The atmosphere felt heavy in a meeting room at Capitol, the political center of the UA.

Since last year’s conflict in the Pacific, the number of times that senior consultants, ministers, and the president were locked up in the same room dramatically increased. The only difference was a new face sat at the secretary of state position.

The Earth Defense Alliance was on the rise and even slightly instigated the status of NATO as the largest military body in the world. The UA was facing unprecedented challenges in politics, economics, and even culture; these challenges were not even seen in the Truman and Kennedy era.

After all, the UA had only faced a seriously ill giant that was full of muscles. However, it was now in the ring with an Iron Man equipped to the teeth…

No, the statement was not accurate enough. After all, Iron Man’s technology was probably more realistic…

“Celestial Trade intends to hold a biotechnology summit in Celestial City at the end of January to showcase the spoils on Mars. What is it called? The Devil Worm? Hell… Curiosity has been running on Mars for so many years and it didn’t spot a single cell.” NASA Director Bolden looked at the report wearily as he reported with an exhausted tone.

The director of NASA, the secretary of state, the president, the secretary of commerce, and even the minister of the interior sat at a table to discuss the issue that only happened during the Cold War era when the space competition took place. However, there was no reason for Bolden to be excited because neither the space elevator nor the moon colonization plan was close to being executed.

Against the unmatched technology gap, even the genius Elon Musk and his SpaceX were powerless. They could only pick up the scraps left behind by Celestial Trade.

“Can you find a way to get in on this summit? The UA must have first-hand knowledge of the Mars species! Otherwise, the gap between us and Celestial Trade will only grow bigger,” Defence Minister Carter said with a stern look.

“Eligibility to participate in the summit? Oh, of course. New York Times, Washington Post… Any media that you can name has received an invitation,” the chief of staff leaned back in his chair and revealed an ugly expression as he spun the pen his hand. “The problem is that no UA research institution or university has received an invitation for collaboration. We are completely excluded.”

“They are hindering academic freedom!” Next to Minister Carter, the director of the advanced projects department cursed.

“The professors at Harvard University and MIT have already condemned their action.” Hill looked at the officials present and finally fixed her sight on the secretary of state. “What we need now is a solution.”

“I will try my best, but don’t get your hopes up,” the newly appointed secretary of state rubbed his temples. “It’s not the first day that Celestial Trade placed a blockade on us in space technology. Hoping they can make concessions today, the chance is not high… Kerry is an expert on Xin, but you know-”

“Out of all times, Kerry, this guy, decides to quit his job now.” An official cussed with his voice lowered

“Can you convince him to come back?” Hill looked at the Party Leader.

“It’ll be very difficult. He insisted on participating in the primaries in March. He even wrote his speech. You know, someone gave him support. The most terrible thing is that the opinions within the party are diverted and he has a fair amount of support. Dear God, now we not only have to face Xin and Republicans, but also the damned Wall Street…”

The wrinkles on Hill’s eyes showed a hint of bitter helplessness.

She did not know her next move.

Just then, Bolden suddenly spoke up.

“How about we start the Mars landing plan ahead of time?”

As he finished the sentence, all sights in the room focused on him.

He responded to the president and officials’ focused gaze as he took a deep breath and continued.

“If we can’t break the ice in diplomacy, we can only make attempts from technology.”

“The problem is, can our current technology do it? Didn’t SpaceX end development of manned rockets?” Defense Secretary Carter frowned.

“MCT, the Mars Immigration Transporter. SpaceX has never stopped their plan to colonize Mars, and now the most critical technology has made a breakthrough.” Bolden looked at Hill and said seriously, “At least a one-way ticket.”

Silence lasted in the room for a while, then Hill spoke.

“Tell me what is the significance of doing this?”

If she could not find a suitable reason to convince Congress to allocate funds, even if she agreed with the plan, it would not serve any purpose.

“Too much significance,” Bolden said. “The Moon has been monopolized. We cannot let Celestial Trade continue to monopolize the future of mankind. Even a flag on Mars and a few people living on it can add a lot of chips for us.”

The craters with ice and rare earth reserves were all shamelessly occupied by Celestial Trade.

Even without extraction, a research station would serve its purpose. Even if the countries began to establish their own lunar research stations, they could not solve the most critical drinking water and oxygen problems, which made forming a colony almost an impossible task.

In particular, Celestial Trade refused to sell drinking water, oxygen, and electricity to stations outside the Earth Defense Alliance member countries on the grounds of limited resources. The high maintenance costs made these stations unable to breakeven, let alone expansion.

However, the most crucial thing was not this…

After a moment of pause, Bolden looked at the still hesitant president and went on.

“In addition, I suspect that Celestial Trade’s discovery on Mars is probably not as simple as a bug.”

Hill suddenly thought of something, gasped, and looked at Bolden in shock.

“You mean…”

“Yes, I’m afraid it is related to an extraterrestrial civilization.” Bolden nodded and suggested with a serious tone, “If they do not agree to allow us to participate in the research, then we will go take a look ourselves.”

There is more than one way to Mars.

If Celestial Trade is not willing to sell tickets to Mars, then UA can build its own “spaceship”.

While the Capitol was preparing for both cases, on the Mars colony tens of millions of kilometers away, the remaining nine soldiers and the only vehicle left completed their assembly and began to prepare for the rescue of the engineers trapped near Mine 071.

The reinforcement of Celestial Trade would take two weeks to arrive, and the oxygen on the rover would at most last for two weeks. The risk of the rescue was high; everyone knew about this. But no soldier questioned the rescue.

Celestial Trade has never left people behind.

No matter who the opponent is.

Whether the opponent is human or not.