Reborn in 2014: A One-Man Tycoon

Yingdie immediately launched a detailed investigation upon receiving Meng Chuan's instructions.

However, the information that Yingdie found was quite limited and not very useful.

On Earth, in the underground conference room of the Green Gang headquarters, the investigation data compiled by Yingdie was scrolling on the projection screen.

"There have been 17 publicly reported UFO sightings worldwide in the past month, 16 of which have been verified—either due to sunlight reflected off drone swarms or caused by weather balloons."

Yingdie prepared a very detailed PowerPoint presentation and explained it to Mengchuan while playing it.

Yingdie pulled up the last record, which showed a dark-skinned farmer.

"Only this fellow Shandong native said he saw 'moving stars,' but there was a temple fair that night, and the trajectory of the Kongming lanterns released matched his description perfectly."

Yingdie explained to Meng Chuan:

"However, there is an astronomer on He Lan's side who has made a different discovery!"

Shadow Butterfly pulls up a video.

This video was recorded while the telescope was observing space.

Against the dark backdrop of space, a white ball of light floats above Antarctica.

It flashes once every three hours.

Meng Chuan immediately became interested.

Meng Chuan was no stranger to this light.

If nothing unexpected happens, this should be the observer.

"This was discovered by Professor Van der Sar of Leiden University."

The image switcher changes the view and displays an image of an old Western man:

"He observed it for ten consecutive days and determined that it was not any known celestial body or satellite. The trajectory of the light cluster was very strange, as if it was... staying in a fixed point."

“Replay that light.”

Meng Chuan said.

Soon, Yingdie pulled up the previous video.

Meng Chuan moved closer to the screen, magnifying the edge of the light cluster.

The light was not scattered evenly, but rather carried a rhythmic quality similar to breathing.

The interplay of light and dark is like a scene coming to life.

Yes, that's definitely it.

Meng Chuan said with absolute certainty.

Meng Chuan had seen it on Mars before, and also outside Mars' orbit.

I will never admit my mistake.

"What's the situation in Antarctica?"

Meng Chuan pressed on impatiently.

Meng Chuan instructed Ying Die to investigate whether there were any cases of missing creatures in the vicinity of any UFO incidents.

"It's very difficult to investigate."

Yingdie somewhat awkwardly pulled up a satellite map of Antarctica.

In the vast white area, there were only a few red dots representing research stations.

"Besides researchers from various countries, there are only penguins and seals there. I contacted the people at China's Zhongshan Station in Antarctica, and they said they haven't found anything unusual recently, except that they occasionally hear strange vibrations under the ice sheet, but that should be caused by glacial movement."

In other places, Yingdie might have been able to conduct a more in-depth investigation.

There is no permanent population in Antarctica.

Even if creatures go missing, no one will keep track of it.

Penguin populations naturally fluctuate; a loss of a few dozen penguins is hardly noticeable.

Even if Yingdie had extraordinary abilities, she couldn't just interview a penguin directly.

Have any of your companions suddenly gone missing recently?

This is not realistic.

The conference room fell silent.

Meng Chuan picked up the water glass on the table, but didn't drink it; he just stared at the ripples on the water's surface.

Did you really think too much?

Are observers targeting large mammals simply to study ecological adaptation?

But that ball of light from Antarctica always made Meng Chuan feel that this matter was not simple.

Why do observers observe Antarctica?

Is it because Antarctica has a harsher environment that is closer to Mars?

"No, the observers were the first to discover Mars; they didn't discover Earth at first."

Meng Chuan suddenly thought of something.

Perhaps to Earthlings, Mars and Earth are very far apart.

But for observers with their advanced technology, the distance between Mars and Earth is merely a blink of an eye.

Now that they've come to Mars, it's impossible for them not to find Earth if they just expand their search area a little.

"What do you mean?"

Yingdie looked at Meng Chuan with a puzzled expression.

"This means that Earth may be within the observer's exploration range, but it has not attracted the observer's attention."

Meng Chuan said in a deep voice:

"In other words, Mars has things that can attract observers, but Earth doesn't."

"Therefore, after they discovered Mars, they have been orbiting the vicinity of Mars ever since."

"They only started paying attention to Earth after they discovered us."

Yingdie still looked puzzled.

"What does this mean?"

Yingdie continued to press for answers.

“I have a bold hypothesis. Observers find things on Mars that attract them, but they have reasons why they can’t get close to Mars, such as gravity or oxygen, or other reasons.”

Meng Chuan said:

"However, they found that we could land safely on Mars, so they had a bold idea, such as genetic modification, to make themselves, or through genetic programming, create a creature that could survive on Mars."

"This way they can successfully retrieve what they want on Mars."

Meng Chuan's speculation is not without reason.

Even with the current level of technology on Earth, gene programming is no longer a problem.

Meng Chuan's children have already started using this technology.

Given the level of technological advancement among observers, it's unrealistic to say they have no research on genes.

"You mean, the life model they want us to provide is perhaps the genes of these lives?"

Yingdie understood.

"It's not impossible."

Meng Chuan said in a deep voice:

"Next, you should focus your attention on the Antarctic and Arctic regions, as well as the area near the equator. See if there have been any events of species extinction in these areas."

Why these three places?

"I ask you this in surprise," Yingdie asked.

"Because the temperature difference between the North and South Poles and the equator is large, it is most similar to the environment of Mars."

Meng Chuan said solemnly:

"If there are indeed large animals, including missing humans, in these three places, then my previous guesses might be pretty accurate."

Yingdie nodded solemnly.

I was just about to put the PPT away.

Meng Chuan suddenly said:

"Also, investigate Professor Van der Sar's background more thoroughly."

"See if he has recently communicated with other astronomers, or... received any special signals."

Yingdie was taken aback:

"You mean, you're worried about him..."

"Nothing is impossible. If my guess is true, in order to obtain enough gene samples without arousing suspicion, I will not only cooperate with one person. I will cooperate with a large number of people."

Meng Chuan said.

Putting all your eggs in one basket is a big no-no.

This is a principle that even Earthlings know.

There's no reason why the observer shouldn't understand.

Yingdie nodded.

Meng Chuan's concern may not be unfounded.

"Should we use our Starlink system for observation?"

"Shadow Butterfly asked."

The rocket company's Starlink satellites are already quite mature.

It can achieve observation without blind spots.

"No, our equipment could be affected or even controlled by them."

Meng Chuan shook his head:

"Only what you can see with the naked eye is reliable..."