Him and their stars.

Chapter 2255 The Origin of the Zerg Swarm Wars—Three to Five Extra Tons Harvested

The sunlight from Losa A slanted in from an astronomical unit away, casting the shadow of Sonia's cargo ship onto the outer wall of the airport, making the shadow appear extremely long.

The words "River Bend Golden Bear Farm" on the ship's side reflected the sunlight. Those large characters were sprayed by her father and brother using stencils. They worked all day but still sprayed them a little crookedly, but she couldn't bear to wipe them off.

As for this ship, it was acquired from the secondhand market three years ago. It was converted from a decommissioned assault landing craft of the Alliance Space Fleet. The engine was a bit loud, but it could still run, and at least it could enter and exit the atmosphere without any problems.

In fact, with Sonia's current connections, she could find a way.
As for the Starport dock, it was built by the ranchers themselves with pooled funds. The bearings and energy core were secondhand goods, and the outer shell was welded together from the armor plates of a decommissioned destroyer, thus forming a space city suspended in orbit above the planet Lothar.

Although the starport is not large, it can still accommodate twelve intergalactic transport ships of 10,000 tons each.

The warehouse has limited functions, but it offers a wide range of storage options, including dry storage, high humidity storage, chilled and frozen storage.

At this moment, the warehouses in Starport were packed full of products from the Lothar Star Farm.

Frozen black beef was stacked like a city wall, and protein synthesis tanks were piled up like pyramids. Of course, there were also all sorts of grains, piled up like small mountains in the cargo hold.

The robots were moving in and out of the overflowing warehouse, so busy that they seemed to be about to crash.

Sure enough, as soon as Sonia disembarked, before she even opened the warehouse, more than a dozen robots were already in position by the pier.

"River Bend Golden Bear Farm, Princess Sonia, pilot identified. Shipboard scan: 3,000 tons of fresh beef, 8,000 tons of grain. Allocate starport alert." The robot reported this, then jumped directly onto the ship.

Judging from their well-trained appearance, even robots would find them far too familiar. Compared to Sonia, who is rarely in Losa, they feel more like family.

"Have I been hanging around Nefarian for too long and forgotten that I'm a cowboy?" Sonia, who rarely gets to come home, reflected on herself.

"Sis, let's go." The younger brother poked his head out of the cockpit: "The sooner we go, the sooner we'll be back. We still have two hundred black cattle at home that haven't been sold yet."

The younger brother was only ten years old, but because he was a purebred Bion Bearman, he was a head taller than the graceful Sonia. He was also always the tallest child in the class.

He certainly had to go to school, but during holidays he also had to help his family manage the ranch. This was the case for all the farm children across the vast Lothar Plain.

This child also has a talent for mechanics and driving. At such a young age, he is not only good at farm work, but also a qualified mechanic.

Sonia thought her younger brother was a genius, far more talented than herself.

She stepped onto the pier and entered the Starport, continuing to persuade her younger brother who was following behind her: "I've secured a public housing unit in Nefaire, big enough for the four of us. If Dad and...Auntie don't want to leave Lothar, then you should come with me. After all, the quality of education in Nefaire is much better. A man should see more of the world. I'll arrange your transfer."

The young man was naturally filled with longing for the capital of the alliance, but he couldn't help feeling a little timid: "Really, really, do I have to leave home and go to boarding school? I won't be able to play with Ador and the others anymore."

Childhood friends always drift apart eventually. Sonia thought, "I can't even contact Shirley anymore." Back then, even with her strong senses, she couldn't bring herself to say such hurtful things about a child's childhood.

"I'm a bear, will my classmates discriminate against me?"

“Yes, I will,” Sonia said matter-of-factly.

"How could this be?" the younger brother exclaimed in astonishment. "Doesn't the League advocate racial equality?"

"The less something is, the more they want to promote it. But the League is also very realistic," Sonia said. "If someone bullies you, just fight them. We bear-man cowboys are best at that."

