Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

This has led to a greater demand for Originium than at any other time in history, and the huge demand for Originium requires a large number of cheap miners and a whole host of workers.

Even without addressing issues with social systems, such frequent contact with and use of refined Originium would lead to a surge in Oripathy cases, creating far more infected individuals than at any other time in history.

Rationally, Yelena knew that this was not the machines' fault; machines were merely tools and had no self.

Moreover, it was the Originium Mine that allowed Ursus to live in the snowfields and even the northern wilderness, so that humanity would not have to live in constant fear of natural disasters.

The Originium Mine made large-scale mobile cities possible and ushered in an era of rapid advancement for human civilization, much like the Industrial Revolution for humanity on Earth.

Although the Industrial Revolution caused the crown to fall, led to world wars, shaped the capitalist class, it also created the most tragic class—the proletariat.

However, it is ultimately inevitable. Industry and machines themselves are not wrong; it is human greed and shortsightedness that have turned them into weapons of killing and tools of oppression.

However, as an infected person, and as a girl who grew up in the mines and witnessed countless ordinary exiles become infected miners, and saw how infected miners were abused, tortured, and killed by the guards, Yelena made no attempt to hide or suppress her disgust and aversion to these Originium machines.

Especially after seeing Xia Lin's "safe" and "harmless" machines, her aversion and disgust were almost palpable. Xia Lin was aware of this, and he did not intend to change her mind with weak words and preaching.

This is the philosophy of the Star Alliance. The war that ended more than a decade ago taught all the surviving humans a lesson: words cannot move a group of cold-blooded lizards, public opinion cannot stop the falling Starburst Bombs, and negotiations can only bring indifferent onlookers and sarcastic remarks—in the starry sky, weakness is the only original sin!

Therefore, to change Yelena's aversion to Originium and Originium Power, we must use concrete evidence and facts to persuade her.

Instead of empty words, Xia Lin decided to take some time to properly study the principles of these Originium-powered systems, as well as the issues surrounding Originium as fuel.

If he could solve some of the problems, he could use concrete evidence to convince Yelena that Originium Power, though initially imperfect, was indeed flawed.

However, it can be gradually improved. It may start as an evil that inevitably arises from civilization, but it will eventually transform into something better.

To reiterate, words can't sway those alien bastards, but a warp-jump missile with a 1-megaton yield super fusion warhead can. Preaching can't change Yelena's mind, but a motive that won't cause Originium contamination can.

Xia Lin was honestly quite interested in this thing. If it could be used as a motor, it could be used to generate electricity. The fact that it could drive such a large mobile trading station meant that its output power was not much less than that of a "portable reactor".

Chapter Twenty-Four: Let me think about it~

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Inside the tool workshop, an Originium engine, supposedly a standard model, was placed on the disassembly table. As it was not a product of Covenant technology, the automatic disassembly equipment could not work, so Xia Lin had to disassemble it manually.

His biggest impression of this engine was that it resembled the Covenant's nuclear-powered engine, without a fuel tank or refueling port. Instead, it had a fuel rod with a handle located in the center.

Xia Lin first conducted a preliminary understanding of it using normal maintenance and usage methods. For Yelena's and his own safety, he put a thick three-proof suit on both of them, which could block both Originium particles and abnormal radioactive particle rays.

"I'm starting now, step back a little." Xia Lin had the white rabbit, who had moved a small stool and was standing on it, step back a bit, then reached out and grasped the handle in the center, and began to pull it outwards.

The Originium Engine's overall shape is similar to an irregular cylinder, resembling the oldest piston engine. It has a raised transmission module on the arc that outputs power in a mechanical motion manner.

The center of the cylinder is where the fuel rod is located, which means that the Originium engine does not need a refueling port or a fuel tank. Of course, large Originium engines still need a water tank.

After all, no matter what kind of energy it is powered by, as long as it has not broken the thermodynamics, it will generate heat, and generating heat requires a coolant.

Xia Lin pulled out the fuel rod and found that it was a thing similar to a revolver magazine, with four processed dark gold columnar Originium fuel rods around the central axis.

"Originium particles, ketone compounds, metal wires that conduct some kind of triggering energy, and glycol compounds, which should be chemical substances used to react with Originium to do work... Hmm, it looks like a high-tech honeycomb briquette."

