Chapter 1, Cassini Station

Interested

Recently, the teams conducting field investigations have consistently returned with new discoveries, generating significant news daily, as if the next Nobel Prize is about to be born here. This is always the case when the stationed team members are rotated. Hu Donghai has become accustomed to it. In reality, what they bring back are merely various types of stones; some are indigenous to this area, while others have fallen from the sky. These individuals tirelessly dig in the pits, and Liang Jing, who specializes in geology, naturally finds this interesting. However, for Hu, who is a physicist, dealing with stones all day is indeed tedious. Hu Donghai has become accustomed to it. In reality, what they bring back are merely various types of stones; some are indigenous to this area, while others have fallen from the sky. These individuals tirelessly dig in the pits, and Liang Jing, who specializes in geology, naturally finds this interesting. However, for Hu, who is a physicist, dealing with stones all day is indeed tedious.

"Say a few less words, let it be... Old Hu, step aside, we can talk later." The station master Jiang Zi pushed him aside by the shoulder, clearing a path, and strode forward, "Is the laboratory empty now, Old Hu?"

Director Hu looked at Liang Jing and Lou Qi on both sides. Both of them had serious expressions, yet there was an unmistakable excitement that they could hardly contain. It was evident that this was not a joke.

The three of them looked at each other and shook their heads in unison

January 29, 2101

With a click, Director Hu Dahai pried open the latch of the storage box and slowly lifted the lid. Under the stark white light, the four individuals widened their eyes as a chilling white mist spilled out from within the box. Hu Dahai took a step back, and the mist flowed onto the laboratory table before gradually settling onto the floor

I will tell you later, to be frank, we have won the grand prize this time, the super jackpot. The man was beaming with joy

As they continue to excavate more stones but produce only a few articles, their enthusiasm naturally wanes, and they become a group of Titan slackers... Meanwhile, Director Hu quietly contemplates while adjusting his protective suit.

What about biosafety

Not a meteorite

Is there radiation

Director Hu placed his hand on the box, which bore no labels. Typically, mineral specimens would have labels indicating hazardous materials and Class I radioactive items. Liquid and gas samples would be labeled as toxic substances or environmentally hazardous materials. However, this time, there were no labels at all, indicating that the discoverer was unsure of how to classify it

Cassini Station

"How big is the prize?" asked Dabai. "Did you all find the winning numbers for the next Double Chromosphere lottery while conducting geological surveys in the meteorite crater?"

"It wasn't me, it was that madman Liang Jing," Jiang Zi said, pointing at the man beside him. "He jumped in without a second thought, damn it, we couldn't even stop him..."

Someone has been waiting for a long time in the corridor inside the door

Open the door, Big White

"Not exaggerating." Jiang Zi shook his head, "Really, I am not joking, this thing can change the course of human history."

"It has been tested." Jiangzi threw the Geiger counter over, "There is no radioactivity."

"I don't know, we didn't check carefully, and we didn't have this condition, which is why we brought it back, but it should be safe," Jiang Zi reminded. "We have completely sealed it in the specimen box, maintaining the internal temperature at minus 110 degrees, and there has been no direct contact. Lao Hu, you should be a bit more careful."

The man glanced up at the camera above him, then turned to look at the box behind him, chuckling softly, "What? Are you interested?"

"Big baby." Jiang Zi chuckled, "We estimate that it must be worth at least a dozen dynamite awards. If we each take one, there will still be plenty left to support third world countries."

It is quite normal to say that the Cassini station has been established for nearly eight years, and if there were any significant discoveries, they would have been made by others long ago. How could it still be their turn?

"Strange, very strange." Jiang Zi nodded, "In all my years, I have never seen anything like this; you can tell just by looking at it."

