Alien creatures destroy homes? Start by killing upright apes!

Chapter 63 Cross-Species Synergy

The Winners' Kingdom, the government.

When Lu Cheng received Kerry's telegram, he was squatting in the kitchen watching Carrie cook.

Today, Carrie made stir-fried greens with garlic. The greens grew in the fields turned over by the Water Dragon Beast, and the garlic was peeled by Lu Cheng.

When she cooks, she has a habit of tapping the edge of the pan twice with a spatula to flip the food over, and then tapping it again.

Lu Cheng found this action very stress-relieving.

"Carrie said that upright apes domesticated humans." Carrie ladled the stir-fried dish into a plate.

"He's right! The border guards think they've seen seven fingers, the mining committee thinks they've made a profit from outsourcing, and the fisheries minister thinks the clearing of the waterway is just good luck. All of this is domestication. The core of domestication is not to make the other party obedient, but to make the other party feel that they are getting a good deal. And people who feel that they are getting a good deal will never resist."

Carrie placed the plate on the table and sat down opposite him. "And you? Do you feel like you're getting a good deal?"

Lu Cheng picked up a piece of green vegetable with his chopsticks: "The biggest advantage I've gained is you, and I'm willing to keep taking advantage of that."

Carrie paused for a moment, then smiled.

When she smiles, her eyes curve into crescent moons, just like when she first met him at school.

That night, dawn broke.

[Day 74 of the Exotic Creature's Arrival - Cross-Species Collaborative Report]

[Update on the Domestication Progress of Homo erectus on Exotic Creatures - Part 1]

[Glitter: Formation Coordination Phase. It can now execute collective commands such as patrolling, chasing away, and encircling. It is estimated to enter the Tactical Coordination Phase within fifteen days.]

[Tyrannosaurus Rex: Orientation and Guidance Phase. It can now guide its migration direction using tapping sounds. It is estimated to enter the riding phase within thirty days.]

[Giant Millipede: Stable collection phase. Average daily venom collection volume is forty cans, with collection sites expanded to seventeen. Targeted cultivation phase expected within twenty days.]

[Anomalocaris: Spawning site guidance phase. Successfully shifted 3 kilometers from the spawning site. Estimated to enter the cluster command phase within 40 days.]

[Giant Nautilus: Barb Powder Acquisition Phase. A stable barb detachment and recycling mechanism has been established. Tentacle Synergy Phase is expected within thirty days.]

[Terrestrial fish: Migration guidance phase. Their migration routes have been altered through food distribution. They are expected to enter the colony-management phase within fifty days.]

[Giant Dragonfly, Antiomon, and Suiryumon: Maintain contact level. Progress is slow; no evaluation at this time.]

[System notification: The domestication model for Homo erectus is "mutually-guided." The core mechanism of this model is to make the subject believe that it has actively chosen to cooperate. The subject does not resist in its subjective will, and the resistance to domestication is extremely low.]

[System Supplement: This domestication model also applies to humans; the fall of Namibi is a typical example of humans being domesticated.]

The light curtain went out.

Lu Cheng stood on the balcony, and Carrie came out with a cup of hot tea.

A night breeze swept across the square, and in the distance came the sound of a water dragon digging a hole.

"The system says the domestication mode also applies to humans, and Namibi is an example." Carrie handed him a teacup.

"So Kerry is right! Everyone who thinks they've gotten a good deal is being tamed. The mining commissioner of Ivan Bear thinks he's gotten a good deal, the fisheries minister of Licheng Port thinks he's gotten a good deal, and the border guards of Namibi think they've seen the truth. The illusion of getting a good deal is more effective than any weapon."

"So what do we do?"

"Don't be fooled by the illusion of getting a good deal. For every benefit the upright apes offer, ask them: what are they after? Because what they want is always more than what they give. The Gyrodon gained minerals but gave up control of its tribal leader. The Tyrannosaurus Rex gained metal tools but gave up autonomy over its migration routes. The giant millipede gained detoxification but gave up venom. Humans gained cleared waterways, increased mining efficiency, and restored order, but the price Namibi has already paid. Thirty thousand people entered Angula, never looking back."

