Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

When they discovered that the doctor was looking at the beacon, the engineering masters and other personnel of the Great Yan Dynasty immediately tensed up, fearing that the doctor would also discover what it was and try to steal it. Then they saw the doctor walk around it as if he didn't care about it and start rummaging through the pile of junk that had been identified as broken copper and scrap metal and of unknown use.

Well, the Great Yan people actually knew that these garbage dumps weren't really garbage dumps, but things had come to this point, and it was impossible to avoid losing money completely. Moreover, if the Kazdel people didn't get any benefits, it would be even more impossible to fool them.

"It's really a pile of junk..." The doctor frowned. Calling it junk was a bit of an exaggeration, but there were indeed many items that were either unusable or almost impossible to repair.

For example, those two cylindrical, engine-like things are the nuclear pulse engines of the early people, used for large space-to-ground transport ships. However, they have been completely deformed from the crash. Not to mention that Kazdel has the technology to repair them, they can't even find the materials to repair them. They can only be treated as two lumps of junk.

There weren't many large pieces of trash, and almost all of them were genuine junk. The doctor then turned his attention to the smaller items and quickly locked onto his target.

"These people really have no taste." The doctor glanced at the microwave-like object. In fact, the people of Da Yan were also looking at it as a microwave. However, it was an early mechanical version of the demons, a standard laser 3D printer, a product of the ancients.

Of course, the equipment was damaged and almost beyond repair, but the doctor didn't want the equipment; he wanted the memory card inside, hoping to salvage something usable from it.

"Ancient people's database, unfortunately, the data board is completely damaged." The doctor looked at another lump of recyclables that Da Yan had identified as valuable.

"Alright, you really have no sincerity whatsoever, it's all junk. I demand an increase in the amount of spoils to be shared."

"Impossible, we signed an agreement that forbids reneging."

"Tsk~" The doctor pointed a finger with a disdainful look, "Then these two piles will do." It's impossible for the Great Yan people not to tamper with things if you just specify them directly, so it's better to just include all the piles of things you want in one go.

"Alright!" The Great Yan man glanced at the two piles of trash. They were all items that the Celestial Masters had appraised and determined to have high recycling value, but no significant strategic value. It seemed that the Kazdel people really just wanted to make a quick buck.

"Then, our matter is considered settled."

"Tsk, I hope you don't die on the way." The doctor's attitude was not unexpected. If he had smiled and wished them good luck, these Great Yan people would have felt that they had been fooled and taken advantage of. The doctor's very unpleasant attitude meant that he must have made some money, but it did not meet his expectations, so he was relieved.

Not long after returning to the Polar Beast, the two landships of the Great Flame people began their return journey. They no longer dared to venture into the Veiled Zone. The Doctor turned his attention back to the large pile of junk that the Great Flame people had sent.

"Call Nian and Ling over, we need to start sorting the garbage." First, all the electronic devices inside were found and their components were recycled. Then, the damaged metal products were recycled. Some of the parts that were almost garbage were thrown into the warehouse and then handed over to the group's business department to see what kind of gimmick to use to auction them off or put them in a museum to generate revenue.

"Thud!" A large stack of silver-white metal-cased devices, about the size of laptops, was thrown onto the table. "The ancient people's memory cards. Let's see how much data can be recovered."

“…It’s very complicated.” Xi frowned, picked up a memory card, quickly connected it to the Ark host, and entered the reading and data repair phase. “95% of the data is missing to varying degrees, almost impossible to repair. Only a very small portion of the files can be repaired. Do we need to transcribe it?”

"Transcribe them all in." The doctor recovered most of these items. In addition, there were two pieces of equipment that could actually be repaired and used: an ancient radar system and a large industrial laser drill. However, both of them had damaged core components, which is why Da Yan was so generous in giving them away. They recognized what they were and admitted that they were truly beyond repair.

"The radar problem is actually easy to fix, but it's almost impossible for the Great Yan, no, it should be said that it's almost impossible for the Terrans with their current technological capabilities. If we hadn't discovered that electronic laboratory platform before, we probably wouldn't have been able to fix it either."

He took out the circuit board from the radar and pointed to the many charred areas on it. "Look, the decoding chipset has been sent, the cache system (memory) has also been sent, and the main communication line interface here is also charred. If the Da Yan people want to repair it, you might as well let them pick up the entire electronics industry of the ancient people and develop it themselves. That might be faster."

