After six months of meticulous preparation, the Starry Sky Municipal Government finally announced its official establishment to the public. This new government would oversee all public affairs within "Starry Sky City" and serve as its external representative.

As the Mayor of "Starry Sky City," Liu Hui would hold the highest authority. Beneath him, various specific administrative departments were organized, forming a comprehensive governance structure for the municipality.

At last, the administration of "Starry Sky City" had been formalized, ending the abnormal management system where a corporate structure was used to govern a complex society.

Immediately following the announcement of the Starry Sky Municipal Government’s founding, the Chinese government sent a congratulatory message, celebrating and recognizing its establishment, and expressing hope for continued future cooperation. This was quickly followed by congratulatory messages from nations and regions that had already established complex vested interests with "Starry Sky City." These entities formally recognized the legitimate rights and international status of "Starry Sky City" as an independent territory.

Next, the U.S. government officially recognized the legal status of the Starry Sky Municipal Government, prompting many nations aligned with the U.S. to quickly follow suit. Even South Korea, which had maintained a tense stance due to several of its cargo ships being sunk by "Starry Sky City," announced its recognition of the Starry Sky Municipal Government’s legitimacy.

Consequently, a resolution at the subsequent United Nations General Assembly granted "Starry Sky City" a legal standing, securing the Starry Sky Municipal Government its own seat within the UN.

Following this international affirmation, "Starry Sky City" initiated formal diplomatic relations with various countries, exchanging ambassadors and consular staff. Nations that had desperately sought ways to infiltrate "Starry Sky City" to uncover its secrets finally found legitimate avenues to probe the territory's intentions.

Thanks to the thorough preparatory work undertaken by "Starry Sky City," its newly formed municipal government instantly gained international acknowledgment, swiftly resolving its standing on the world stage and integrating itself as an independent region, officially taking its place in global affairs.

The citizens of "Starry Sky City" also welcomed the establishment of the Municipal Government. While the previous administration was adequate, it was somewhat broad and lacked the capacity for finer detail. With the new government in place, the standard of governance in "Starry Sky City" was certain to reach a new height, benefiting the residents above all others.

Just as the Starry Sky Municipal Government was integrating into the international community, Angel from the Moon Base delivered a surprise to Liu Hui via the interstellar transport ships shuttling to and from Earth. This surprise was a peculiar instrument Angel had spent over a year developing based on Liu Hui's requests—an analysis device specifically designed to interface with the mind-reading artifact, the Eye of Truth.

With this analyzer, Liu Hui no longer needed to personally delve into and scrutinize every individual's thoughts. He only needed to gather the targeted individuals together and deliver a speech, carefully weaving in specific mind-reading keywords.

Upon hearing these keywords, the subjects would unconsciously recall events associated with them. These thoughts would immediately pass through the Eye of Truth into the analysis instrument. The device would then commence massive calculations, rapidly determining whether any spies sent by external parties or any traitors to "Starry Sky City" were present among the group.

The process from thought extraction to result analysis was incredibly swift, taking only five minutes to yield insights that would normally require Liu Hui two days of arduous searching. Thus, with this analyzer, Liu Hui was spared the burden of personally reading minds one by one. He could delegate the screening of spies and traitors to a few trusted, tested professionals, enabling comprehensive monitoring of all suspicious individuals.

Despite possessing this rapid mind-reading analysis tool, Liu Hui was loath to overuse it. The keywords he set remained those few related to potential espionage or betrayal. As for other thoughts held by the populace, unless they directly endangered "Starry Sky City," Liu Hui had no interest in accessing them.

The acquisition of this analysis instrument truly solved the potential issues of future espionage and betrayal, finally easing the burden on Liu Hui’s mind. Going forward, "Starry Sky City" would face a vastly reduced risk of intelligence leaks and internal treachery. Even if hostile forces managed to plant infiltrators, Liu Hui would detect them instantly and expel them from "Starry Sky City."

While Liu Hui was still expressing his gratitude to Angel for resolving such a significant problem, she brought him another piece of excellent news: after more than a year of data collection on Mars, the planetary terraforming operation could finally commence.

Upon receiving Liu Hui's authorization, during the dead of a moonless night, four medium-sized interstellar transport ships quietly lifted off from the secret launch base of the Starry Sky Academy of Sciences. These ships, each capable of carrying payloads exceeding one hundred thousand tons, were fully loaded with equipment and instruments. They soared into space, refueled at their orbital station, and proceeded directly toward the Moon Base.