As an ultra-high density energy material, Originium has been tested by Xia Lin, who found that its energy release rate is extremely fast. The unknown elements that make up the molecules of Originium particles will dissociate within a few milliseconds and release a huge amount of energy.

However, it is also very stable, producing only a weak stream of radioactive particles under normal conditions. This stream of radioactive particles containing particles of Originium constituent elements may be the origin of some infected individuals who inexplicably become Oripathy patients.

Only through a series of complex and cumbersome methods can it be triggered to release energy, and through another more complex method, it can also produce a kind of field resonance-like conduction effect, thereby continuously absorbing heat from a single heat source, which manifests as a sharp drop in temperature.

Based on this complex quantum field effect, Xia Lin's skills and knowledge are only sufficient to make simple judgments and guesses in practical applications.

As for further research, forget about it; we don't have enough equipment, and our own skills aren't up to par.

"Honeycomb briquettes?" Yelena peeked out, trying to see what Xia Lin was talking about, only to find that he was referring to the Originium fuel in his hand. "Isn't this Originium fuel?"

"Yes, I mean its composition is similar to that of honeycomb briquettes." In order to save coal and alleviate the problem of coal burning too quickly, honeycomb briquettes are made by mixing coal ash and yellow mud in a certain proportion, thereby achieving a longer burning time and a more moderate heat dissipation. As a household heat source, it is qualified and economical.

"So I guess these fuel rods are also a product of this design concept, hmm—"

After giving a brief explanation of what honeycomb briquettes were, Xia Lin held a fuel rod in one hand and rubbed the white rabbit's head through the hood of her protective suit with the other.

Even through a thick barrier, rubbing rabbit ears is still a bit addictive, but the little girl looked a bit confused, as rabbit ears are quite sensitive.

While it doesn't reach the level of sexual harassment that some ethnic groups experience, it's similar to the feeling of being tickled.

"The local craftsmanship is quite advanced, which is both good and bad news..."

That means the locals' fighting strength is probably not much lower, even though the principle behind this thing is the same as that of a honeycomb briquette.

However, some seemingly simple things can only be created by building upon more complex technologies.

Xia Lin put the Originium fuel rod aside and picked up a flashlight to carefully illuminate the structure inside the notch. "It doesn't look like a combustion chamber or a reaction chamber, and the way it's used seems different from what I thought." He thought it was like some kind of battery or reactor, where it would start reacting immediately after being inserted, releasing heat or electrical energy, or even generating a force field to release kinetic energy.

The result was clearly just a chamber-like area, with the reaction chamber further ahead. Judging from the scanned mechanical structure, it would roughly feed the two cylindrical fuels into a reactor of what appears to be a small size at a constant speed.

Then, considering places without water tanks or other containers to hold the working fluid, it's unlikely to be output heat energy; it's more likely to be electrical energy.

Because Xia Lin scanned away a large number of metal coil structures, it means that the locals' engines are powered by Originium-reaction-electricity-rotor.

"It's quite advanced—" Xia Lin put down the flashlight, reached inside and touched the internal structure, "but the machining precision is a bit poor, though the design is good." The internal structure was obviously not smooth.

Moreover, the mechanical structure responsible for slowly feeding the columnar fuel and automatically rotating 45 degrees when it reaches the metal clip at the tail to allow another pair of columnar fuel to connect exhibits noticeable burrs and lag.

Either this thing was recently refurbished with inferior parts, or its original manufacturing quality was so poor that even after being used for so long, it still has bumps and burrs. In Xia Lin's opinion, this thing might occasionally stall or get mechanically stuck, causing fuel to be unable to be delivered and the power to drop instantly.

If Maxim were here, he would definitely praise Xia Lin, saying that she is just like a professional mechanic.

As he had predicted, this thing did indeed have this kind of problem, and it was likely that Ursus and most low-level Originium Motives had this problem as well.

The repair and fix are things any Ursus person knows. Depending on the severity of the situation, you'll need a long-handled wrench or a sturdy boot, and the repair method is to go up and give it a good wrench or a kick.

