Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

“All it takes is a single match to ignite this emotion, and everything in Kazdel will vanish into thin air.” “But investors aren’t that stupid. They don’t care about all that nice stuff. They only care about tangible returns or a ticket to escape the apocalypse, and if their interests can be guaranteed, all the better.”

"Yes, investors aren't that stupid. So, if Kazdel really does implement this, investors will most likely abandon them—why? Because if they were truly saints, would you want to live under the care of these people who meticulously look after the lowly?"

"No special privileges, no excessive consumption, fair and reasonable rationing, equality and respect among people—how wonderful! But are these the things people like us want?"

Obviously not. So if Kazdel sides with the investors, there will be no additional loss for Colombia. On the contrary, it can damage the other party's reputation and disrupt their project progress. Anyway, as long as the final progress does not meet the requirements, no matter how much you try to please those investors, it will be useless.

Conversely, if Kazdel were on the side of ordinary people and actually became that kind of saint, who the hell would want to spend long nights in a place with no privileges and only rationed biscuits? Aren't those investors paying money precisely to gain a higher standard of living than ordinary people?

"Moreover, Kazdel's plans and projects are not without flaws, and we can attack them from that angle as well."

"For example?"

"For example, their polar exploration. When they talk about polar exploration, we mobilize our media to talk about the evil threat in the polar regions, and to argue from a rational and objective perspective the harm that evil poses to human civilization. We also emphasize the instability of the investment and returns of the base. In any case, unless Kazdel conjures up a huge gold mine in the polar regions, they have no way to refute these claims."

"And if they talk about spaceflight, we say their spaceships are built on the basis of the brutal destruction of ruins; if they talk about post-war reconstruction, we exaggerate their economic system and their unfriendly attitude towards foreign investors, as well as the barbarity and insubordination of the Sarkaz."

"If they promote the development of the ocean, we will bring up the tsunami and the Iberian Lights incident from a few years ago and remind these forgetful investors of them one by one. Moreover, we can praise Iberia for making such a wise decision and for having so many technological advantages, only to be unlucky in the end and fail."

"The higher we hype up Iberia, the more investors will worry if Kazdel can't deliver. They won't believe our nonsense about how advanced Iberia is, but they will definitely weigh the risks involved."

"In this way, they will realize that Kazdel's pie looks good but doesn't taste good, and we only need to make some promises to win them back."

"Perfect, truly perfect. So, what flaws are there in this plan, and what needs to be addressed?"

"If Kazdel uses the same approach, our voice won't be as loud as theirs."

After all, this group of people are the only ones in all of Terra who have a transcontinental broadcasting and communications station. It is said that once their satellite network is successfully launched, their television network channels can be received anywhere in Terra. This is why those investors are rushing to Kazdel like crazy.

Just kidding. Putting aside the Ark ticket, this is such a huge, untapped blue ocean market. If we don't rush in and secure our position right away, are we going to wait until everyone has eaten all the meat before we lick the plate clean?

"Therefore, we need to amplify our voice. Although there are few people within Kazdel willing to speak up for us, since they allow ordinary citizens to connect to their communication network, a group of Sarkaz may be hard to bribe, but one Sarkaz is not unbridable. Not to mention in Letania, in Great Yan, and among their allies, there are plenty of people willing to betray anyone for money."

What if Kazdel responds?

"So, the propaganda that they don't have enough freedom of speech—no, let's not even talk about the rights of ordinary people, nobody cares—I mean, the propaganda that Kazdel might be using this method to censor content in the new communications industry to meet their political needs, and for investors, it's constantly amplifying their assessments of policy risks."

"Finished? So how much money will it take to achieve all this?" That's the key question. No matter how good a plan sounds, if it requires a large investment, Colombia will definitely not get involved.

After all, the effects of this crackdown are not yet visible, and no one will throw money into a puddle if it involves huge expenses.

"It doesn't need to be too much. Bribing those newspapers and reporters doesn't cost much money. Besides, we didn't make them lie in the first place. We just made them have a little too much conscience. We didn't even need to bribe them. They might even pay us instead."

"Very good, this job is now in your hands. From now on, you will be in charge of publicity and public relations." The other executives had no objections. After all, this whole plan was practically ruthless, and everyone felt inferior because they were not ruthless enough and didn't have the guts to compete with this beast for their positions.

Meanwhile, at the polar outpost, a large demonic aggregate lay fallen on the snowfield. Patriot drew his halberd, flames burning on the wreckage. The flamethrower team came over and incinerated the demonic remains, while the chemical defense team sprinkled neutralizing agent on the contaminated black snow on the ground.

