Since her relationship with Liu Hui was officially established, fueled by the nourishment of his affection, Anqi displayed astonishing research capabilities, leading the Starry Sky Science Research Institute to continually roll out new scientific achievements.

This particular afternoon, as Liu Hui was handling company affairs in his office, he suddenly received a call from Anqi, urging him to come to the Science Research Institute immediately. When Liu Hui asked what was the matter, Anqi merely answered mysteriously that he would know once he arrived.

Feeling somewhat perplexed, Liu Hui hurried to the Science Research Institute, where he found Anqi and Chen Changsheng in a large laboratory. Anqi and Chen Changsheng were engaged in an animated discussion, and before them stood two strange, colossal objects.

“Liu Hui, you’re here!” Anqi said warmly upon seeing him enter, walking over to link her arm through his.

Liu Hui felt awkward seeing Chen Changsheng still present and tried to gently withdraw his arm, yet he hesitated, fearing he might hurt Anqi’s feelings. Chen Changsheng witnessed his predicament and inwardly sighed before taking the initiative to break the tension: “Boss, we asked you here today primarily to introduce the new products we’ve manufactured.”

The mention of new products instantly made Liu Hui forget his awkwardness. He let Anqi keep her arm linked, asking, “Dean Chen, what new marvels have you engineered this time?”

Chen Changsheng pointed to the two massive, odd structures and announced, “Boss, these are our latest creations—they are Mars Rovers.”

Liu Hui was overjoyed and quickly inquired, “Our Mars Rovers are finally complete? Does this mean we can begin Martian development immediately?”

Anqi laughed. “Liu Hui, Martian development isn't that fast. We are only taking the first step: launching the rovers to collect specific data from Mars. True development won't happen until next year at the earliest.”

Liu Hui managed an embarrassed chuckle and changed the subject. “Why did you build two Mars Rovers? I thought the Americans usually only launch one at a time.”

Anqi explained, “Of these two rovers, one is tasked with collecting specific data from Mars, while the other is dedicated to gathering data from the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter.”

Liu Hui pondered this. “I understand the need for Mars data, but why specifically allocate a probe to the Asteroid Belt? And what exactly is that asteroid belt?”

Hearing his questions, Anqi released Liu Hui’s arm, retrieved an exceptionally clear image from the computer, and projected it onto the wall for an explanation. “Liu Hui, within the Solar System, situated between Mars and Jupiter, there is a massive asteroid belt containing over half a million asteroids.”

Indeed, in the enlarged image, Liu Hui could clearly see the multitude of asteroids between Mars and Jupiter. The picture had been captured from the Starry Sky Group’s orbital space station, and its clarity was striking.

Anqi continued, “The reason we are simultaneously probing the asteroid belt is actually preparation for our future terraforming of Mars.”

Liu Hui grew more confused. “What is the concrete link between terraforming Mars and probing that asteroid belt?”

Anqi replied, “The connection is vast; it directly involves our Martian Terraforming Project.”

Intrigued, Liu Hui urged, “Anqi, why don’t you give me a brief rundown?”

Smiling, Anqi prepared a fine cup of tea for Liu Hui and settled him into a chair. She then pulled up a massive holographic model on her computer and began her explanation. “Liu Hui, our Martian Terraforming Project is divided into several phases: The first step is generating a magnetic field on the Martian surface; the second is raising the surface temperature; the third is forming an atmosphere and adjusting its composition; and the fourth is humanity’s official landing and permanent environmental modification.”

Liu Hui sipped his tea, watching Anqi use the model to walk him through the plan.

“Because Mars’s core is currently liquid, it cannot generate a magnetic field. Without a magnetic field, Mars’s atmosphere cannot withstand the solar wind’s ultraviolet radiation. These rays heat the gases in the atmosphere, speeding up their molecular motion, allowing them to easily escape into space. Thus, without magnetic protection, the solar wind will slowly boil away the Martian atmosphere. Without an atmosphere, humans cannot move freely on the surface—that’s our initial major hurdle,” Anqi stated.

“So, how do we tackle this problem?” Liu Hui asked, genuinely interested.

“That problem is quite solvable. This is precisely why we need to probe the asteroid belt,” Anqi said playfully.