"Is it okay in Nefertari?"

"That's why it has to be like this in Nefarian. I've fought my way up from the public school to the Bracer Guild. Now even the Supernatural Management Bureau wants to recruit me. Oh, by the way, the public housing the Bracer Guild gave me is really big. You'll have your own room when you come to school, and you'll have a place to stay when you bring your girlfriend home, and it'll be big enough for when you have kids."

"I'm still in elementary school, what's the point of saying this?" The younger brother looked at his older sister, who was a head shorter than him, and decided to shut up.

At this time, following the Princess Sonia, seven or eight other ships successively docked at the port.

Most farmers can't afford ships. Even the most basic intra-star ships without warp drive capabilities are prohibitively expensive luxuries for them.

However, it's possible for dozens of families to pool their resources and buy a ship together.

Look, the ship that followed Princess Sonia into the harbor had its sides covered with the logos of various farms, densely packed together like sponsoring companies.

On the other side of the pier, of course, lies the trading area. All the major grain merchants in the alliance set up an office here, but this time of year is always the busiest.

Through the "invisible hand" of the Neferi central government, the former "Pearl of Lothak" has been transformed into a purely tourism and agricultural system. In addition to the main planet Lothak, there are pastures scattered across three terraformed planets, as well as hydroponic farms in twelve orbital cities.

Upon arriving in this world, cowboys and farmers would transport their year's harvest to this orbital starport, exchanging it for Alliance Credits, which would then be used to purchase seeds, vaccines, and livestock nutrient solutions for the following year. Of course, there were also the children's tuition fees, as well as various taxes and insurance premiums.

Now, with wartime underway, the Alliance has enacted the Strategic Material Circulation Act, which naturally classifies food as a "strategic material," with the government setting price and procurement quotas. Frankly, in the years since the Omnic Wars began, life has been tough for all the farmers in Lothar, constantly teetering on the edge of losses.

When Nefi was studying, his father and aunt would always write to him about how much debt they had incurred that year. If it weren't for the fact that he didn't spend a penny of his family's money on his studies and could occasionally send some money back home, the famous "Golden Bear Ranch," which produced the "Lossa Black Cattle," probably wouldn't have been able to survive.

Sonia remembers that half of her childhood friends had sold their farms at low prices and moved their families to more prosperous galaxies.

And so, he lost contact with them.

"The war is almost over, and the Strategic Materials Circulation Act has been suspended. This year will be the year of free trade," the younger brother said.

Sonia laughed and said, "Yes, and it's a bumper harvest. We've harvested three to five extra bushels of wheat and two or three tons more meat. We're sure to have a prosperous year."

"I want a dream box," the younger brother said, but then he rubbed his fingers together, shook his head, and looked regretful. "Let's buy Dad a massage chair and Mom a wool suit instead."

Sonia stood on tiptoe and patted her younger brother's head, rubbing it vigorously: "Why didn't you say so sooner? I would have bought it for you."

The younger brother finally revealed a childlike longing.

"...If I told you I know a director at Huanyu, would you believe me?"

"Blow a bear." The younger brother gave him a childlike look of disdain.

Inside the starport is the largest food trading hall in the entire galaxy, a circular hall with a diameter of one kilometer. The counters of various grain merchants are arranged in a circle in the center of the hall.

The food logos and advertisements flashed on the shimmering screen, almost dazzlingly brighter than the sun in the Losa Galaxy.

"Light pollution is everywhere." Sonia remembered what the purple-haired older sister had told her. She had to admit that although the older sister was a person with a perverse sense of humor, what she said always made a lot of sense.

Sonia was looking for a familiar grain merchant when several people in smart uniforms came up to her.

It was a silver-gray white-collar uniform with an apple and starry sky pattern embroidered on the chest.

"Xinghe Fruit Company?" Sonia frowned and stepped in front of her younger brother. She knew the background of this company.