The operatives who were brought to the outpost to experience the polar climate and danger were all vomiting uncontrollably, mainly because of the demonic appearance... The shape of the demons had read countless people's most terrifying memories and thoughts, and just looking at them made you feel like your sanity was evaporating at high speed.

Especially if the other party is amorphous flesh and blood, imagine a polymer of flesh and blood with a hundred eyes and a thousand hands, constantly rolling around, with no clear boundary between internal organs and skin, constantly turning out various organs and bloodshot eyes from inside, and constantly transforming into the most terrifying things in your memory.

And the things you are familiar with, such as the faces of your friends and loved ones, will appear on this aggregate of flesh and blood. Empty and lifeless eyes, accompanied by strong emotional pulse waves, will impact the psychology of everyone present, thereby triggering physiological fear.

The demonic spores scattered in the air further infect your nerves, leaving permanent embers in your body—and the next time you witness the demon, the impact will be even stronger than the first time.

However, this time was different. The breathing masks effectively protected the operators from inhaling the demonic spores, and they were only subjected to mental and psychological shocks. For veterans like Patriot and Shield Guard who were used to this, this level of demonic shock was nothing.

“So, fire and bombs are still the best way to deal with these things,” Patriot said. “In the past, we built dikes with our flesh and blood, and then used mortars and war sorcerers to clear them out. Now, although the equipment has changed, the tactics are still relevant.”

"What is this?" The incineration team discovered some remnants of something that was clearly not flesh or blood inside the demon's corpse.

"The Last Relic of the Dead," Patriot reached out and picked up the mangled fragment. "The Relic of Wendigo"—the writing on it was corroded beyond recognition by blood and acid, but Patriot could still discern that it was the remains of armor belonging to a Wendigo warrior who had been devoured by demons in the past.

"Let's send it to the memorial area."

[PS]

Relics:

The warrior's unwavering resolve: if an operation fails, return to the previous square and start again. "Even on this severely corroded relic, one can almost feel a trace of warmth."

Chapter Six: Blessing

Chapter Six

"An unfamiliar ceiling..." Or rather, there was no ceiling at all. A battery-powered light hung on the top of the snow-camouflage tent, along with a small Originium fuel rod for heating.

"You're awake. Among this batch of new recruits, you're one of the better ones." Kal'tsit, who had been sitting with her legs crossed, put down the folder in her hand and took a syringe from the drawer. "An anti-infection injection with a small amount of sedative inside. Take your hand out."

"Eh!" Susie looked somewhat frightened, but she still obediently took her hand out of the blanket and let the doctor give her an injection in her arm.

"The drugs here can temporarily block your memory, so don't try to recall what happened to avoid fainting again." Susie was one of the newcomers who fainted from fright upon first seeing the demon at the outpost. In fact, none of the newcomers in her batch came out upright; they were all carried out.

"How long am I going to stay here?" Susie disliked hospitals. This dislike wasn't due to fear of medicine or injections, but simply because in Letania, getting medical treatment was something that ordinary people had little to do with.

Although Letania boasts one of the best medical universities in all of Terra, medical fees in Letania are also quite expensive. A skilled medical operator like Sussuro would need nearly 20 years of study alone, not counting the necessary clinical experience.

Therefore, even the cheapest clinics that can't get a license are beyond the reach of someone like Susie. Going to a clinic once means that the family's economic status has dropped by at least half a level.

So when the hospital is mentioned, her first reaction is to get discharged as soon as possible. Every day she stays in the hospital means another day of medical expenses. Hospitalization fees are such a scary story!

"It will take at least a week of observation. Don't worry, you won't have to pay for the medical expenses," Kal'tsit reassured them. Otherwise, if the medical expenses were really calculated, none of these new operators could afford it, and even the veteran employees probably didn't have that kind of financial means.

Otherwise, how do you think those Rhodes Island workers signed indentured servitude contracts? Because normal mercenary and part-time job income simply cannot afford Rhodes Island's medical expenses—think about it carefully, how much do world-renowned medical experts like Warfarin, Kal'tsit, and Sussurro charge for their consultations?

"Phew~" Susie breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a little more at ease. At least she didn't have to worry about being unable to repay her medical loans and having to sell herself.

"The quality of this batch of new recruits is indeed quite good," Patriot said as he entered the conference room. "Although they all passed out, at least none of them had soiled themselves."

Were these common before?

“Very many. In a company of new recruits, at most only a few won’t wet themselves in fear when they first see the demon.” Patriot shook his head, the large horn on his head scraping against the tent with a harsh sound, forcing him to lower his head even further.

"This shows that our mental calming ring is very useful."

"However, the effect is not enough to resist the onslaught of the demons and needs further improvement." The doctor nodded. "The respirator, on the other hand, is working well." The examination revealed that most people had very good demon spore infection, so they should be able to persist in long-term activities in the polar regions instead of becoming disposable consumables.