"Can we repair it?" "Theoretically, yes. The lab produces decoding chips, which are slightly more difficult to manufacture than the current test chips. If we spare no expense, we should be able to repair it before the landship is fully prepared and enters the veiled zone." The cache system and interface are the simplest. The latter has plenty of spare parts, and for the former, if there is an adapter interface, we can directly use the cache card from Lao Xia's side.

"Where's the laser drilling rig?"

“That one is easier to repair, and we can even replace it with a larger one.”

"Well, that thing is more intact than you think, but the parts that are ruined are also deadly for the Terrans."

The superconducting electrical conduction structure was burned out. It seems that during the era of the Great Explosion, the overloaded use caused the superconducting circuit to break down its superconducting properties (superconductivity can only be achieved under certain voltage and current conditions; it loses its superconducting properties at higher voltages and currents) and was completely burned out.

Unfortunately, what Lao Xia has the most of are superconducting cables, which even have a higher load-bearing capacity than the low-temperature superconducting cables made by the Terrans. They also don't require huge cooling pipes; once the interfaces at both ends are fixed, this industrial laser drilling machine can be used.

"This thing has a pretty high power output... You guys are really using it for mining?"

"Otherwise what? Those Originium stones in orbit were all dug out by us from the moon and Terra back then. How do you think the Rembiton Basin came about?" Old Xia shrugged, indicating that he could understand the high power of mining equipment, but this was just a laser drill, and 1800MW was a bit excessive.

What does this mean? It means that this thing requires the power of about 8 nuclear reactors. In just one second, 1.8 G Joules of heat energy will be applied to the target. Within a microsecond, the irradiated point will be plasmaized. Then, continuous light pulses bombard this plasma, preventing it from being ejected outward and instead turning it into a force that compresses the surrounding area.

In other words, it is a large-scale "light explosion" effect that shatters the entire rock surface. It is even more terrifying than a divine light cannon when used to burn demons and the like. It sweeps across the area, and the air in its path is heated to the point of ionization and explosion. Therefore, the output port needs to be equipped with armor and compensation devices to prevent the laser drill itself from being blown away by an explosion that is no less powerful than the shock wave from the muzzle of an electromagnetic cannon.

However, a 1.8GW reactor... means that if this thing is installed on the behemoth, then the ship won't be able to do anything, not even considering the cooling unit issue.

A light pulse output of 1 MJ per square meter is already enough to be called a weapon-grade laser cannon, and this thing can gather 1.8 GJ of energy in an area smaller than a fist, which is enough to make it a medium-range laser main cannon with a brutal output on a space warship.

Of course, compared to military lasers, the light pulses of this thing are relatively easier to defend against. It is designed to allow the target surface to absorb heat energy and peel off as much as possible. It is easily deflected by smoke, metal particles and atmosphere. This is completely different from military shipborne lasers, which choose higher penetrating power to penetrate the target ship's hull and fix the peak irradiation absorption point on the internal structure of the target ship's hull.

Moreover, its size, stability, and flexibility were all terrible. Therefore, the early inhabitants did not equip it with weapons on the Ark. This does not mean that there were none on the Ark. In order to survive in the new world and obtain resources, there were hundreds of such drilling rigs on the Ark. If a real battle broke out, at least the first wave of concentrated fire would be quite brutal.

"So, is the power of the drilling rig really too high?" Theoretically, a drilling rig does not need such a high laser power. On the contrary, it needs relatively low power to peel off the surface rock layers of the mineral layer by layer.

Instead of using high-power output to blast the entire ore vein into countless large rocks weighing tens of tons each, instead of making the crushing and pre-processing departments spend three times the effort to crush them into small pieces that can be fed into the screening equipment.

"Perhaps, but at the time we needed to complete a shade belt in the shortest amount of time, not to mine minerals meticulously, so this kind of thing was just right," the doctor said, explaining that the purpose was different.

"Okay, I really hope this old guy is up to standard. Otherwise, with this power output, even if we use the lowest test power of 10%, if there's a problem, half the ship will be blown up." Old Xia said that it would be a damn good sight to see this kind of high-power industrial equipment explode.

