"Hello, I'm Mark Watson!" Mark Watson reached out and shook hands with David Clark, as if trying to confirm something. He squeezed David Clark's hand a little, a hint of confusion occasionally flashing across his face. "And this is...?"

"My name is Terry Baker." (David Clark acted as interpreter.)

"Hello." Mark Johnson shook hands with Franklin Baker as well, then turned to David Clark and pressed on, "Winter Village... may I ask where that is?"

"This is the northernmost region of the Kingdom of Tilan... I know you want to ask where the Kingdom of Tilan is, so I'll briefly explain the situation."

After explaining the situation to Mark Watson, the newcomer immediately fell into deep self-doubt, feeling that he must be crazy, or else dreaming.

Watching the reaction of the person in front of him, David Clark carefully recalled information about Mark Watson: just from his face, David Clark could tell that this Mark Watson was the protagonist of the movie "The Martian."

In the film "The Martian," Mark Watson, a botanist, boards Mars as a member of a Mars exploration mission. After an accident, his teammates believe he is dead, so he is left alone and forgotten on Mars.

The entire film tells the story of how Mark Watson survives in the harsh Martian environment and waits for rescue.

As for the Mark Watson in front of him, after observing, David Clark could confirm that he was probably not the Mark Johnson who had already struggled to survive on Mars for some time. At that point, Mark Johnson would have been thin and suffering from many ailments due to insufficient nutrition.

"Is this a joke? Or am I dreaming? If this is another world, why are you speaking English?" Mark Johnson rubbed his temples and kept asking, still unable to believe he had somehow ended up in another world.

"This language called English is something I just learned not long ago. Before you, there was another English speaker who came to me." Suddenly learning a new language sounds too unbelievable, so David Clark simply changed his explanation, making it much easier to accept.

Sure enough, with just this explanation, Mark Johnson no longer fixated on the language issue, but continued to be shocked at how he had ended up in another world.

"However, this doesn't seem like a bad thing for me." Thinking about the predicament he was about to face, he felt maybe God was helping him, giving him a new lease on life.

Having figured this out, the naturally optimistic Mark Johnson stopped dwelling on it. A smile reappeared on his face as he solemnly reintroduced himself: "Mark Watson, botanist, NASA astronaut, and before coming here, I was working on a Mars exploration mission. I ran into a bit of trouble and may need your help."

Listening to Mark Johnson's introduction, David Clark guessed what state Mark Watson was currently in—just after being left behind on Mars.

"Can you tell me more about what kind of trouble?"

"If possible... I'd like to stay in your village for a while."

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Chapter 10: A Wild Reward

"Stay for a while?" David Clark knew why Mark Watson said this. In the story, after being accidentally left behind on Mars, he could only live alone on this barren planet.

His motivation to survive was to wait for the next manned Mars mission, four years later.

How to get through those four years was the biggest problem he had to solve—not to mention whether the habitat could last the full four years without damage, or whether the oxygen and water generators could function for four years. For Mark Watson at this moment, the biggest problem was food.

The base stored enough food for six astronauts for sixty-eight days. Even with only Mark Watson left, this food would only last him three hundred days; with strict rationing, maybe four hundred days, still far short of four years.

It was at this time, while desperately pondering how to grow enough food on Mars to last three years, that Mark Johnson somehow ended up in David Clark's Winter Village.

At this moment, Mark Watson saw new hope—if what David Clark said was true, and he could freely travel between the two worlds, then he could live here while figuring out how to rendezvous with the next group of astronauts coming to Mars and return to Earth together.

So, for David Clark, was there any reason not to take in Mark Watson?

Of course not!

So David Clark immediately expressed his welcome: "That's no trouble at all. Welcome to Winter Village." Not to mention, Mark Watson is a botanist—maybe he could help solve the land problem? Or perhaps David Clark could learn some botany skills from him?

Reaching out to shake Mark Johnson's hand and welcoming him, David Clark didn't feel like he had suddenly learned any new knowledge. Maybe his favorability wasn't high enough yet?

David Clark wasn't in a hurry. If his judgment was correct, Mark Watson would be staying here for at least a few years. Whether it was botany knowledge or anything else, there was no rush.

At the very least, Mark Watson was a living, breathing person. To officially become the village chief, David Clark needed a certain number of villagers.