“However, the weaponry isn’t so ideal.” Patriot tossed the fragment in his hand onto the table. “The demons can change their form based on the imagination and thoughts of those they fight. Although this change isn’t instantaneous, they can share this information.”

The range of a demon's reading ability is limited, but if any creature that fears a demon enters its reading range, the demon will change accordingly.

"Therefore, in terms of weaponry, the effectiveness of sustained-fire weapons is so poor that perhaps it can be improved through relevant psychological training."

The reason for the poor performance is that, unlike Patriot's halberd which delivers one fatal blow after another without arousing suspicion, the continuous attack of the weapon makes the operator wonder if the opponent has a lower layer of armor that can resist my weapon, which is why I haven't killed it after fighting for so long.

Then the demons become really hard to kill, and they actually grow structures like carapaces. However, correspondingly, at this time, the lower the level of education, the harder it is for the demons to transform.

Because of the sheer fear of being invulnerable to bullets and blades, the opponent would need to experiment with various structures to match it. For operators with high levels of education, they would generate some predictions and guesses while experiencing fear, and this part of their thinking would be read, and then that would be the end of it.

"On the battlefield, a composite entity appeared that could contain black snow within its body, its surface covered by a thick layer of ceramic bone fragments that rendered fire damage almost ineffective. Furthermore, its transformation speed was far faster than that of a normal demon, which indicates..."

"Some operators who know how to isolate fire damage are having wild thoughts..." The Doctor rubbed his temples. The original design was to make better use of the Pioneers' knowledge reserves, but now it has become a problem for everyone - the more you know, the more difficult the demons are to deal with.

Fortunately, there were no Originium particles in Lao Xia's nervous system; otherwise, the situation would have been even more chaotic. The demons might not be able to create a biological starship, but they could easily assemble a row of bio-plasma cannons for you.

Old Xia knows too much. Once this knowledge and design are read by the demons, everyone will have to face a terrifying legion. Fortunately, he is not a Terran, so the demons cannot read his neural impulses. Moreover, even if they could, his symbiote would suppress such signal intrusion.

This is why demons are extremely difficult to defeat. Literally, they become stronger because of what you know. The more you know, the more powerful they become. Your martial arts skills, tactics, and knowledge are one-way transparent to them. Unless you train like a Wendigo, relying entirely on muscle memory and entering a combat state where nothing remains in your mind except boundless anger and hunger, demons will not be able to suppress this ability.

“However, compared to other weapons, sniper rifles can be removed from our armory, including Snow Rabbit rifles and sniper crossbows.” Patriot looked speechless. “Sniper training requires them to concentrate their attention and mind entirely on the target, and this clear and strong mental signal is easily read by the demons. In other words, when you aim at it, its vitals are no longer in your lock.” This resulted in a large waste of ammunition without achieving a one-shot kill.

"Perhaps we could further increase the distance for attacks." "It's possible on the defensive line, but when exploring, snipers can't stray too far from the team; in other words, they can't create enough distance."

Unless the elite advance is turned into a full-scale offensive, like the Great Yan Dynasty, with a million-strong army, land-based ships, and heavy artillery advancing layer by layer—the Great Yan Dynasty tried it and it worked very well, but the casualties were heavy.

"However, the techniques Miss Skadi taught were very useful."

"How so?" The doctor looked up, a look of interest on his face.

"Clear your mind and rely on your instincts. Her moves are all sweeping and smashing attacks. Although the demons' reading speed is fast enough, their transformation speed is not that fast."

"In addition, the Argomen's combined attacks against the Haisi can also be effective. The demon can read different ways to deal with this attack, but it cannot deal with more than two attack modes at the same time." It's like being able to ceramicize the surface to resist flamethrowers, but such a brittle structure is difficult to withstand the Patriot's halberd strikes.

Similarly, it might be able to construct a composite defense system with an outer ceramic layer and an inner bio-fiber layer, but it would still be sliced ​​open when faced with the tilting shear force of the Skadi sword.

"The machine gun is very effective, but the etching bullets are being consumed too quickly." The demon's defensive transformation also has its limits. Faced with a combined barrage of 650 rounds of tri-color etching bullets per minute, it was destroyed in two hits. The problem is that this method of fire means that the consumption of ammunition is measured in tons.

"The average estimate for an outpost is that it takes about 2000 to 2400 etching rounds to kill a normal-sized aggregate. If combined with other weapons and flamethrowers, it takes about 500 to 800 rounds. However, if we encounter enemies that are mainly aggregates and generate a lot of fragments, we can consume nearly 5 tons of etching rounds in one night. With our ammunition reserves and logistical capabilities, even if the density of demons on the way does not change, it will be completely insufficient to reach the core of the polar region."