After inspecting the interior, Xia Lin suspended the engine with two iron chains. It had handles on both sides for maintenance and installation. Then, Xia Lin reinstalled the fuel rods and vigorously cranked one of the handles to give the thing an initial fuel supply and "ignition" power.

With a few soft coughs, the engine gradually started to operate. The four things that Xia Lin had previously thought were pistons on the top of the cylinder began to move rapidly, causing the connecting rods to rotate at high speed.

"Huh, a piston type?" Xia Lin was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly realized that this structure was not for doing work. Pistons require airtightness, and the plug that bounces up is mesh-like. "Is it for heat dissipation or exhaust?"

Particulate smoke carrying high-temperature waste heat continuously overflowed, and after scanning, most of it was found to be the product of the chemical substances used in the reaction burning at high temperatures.

Due to a possible issue with the manufacturing process, the Originium did not react sufficiently. A large number of Originium surface particles melted or detached, and were then encapsulated by these chemical substances into suspended aerosol particles, which were ejected with the hot air.

In other words, only a very small portion of the Originium is actually processed by the Originium Engine; the majority is wasted. Considering this is a small machine, it's possible that larger engines, such as those driving mobile cities, also have this low efficiency.

However, the locals are clearly aware of this as well. The mesh structure on those pistons is designed to block some of the particles from reacting and to improve the reaction efficiency.

Once the engine has warmed up and the reaction has reached its peak efficiency, the rotor begins to spin rapidly.

If you connect a gearbox and driveshaft, it should be able to drive a vehicle or something else, and could also be turned into a crane, water pump, or other similar device.

However, the sputtering sound and the somewhat harsh mechanical noise made Xia Lin realize that the quality of this thing was terrible, and not just bad.

After a series of usage tests, this Originium engine has a horsepower of just over 10, which is indeed a small engine. It is definitely not used to drive the trading post, but is probably used to drive house transformation and trailer cranes.

The fuel consumption rate is approximately one set of fuel per hour. Each fuel briquette contains two sets of fuel, meaning one fuel briquette can be used for about two hours. For pumping water in a normal year, local farmers should be able to afford this cost. However, if there is a drought or other problems that require pumping to be run for an extended period of time...

Xia Lin frowned and estimated the amount of fuel rods and agricultural water consumption. Based on his previous understanding of the local people's planting methods and output, the local farmers would either lose money or go bankrupt.

The working principle of the Originium Engine has also been basically scanned and clarified. After all, its main component is cast iron, and it is impossible to expect such a thing to withstand the Covenant Industrial Graviton Scanner.

Although this is the lowest-end desktop version of an industrial scanner with a very short scanning distance, it is mainly used for scanning, modeling, and testing agricultural machinery.

Shaped like a large printer, it has a working scanning distance of 1.5 meters and can perform precise quality scanning. After processing, it becomes a precise 3D dynamic model within PNIS, allowing Xia Lin to observe its mechanical structure and the movement of its internal components in detail.

"It really is quite simple..." The principle is indeed very simple, just like the principle of the Star Alliance's engine is also very simple. You only need to find and confine gravitons and generate coherent interactions to create a virtual mass field, control the direction and intensity of gravity propagation, and thus... manipulate spacetime!

However, here's the problem: how to discover and interfere with gravitons is a mountain that a civilization may never be able to overcome, from birth to death.

Similarly, humans have been boiling water for thousands of years, and boiling water is very simple. However, how to transform the power of boiling water into a power that can be manipulated at your fingertips is another matter entirely.

Xia Lin didn't know how long the locals had been working on Originium technology, but he understood that a simple principle didn't mean the path was easy; in fact, he couldn't design a more advanced Originium engine right now. However, he could work on improving some minor flaws.

The working principle of Originium is to use an electrochemical reaction. A set of small capacitors and coils store the weak current generated by the hand crank, and then this current is conducted into Originium through metal wires and poles.

Then, the diols quickly combine with the ketones, generating a large number of free electrons and undergoing rapid oxidation. During this process, the Originium itself is activated, begins to react, and releases energy in the form of an electric arc.

The energy of the electric arc is collected and converted into electricity from the coil, which drives the electric motor to rotate and do work. During the reaction, the ketone compounds that act as binders burn and lose energy, causing the raw stone particles to break off rapidly and fill the reactor under the action of internal heat, further improving the efficiency of the electric arc reaction.