The four vessels docked swiftly at the nearly completed Moon Base, where they took on additional equipment and scientific apparatus. Scientists from the Moon Base also boarded the four starships.

The four transports then rapidly departed the Moon Base, plunging into the vastness of the cosmos. Once deep in space, they engaged their engines, accelerating uniformly until they all achieved a super-high velocity of 100 kilometers per second. They flew in formation for a distance of one million kilometers before splitting their paths.

One starship broke formation, turning toward the distant Mars. The remaining three starships adjusted their course toward the Asteroid Belt situated between Mars and Jupiter.

After seven days of high-speed transit, the vessel heading for Mars, having covered a vast distance of 56 million kilometers, arrived in Mars's near-planet orbit. They immediately contacted the eighteen Martian satellites previously launched, confirmed their operational status, and began orbiting Mars to gather precise data for the upcoming terraforming project.

The other three starships, following more than half a month of high-speed travel, also reached the Asteroid Belt, locating their intended targets.

Back on Earth, Liu Hui was maintaining communication with Angel. Displayed on a massive screen before them were images of three enormous asteroids.

“Angel, are these three asteroids the objective of our mission?” Liu Hui inquired.

“Affirmative. We deployed observation satellites to this belt a long time ago. We have observed and analyzed fifty thousand asteroids in this belt, which is why we selected these three specifically for the first phase of the Mars terraforming plan,” Angel replied.

“But why only these three? They look quite similar to me!” Liu Hui asked, confused.

“Our first step requires us to use these three asteroids to impact Mars, inducing violent crustal movements that will force massive amounts of magma to erupt from the Martian depths. This outpouring of lava will not only raise the surface temperature of Mars but also help cool the Martian core, causing the liquid core to condense, ultimately forming a solid core and generating a rudimentary magnetic field on Mars. Furthermore, this impact will create a cloud of atmospheric dust so dense it will obscure the sky, preventing the newly liberated carbon dioxide from escaping into space,” Angel explained.

“We chose these three asteroids because only they meet the precise requirements for our initial impact strategy. After inputting Mars's detailed data into our supercomputer—the Solar System Simulator—it has been able to perform precise calculations and real-time simulations. The supercomputer’s analysis showed that to achieve our goals, we must adhere to extremely strict criteria regarding the mass, volume, and composition of the impacting bodies, as well as the timing, velocity, and angle of impact. Any failure in a single parameter could lead to the mission's failure,” Angel elaborated.

“So, after your screening process, you found only these three asteroids met your criteria?” Liu Hui asked.

“Precisely. These three bodies have a diameter of only ten kilometers, and their primary composition is iron, making them perfectly suited to our needs,” Angel confirmed.

“But how will we propel these three asteroids into the correct trajectory toward Mars? They are not like our starships; we cannot fully control them directly,” Liu Hui pressed.

“We have devised a comprehensive solution. Our starships are carrying twenty-five colossal engines. Twenty of these engines will be affixed to the three asteroids. These engines will all be powered by Level Eight Energy Stones, providing them with the immense thrust needed to push the asteroids off their current orbital paths and set them on a collision course with Mars,” Angel explained.

Liu Hui then watched on the screen as several workers in full spacesuits exited one of the starships, maneuvering a massive engine and a construction machine toward the nearest asteroid. Although they wore pressurized suits, the modifications from the Starry Sky Research Institute made them appear streamlined, like perfectly fitted garments that in no way impeded movement.

These astronauts had all received injections of Body Evolution Fluid, granting them physical capabilities far surpassing those of baseline humans. They pushed the enormous engine and construction rig across the vacuum, locating a specific landing zone on the asteroid.

Once they had secured footing on the low-gravity body—nearly floating away due to the minimal pull—they quickly stabilized themselves, verified their location, and identified the optimal work site. They activated the construction machine, from which a gigantic drill bit emerged, and they began boring into the asteroid's surface.

This construction machine, fueled by the potent energy supplied by an advanced Magical Beast Crystal Core, was both compact and incredibly powerful. Coupled with the thorough geological analysis already conducted by the supercomputer, the chosen drilling site offered excellent conditions, making the boring process remarkably easy.