"Where's the thermoelectric cannon?"

"It's very effective, but we can't use it frequently."

The molten cannon is a different type. The short-term structural deformation of the demons cannot stop the destructive power of the molten cannon. However, if it is used frequently, the demons that are far away from the range of the molten cannon will have enough time to merge with each other and build up layers of gap armor structure.

"Of course, heavy weapons have always been effective, thanks to the experience of the Great Yan people." The Great Yan people have been dealing with demons for longer than Ursus, and they have figured out a special way to deal with them, which is to concentrate firepower.

No matter how much a demon grows stronger through knowledge, its mass remains the same. As long as a weapon can surpass its regeneration speed, the only remaining issue is how many weapons and their equivalent power to instantly kill it.

After testing the small group of demons at the outpost, it was confirmed that the Originium Railgun was indeed effective. Although the demons were rapidly changing their structures to adapt to the Dragonfire Burst, they were still vaporized one by one when faced with attacks from a giant cannon that exceeded their tolerance by at least 30 times.

"But the problems are still the same: rate of fire, accuracy, field of fire, ammunition." The doctor rubbed his temples. The more useful the demon was as a tool, the more difficult it was to deal with as a crazy autonomous machine.

It can read minds, transform itself, be amorphous, operate in a decentralized network, rapidly analyze and utilize knowledge, quickly adapt to the environment, replicate itself at high speed, and undergo biological infection and recombination. Its only weakness is that it is not very resilient; when piled up, it will evaporate in large quantities.

Compared to monsters like the previous Haizi, which couldn't be defeated by stacking their own power, or at least couldn't be defeated by stacking the power that Terrans could stack—when the mainframe was still alive, basically no one except Agor could stack their own power against Haizi.

The Agorians, who can out-exploit the sheer quantity of the enemy, cannot out-exploit the sheer number of the enemy, and the Great Flame, who can out-exploit the sheer quantity of the enemy, cannot out-exploit the sheer quantity of the enemy... Why? Because the Sea Siege is the defense and maintenance mechanism of the space station and the Ark, not a tool for expansion. This means that when you try to out-exploit the enemy, their sheer quantity might be much greater than yours.

However, now that Haisi's servers have been destroyed, its threat level has greatly decreased, and it has become something useless except for its sheer number.

“And we have new trouble,” Kal'tsit said, pushing open the door and entering. “Sorry I’m late, but the news from Talulah is indeed very troublesome.”

"I don't know where these media outlets came from, and the Sarkaz people are making a lot of strange statements."

"Strange remarks? Where are the internet censors?"

“Internet censorship is also a tricky issue,” Kal’tsit said, placing the documents on the table. “Strictly speaking, their statements did not violate our rules, making it difficult for us to take direct action. Moreover… in a sense, what these people say is correct.”

For example, some Sarkaz people suggested that instead of wasting money on the endless sky, they should allocate some to cultivating the land. They have a large number of caves and tunnels, and like Rembitox, they can manage both shelters and the Star Project.

This was indeed a reasonable suggestion. If the actual intensity of the solar storm and the full extent of the disaster were unknown, walking on two legs would certainly be more stable than walking on one. This argument quickly gained the approval of many Sarkaz and Kazdel people, especially the new immigrants.

If some of the space resources were used to develop industry and agriculture, their employment and living environment would improve. This is related to the immigrants' immediate and visible interests, so it would be strange if they didn't support it.

The Sarkaz also argued that rocket launches are a major environmental disaster. Kazdel's ecosystem was already in poor condition, and Xia had spent a great deal of time, effort, and technology to restore it. Now, it's being damaged again, which is completely unnecessary. They requested that the launch frequency be slightly reduced to give the natural environment time to recover.

You can say that his statement is a fallacy stemming from a poor level of professional knowledge, but you can't shut him up by saying that his statement is wrong.

"There are also some organizations made up of foreigners who are calling for improvements to the immigrant environment, further restoration of Kazdel's natural environment, restoration of the land's carrying capacity, and improvements to working conditions. These are the people who were expelled from their own countries for advocating these things."

Kal'tsit was also troubled. Were they wrong? Absolutely right! And their appeals would indeed be met with the iron fist of capitalism and feudalism in other countries.

If the time and place were different, say 300 years ago, Kal'tsit and the Doctor would have been more than happy to recruit these people as a civilian oversight force and a source of feedback to fill gaps in the system, and would have been happy to gradually carry out this work.

But now... when those high-ranking officials who know the inside story have to look at the sun every morning before they can work in peace, it's quite ridiculous to say this.