Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

"No, it's disinfection," the doctor said seriously. "A large-scale infectious disease has broken out on the front lines, brought by those Leitanians. They are very perfunctory in terms of corpses and hygiene. The trenches have become a petri dish due to the long standoff."

"Therefore, a large-scale bacterial and fungal infection has occurred, requiring the spraying of disinfectant alcohol."

"Is this really not a new way to trick people into drinking alcohol that the front lines came up with?" Old Xia asked suspiciously.

It's worth noting that some Covenant members dared to steal small amounts of toxic ethanol-containing solvent produced by the spaceship's recycling center to mix with alcohol. This person was subsequently dismissed by the Navy and later founded an industrial company that designed a device specifically for producing ethanol from the residue of the spaceship's recycling system.

I heard they really made a fortune, since the residue can be made into ethanol, which can be used to prepare disinfectant for the spacecraft itself, and can be used as a solvent.

Of course, it can also be directly decomposed and synthesized into starch or other products, further improving the spacecraft's self-sufficiency and material recycling efficiency.

"No, alcohol is the most suitable disinfectant in terms of both effectiveness and cost among all the disinfectants we tested. However, you have a point; people on the front lines might indeed be drinking alcohol, but a new, targeted disinfectant hasn't been developed yet."

The main issues are that products with better efficacy are more toxic, while those with lower toxicity and better efficacy are too expensive, or they are troublesome to store and transport.

In short, after testing various existing disinfectants, it was embarrassingly discovered that alcohol is indeed the cheapest and most effective disinfectant—of course, it is also necessary to develop new disinfectants for this purpose.

"Let me start by saying that while some microorganisms are indeed easily killed by ethanol solutions, there are many bacteria in nature that can metabolize methanol and ethanol into sugars, and even more in the interstellar environment. Don't keep spraying like this; you might suppress one microorganism, but then all the others will grow."

"That's why I arranged for Rhodes Island's R&D department to manufacture new disinfectant; it's just a temporary measure. Another issue is fuel."

"An ethanol-powered engine? Unaffected by Originium particles?"

"Yes, but we added something new to make Originium precipitate in the ethanol-fuel mixture. Although it can't prevent Originium particles from being brought in by the engine's air intake combustion, it's at least better than other fuels."

"So the engine and fuel tank are severely contaminated with stones, right?" Old Xia was practically an expert in this area and could tell the problem as soon as he heard it. "And the calorific value is already not high enough, and after this, it's even lower. The aircraft probably won't be able to fly. What kind of vehicle are you planning to use it on?"

"The vehicles, the tower furnace is too big..."

"Hmm, a small residential vehicle?"

"Correct!"

Motorcycle or electric bike?

"A bicycle with an internal combustion engine?"

"That's really strange!" Old Xia thought for a moment, then took another look. It was still too strange!

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Drinking Games

Chapter 37

The Great Yan eventually managed to scrape together the reward money, but when the reward was distributed, all the loyal soldiers were puzzled. It wasn't that it wasn't enough, nor that it was too meager, but rather that they couldn't figure out whether they had received a reward or lost money.

The emperor distributed the land and urban areas in the capital region that had been burned by the poisonous fire as rewards. Theoretically speaking, in the capital region where land is extremely valuable, having land or even small plots of land as a fiefdom is an act of extreme benevolence and generosity by the royal family, as if they had been given a different soul.

But that was before. Now the whole area has been burned by toxic fires, and the land value has been greatly reduced.

This is why the emperor was able to extract these abandoned lands from the powerful families who held them and use them to distribute as rewards.

However, it's not entirely fair to say that it was a complete loss. After all, the land burned by the toxic fire wasn't permanently damaged, and it could still be salvaged if resources were invested in its restoration.

After all, this isn't like sprinkling salt on the ground; it just leaves behind a significant amount of phosphorus compounds. Besides, while these residues are toxic, they're also excellent pesticides and phosphate fertilizers, aren't they?

As long as you persist in irrigating the land, you can at least continue farming. Even if you don't farm, you can clean up the ruins and develop them into inns, workshops, or simply turn them into rental housing, which would generate a considerable income, enough to feed your descendants for generations.

