Seven weeks ago, an interception operation that would determine the fate of the Solar System quietly unfolded in deep space. Determined to stop Protogen Corporation’s dangerous conspiracy, Julie Mao boarded the Skopje and set sail resolutely, targeting the bioweapon secretly transported by the company—the protomolecule virus. She had intended to seize this "bargaining chip" capable of reshaping the power balance, striving for independent discourse power for the oppressed Belters. However, she never anticipated that the enemy had long been on guard. Protogen’s Anubis, concealed by stealth technology, lay in wait nearby, and Julie’s interception mission ended in total failure. Instead, she was abducted by mysterious armed personnel.
To cover up the truth and provoke a larger conflict, the abductors used the Skopje to send a false distress signal, deliberately luring the ice hauler Canterbury to the rescue. When the Canterbury arrived at the coordinates, the hidden Anubis suddenly launched a fatal attack, completely destroying the vessel. This premeditated assault not only claimed the lives of numerous crew members but also led the sole survivor, Holden, to mistakenly identify the attackers as Martian warships—planting a deadly seed for subsequent interstellar conflicts.
Having narrowly escaped the Anubis, Julie fled to Eros, unaware of the lethal threat lurking within her. The protomolecule virus had already begun to spread silently through her body. Initially manifesting as mild physical discomfort, it soon escalated into terrifying mutations: strange patterns emerged beneath her skin, her tissues twisted and grew in an unnatural manner, and her senses and physiological functions gradually diverged from those of a human. She took refuge in the Blue Falcon Inn on Eros, enduring excruciating pain and alienation with every breath, unknowingly becoming the first living test subject of the protomolecule virus.
On Earth, Jules-Pierre Mao, Julie’s father, briefly grieved upon learning of his daughter’s "death" before immediately activating his long-conceived secret plan—the Eros Project. He had long been aware of the protomolecule’s immense potential, and his daughter’s sacrifice was merely a necessary cost for the plan’s advancement. His true goal was to use the residents of Eros as experimental hosts to accelerate the protomolecule’s evolution, ultimately seizing absolute control over the Solar System.
Meanwhile, the fuse for interstellar conflict was ignited once again. UN official Johnson, in possession of chip data retrieved from the remains of a Martian officer, publicly claimed that Earth had deliberately destroyed Mars’ Donnager. This tampered "evidence" was highly incendiary, instantly exacerbating the already tense relations between Earth and Mars and pushing the two powers to the brink of war. Behind the scenes, the forces manipulating all of this stood to reap the benefits.
On Eros, a carefully orchestrated panic was spreading. The authorities suddenly announced that the planet was facing a severe radiation hazard, ordering all residents to report to designated shelters for "protection." Unaware of the truth, people were forced to abandon their homes and gather in confined shelters. Little did they know that this was part of Protogen’s conspiracy—to isolate the population en masse, effectively turning them into mass test subjects for the protomolecule virus. Eros had long since been transformed into a giant open-air laboratory. As the heavy isolation doors slowly closed, Miller, Holden, and their companions found themselves trapped on the planet. But these iron gates sealed off not only "radiation" from the outside world for Holden but also the last glimmer of hope for the residents. A disaster that would determine the fate of humanity was quietly brewing in this hotbed of intrigue.