"From Golden Bear Ranch." The lead employee, a Tirek, smiled like a salesman pulling a pyramid scheme: "Ms. Sonia Bean, right?"

“It’s me.” Sonia wasn’t surprised. Ever since Golden Bear Ranch produced its specialty black cattle, it has become a well-known enterprise on Star Losa, and she was actually quite a celebrity herself.

The man nodded, smiled, and opened his terminal, bringing up a pop-up window: "This is the price list for this year's major agricultural and livestock products, newly set."

"Why your Xinghe Fruits?" Sonia asked.

“Yes, we have always cooperated with Wuhe Grain Trade,” the younger brother said.

“Yes, but we have already merged with Wuhe Grain Trade, just one day... to be precise, 30 hours ago.” The grain merchant representative from Xinghe Fruits checked the time.

Sonia narrowed her eyes, concealing a dangerous glint in them. She sized up the other person a couple more times before accepting the pop-up message. She scanned the entire directory much faster than usual, her expression turning distinctly grim.

"Beef, three thousand two per ton?"

"Three thousand two," the man repeated.

"It was four thousand five hundred last year!"

"Last year was last year. Free trade, you know." The man's smile was still full of formula, as if the angle of expansion of each fold was designed.

“It was under strategic control last year,” the younger brother said loudly.

"Yes, but wasn't the strategic control for this year over?" The salesman wiped away the tears that had welled up in his eyes and said with emotion, "The market is not good this year. The New World has opened up, and the ranches in Xinxiang Star District have lower costs, so shipping them over is 30% cheaper than yours."

"Isn't the New World still at war?"

"The Omnic Wars are concentrated on the Lanza route, but they don't reach the Alliance's Xinxiang Colony Sector, which is 20,000 light-years away. There's no shipping lane there..." The business manager probably realized he had spoken too much, so he coughed and added, "Well, the Alliance wants to protect consumer interests, so of course they choose the cheaper ones."

“What if it’s a black bull or a treasure worm black bull?” Sonia asked.

“That’s a different price. You know, those are special treatment items, luxury goods.” The salesperson’s smile remained affable, even carrying a hint of genuine flattery: “We’ve prepared tea and refreshments, let’s talk slowly.”

Sonia understood that beef was food, but the black cattle from Golden Bear Ranch were a luxury.

Producers who can provide luxury goods are always VIPs of middlemen, at least on the surface.

But what about the villagers?
She heard arguing elsewhere. It was a salesman from another large company, Meng Bangfu, speaking impatiently to a group of cowboys and ranchers: "If you don't want to sell, you can take it back."

Sonia didn't say anything.

The cowboys behind her gathered around, watching the price list that suddenly flashed on the big screen.

"What about grains? Have grain prices also dropped?"

"The price has dropped to 250 yuan per ton."

"Last year, when food was under control, it was still four hundred."

"Where's the milk?"

"three hundred!"

"Fine, I'd rather fall into the river."

The salesman said slowly and deliberately, "That's the market rate. Are you selling or not? If not, please take it back. But you need to hurry. Your berth fee is 800 per day, refrigeration and storage fees are separate. By the way, there are new regulations this year; there's a new grain tax in grain transactions, which you should bear from now on. And there's the freight..."

Sonia's brother panicked: "You're robbing me!"

"Robbery?" The man laughed, looking in the direction of the voice, but upon seeing the bear-like boy and then Sonia standing to the side with a stern face, he quickly backed down: "Young Master, all the grain merchants in the entire alliance are charging this price; it's all set by the higher-ups. We're just laborers, what can we do?"

"What about the people up there?" Sonia suddenly asked.

"what?"

"Someone you can talk to, someone above you."

Meng Bangfu's salesman hesitated for a moment, then looked at Xinghe Fruit's sales manager, who smiled wryly and said, "Of course they're all in Nefi. They won't come here. But, ma'am, we are all legitimate companies here, official members of the Alliance Food Industry Association, and all our actions are legal and legitimate."