However, development requires investment, so the loyalist soldiers have been calculating and calculating, but they still can't figure out whether it's a loss or a gain. Judging from the current situation, they're losing a fortune.

However, from the perspective of securing a good future for one's wife and children and building a family fortune for one's descendants, the earnings are not much, but they are not small either.

What's even stranger is that the wealthy and powerful families, the royal relatives and nobles, didn't even try to stop it. Their reasoning was simple: these lands burned by the poisonous fire would be ruined if they didn't clean them up, and cleaning them up wouldn't be a matter of just a little money and effort.

These soldiers, who were rewarded, certainly didn't have any savings to develop the area, so they had no choice but to borrow money and repay it with future profits.

When the time comes, all we need to do is tamper with the high-interest loans, and we can easily wait for these fools to redevelop the land, and then easily take it back.

Naturally, they wouldn't object, and even supported this practice to some extent, voluntarily handing over the land deeds for the emperor to distribute as rewards—as for the subsequent return of the land, well, there are many different versions of that.

Firstly, as time goes by, it's hard to say whether later generations will even remember that this was land their ancestors risked their lives for.

Secondly, the rewards were given to you, but if you "mismanaged" the business, you can't blame others, can you? The powerful and wealthy simply gave you a small push in how to make people "mismanage" the business.

That's how they got all that land and assets. Even if one or two manage to scrape together the money, it doesn't matter. Given the quality of these common soldiers, they're unlikely to have any self-control once they become rich. A bunch of nouveau riche can easily squander their entire fortune if you guide them.

Even if there are still a few stubborn guys left, when you're surrounded by powerful and wealthy people, it's too easy for them to deal with you.

For example, irrigation, water diversion, roads, etc., there are many ways to force people to sell their land back.

So they made a quick buck, not only getting all the land they gave away back but also earning extra profits, and avoiding the need to invest in cleaning up the ruins burned by the toxic fire. It was a win-win-win situation, so why wouldn't they want to?

Moreover, the emperor promised that those who reclaimed other lands ravaged by sea monsters would also receive such land or even fiefdoms and towns as rewards.

Although the Great Yan Dynasty implemented a nominal fiefdom, meaning it was a fiefdom in name only but did not actually have any jurisdiction.

Unlike Ursus, which was a real fiefdom and essentially ruled by local lords and emperors, the only difference was that the output and taxes of the fiefdom were not handed over to the imperial court, but to these newly promoted military officers. In a sense, this was also a bit of the emperor's selfishness—since he couldn't collect taxes anyway, he might as well just give them to these common soldiers.

Although these generals had no jurisdiction, could not interfere in local military and political affairs, and could not become warlords, they were still responsible for collecting taxes. Whether they could collect them or how much they could collect was their business.

On the contrary, as military nobles, they still had to pay tribute to the court. This was tantamount to letting these people fight against the local gentry, which weakened both the power of the gentry and the control of the military leaders. It was a double win, and the emperor had to give himself a thumbs up for his ingenuity.

"Then the generals become the new gentry, the soldiers become household slaves, and the last remaining brave soldiers become servants... What a brilliant idea—"

The young woman with blue hair listened to the conversation of the other patrons in the tavern, holding her wine glass. She gave a cold laugh and remained silent.

This weakened both the civil and military officials, thus consolidating the imperial power.

However, for the Great Yan state, this meant that civil and military officials began to fight for power, and the army was consumed by this endless conflict of interests.

Those ordinary soldiers who lacked power and status would quickly go from small landowners to self-cultivating farmers, then to tenant farmers, and finally to serfs of the generals. That's how the garrisons collapsed.

"However..." The woman shook her head. Regardless of the final outcome, it was true that a portion of the Great Yan army had been organized in a short period of time. Even if they eventually became servants and serfs, at least in the initial short period, the Great Yan did have a large number of soldiers composed of the sons of small and medium-sized landlords.

In many ways, these soldiers, who now had their own land and property, were indeed far more capable of defending their country and fighting than in the past—it was like a highly effective final burst of energy before death. However, this final burst of energy was nothing more than a last struggle before death.

