Chapter 261The DragonGP’s treads rattled against the fractured terrain as the storm parted enough to reveal the full enormity of Olympus Mons. The vehicle slowed instinctively, engines humming a low, reverent note. Even after all the warnings, all the impossible phenomena they had witnessed, nothing had prepared them for this.It wasn’t just a mountain. It was a colossus. A monolith of red stone and crystalline veins stretching skyward like a jagged crown. Its peaks were lost in haze, a blur against the Martian sun, and its sheer scale was impossible to quantify—Mount Everest and Kilimanjaro added together tenfold would still pale in comparison. Every jag, every crevice, every vein of glowing mineral etched across the slopes screamed of engineering beyond human comprehension.Jackson’s hands trembled as he raised the camera, snapping photo after photo, even though his memory cards were already full. “I… I can’t stop. Every shot looks wrong. The scale… you can’t fit it in a single fra

The DragonGP came to a slow, deliberate stop on a terrace of violet-glowing crystal, the pulsing lattice beneath their treads vibrating softly like a heartbeat slowing after a crescendo. The view ahead was staggering—endless geometric formations spiraling upward and downward, towers that pierced the mist above, and terraces that vanished into shadows below. Olympus Mons had revealed only a fraction of itself, yet even this glimpse was enough to overwhelm.Jackson lowered the camera, breathless. “I… I need a moment. Every inch we go, the scale just… expands. I’ve been taking photos non-stop, and I don’t think a thousand frames would even begin to capture this.”Emily’s eyes stayed glued to her console, fingers dancing over the controls as harmonic readings spiked again. “We’re at a convergence point. Signals indicate that multiple layers of the lattice are interacting here. If we proceed downward—or deeper into the inner chambers—the energy flows will change, and not in predictable way

The DragonGP rumbled forward, its treads whispering over the smooth crystal floor as the tunnel narrowed, then widened again, like a throat pulsing with a silent heartbeat. The etched symbols along the walls shimmered faintly, responding to their movement with ripples of light that followed them like watchful eyes.Emily’s fingers hovered above her console, her voice soft but tinged with awe. “These markings… they’re not random. The harmonic frequency shifts every time we pass a symbol. It’s like… like a sentence finishing itself.”Jackson swallowed hard, raising his camera but hesitating again. “Sentences? You mean the mountain—or the planet—is literally… talking?”Matilda leaned forward, her sharp gaze flicking between the glowing symbols. “Not talking in the way we do. This is a memory. A language built on resonance and light. A record etched into the bones of Mars.”Ryan groaned quietly, rubbing his temples. “Great. So now Mars writes poetry. Maybe it can rhyme its way into giving

The DragonGP rumbled on, its engine a low, steady heartbeat against the oppressive silence of the tunnel. Outside the viewport, the crystalline walls had grown darker, their faint luminescence dimming until only the dagger’s soft emerald glow and the instrument lights painted the cabin in shifting shadows. The hum of the planet was still there, low and patient, but something about it had changed—it was slower now, deeper, as though the Red Planet itself were holding its breath.Jackson rubbed his arms, fighting off another involuntary shiver. “It’s… too quiet now. Even for Mars.”Lena’s pale eyes flicked toward the black beyond the glass, her voice barely a whisper. “The quiet isn’t empty. It’s waiting.”Ryan forced a scoff, but the brittle edge in his laugh betrayed him. “Yeah, well, it can keep waiting. I’d like to make it out of this rock with all my limbs still attached.”Matilda shot him a sidelong glance, her expression sharp but not unkind. “Your nerves are showing, Ryan. Try n

Jack burst from the DragonGP like a thunderbolt, emerald light spilling off the dagger in a blazing arc. The Martian tunnel exploded with sound—his boots cracked against crystal, and the hum of the aliens flared into a howl.“Jack—NO!” Sarah’s voice broke as she lunged toward the hatch, her hand slamming the frame. “Please, don’t do this—you’ll be killed!”He glanced back only for a heartbeat, his eyes fierce and steady. “If I stay, we all die. Keep them safe.”Jackson, clutching his camera tight against his chest, shouted, “Dad, don’t! There’s too many of them!”Matilda’s knuckles whitened on the console. “You can’t fight all of them alone!”“I don’t need to win,” Jack growled. “I just need to buy you time.”Then he was gone, a streak of emerald light against the red-veined darkness.The first crimson-eyed hunter lunged. Jack pivoted, the dagger singing as it cut through the air—one perfect slash. The creature shrieked, its glowing veins flickering like dying stars before it crumpled