"Are you trying to say that the councilors were promoted by you, the police are your henchmen, and even the army and the Bracers Guild are sponsored by you?" Sonia said.

"Look at what you're saying, ma'am. I'm really just an employee." The business manager of United Fruits looked sad and explained sincerely, "Of course you can go through legal procedures, but I must remind you that this is a civil case and must be heard by the local court in Nefi. The court fees alone will be 20,000, and the waiting list will be three years away."

Sonia remained silent.

"Can we talk now? About the black cattle at Golden Bear Ranch, and the newer Treasure Bug black cattle. We..."

“I need to think about it,” Sonia said. “I’m very busy and will wait for you forty-eight hours. I hope you can make a definite decision.” The business manager smiled broadly and left with the men in uniform. He seemed genuinely confident that he had these cowboys and Sonia under his thumb; his standard sales smile still carried an uncontrollable hint of smugness.

……

The boats moored at the dock weren't just theirs; they were all familiar faces from several nearby pastoral areas. At that moment, those people were also standing on the dock, gathered in twos and threes, their faces grim.

Sonia saw Mr. Hanks next door squatting by his boat, smoking one cigarette after another.

She knew the old cowboy; his family had been raising cattle in Los Angeles for forty years, spanning three generations. They had helped her family a lot when she first moved to Los Angeles, and their daughter, Luna, was her best friend in Los Angeles.

I remember Dad mentioning in his letter that Luna went to Zalta two years ago to study law. Old Mr. Hanks even patted his chest at the dinner table, saying he would have to scrape together the tuition so Luna could become a city girl and a great lawyer.

She also recognized Mr. Somen from the Loda 4 space station, leaning against the wall, pursing his lips and remaining silent, his eyes vacant. Half of the cattle feed for his family's farm came from his family. He had a large, happy family of twenty, all dependent on that hydroponic farm in orbit.

"Then let's not sell it, let's take it back!" a young man shouted.

Old Hanks shook his head with a wry smile: "What are we going to feed them? We still have over a hundred cows waiting to be sold. If they're not sold, we'll have to keep feeding them, and we'll have to buy feed."

"Materials cost money, water costs money, electricity costs money," Mr. Somen said, his lips trembling.

"How about... we sell it? At least we can recoup some of the costs, otherwise we won't even be able to pay the parking fees," someone suggested.

"This airport was built with money pooled together by everyone, so why should we have to pay berth fees and warehouse management fees?" someone else said.

Sonia remained silent. Her gaze passed through the porthole and landed on her own ship, specifically on the large lettering on the hull that read "Princess Sonia."

It's crooked and uneven, which is indeed not very presentable.

In comparison, the glittering signs in the trading hall across the street were simply dazzling. Well, now even the rooftop of the spaceport was displaying a giant holographic advertisement, looping the logo of the Alliance Food Federation. It featured golden ears of wheat and scales. Following that were the logos of the association's member companies, including Galaxy Fruits and Mengbangfu.

A female celebrity, whom even the country bumpkin Losar had heard of, flashed a sweet, delicate smile on the screen and held up one finger towards the viewer.

"The Food Union, the conscience of Galaxy Kitchen! There's only one choice!"

"There is only one choice," the female celebrity repeated.

Sonia remained expressionless and silent until her younger brother tugged at her sleeve: "Sis, surely we can still get a good price for our black bull, right?"

“Sure!” Sonia said. “I’ve picked out two schools for you: Blanche School and Norlington School. They’re both good schools. You can go to Nefertir next year.”

"...But I don't really want to go." The younger brother lowered his head. These words seemed to have exhausted all his courage. Even he had heard of the reputation of those two middle schools and knew that his sister must have gone to great lengths to find him some support.

The bear-man boy didn't want to disappoint his sister.

However, he didn't want to lie.

"Is that so?" Sonia sighed. Of course, it was just a slight sigh.