Moreover, those civil officials and aristocratic families wouldn't act immediately. After all, they would wait for these "tools" to rebuild the destroyed ruins before taking action.

Therefore, after a major battle, the Great Yan Dynasty actually showed some signs of prosperity, at least in terms of its military.

"Only in the matter of turning a funeral into a celebration do I truly admire the officials of the court!" The woman raised her wine cup and toasted the direction of the capital.

No one mentions the Haisi invasion, how many towns in the most prosperous lands were reduced to ashes, no one mentions the few poor souls burned to death outside the capital, and even less mentions the loyal and brave warriors who were isolated and wiped out on the city walls.

No one even mentioned that the resources accumulated by the ancestors of the Great Yan Dynasty to cope with disasters had been almost completely depleted after this war.

The imperial court didn't want to mention why Hai Si was able to cross the three defense lines and enter the inland, and the local officials and wealthy nobles who had taken bribes were even less willing to mention it. So what are they talking about now?

After the Great Yan defeated the "unprecedented" invasion of the sea, there was a great deal of rewarding and celebrating.

Since the emperor of Great Yan had been shortchanged in terms of actual financial benefits, he had at least put his mind to honoring the soldiers who had come to fight.

The common people were also immersed in the celebratory atmosphere of escaping a calamity and the court's deliberate exaggeration. No one would mention how many people died, how many cities were reduced to ruins, how the three defense lines would be repaired, or other such trivial matters that would spoil the mood.

"It seems that Si Sui Tai is also overwhelmed with its own problems. Even the celestial master who was monitoring me has disappeared. Have they given up on themselves?" The woman finished her last cup of wine, left a stack of money to pay the bill, and said, "I'm leaving."

"Please be careful, sir. It's not safe to walk alone on the mountain path so late at night. Please be careful."

"Oh?" "I heard there are still quite a few scattered sea monsters that haven't been wiped out. It's not impossible that they've escaped to Shangshu. We still need to be careful. The merchant guild next door has already hired swordsmen again."

Swordsmen and镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) had been declining in the Great Yan Dynasty for a long time. For these people, this sea monster invasion was simply a blessing from heaven.

Scattered sea monsters could appear everywhere, so caravans, transport teams, and even mobile towns had to hire swordsmen and bodyguards for protection when they moved. Once again, you could see "majestic bodyguard teams" jingling bells and carrying banners on the streets, as well as swordsmen who, despite their age, were still strong and aloof, carrying weapons, following their employers.

"Mighty Escort Team" is a method of escorting goods, not a name. The so-called "Mighty Escort Team" means to escort goods with great fanfare, ringing bells and beating gongs and drums. Only the powerful would do this. It is equivalent to telling all kinds of bandits and road bandits - if you have the guts, come and try!

The advantages are that the Mighty Escort vehicle doesn't take side roads, but goes directly along main roads, and doesn't require paying protection money along the way. If it encounters bandits blocking the road, it can simply drive past them. The delivery speed is fast, making it suitable for delivering single, high-value items.

However, because the escorts needed to recruit a large number of thugs to travel the route, the fees were exorbitantly high.

Another option is the normal escort mission, where you build good relationships with the local tyrants along the way and travel quietly. The advantage is that there are no unnecessary battles, and the fees are relatively affordable. However, it requires taking detours or communicating with the local tyrants from time to time, which wastes time and is slow. It is suitable for goods with low single value.

Because if the value is too high, even if you have a good relationship with these local bullies, it might trigger greed and lead to violence. It's best to just use a powerful escort service for that kind of thing.

"Oh, I see. It's alright. I've walked this mountain path many times and I know it well. Even if some sea monster comes, it won't climb up the mountain, right?"

"What you say makes sense." Since they've already gone this far, there's no need to keep arguing and annoy people.

“Besides, I brought a lantern with me—” The woman smiled and raised the lantern in her hand. A gilded dragon with some mottled patterns was coiled on the long ebony pole, and at the end was an exquisite palace lantern. When lit, it emitted a soft, warm yellow light.

