Yinghuo 2076

(Science fiction) (Ethics) (Not cool) (No slap in the face) (Slow pace) Under the ice of Qiming Lake on Mars, a dark red color that should not exist is spreading. In 2076, humans maintain a fragile balance accurate to three decimal places in the dome of Mars. Lin Yuanheng, director of the Ecological Maintenance Department, discovered abnormal microbial activity during routine monitoring—not the synthetic strain they planted six years ago, but some signs of life originating from Mars itself. The deeper he dug, the greater the resistance: deleted logs, administrative mazes with layers of obstacles, and seventeen anomaly reports that had been purged by the system in the past three years. The coalition says it's an equipment error, colleagues say life on Mars is "always there", and Interstellar's secret samples are being sent to Earth, bypassing all official channels. When the lies in the dome begin to collapse, Lin Yuanheng must choose: continue to be the engineer who only believes in data, or become the first to admit that humans are not the only life on the red planet.