She patted her brother on the shoulder: "Whatever you want."

Amid the boy's blank stare, the older sister clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention.

"Everyone, let's try a different approach. Let's set up our own grain company, transport the grain ourselves, and sell it ourselves."

……

“These days, there’s no future in either content production or product production.” The manager of Xinghe Fruits held a coffee cup with three fingers, savoring the rich aroma of the sand dunes from the Imperial Extreme Star Region, and said to his subordinates, “We control most of the interstellar freight and logistics system in the galaxy, all the markets, the lowest-level sales outlets, and the highest-level evaluation system.”

“Yes, they will compromise,” Meng Bangfu’s salesman flattered. “But aren’t you being too cautious?”

"It's mainly Golden Bear Ranch. This place has luxury goods and powerful backing, so it's not easy to mess around with them. The board of directors hopes to get that Miss Bear to sell... or at least share the secret of the Treasure Insect Black Bull. Hmm, why is it called that?"

"Perhaps it's because bears and insects get along very well?"

"In short, we have prepared enough sincerity, but we always need to start something." The representative of Xinghe Fruits revealed a reserved yet undisguised smug smile.

"Okay, once this is done, you can get a promotion."

"Hopefully. Hey, I'm not human, I have a glass ceiling. I'd be content with just being a mid-level. That way I can afford Nefi's house, insurance, and the kids' tuition!" The Tirek manager sighed. "The kids are about to go to college, that's a huge expense. But on the other hand, if we default on the mortgage, the whole family will be homeless. Who knows when we'll eat too much moon sugar and turn into fresh corpses? Everyone's trying their best to live, you know."

The two representatives of the intergalactic grain merchants exchanged a glance, and in each other's eyes they saw the sorrow and helplessness of ordinary workers, and they almost wanted to hug each other and cry.

“They will compromise. They have no market, no ships. That Ms. Sonia…”

"She is a guerrilla fighter, and it is said that some important people value her highly."

“I know, but even the most powerful people can’t violate our principles of free trade. No matter how powerful Ms. Sonia’s background is, she can’t conjure up a ship.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the sudden sound of an alarm.

"Moon anomaly detected. Repeat, satellite anomaly detected! Repeat again, satellite anomaly detected!"

"An anomaly?"

"Prepare for impact." The alarm continued its monotonous, monotone announcement. Unfortunately, this was just an inland starport, and the central control system was merely a limited, malfunctioning AI, unable to offer any further guidance.

However, one sharp-eyed salesman spotted the moon in the distance and let out a sound that was almost a scream.

The representatives of these large companies finally saw what was going on.

Under the impact of sounds inaudible to humans, the moon on Losa began to tremble.

The satellite, three thousand kilometers in diameter, that giant rock, suddenly began to peel away its surface. The outer shell shattered like an eggshell, and the debris floated in the vacuum, revealing what lay beneath.

That's biological tissue.

Huge, dormant, living biological tissue.

That's a Leviathan Hive, a biological warship belonging to the Zerg swarm. Legend has it that it can survive in a vacuum, can perform faster-than-light jumps, can use its chitinous shell to withstand the warship's shells and beams, and can also tear apart the warship's living war machine with its tentacles and spore projectiles.

Of course, this kind of thing is not something a mere group of grain merchant representatives could know.

They stared in disbelief as the enormous monster broke free from the moon's grasp, slowly unfurling its tentacles and wing membranes, and with silent, uninterrupted energy, carried its kilometer-long body, striding proudly toward the starport.

He is getting closer and closer.

Only then did the people on the starport see that beneath the deep purple shell, vibrant emerald green patterns of light faintly flowed. It probably didn't have any organs that could be called eyes, but that sharply defined front end might have been a head-like structure.

In that instant, all the chamber of commerce representatives on the starport felt as if they had been targeted by some Leviathan beast from the depths of the universe, and they were all terrified out of their wits.