In just two hours, the drilling machine penetrated fifty meters beneath the surface. They then carefully maneuvered the colossal engine into the bore hole, using nearby equipment to secure it firmly. After activating and calibrating the engine to confirm full operational status, they retreated to the starship to rest.

It was only when the asteroid rotated to its far side that the area they had just worked on was exposed to direct, intense solar radiation. Fortunately, the construction crew had already returned to the starship, avoiding harm, and the massive engine was adequately shielded by auxiliary equipment, suffering no damage.

In this efficient manner, the construction personnel from the starships installed one super-engine per day on the asteroids. Twenty days later, all twenty large engines were secured in various distinct locations across the three asteroids, completing their installation work.

Liu Hui and Angel watched as the construction crews evacuated the three asteroids, feeling an intense surge of excitement. With all preparations finalized, the first stage of the Mars terraforming plan—the asteroid impact—was imminent. The success of their entire Martian undertaking hinged on this initial step going smoothly.

Angel glanced at Liu Hui, receiving an affirming nod. She suppressed her excitement and declared, “I now give the order: Phase One of the Mars Terraforming Plan, the Impact Operation, is officially initiated.”

Having received authorization from the command center, the three starships in the Asteroid Belt immediately pressed the activation buttons on the super-engines mounted on the celestial bodies.

The three asteroids shuddered violently, and then, propelled by the super-engines, they began to alter their trajectories. Soon, they completely broke free from the orbital paths they had maintained for hundreds of millions of years, hurtling into the depths of space. The starships quickly followed behind, tracking the flight paths of the asteroids.

Angel, at the Moon Base, received the trajectory data transmitted from the three asteroids via the starships. She fed this flight data into the supercomputer to verify if their paths matched the predetermined course. If any deviation was detected, she would instantly transmit updated flight data to the forward starships, who would then command the engines on the asteroids to correct the trajectory.

After a careful month of guided flight, the three asteroids finally exited the confines of the Asteroid Belt. No longer at risk of collision with other celestial debris, the engines were pushed to maximum output, sending the three asteroids rocketing through space at extreme velocity. Liu Hui had continuously monitored the progress of these three bodies since their departure, fearing any anomaly that might sabotage his plan. To his relief, throughout the journey, the only issue was a malfunction in one engine on a single asteroid, which the construction crew aboard the accompanying starship promptly repaired. Otherwise, all conditions remained optimal.

Thus, after accelerating for another month, the three asteroids converged, approaching Mars’s orbital plane.

At this juncture, Angel began monitoring the asteroids’ angle and velocity with intense focus, fearful of any slight miscalculation that could doom the impact plan. Thanks to the constant stream of corrective instructions from Angel, the asteroids maintained a stable trajectory, perfectly aligning with the optimal impact parameters.

After over two months in flight, the three asteroids finally reached Mars's orbit. Through continuous adjustments to their flight angles and speeds, they were perfectly situated for the collision.

The three asteroids struck precisely at the optimal impact zone calculated by the supercomputer, the "Solar System Simulator." Following a brief, chilling moment of silence, three cataclysmic explosions ripped across the surface of Mars. Following these massive impacts, colossal mushroom clouds erupted from the Martian South Pole, North Pole, and the Equator, respectively. Immediately afterward, an overwhelmingly violent global hurricane swept across the planet, destroying everything in its path.

Upon impact, the three asteroids pierced Mars's fragile crust. Large-scale fractures and shifts immediately began in the Martian crust, triggering a planet-wide super-earthquake, followed by massive volcanic eruptions. The searing magma from deep within Mars began to spew forth continuously, venting toxic gases into the atmosphere alongside the molten rock.

The erupting magma decomposed massive amounts of carbon dioxide sequestered within the minerals, instantly flooding the Martian atmosphere with astronomical quantities of CO2. Under the combined effect of the lava and the dioxide, the surface temperature of Mars began to soar rapidly, climbing from below freezing to over eighty degrees Celsius in a short span.

Within a single day, Mars was plagued by incessant super-earthquakes, ceaseless crustal movement and fracturing, countless volcanic eruptions, and rivers of flowing magma everywhere. The sky was choked with a poisonous haze, and the sweeping hurricane, laden with carbon dioxide, annihilated everything. The dust storm generated by the impacts remained suspended high in the atmosphere, refusing to settle, a massive shroud that completely blocked out the sun.

If any beings were alive on Mars at this moment, having survived the initial asteroid bombardment, they would have witnessed the literal arrival of the end of the world.

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