Chapter 8: I e Geyser Exploration

"Act according to your orders," said Chen Qiang.

"Yes," we answered together.

"Li Canyue, Old Du, Dodo, with me. We'll be approaching the edge of the geyser zone and extracting some samples. Maerdo and Zhang Bao'er, you'll be taking the other Kangaroo to investigate the flat surface and its surrounding terrain. Look for a suitable drilling spot. Do not stay outside for more than 12 hours. Be prepared to receive your next order. Keep the wireless communicator on at all times. Jiajia will be constantly updating the mothership with our status. We will probably have a limited time to work here. I have a feeling the environment here isn't as stable as we have guessed. We need to complete our mission as quickly as possible. Everyone, set off!" said Chen Qiang.

Through the safety tunnel, we slid into the vehicle called Kangaroo. Equipped with the latest morph technology, the vehicle could adapt to various different environments and terrains while protecting its passengers. Six massive wheels brought the vehicle forward. These wheels were also outfitted with the ability to change their shape in accordance with the terrain and temperature, ensuring a smooth passage for the passengers.

"Decontamination chamber sealed. Decontamination complete. Exit granted," along with Jiajia's words, the outer door opened. 

‘Jupiter II, here I come!’

A world of white welcomed us. The ground around us was exceptionally level, and at the edges of the flat zone were towering ice mountains with sharp peaks, blocking the sight of the sky. From between the ice mountains, the massive Jupiter was faintly discernible. One of the openings allowed us to see the massive red spot. The rotating red spot was akin to the eye of Satan, gazing upon us, the foreign visitors.

"Temperature of -180 degrees, wind speed of 400 kilometers per hour, 50 kilometers of thick ice beneath us. It is safe to navigate. High levels of radiation were detected in the air. With a distance of 60 kilometers from the plumes, our estimated arrival time is 75 minutes," said Dodo.

In truth, even sitting in the vehicle, I was able to clearly hear the sounds of the gale striking the hull of the vehicle. Relying on the little light reflected from Jupiter, all we could see around us was a peculiar, spotless ice sheet. Berserk wind blew past us again and again as we traversed it.

With the harsh environment out there, if one were to ask me if I was nervous, I would honestly reply that I wasn't. Perhaps it was due to the sense of security given by technology. With the powerful defenses of our highly advanced equipment, any danger I faced was trivialized. 

Slowly, we reached the edge of the flat zone. Far ahead of us, small icy chunks could be seen floating in the air.

"After entering the geyser zone, visibility will drop to zero. Depending on what we encounter, we will decide whether we leave the vehicle or stay in the safety of the cabin and use the mechanical arms to gather samples," said Chen Qiang.

At the same time, Chen Qiang commanded Maerdo's party to avoid leaving the cabin if possible. They should prioritize investigating the terrain and gathering data. Our party should be the one to prioritize leaving the cabin. I believed this was Chen Qiang's way of protecting everyone: by sacrificing himself.

In truth, I greatly longed to be the Armstrong of Jupiter II. But being a member of the fleet, there were rules in place to follow. I wouldn't be the one to lay the first footprint on Jupiter II. 

About 10 minutes after we left the ice sheet's edge, the entire vehicle jolted violently. It was as though a massive force had suddenly blasted the vehicle off the ground. Thanks to our massive wheels, we were able to land stably. However, the sudden change had still given everyone a scare.

"The hell? What was that?" I cried out.

Dodo activated both the infrared and laser scanners at the same time, scanning our surroundings. Meanwhile, Old Du and I scanned our surroundings with our analysis visors. We found nothing.

"This moon is too unstable. Perhaps we are currently moving atop a volatile crust that is capable of shifting the entire moon," said Old Du.

‘This kid has downloaded quite a lot of useful knowledge,’ I mused inwardly.

"The arrival of our Kangaroo has changed the pressure level of the surface that had stayed the same for millions of years. The most weight the ice sheet has ever supported before this was probably from the winds, but with the arrival of our Kangaroo, with a weight over 10 tonnes, the balance has been broken," Old Du continued his explanation.

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"I think so as well," said Chen Qiang. "Therefore, we need to complete the mission as quickly as possible. The environment around us is harsher than expected. We will have to move faster."

Suddenly, a string of data popped up on the screen. From the data, the wheels were under massive pressure. The balance-preserving morph technology ensured the stability of the wheels, but the wheels were being subjected to a massive pressure reaching 255 kilobars.

Everyone knew that the average sea pressure of Blue was about 1 atmosphere. In comparison, the massive pressure assaulting the wheels caused the vehicle to jolt upward every minute. Even so, the data still displayed no changes in our surroundings.

"What the hell? Are we encountering ghosts or demons?" I exclaimed.

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"Science can't explain what we're encountering here. The pressure is appearing without any change in the environment. From my analysis, powerful dark matter might be the cause of this pressure. However, I can't understand why only the wheels are subjected to the pressure. More observation is required to draw a conclusion," said Dodo.

Because the vehicle was still operating as usual and our survival was guaranteed thanks to the power of technology, Chen Qiang decided to continue advancing. Just like that, Kangaroo braved the violent winds and continued forward in peculiar hopping motions.

