From the infernal predicament of Eros, Holden and his crew narrowly escaped aboard the Rocinante, a ship carrying survivors adrift slowly on the edge of the Asteroid Belt. The catastrophe unleashed by the protomolecule virus on Eros remained vivid in everyone's minds. To prevent the spread of the deadly virus, all survivors had to undergo rigorous individual virus screenings—each test result announcement stirred the hearts of everyone. Fortunately, all were temporarily cleared of infection risks in the end, but the shadow cast by the virus lingered over everyone's minds.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere at United Nations Headquarters on Earth was fraught with tension. Undersecretary-General Ava Sascha openly accused Fred Johnson at a press conference, alleging that the former Earth military officer—now a key figure in the Asteroid Belt—was secretly controlling a mysterious fleet equipped with Martian stealth technology, intent on provoking a full-scale conflict between Earth and Mars, and attributing the Eros disaster to his ambition. However, this bold accusation soon incurred deadly retaliation: as Ava Sascha exited the UN Building to board her official shuttle, the spacecraft suddenly erupted in a violent explosion. Flames and thick smoke engulfed the tarmac in an instant, and she narrowly escaped death thanks to her bodyguards' desperate cover. The assassination was an unvarnished warning against her investigative efforts.
Inside the Rocinante's cabin, Holden's team focused intently on studying the safe retrieved from the Anubis. When Amos pried open the specialized cryogenic safe, the group was stunned to discover that it contained not the expected navigation logs, but samples of the protomolecule virus homologous to the one on Eros. By analyzing the experimental data accompanying the safe, they gradually uncovered a cruel truth: Eros had long been designed as a massive virus testing ground, with countless lives sacrificed as test subjects for viral mutation. Considering the virus's immense danger, neither destroying it nor using it to develop a vaccine was practically feasible. Ultimately, the team decided to hide the virus samples in a secure location—they sealed the virus in a missile and launched it toward an abandoned small mining asteroid, cutting off the possibility of it being exploited by those with ulterior motives.
Relations between Earth and Mars grew increasingly strained due to the Eros incident and the emergence of the stealth fleet. The frequent movements of Martian warships throughout the Solar System plunged the United Nations into panic. After intense internal debates, the UN finally approved a defense plan, dispatching fleets to safeguard all Earth's overseas bases to fend off potential Martian attacks.
While advocating for the fleet deployment, Ava Sascha's suspicions deepened. She noticed that Undersecretary Alan White had acted strangely amid the series of events—he not only vigorously pushed for a hardline stance against Mars but also appeared to have hidden ties to forces associated with the protomolecule experiments. She suspected Alan White's true objective was to secretly plot a full-scale war between Earth and Mars. To uncover the truth, Ava Sascha secretly contacted spy Cortez, ordering him to conduct a thorough investigation into all of Alan White's private actions and illegal connections.
On the other side of the Solar System, the Martian Navy's Hot Wind, carrying Marine Corps troops, was speeding toward the Phoebe space station. Their mission was to take control and secure the critical outpost, awaiting the arrival of Martian scientific research teams. Meanwhile, Earth's warship Nathan Hale, suspecting Phoebe concealed secrets about the protomolecule experiments, tracked closely behind. When the Hot Wind detected it had been locked onto by the Earth vessel, it received orders: "Under no circumstances let Phoebe fall into Earth's hands." Immediately, it launched missiles toward the rear. The move triggered instant chaos at UN Headquarters—everyone believed Mars had officially fired the first shot, and calls for an immediate counterattack surged. However, just as the situation was on the verge of spiraling out of control, the Nathan Hale transmitted an urgent report: the missiles were not targeted at the Earth fleet, but at the Phoebe space station itself.
With this revelation, the Earth fleet's counterattack order was hastily revoked. But the Phoebe space station's explosion in a thunderous blast deepened the fog of suspicion among the major powers of the Solar System, and a far greater storm was quietly brewing.