Reborn in 2014: A One-Man Tycoon

The Stardust spacecraft was secretly launched, heading directly to Mars without needing to go through any transit stations.

The period of conjunction between Earth and Mars has now passed.

It was also the time when Mars and Earth were at their farthest apart, but for Stardust, it was only about half an hour.

Stardust soon reached the Martian atmosphere.

Meng Chuan stood in front of the porthole, looking down at the ground covered by red sand.

Mars, here he comes again.

Just then, the feeling of being spied on suddenly appeared.

It was as if countless eyes were peering through the porthole, glued to Meng Chuan.

"Tanker, this feeling..."

Prince Fu frowned.

Although he is old, his intuition, honed through years of experience in the underworld, has never failed him.

His sensory abilities were even stronger than Meng Chuan's.

The feeling of being spied on made him extremely uncomfortable.

"Don't panic."

Meng Chuan pressed his hand down, his voice extremely low:

“They’re watching from the track. The more nervous you are, the easier it is for you to slip up.”

As he spoke, Meng Chuan turned and winked at Ying Die:

"Turn on the spaceship's public channel and play some light music."

Soothing piano music flowed through the cabin as Meng Chuan picked up the water glass on the table and slowly took a sip.

Out of the corner of his eye, however, he never left the starry sky outside the porthole.

There, the observer's mothership, like a silent silver planet, hovers at the edge of Mars' orbit.

It doesn't emit light or heat, yet it exudes a suffocating sense of oppression.

Because it's too big.

Sure enough, ten minutes later, the Stardust's communicator suddenly lit up.

A cold, electronic voice came through the speaker, as steady and formulaic as it had been in countless previous conversations:

"Meng Chuan, what brings you here?"

Meng Chuan put down his water glass, smiled at the communicator, and spoke in a natural tone, like chatting with an old friend:

"I heard you've started modifying the atmosphere, so I came to check on the progress. After all, Mars might become humanity's second home, so I need to be aware of things."

"The progress is in line with expectations."

The electronic voice paused, seemingly checking data:

"The gas-generating factors have formed a stable cycle in the stratosphere, and within three months, a preliminary atmosphere capable of locking in oxygen will be formed. The construction of the ultraviolet defense layer will also be completed simultaneously."

Meng Chuan nodded, his finger lightly tracing circles on the table:

"That's good. Without you, it would have taken us at least fifty years, or even longer, to terraform Mars."

Meng Chuan appeared grateful.

"Of course, in return, I need more living specimens."

The electronic voice immediately responded, with a hint of barely perceptible urgency in its tone:

"This time, you need to prepare at least two hundred for me..."

Before he could finish speaking, Meng Chuan interrupted him, feigning difficulty:

"It's not that I don't want to give it to you, it's just that the last time it caused such a big stir, and many departments are already investigating. I have to take it slowly, otherwise if they find something to hold against me, it will be difficult to send you samples in the future."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the communicator, as if they were weighing their options.

After a long while, the electronic voice sounded again:

"Yes. But you must complete it within a month after we finish the atmospheric modification."

"I try my best."

Meng Chuan smiled and agreed, then proactively cut off the communication.

Meng Chuan only breathed a sigh of relief when the Stardust landed smoothly on the helipad at landing site number two.

These "cosmic wanderers" posing as observers are getting increasingly greedy.

Meng Chuan must complete the plan as soon as possible.

Otherwise, a catastrophe for all mankind is not far off.

"I'm afraid it's a scheme devised by a tiger..."

Prince Fu rubbed his temples, his tone tinged with worry.

"Uncle Fu, are you getting used to gravity?"

Meng Chuan stopped Prince Fu with a look.

After all, they were still on the Stardust.

Nobody knows if they'll tamper with the Stardust.

Moreover, the feeling of being spied on remains.

Some things are not to be discussed.

Prince Fu, understanding the implication, immediately shut his mouth and laughed:

"It's alright, I feel very relaxed."

Meng Chuan and Prince Fu continued their conversation.

The Stardust soon began its landing.

This time, Meng Chuan chose landing site number two.

Near this landing site is a steel and cement production base.

Zhan Yi was already waiting there.

He was wearing a heavy spacesuit, the visor of his helmet reflecting the blinding sunlight. Upon seeing Meng Chuan, he immediately came forward:

"Master, you've finally arrived."

Meng Chuan patted him on the shoulder, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding sand dunes and the production base not far away.

Still feeling spied on, Meng Chuan spoke first:

"How is the production base progressing? Can the output of steel bars and cement keep up?"

Meng Chuan acted as if a leader had come to inspect the place.

"I can keep up."

Zhan was taken aback for a moment, then realized what he meant and continued, following his words:

"It's just that... there's been a lot of sand and dust lately, and the machines are wearing out a bit faster."

The two engaged in a question-and-answer session, as if discussing ordinary engineering issues.

Yingdie and Fuwang followed behind, their eyes scanning their surroundings warily.

As we entered the sealed passageway of the base, the heavy gate slowly closed behind us.

The feeling of being spied on finally disappeared.

"call--"

Zhan Yi took off his helmet and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Take me to see the location of the methane ice."

Meng Chuan asked somewhat eagerly.

Zhan Yi immediately walked to the control panel of the underground base.

Display live footage of the underground mining area:

"It has been discovered that this large area underground is filled with methane ice."

"Because the robot could not recognize it, it put some methane ice into the production machine, which caused a considerable explosion."

"Fortunately, there was not enough oxygen to support a larger-scale explosion."

Zhan Yi explained.

He then led Meng Chuan and the other two into an elevator deep inside the base.

The elevator descended, passing through three layers of reinforced concrete, and finally stopped in front of a huge underground cavern.

The walls of the cave were covered with silvery-white ice, which reflected a cold luster when the light shone on them—it was methane ice.

“Teacher, look.”

Zhan Yi pointed to the deep pit in the center of the cave:

"The robot dog stopped digging here. Three meters down, it's all methane ice with a purity of over 90%. Now we have to draw water from elsewhere, which has slowed down production by half."

Meng Chuan squatted down and tapped the ice with his fingers.

The ice was hard and made a crisp "thump-thump" sound.

He leaned closer and took a sniff; a faint smell of gasoline filled the air—the smell of evaporating methane.

"How much oxygen can the observer's oxygen-generating equipment inject into the atmosphere each day?"

Meng Chuan suddenly asked.

Zhan Yi immediately replied:

"They built three oxygen-generating stations near the equator, and the daily oxygen output is about... 500 tons. At this rate, the oxygen concentration in the Martian atmosphere could reach 15% in a month."

"15%?"

Meng Chuan stood up, his eyes lighting up:

"Just enough to trigger a methane explosion."

Prince Fu and Yingdie exchanged a glance, both looking at Meng Chuan with puzzlement.

Meng Chuan suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with intense killing intent.

Prince Fu and the others hadn't seen Meng Chuan in this state for a long time.

Because currently, there is almost no one in the world qualified to be Meng Chuan's opponent.

Meng Chuan said with a chilling murderous intent:

"Perhaps... we don't need to 'invite' them to Mars. I want to force them to come to Mars."