Chapter Sixty: The Bitter Cold of the Arctic

Chapter 60

To avoid further provoking the demons and causing the gates to be blocked again, the Arctic Beast stayed in the anchorage for another month, which means that autumn had arrived in the Arctic and winter would soon follow.

In the winter, the difficulty and danger of exploration in the polar regions increase further. Therefore, after aerial reconnaissance confirmed that the number of demons had spread and were no longer gathered in the vicinity, the Abaddon-class conducted a long-distance resupply voyage to the polar behemoth and further diverted the attention of a large number of demons.

At the same time, valuable items found in the initial search will be brought back for further research or processed according to the previously given recommendations, such as for exhibition or sale.

"Boom!" "Engine in good condition, running gear normal."

"Ready to go!" The helmsman slowly pushed the lever up, and the complex electromagnetic transmission system propelled the walking mechanism. The load-bearing wheels, several stories high, moved slowly, driving the carbon nanomaterial track plates, several meters thick, forward and leaving imprints on the ground large enough to bury a person.

Ice blocks shattered, soil crumbled, and soft mud was completely crushed into solid clods. When a land-based warship reaches this size, the influence of the ground soil becomes very low. It doesn't matter if it drives in some shallow swamps, because the depth of the swamp may not even be as high as the track plates.

Ordinary pebbles and debris cannot withstand the crushing force of this tonnage of load-bearing wheels. These giant, high-strength metal components are capable of grinding all sorts of random things into fine powder.

Further north lies the edge of the veil and the planned rocket engine factory. However, according to information from the Great Yan people, the Doctor has given up hope there. Breaking into the veil is inevitable; if not this time, then next time. Fortunately, a lot of things were recovered this time. Although the Doctor and many others are not very superstitious, in this line of work, a good omen certainly warrants continued efforts.

Moreover, the polar winter is a desperate situation for operators and explorers, but it is the same for demons, especially those metallized demons, as metal has an excellent thermal conductivity.

Polar summer temperatures are not low; for example, in extreme cases, they can reach around 17 degrees Celsius, which is roughly the same as the temperature in temperate autumn under normal conditions.

However, on average, the temperature is around 0 to -15 degrees Celsius. Demons can function normally in this environment and temperature. They have a fairly complex structure to maintain the temperature of their core area, and the cell nuclei formed by the Originium particles are sufficient to release energy to form a continuous source of body heat.

One effective way to detect evil spirits in the polar regions is through infrared thermal radiation. However, this method is only effective for evil spirits that appear to be disguised on the surface. It is not very effective against those that burrow underground or hide in their lair, because the core temperature of those crystals is not low, around 10 degrees Celsius. However, their conductivity is very poor, which causes the surface temperature to remain between 0 and -8 degrees Celsius.

However, in winter, the temperature can drop to below -60 degrees Celsius and as low as -140 degrees Celsius. Not to mention demons, even specially modified polar behemoths would be completely frozen in such low temperatures, and their internal components would malfunction due to thermal expansion and contraction.

The operators are exposed to the cold wind outside. Even in relatively sunny weather, if the heat pipes in their protective suits malfunction, they will freeze to death within minutes due to hypothermia. Keep in mind that this is not a dry cold wind, but a humid cold wind carrying a lot of snowflakes, which is excellent at taking away heat.

And that's not all the problems. Operators even need to carry special breathing equipment and air tanks when they are outside, because in this ultra-low temperature, you will see milky white snowflakes slowly falling. That is dry ice, or carbon dioxide in the air.

Even without natural disasters, there are 2 out of 3 days on average with howling winds of level 12 or higher and raging blizzards so bad that it's impossible to open one's eyes. This is why most researchers in Antarctica have to evacuate during the winter, leaving only a few to stay and stay for the entire winter.

Moreover, the polar regions here are far harsher than Antarctica on Earth. At least Antarctica is surrounded by ocean, and seawater is a good heat transfer medium. But this is a purely inland polar region with no coastal areas or massive glacial structures. It only has snow hundreds of meters thick and extremely low temperatures.

Why did you decide to build these cities in the polar regions?

"The polar regions were much warmer back then than they are now." The Doctor rolled his eyes. The Originium Belt absorbed excessive solar radiation, protecting the Terrans and allowing them to survive after the apocalypse. However, this also caused a drastic change in Terra's climate. The polar regions became much colder, the southern part of Kazdel became relatively humid, while the once relatively suitable northern region turned into a desert.

