, with his back to the camera, said, "Commander, that might be a misunderstanding caused by two civilizations' different concepts of 'existence'."

The conference room was quiet for a few seconds before You Haoming said, "No, that's a clue; maybe for us, they really do not exist!"

Everyone was momentarily startled before Bishkov spoke first, "If they don't exist, then why have us come all this way to find them? They must exist."

You Haoming explained, "That's not what I mean. All the search methods we are currently using are based on our existing technology and level of thinking.

"If they are giving Earth civilization a test, do they want Earth's civilization to have an epiphany during the process of the test?

"Should we consider a different angle? If Earth's civilization were more advanced than it is now, how would we think about the problem of 'existence'? What methods would we use to find something unknown?"

The other four astronauts fell silent.

You Haoming sighed, "Our rational thinking about the future is too scarce!"

Then he said to Theodore, "Send my just now thought to Xichang, pool our wisdom, and see if they have any better suggestions."

...

You Haoming's speculation once again led PDC into Jiang Yu's trap, allowing the last step of "Project Zero" to proceed more smoothly.

After returning to Beijing, Yang Dong soon went into hibernation.

Jiang Yu had almost no negative feelings about this, for he knew that they would meet again in the future.

Subsequently, Jiang Yu quickly returned to his work, focusing all his efforts on the final stages of "Project Zero."

On the day marking one year since the receipt of the intelligent signal from Mars, everyone around the world would involuntarily look up at the sky.

They did not know where Mars was located, but they were very eager to know what the consequences would be for failing the test set by the advanced civilization.

Many people were already feeling disappointed, the help from an advanced civilization was something they knew better not to expect. They just hoped the other side would not take the opportunity to make things difficult for humanity.

The large radio telescopes on the ground, and a portion of the satellites in low Earth orbit, were all focused on the direction of Mars.

The five astronauts on Mars, including You Haoming, were at the location from which the intelligent signal had been previously sent, in hopes that a miracle would occur, allowing them to find the other party at the last moment.

On Earth, at ten in the morning Beijing time, the ground-based radio telescopes and the satellites in low Earth orbit once again received intelligent signals from Mars, one after another.

However, oddly enough, You Haoming and the others on the ground of Mars did not receive any information.