Chapter 305: Martian Ventures and Price Debates

The Ambassador of the Northern Government shook his head and said, “I cannot confirm that because I know nothing about it.”

The Ambassador of the Southern Government replied, “I am equally unaware.”

The Ambassador of Rus Country asked again, “President Liu, will the Swan-class planetary spaceship be offered for sale? And if so, what’s the price?”

Liu Sichen eyed the bulldozing Rus Country Ambassador and immediately replied, “For now, the Swan-class planetary spaceship is not for sale. Our company currently lacks the capacity, though perhaps one day we might open sales.”

Ambassador of Mexico raised his hand and inquired, “President Liu, what is the price of this Mars habitat designed for 300,000 people? And is there a purchase limit?”

Liu Sichen silently praised himself—finally, someone cared about the price.

He stated, “The standard Mars habitat is priced at 5 billion Gene Coins, payable with the resources we list.”

Everyone quickly did the math. Even using Unified Bank’s standard exchange rate, the cost came to $75 billion—it was indeed a pricey property.

This promptly extinguished the buying enthusiasm of many smaller nations.

Ambassador of Panama stood up and asked, “Is there no smaller version of such a Mars habitat? For instance, one for 100,000 people—would that be cheaper?”

Liu Sichen smiled and said, “Considering an average family of four, 100,000 people means only 25,000 households. In reality, such a habitat wouldn’t be much less expensive than the 300,000-capacity version.”

He continued, “The materials and equipment required don’t diminish significantly. Of course, if your country insists on that number, a custom order can be arranged—but the price would hardly be lower than the standard model.”

Ambassador Sart declared, “I’d like to place an order for a Mars habitat for one million people right now. How do we sign the contract?”

Liu Sichen patted his thigh lightly, relieved at the progress, and said, “Please exit the conference room through the left door; someone will escort you to sign the agreement.”

He added, “Once the contract is signed and you deliver the required resources, we’ll begin construction. Everything will proceed as stipulated.”

Ambassador Sart immediately rushed toward the left door. As the first country to place an order, he knew that any delay might cost him the opportunity.

Sart’s prompt order spurred other nations into action. Within moments, ambassadors from dozens of countries lined up at the left door.

But soon after, they all dispersed; evidently, Dream Technology had plenty of staff stationed at the door.

The remaining ambassadors—those capable of buying but not authorized—hurriedly made calls, while those without the means could only lament their misfortune.

This unconventional real estate sale quickly made headlines worldwide, prompting countless people to rush to Dream Technology’s website to comment.

“Dream Technology is amazing—they’re actually selling property on Mars,” one online commenter exclaimed.

“And look at all these countries willing to order. It must be reserved for the elite,” another remarked.

“I protest Dream Technology’s exploitation—selling Mars property for outrageous profits!” someone shouted.

“Dream Technology should open up its space exploration technology so all humanity can venture into space, not just serve as a toy for the wealthy or a last-resort survival method,” argued another.

“The previous comment doesn’t add up—the research for that technology must have cost a fortune! Why disclose it so openly? Selling products is impressive enough,” countered one.

“Well, $75 billion for a single habitat is indeed steep,” observed another.

“You must not have crunched the numbers. This is a high-tech city designed for 300,000 residents, complete with extra ecological facilities for Mars’ harsh environment. It’s a fair price,” replied someone.

“Agreed. Consider the housing prices in some Earth capitals: for an average family of three, that translates to 100,000 households, or 10 million square meters of housing. At 10,000 per square meter, that’s 100 billion!”

“Wow, with figures like that, why buy property on Earth? We should be buying on Mars. Does Dream Technology offer retail units?” someone queried.

“You know, that’s retail—the $75 billion is a wholesale price!” came the retort.

“Damn, if a country could buy wholesale and then sell retail globally, they’d make a killing!” someone marveled.

……

Meanwhile, as people on Earth debated Mars real estate…

On Mars, near the North Pole, a 10-member team was driving forward.

They had two wide-body off-road vehicles with towering, robust wheels that could crush any road without mercy.

These vehicles boasted panoramic views, with windshields and side windows made from a special transparent material.

This material was identical to that used on the ceilings of the Heaven Realm Space City and the Mars habitat, which not only allowed sunlight through but also reduced harmful UV rays.

Sunlight filtered through this material was even safer than that which had passed through Earth’s atmosphere.

Unlike glass, this material possessed exceptional hardness—tempered glass was no match for it.

It had become the ideal material for spacecraft windows. Du Qiu discovered it in the Maintainer’s database and, after thousands of tests, finally developed it.

Thanks to its impressive production scale, it was widely used not only in spacecraft, space cities, and planetary habitats but also in various vehicles.

In this 10-member team, only five were human; the other five were robots—three armed robots and two engineering robots.

The two engineering robots weren’t the towering non-humanoid type; rather, they were humanoid, albeit with two extra arms, perfect for small-scale geological surveys.

Leading the team was Professor Hoffman from the Geological Research Institute. Their mission was to locate the frozen water that NASA had once confirmed near the North Pole.

Water was essential for the long-term survival of Martian settlers.

Otherwise, having to continually ship water from Earth would be both expensive and inconvenient.

“Professor, look over there—the glimmer appears to be ice,” someone observed.

Researcher Zhao Mingchuan pointed towards the left-front of the off-road vehicle and shouted.

Everyone in the vehicle glanced left and indeed saw a sparkling reflection, reminiscent of a frozen lake on Earth.

Professor Hoffman immediately issued a command to the vehicle’s onboard AI, redirecting it toward the reflective area.

The area was a plain, and in about five minutes, the two vehicles arrived in a convoy.

“Attention everyone, check your spacesuits and prepare to disembark!”

While the five human researchers inspected their gear, five robots from the rear vehicle disembarked, with three armed robots rushing ahead to secure a defensive position.

They then activated their scanners to survey the surroundings, and once the area was confirmed secure, they signaled the lead vehicle.

Only then did Professor Hoffman and the others disembark. Zhao Mingchuan, who had been the first to spot the area, ran swiftly toward the sparkling region.

When he arrived, his face behind the helmet showed a look of disappointment.

He could clearly see that the white reflection beneath his feet wasn’t ice—it was a salt crust.

Zhao Mingchuan crouched down, retrieved a collection bag, and carefully scooped up some of the white substance with his tools.

Turning around, he noticed that some team members were already measuring the extent of the salt layer.

He asked, “Professor, there’s such a vast salt layer here—I wonder how thick it is. Should we conduct a survey?”

Zhao Mingchuan’s question sought Professor Hoffman’s decision on whether to waste time on this exposed salt deposit, given that the mission was to find frozen water near the pole.

Professor Hoffman looked around; with no storm in sight, he decided it wouldn’t hurt to study the salt deposit during this calm period.

After all, he had a hunch that there might be a connection between the salt deposit and the frozen water.

He finally declared, “Let’s conduct a survey to get a basic understanding of this salt deposit. It’s an indispensable resource for humanity and worth our effort.”

With that decision, everyone immediately set to work.