In the past, Da Yan was a densely populated and highly developed urban area with a spring-like climate all year round. Now, it is a place with unpredictable weather. Dong Guo and Da Yan used to be a peninsula connected together, but now it is an island. In short, Terra's geographical environment has indeed changed drastically.

“Just look at Ursus. Back then, Ursus was a wheat-growing region. Those tamagrasses used to be a species that could live in the polar regions.”

"...So, we have to rush in during the dead of winter?"

"On the bright side, the arrival of winter means that our only enemy is nature itself, and evil spirits will not be active in this kind of weather."

At extremely low temperatures, the demon's exterior is covered by a thick layer of ice. This ice layer forms an excellent insulation layer, maintaining the temperature of the demon's core area. As long as explorers do not actively provoke the demon, they are harmless sculptures in winter.

Of course, as beings with basic cellular instincts to seek advantage and avoid harm, demons do one thing in winter: they head south. They don't actually stay in the polar regions because they like the low temperatures.

Therefore, in winter, any movable evil spirits would move south, thus creating a whole host of winter horror fairy tales in Ursus. It's hard to say that all of this is the fault of the evil spirits; it's also possible that some of the Ursus people imagined themselves scaring themselves while shivering in the blizzards all winter long.

"But my people also have to be so cold they can't move at all!"

"Fortunately, the polar protective suit has already been modified and developed. Based on your powered armor, I must say that the armor you manufactured was designed with relevant functions from the beginning. All that is needed is to design a set of replacement external plug-ins."

"Nonsense, those are for space use, and some are multi-functional, where the environment is even harsher."

Although there is no rapid heat loss due to air convection and surface moisture evaporation, the low temperature in a vacuum is much greater than that on the ground. Even the heat lost through thermal radiation is enough to freeze you to death quickly after your battery is depleted—there is essentially no big difference between freezing to death in 1 minute and freezing to death in 5 minutes.

After several days of sailing, the polar winter had arrived. Just as they reached the vicinity of the rocket engine factory, an expected blizzard swept in, making it impossible for the polar behemoth to move forward or even retreat. It could only use the hills near the engine factory as a barrier to stop temporarily.

In just half a day, the snow piled up to almost level with the deck, forming a white hill on one side of the ship. Even inside the ship, protected by multiple layers of insulation, the crew had to change into cold-weather clothing and stay in heated rooms.

"This is terrible!" The gale blew against the thin rope, making it hum horribly. Even for an Ursus who had experienced the harsh winter, Winter felt that this thing had gone beyond the concept of "winter".

The ice axe in his hand got stuck in the metal bracket on the bulwark. The safety rope and safety buckle were checked several times. Even with the snow piled up under the land-going ship and the skirt armor and walking mechanism blocking the wind, the wind blowing in from the stern still made the entire gondola sway back and forth. It was only with great difficulty that he was able to control it.

The principle behind this wind is actually quite simple. On the starboard side, which is the most exposed to the wind, the accumulated snow forms a snow wall that blocks the gale. However, there is no such large snow wall at the bow and stern. Even if there were, it would be swept away by the gale. The stern is wider and closer to the harbor, so the wind speed is relatively slower. However, the gale that roars past in front of the bow is much faster.

A simple basic principle: the faster the surface velocity, the lower the air pressure, which is also one of the main sources of lift for aircraft. Obviously, the air pressure is lowest at the bow and highest at the tail, which creates a wind from back to front, which is parallel to Winter's basket, making her sway back and forth in the wind.

"Hiss~" Winter gripped the handle and the non-slip handle of the axe tightly, pulled the basket over, and then the four corner locks fastened to the structure on the support frame. The entire metal support frame was actually swaying in the wind, making a clanging sound, but it was much better than the basket.

Overhead, in the dead of winter, were crisscrossing cables and pipes. Even with thick layers of frost protection, they still froze in the extremely low temperatures, especially at the bottom steam vents, where melting snow and ice formed huge icicles that caused serious blockages.

Winter checked the situation, took out a flamethrower from her toolbox, and sprayed jets of fire at the pipes above her head. Yes, it was a very troublesome task of de-icing. Not only was it troublesome, but it was also dangerous. In addition to being blown down by the wind and falling to her death or freezing to death, there was also the possibility of unstable icicles sliding down and turning her into skewers of bear meat on the spot.