Carrie was silent for a moment, then asked, "What would you like for breakfast tomorrow?"

Lu Cheng thought for a moment: "Soft-boiled egg. Soft-boiled egg is on Wednesday, and today is Thursday, but I want to eat soft-boiled egg."

"Thursdays are not the day for soft-boiled eggs."

"Rules can be changed."

September of the year 5914 in the Blue Star calendar, the seventy-seventh day since the arrival of alien creatures.

The mining commissioner of the Ivan Bear Kingdom was named Sergei. He was in his fifties, bald, and had a belly like a woman six months pregnant.

He was the first person in the country to propose outsourcing the mining area to Homo erectus, and also the first to suffer the consequences.

The story begins with the outsourcing contract.

Sergei and the upright ape signed a contract written in symbols on a copper plate.

The contract looks very good.

Humans provide the mineral veins, upright apes provide the labor, and gibbones provide the cutting services, resulting in a 30/70 split of the ore production.

Humans are number three, and upright apes are number seven.

Sergei felt he had made a profit because the upright apes and gibbones didn't need rest, pay wages, or insurance, and their output was 70% more than that of human miners (50%).

The contract was executed for eleven days.

On the morning of the eleventh day, Sergei entered the mining area and found the entire mine empty.

It wasn't stolen, it was moved.

The upright ape took away all of its 70% share of the ore, and no one knows where it went.

The remaining 30% was piled up neatly in the center of the mine, with the quantity accurate to the weight stipulated in the contract.

Next to it was a copper coin engraved with the symbol for an upright ape, which translates to:

The contract has expired; the cooperation was pleasant.

Sergei then realized that the contract did not specify a time limit.

The upright apes dug out the vein and then left.

Thirty percent of the humans remained in place, while seventy percent of the upright apes vanished without a trace.

Sergei could not be held accountable because he signed the contract himself, drafted the terms himself, and proposed the 30/70 split himself.

The upright ape made no demands from beginning to end, simply carrying out the contract quietly and then moving 70% of the ore away.

After receiving the report, Vla removed Sergei from his position as a mining commissioner.

Before I started, I asked him, "Why do you think they'll keep working as miners?"

Sergei couldn't answer.

Because he had never thought about this question.

He only thought about taking advantage of the situation.

On the same day, in the Waimeming Plains of Sam's Eagle Kingdom, Wood squatted on the abandoned railway bridge pier, his binoculars showing the Tyrannosaurus Rex being led by the upright apes during their migration.

They traveled seventy kilometers west and entered an artillery firing range of the U.S. Army.

When the Tyrannosaurus Rex swarm entered the firing range, the artillery was test-firing newly arrived heavy artillery.

The shells fell and killed the three Tyrannosaurus Rex, including the sixteen-meter-tall leader.

The remaining Tyrannosaurus Rex scattered and fled, only to be mowed down by heavy machine guns fired by the army troops who had been positioned outside the firing range. Four of them were killed.

All seven Tyrannosaurus Rex died at the shooting range.

Wood put down his binoculars, his face ashen.

"Who set up the artillery firing range there?"

The defense minister pulled out a pre-war map: "The firing range was planned three months ago, and the Tyrannosaurus Rex migration route was guided by Homo erectus. Homo erectus couldn't possibly have known the location of the firing range; it's a military secret."

"They didn't need to know the location of the firing range; they only needed to know that there was something to the west that could kill the Tyrannosaurus Rex. They drove the Tyrannosaurus Rex into the firing range, used us to kill seven Tyrannosaurus Rex, and then they took the Tyrannosaurus Rex's carcasses."

The Minister of Defense sent people to the firing range to inspect it.

The seven Tyrannosaurus Rex's carcass was completely dissected, its bones removed, its muscles cut off, and black blood flowed all over the ground.