At this point, the Originium Power reaches its peak output. The hot air continuously drives the piston-like mechanical reciprocating motion, constantly performing intake and exhaust operations to ensure that there is enough oxidant in the inner chamber to allow the chemical propellant to work, and also to expel excess heat and exhaust gas.

This process would lead to very serious emissions of Originium particles. Xia Lin even wondered if these suspended particles in the atmosphere were a tragedy caused by industrial pollution from the locals.

Based on the past events that the White Rabbit sometimes mentioned, he realized that the local civilization had experienced a break in its continuity. A break in civilization cannot produce a completely new industrial system. Just like when the Covenant was washed back to the Stone Age, they wouldn't come up with any magical engine based on any other principle. They would still generally follow the order of boiling water and boiling more water.

Not to mention Originium, an energy resource that is convenient, abundant, and naturally replenishes and recharges, which cannot be easily ignored. Although the locals do not appear to have this scale of industry now.

However, if we consider that before the discontinuation of the era, they possessed the dense concentration of buildings, industrial zones, and various vehicles found in Covenant metropolises...

It's not impossible that a large number of Originium particles were released into the atmosphere, potentially triggering a so-called "natural disaster" that led to the interruption of civilizations.

If some more super-large intensive reactors were to release this stuff into the ocean and atmosphere without any treatment, then... it's not impossible that the consequences would become this severe.

"Yes, I'm planning to modify this thing. It doesn't actually have to cause so much pollution."

Xia Lin scratched his head. But that's how humans are; they won't learn their lesson until they've been beaten black and blue.

The modification plan is simple. He doesn't need this thing to do kinetic work. The Covenant has plenty of wireless power transmission equipment and more efficient electric motors. There's no need to use Originium power, but it can be used as a backup generator.

“First, there’s the reaction process. So far, it seems that only this electrochemical triggering method is possible. The triggering method I tested before was not only troublesome, but it was also the type that rapidly released energy to form an explosion. Therefore, the principle of the fuel rods and reactor cannot be changed.” Xia Lin stroked his chin and pondered.

"We can separate the chemical propellant from the fuel itself, and blow the ultra-pure Originium, which is already in particulate form, into the saturated reactor. We can use an old thermoelectric chamber as a makeshift reactor. Hmm, let me think about it—"

Xia Lin began sketching within PNIS, manually designing the overall layout, process flow, parts drawings, and assembly diagrams for the improved Originium Engine.

This guy's level is a completely different concept from that of the Covenant students of decades later, when Covenant education became relatively more relaxed as the manpower shortage was gradually filled, such as a liberal arts student or a drone major.

Drawing manual machining flowcharts and detailed drawings by hand using PNIS is a basic skill for a pioneering technician like him who often encounters repairing agricultural machinery or even designing simple agricultural implements tailored to local conditions. Of course, programming is not a basic skill—why? Are you stupid? The Star Alliance has a network and professional service companies for this!

They can't instantly travel across the stars to manually modify the parts for you, but they can instantly send you a ready-made control software via the internet.

Moreover, decent people use drones from reputable manufacturers with proper drivers; who the hell would make these rudimentary drones without any warranty?

"Sigh—" Yelena watched for a while and knew that Xia Lin seemed to be in a daze and was definitely working on that P-something job. The sensible white rabbit quietly left the workroom, went to the kitchen to find two eggs, and clumsily moved a stool over to crack the eggs into the egg beater.

Xia Lin probably doesn't have time to cook, but Yelena has learned to cook over the past few months, so it's a kind of tacit understanding that whoever is less busy will take care of dinner.

Next, I cleaned the rice cooker, poured in the rice and water, pressed it down with my white little hand to make sure the water level was slightly higher than the back of my hand, and then put the lid down to start cooking the rice.

Yelena's cooking skills were alright, but because of her height, some dishes weren't cooked quite right. However, neither of them were picky, so they could accept these minor flaws.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Originium Arts

Chapter 25

The Originium engine inexplicably stopped after running for about half an hour. Xia Lin tried to fix it by tapping around, but to no avail. He could only pull out the fuel rods and then inspect the inner chamber and reactor, finding that the inner chamber was completely red-hot and damaged.