At this temperature, the sacred flame solution will solidify, and the tower's heating and damping components will hardly function properly; only the electric arc ionizer can be used.

The blue flames carefully licked the frost again and again, melting the ice and snow that had condensed on the pipes into condensation that dripped down. Then, after the area was treated, new insulation panels were taken out of the basket and placed on top.

"Okay, the pipes are cleared. Have you found any cracked areas?"

"No," Winter checked the pipe several times with the flaw detector. The pipe was not cracked, but had expanded a little. After all, the cooling water inside had frozen, and ice has a larger volume, which could easily crack the pipe. Moreover, using a flamethrower to thaw it could also cause cracks due to the violent thermal expansion and contraction.

Therefore, after the ice melts, it is necessary to conduct a flaw detection inspection and then cover it with newly added insulation boards to prevent it from freezing again. As for the area near the heat dissipation grids surrounded by ice pillars, there is the sound of chainsaws.

Although the grille's own hot air outlet cannot be frozen, the fact that it is surrounded by icicles means that its exhaust efficiency will decrease, and it may also fall and hit the ground or the running gear, causing greater damage.

After several hours of effort, exhausted, Winter finally climbed into the gondola. Taking advantage of a slight decrease in wind, she raised the gondola, grabbed the handle of the bottom compartment, and turned it hard... but it didn't budge.

"Suka!"

With one hand gripping the basket and the other holding a blowtorch, Winter sprayed the door crack with a torrent of water. Then, he switched to an axe and pounded on it for a while before finally managing to forcefully turn the doorknob and open the maintenance hatch. Fine ice shards spilled from the edges, clearly indicating that the creature had frozen to death.

"Whoosh~" The thermal battery still had 5 minutes left, but one could already feel the chill about to dominate the protective suit, turning it into an icy cage. Winter grabbed the handle, climbed into the maintenance passage, put away the basket, closed the door, and turned on the side heater. Just then, the five minutes were up.

"Oh my god!" The girl with a streak of red hair shivered as she took off her protective suit, put on a cold-weather suit, tidied up the protective suit, shook off the ice chips, put it in the washing cabinet to clean, and then checked for any damage. If this thing was broken, it would probably turn into an ice pop within 5 minutes of going out next time.

Finally, the battery was removed and placed on the charging dock, and today's work was completely finished. Putting on and taking off the heavy protective suit, cleaning, inspecting, and tidying up the basket and toolbox made me break out in a light sweat in the cold. However, the cold that spread through the passageway quickly turned the sweat into a bone-chilling cold. I felt a little better after wiping it off with a dry towel.

Passing through the maintenance passage at the bottom of the warehouse, you can see several engineers inspecting the condition of various pipes, some of which are frozen and blocked, requiring external personnel to de-ice, thaw, and install insulation equipment.

However, most of the short circuits and discharges were caused by excessive electrical ballast from the overloaded reactor. After leaving the maintenance area and entering the cabin, Winter finally breathed a sigh of relief, as the temperature here was much more normal.

The lounge and dining hall were packed with people. Deck crew members who weren't assigned to work had to kill time here. And it was the only place with central heating. As for the crew cabins, they should cover themselves with two extra blankets, otherwise the heating system would really explode.

To maintain morale during the blizzard, the restaurant has been providing meals far exceeding the usual standard, especially for personnel like those who need to go out on field missions during the winter. Even pilots have had extra good dishes and high-calorie foods added to ensure that their calorie intake and expenditure are normal.

Compared to the Frosty Winter, the weather team of Clear Flash was in a worse situation. The former could only go out of the cabin to work when there was a problem, and it was physical work, and they were on the bottom of the ship. The latter were on the deck at the rear of the ship, where the wind was stronger and colder, and they could be hit by icicles falling from the handles and railings at any time.

"I'm exhausted," the pink-haired girl said, dragging her feet as she walked in. She was practically half-lying on the slippery, cold deck, secured by nails and safety ropes, her hands gripping her staff tightly as she collected weather data.

It's not only physically demanding to fight against storms, but also requires focusing on checking atmospheric source rock field data and meteorological data. You have to bury your head, use your body as a windbreak, calculate the results with a calculator, and then continue to verify the observations.