After half an hour, Chen Qiang contacted Maerdo. He learned that Maerdo had investigated two locations thus far. He also confirmed that the ice layer beneath us was about 50 kilometers thick. No thinner ice layer had been found yet. At the same time, Maerdo had not encountered any mysterious pressure that caused their vehicle to keep jolting. It seemed like we were the only ones with this issue.

Meanwhile, Jiajia, who had remained on Mimas, informed us that the ship had been struck by unknown impact more than 10 times. He was in a similar situation as us, with the only difference being that there was no clear change of pressure around the ship.

In short, we had encountered three different situations in the same general area. All data had been sent back to the mothership. We were still awaiting the result of the data analysis from the mothership.

Saturn was constantly monitoring the status of the operation. A line of communication was established between Angela and Chen Qiang, and Angela took the opportunity to authorize all decisions Chen Qiang had made before this.

At this time, a new problem came knocking. The energy level of the vehicle had dropped to a level that caused the alarm to blaze. According to the system, the massive pressure and impact had caused our energy exhaustion rate to be 50 percent higher than expected. According to Dodo's calculation, at this rate, our Kangaroo would not last more than 40 hours.

In the event that the geyser zone had an even higher pressure, coupled with the fact that we were gathering samples through the vehicle's mechanical arms, the energy exhaustion rate would be even higher. That would create a discrepancy between the vehicle's active duration and our suits' active duration. There was even a possibility that we might be stranded after our vehicle ran out of energy. The universe was filled with uncertainties. However, after going this far out, there was no way we were going to turn back.

"Continue forward!" commanded Chen Qiang.

Withstanding the pressure, the vehicle continued advancing. Soon, we crossed the edge of the flat zone into the area filled with giant ice spikes. The sky itself was covered by the ice chunks spraying out of the holes on the ground. As expected, our visibility dropped to zero after entering the area. Regular rays of light were no longer capable of penetrating the vapor around us. To search for a route, we needed to rely on the laser-guidance system.

After one and a half hours, we seemed to have arrived at a brand new zone, entering a world of darkness. Weirdly, the jolting had stopped even though the wheels were still subjected to the same pressure.

Through the video generated by the laser analysis, we saw that the air around us was filled with red and white ice chunks. After enlarging a still image, we saw that regardless of size, all the ice chunks were actually similar to the massive ice spikes dotting the landscape. They were shaped like sea urchins with sharp, jagged edges. The red color on these ice chunks seemed to be some sort of substance that had adhered to the ice. It seemed like each chunk was the fusion of two different substances.

What we needed to do next was retrieve some samples and scout the area. From our monitor, we could see that the entire black zone was filled with holes, which sprayed out plumes of vapor and chunks of ice. Each hole had a diameter no larger than five meters, big enough for Kangaroo to barely squeeze through.

However, based on our detailed observation from the scanned images, about a fourth of the holes were not actually spraying anything. As for the holes that were actually spraying vapor, the vapor moved at a high speed of over 100 kilometers per hour, making them extremely dangerous to approach.

From our temperature measuring device, we found that the temperature at the black zone was actually higher than outside the zone, averaging between -100 to -80 degrees. As for the wind speed here, it had also dropped to about 200 kilometers per hour. The ice layer here was about 100 kilometers thick. The data also indicated that we would be able to walk outside while in our equipment. Before long, the vehicle arrived at one of the inactive holes.

"Let's confirm our tasks," Chen Qiang suddenly said. "Old Du and Dodo will be operating Kangaroo's equipment and gathering samples in the air. Additionally, they will also serve as support personnel. Li Canyue will come with us. Both of us will enter the hole and gather some samples."

Chen Qiang gave his command in an unquestionable tone. We moved rapidly. After providing an update to the mothership, Jiajia, and Maerdo through the wireless communication device, Chen Qiang brought me to the exit of our vehicle.

"Young lad, relax," comforted Chen Qiang.

"I'm fine. We will definitely complete this mission," I replied firmly.

After the standard sealing, decontamination, and unsealing process, the door slowly opened. After 4.5 billion years of existence, a native from Blue was going to set foot on Jupiter II for the very first time.

Jupiter II, Europa, a celestial body that had appeared in countless legends and Blueling folklores. This was also Blue's first target when searching for alien life within the Solar System. Many fictions had imagined that massive octopuses, sharks, and other aquatic life forms inhabited Jupiter II's sea, but those were all products of imagination. Today, a Blueling had finally arrived at Jupiter II.

‘The person representing Blue is none other than I, Li Canyue. Hahahaha!’ I thought to myself in excitement.

The door opened, and a violent gust of wind blew inside the chamber. Our equipment might have provided us with excellent stability, but I could still feel the rapid wind and forceful impact.

The visibility around us was essentially zero. We were relying on the image fed to our helmets from the scanning of our surroundings to see. Even so, we still opted to turn on the searchlight to make ourselves visible in the event that there were actually alien life forms here.

Team Leader Chen raised his left foot before placing it down on the ground outside the vehicle. One small step for Chen Qiang, one big step for Blue. Humanity had finally conquered Jupiter II. Pictures of that historic moment were sent back to the mothership before being sent back to Blue. This was a glory shared by all Bluelings, a new milestone in the league's conquest of the universe.

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