Liu Hui suddenly understood. “Are you suggesting we use those asteroids to…”

Anqi finished with a laugh, “Precisely. We intend to use the impact of asteroids on Mars to trigger massive quakes, causing the superheated magma from Mars’s interior to erupt. This outpouring of searing magma will not only carry away immense internal heat, cooling the interior enough to potentially reform a core and generate a magnetic field, but the immense heat carried by the eruptions will also warm the Martian surface. This will melt the vast amounts of carbon dioxide and ice locked in the Martian soil, turning them into gas that disperses into the air, provisionally creating the atmosphere. Once Mars has an atmosphere, its temperature will continue to rise, increasing atmospheric pressure. Once everything stabilizes, a magnetic field will emerge, surface temperatures will increase, and liquid water will appear—then it will be time for us humans to make our grand entrance.”

Liu Hui listened with rapt attention, but then a thought struck him. “Why does your Martian Terraforming Project sound so simple when I hear scientists say it’s incredibly difficult?”

Anqi shook her head. “Liu Hui, I just summarized the plan in terms you can easily grasp. The actual project is far from simple; there are numerous challenges remaining. For instance, Mars’s low mass makes retaining an atmosphere difficult; the issue of adjusting atmospheric gas composition; creating an ozone layer above the atmosphere; the massive logistics of interstellar transport, and so on—all these require extensive time and effort to crack.”

Liu Hui scratched his head, offering a wry smile. “I see. I’m an absolute novice in these areas. You all should handle the technical specifics.”

Anqi chuckled. “As the boss, you naturally don’t need to understand everything; your job is company management. If you understood everything, what would you need us for?”

Liu Hui laughed, then suddenly remembered something. “Dean Chen, how is the construction of our orbital space station coming along?”

Chen Changsheng replied, “Boss, the construction of our orbital space station is proceeding extremely smoothly. Through continuous launches of component parts, our station has reached a total mass of one million tons, making it a super-station where five thousand people currently reside.”

Liu Hui exclaimed in pleasant surprise, “Heh, I knew many people were working up there, but I didn’t realize the population was already so large! And our space station has become such a behemoth.”

Anqi shot him an exasperated look. “That’s because you haven’t paid attention to the Starry Sky Science Research Institute lately, so you don’t even know our progress! But there’s no need to celebrate yet; we are constantly launching more components. By the end of this year, the station’s total mass will reach two million tons, housing and employing over ten thousand people. In the near future, this station will become our bridgehead for conquering the cosmos. Imagine the sheer scale it will reach, and how many people will live aboard!”

Liu Hui began to envision the splendor of the future space station when Anqi interjected, “Liu Hui, starting next year, we will begin establishing permanent human outposts on the Moon. You mentioned previously that you could solve the massive interstellar material transport problem—have you done it yet?”

Liu Hui gave a mysterious smile. “Anqi, don't worry about the interstellar transport issue. Rest absolutely assured! Even if you needed to move one hundred million tons of supplies to the Moon, I could ferry it there for you in a very short time.”

Anqi blinked rapidly. Even with her high intellect, she couldn't fathom how Liu Hui planned to move such vast quantities of material to the Moon.

Liu Hui felt a secret satisfaction watching her baffled expression. Since learning that Alexander from the Magic Plane had occupied the Grand Canyon and discovered a super-warehouse there, he had set his sights on it. In his vision, Alexander’s super-warehouse would serve as his ultimate transfer hub for immense interstellar cargo.

While on Earth, Liu Hui would exchange the vast amounts of materials he needed transported with Alexander, who would store them in that super-warehouse. Then, when Liu Hui flew to the Moon, he could use the Plane Trader to instantly transfer the materials held by Alexander back to him, achieving the goal of delivering massive supplies to the Moon.

Liu Hui’s concept for interstellar transport wasn't just for establishing the lunar base; he could fully utilize the Plane Trader for transporting vast materials during the future Martian terraforming process as well.

This is why, when Anqi proposed using twenty years for Martian terraforming to allow initial human habitation, citing the transport difficulties, Liu Hui had confidently stated he could solve the interstellar logistics problem. Based on his somewhat improbable assurance, Anqi immediately adjusted the work schedule, finding that humanity could reach Mars in just eight years.

Thank you to book friend: Huan Mo‰ for the generous tip!

Qian Yu Chu Hai will certainly put in maximum effort tomorrow, striving to achieve two updates! RO