Shangshu is mountainous, and the mountains and the city are almost integrated. The natural mountains outside the city and the artificial mountains inside the city, which are restored by carbon blocks, echo each other, making it seem like a city in the mountains.

The civil engineers of Shangshu forced local officials to agree to this ingenious project. They replicated the beautiful mountain scenery of Shangshu into the city, using carbon fiber as the skeleton, concrete as the flesh, naturally quarried rocks and soil as the skin, and transplanting native vegetation to create an urban landscape that resembled a mobile mountain city.

The officials of Shangshu, along with various celestial masters and generals, had a very special style in the Great Yan Dynasty. In ordinary times, they were no different from any other gentry or corrupt official.

However, at crucial moments, they are able to make rational decisions with a clear mind and demonstrate a certain will.

Sometimes, it even makes people wonder if they really have symptoms of split personality. They can't even beat the local bandits, yet they dare to go out as a group to fight Hai Si. It's commendable that they are brave, but once on the battlefield, due to lax military equipment and long-term lack of training, they are hard to win. It's like they went there to slack off, but when they were at the forefront, they didn't run away.

However, this is normal for the people of Shangshu. No one cares how they leave their homes in a mess, but when they go out, they have to maintain appearances. The isolated mountainous environment makes the people here feel insecure after leaving the protection of the mountains, and they instinctively unite and act as a whole.

But as soon as he returned to the familiar and comfortable Shangshu, well, he immediately gave up without the slightest hesitation or pause, like a noodle thrown into boiling water, quickly softening up.

Therefore, there's an old saying: "Don't go to Sichuan when you're young, and don't leave the pass when you're old." One reason is the treacherous roads of Sichuan; going in doesn't guarantee a survival. Another is the basin's self-contained nature, with a relatively slow and peaceful pace of life that can easily stifle youthful ambition. The same applies to "Don't leave the pass when you're old"—if you're too old to venture out and struggle, you might die far from home.

Climbing up the mountain road in the city, although it is a man-made landscape, it has the feel of natural mountains and rivers in terms of both height and surrounding earth, wood and rocks. Large water pumps draw groundwater into the city and send it to the top of the artificial mountain, where it becomes waterfalls and streams.

The air is filled with the babbling of a clear spring, flanked by quaint wooden mountain paths. In the distance, the green mountains are like dark eyebrows, while nearby, the city lights shine brightly. The air is filled with the fragrance of early spring grass and trees, and the few patches of snow do not appear dirty or unsightly, but rather add a touch of liveliness.

It felt as if one were in a quiet and gentle fairyland, while the war and the devastation caused by poison and fire outside the mountains seemed to be just distant news, something to be talked about over tea.

After all, the natural barrier of the Three Mountains and Eighteen Peaks is a fatal problem for any enemy attempting to attack Shangshu.

Of course, for any regime that fled to Shangshu, it would be extremely difficult to break out. This land was protected by the mountains, but also bound by them. Their bodies might be able to escape the mountains' obstruction, but their souls would find it difficult to break free from the mountains' pull.

More cities, more roaring machinery, more new technologies, and more lights.

However, for women, the taste of Shangshu remains unchanged from the past few hundred years; the only change is in the superficial decorations.

She liked the tranquility and unchanging nature of the place, but her sisters didn't think so, especially Nian, who loathed this monotony.

A lantern illuminates the mountain path and the pavilion atop the mountain. A letter lies quietly on the table, the envelope already opened, the letter paper spread out to one side, blank.

The girls appreciate convenient modern communication methods and also enjoy exchanging ideas directly through the communication links of the Sail constellation.

However, she didn't like it; she preferred the aroma of traditional letter paper and ink, which paired perfectly with the taste of the wine.

"Hey, have you thought this through? What's the point of staying home all day?"

“It’s boring, but there’s wine—” The woman straddled the railing and took out a wine flask. “I don’t like the wine from outside.”

"Stop talking nonsense! You're just a socially awkward person, what kind of excuse are you giving me?!"

"what?"

"A high-EQ way of saying it: You are a carefree person, doing things your own way, free and unrestrained, and indulging in art and poetry; a low-EQ way of saying it: You are a socially anxious person, afraid of getting too involved with people, right?"