I was digging for meteorites at the time, and I dug a bit too deep. I accidentally stepped on this thing and almost slipped. Liang Jing, who was resting on the side, grinned and gave a thumbs up. At first, I thought it was a rock, but later I realized something was off, so I called Jiang Zi to help me dig it out... Damn, it really is a strange object

In the outdoor air, the liquid alkanes immediately vaporize after absorbing heat. Outside, the rain pours down in torrents, and the wind howls, creating waves three feet high. It is yet another pitch-black downpour. The people returning in the rain hurriedly step into the airlock chamber, fully equipped. A group of three, dressed in heavy deep red extravehicular suits, carrying toolboxes in their hands, resemble a bomb disposal team as well as a squad of magnetic explosion infantry.

With the experience and perspective of these seasoned veterans, what else could possibly strike them as peculiar

Is it possible that after decades of speculation about higher life forms on Titan, they have finally been discovered today? Jiang Zi stated that this discovery is worth a dozen Nobel Prizes; if extraterrestrial advanced life has indeed been found, it would not be an exaggeration

What is a lottery? Compared to this thing, the Nobel Prize is nothing to mention.

"Which laboratory?" Old Hu adjusted his glasses and followed.

The cabin door of the airlock chamber swung open with a loud bang, and the light was blinding

With a heavy click, the lock cylinder withdrew, and the hatch of the positive pressure airlock chamber slowly opened. In that instant, the air inside the chamber leaked out through the gap of the door, and upon encountering the frigid temperature of minus one hundred seventy degrees Celsius, the water vapor, oxygen, and carbon dioxide rapidly condensed, transforming into a white mist that flowed close to the ground

He glanced at the three people beside him and said, "No... it can't be a living creature, can it?"

The Alexander Pit is an old pit, having been excavated for several years; what new major discoveries could there possibly be?

Titan, Shangri-La Plain

Empty

The site manager pointed to the end of the corridor, "p 3"

"Received, Mr. Station Master, Mr. Liang Jing, Mr. Lou Qi, welcome back. You all look like a group of tomb raiders." A clear synthetic voice came through the headset, "I am opening the door for you... I noticed that you have brought back an unknown object, which cannot be penetrated by X-rays and does not resemble a mineral specimen."

No, in the Napoleon pit next to Alexandria

Found in the Alexandria pit

Old Hu removed his goggles

The laboratory safety isolation door closed behind them, and the green light on the door illuminated

The two individuals who followed closely behind also stepped into the airlock chamber, and the outer door closed and locked. They moved in succession, carrying a red storage box. Amidst the flashing of the bright yellow warning lights, the decontamination system was activated, and the three stood under the water curtain, washing away the residual dust and fragments of ice on their bodies. Meanwhile, the air pressure inside the airlock chamber began to gradually decrease

"Strange?" Chairman Hu raised an eyebrow

A line of four individuals swiftly escorted the box through the corridor, not even having time to remove their extravehicular suits. Everyone was eager to properly and promptly secure the items in their hands, without any delay. They proceeded directly to the laboratory at the end, passing through two isolation doors, and lifted the deep red storage box onto the workbench.

He was wearing a white lab coat and a pair of tortoiseshell glasses, his forehead shining brightly. Seeing the three bomb disposal team members standing intact in the airlock chamber, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Jiang Zi, you finally made it back. The weather is so terrible, the rain is pouring down as if the sky is collapsing. Why did you come back so late today? By the way, what are you holding in your hands..."

Old Hu put on his protective suit, donned gloves and a mask

"So impressive?" Chairman Hu was taken aback, then scoffed, "Jiang Zi, have you lost your mind thinking you can win a Nobel Prize? It's not that easy to boast like this."

"Napoleon's Pit?" Hu Donghai said with a hint of surprise, "That pit is too deep and steep; it is strictly prohibited to go down! Are you trying to throw your life away?"

It is not a living being, at least it does not appear to be.

What new discovery is this time? Seeing you all in such a hurry, have you found some treasure?

The leader pushed up the light-blocking visor, his body covered in condensed white frost. The light illuminated the face of a middle-aged man as he shouted breathlessly towards the inner cabin door

The twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month

Distance from Earth in kilometers