They didn't see that Sonia clapped her hands and said to her brother, "Quickly, notify the ship to open the cargo hold. Also, bring back what's already in storage and tell Starport I'll pay the freight."

The younger brother's eyes widened, and after nearly half a minute, he said, "Sis, I know you're a summoner type, but this is way too over-the-top."

"There are no Summoner classes in the Psionic Ring."

"No?"

“Indeed, there isn’t.” She walked toward the villagers who were also staring in disbelief. “Everyone, since the Alliance isn’t offering a good price, let’s sell them to Femo. The Primal Commune, the Cherk People’s Front, and the Republic of Sanzu are all short of food; they can trade their minerals for it. We can form a collective enterprise to specialize in long-distance food trade. I guarantee the shipping costs will be very low.”

……

The food representatives, who were in a daze, were awakened by the tremors in the Starport.

They clearly saw that the 10,000-ton transport ships on the berth were lifted up by Leviathan's hundred-meter tentacles.

Those limbs extending from the bio-warships, capable of tearing through the warships' armor, now pierced through the starport's structure with soft precision, reaching into the warehouses and cargo holds.

Frozen black beef, boxed fruit, eggs, and milk were gently held by the tentacles, just as a human would hold an egg and gently place it into the open abdomen of Leviathan.

The grain was even easier to process; it poured out of the warehouse like a river, flowing through pipes into the mouths of those enormous creatures without spilling a drop.

Such a grand scene, yet efficient and quiet.

Neither these fragile intragalactic cargo ships nor starports suffered any damage.

In just ten minutes, the massive Leviathan completed its loading, slowly adjusted its posture, and left the orbit.

His size even exceeded that of this starport, yet the gravitational entanglement he brought was as weak as a passing meteor.

Their wings unfolded, blocking out half the sky, and the sunlight from Losa A shone through the edges of the wings, giving the entire planet a purple halo.

The business manager of Xinghe Fruits stumbled out of Xinggang Port, stood on the pier, and looked up at the biological warships that blotted out the sky.

He didn't know why he came out, but he did it anyway.

This former veteran, who had served in the space fleet for ten years, stared blankly as the biological warship sailed out of his sight and headed toward the gravity well.

He finally regained some of his senses and yelled hoarsely at the cowboys watching the commotion on the docks, "You just handed the goods over to this thing, to this monster?"

The cowboys looked at each other, most of them still wearing a bewildered expression, but that didn't stop them from expressing a certain degree of pleasure.

"Serves you right," the cowboys said.

“I don’t know what it is either, but Sonia said it’s her pet.”

"She's been in Nefarian for so many years, and she's become such a powerful psionicist! She can even keep such a huge Leviathan as a pet?"

"No matter what, I believe in Sonia."

"Yes, Femor and Czerk offered higher prices."

"Get out of here! Get out of here! We're not selling your grain anymore, we're selling it to foreigners!"

Femo? The Primitive Commune? Cherk? The Popular Front or the Republic of Sanzu?

The business manager collapsed to the ground with a thud, wailing, "She's challenging the rules of the entire civilized world! You'll regret this! You'll regret it!"

However, whether they regret it or not, and whatever countermeasures the bigwigs in the league take, is their business.

All he knew was that he had botched his job. Didn't that mean he could lose his job at any moment, lose his big house, lose his insurance, and have his whole family become homeless and fresh commodities along with him?

Why is it always the working class who suffer bad luck?

So, this top-performing business manager, who had served in the army for ten years and worked at Xinghe Fruits for twenty years, started pounding on the port floor and wailing.

He cried until he was almost fainting before he felt a huge shadow loom over him. It was the bear-man boy from the Bean family, a child who was much taller than him.

"You'll get fired by Galaxy Fruits, won't you?" the bear-man boy said. "Or, let's move to Losa. We've started a new company and need a lot of manpower."

"Are you an angel sent by the Bear God?" The business manager hugged the bear-man child's leg and cried even harder.