Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

"Let me be frank, carbon nanotube capsule material is very cheap. We usually use it as tape or for repairing greenhouses. It costs five cents for a big roll," Lao Xia complained. "It's just a membrane made of carbon nanotubes, and then there's a lightweight foam filler inside. They might have added something else, such as a diamond framework with the same carbon structure, but it's essentially the same thing. It looks big, but it's not much heavier than plastic foam."

“Layer upon layer of capsule and layer of foam filler are stacked to form a brick-like cube, and then carbon nanotubes are used to grow them together. So, it looks like cement has been smoothed out, but in reality, no cement is used at all. It is a single, unified whole. To destroy this kind of thing, it is recommended not to use kinetic or explosive weapons. Its mesh framework can disperse most of the impact force. Use thermal weapons, because this thing is essentially foam and has a very low ignition point.”

"Can you give me some face?" the professor said speechlessly. Everyone else in the car looked like they suddenly understood, and their opinion of these buildings changed from ancient people's advanced technology to "a vanity project made of foam."

"However, Boss Xia is right. When we need to open the door, chisel through the wall, and break through the barrier, it's best to use thermal cutting instead of bombs, otherwise the scene will be very ugly."

The doctor also admitted that the building materials of these things are indeed foam. Although there is a metal or other material coating or decorative layer on the surface, they are essentially still made of this lightweight, high-strength material.

For any civilization that has progressed to the point of building space elevators, this material is an essential step; otherwise, the elevator would never have been built.

"By the way, I wanted to ask, what made those marks?" Ash pointed to a deep ravine in the dead city, as if it had been cleaved by some kind of sharp blade.

"It was caused by the broken space elevator; one half was thrown into space, and the other half crashed to the ground."

The doctor began, "Because we can't build elevators at the equator, and if we build them at the poles, we can't utilize rotational inertia, the upper part of the elevator needs to continuously provide power to maintain its height, otherwise it will be pulled down by gravity."

"So, if it breaks, it falls down, that's roughly the idea." Space elevators that require a continuous power supply are something no one would want to use if it weren't for the advanced technology of directly launching spacecraft with lasers.

"To prevent it from falling, the ground station cut the elevator's locking mechanism at the last moment, and then one section flew off, while the rest crashed to the ground and split into this shape."

The convoy continued along the overpass at a very slow pace. No one knew how much longer these bridges would hold, so they had to proceed cautiously, taking it one step at a time. The lower parts of the buildings on both sides were buried in snow, while the upper parts were covered in frost. It was clear that this place had once been a bustling commercial street, but now, only frozen ancient tombs remained.

Occasionally, one can see hemispherical, dome-shaped buildings on the streets. According to the doctor, these are old greenhouses used for growing crops and for public recreation, and they have little practical value.

In the city, you can see crashed aircraft, smashed houses, and broken roads everywhere. Of course, the vehicles of the early inhabitants are also piled up haphazardly on the streets.

"So many skeletons!" Odin's tank rolled over the brittle wreckage of vehicles. The roadside was lined with mummified skeletons, densely packed, a true road to death. In this environment, even the most optimistic and talkative person gradually lost interest in talking.

"Be careful, there are demons ahead, don't disturb them." Even in the low winter temperatures, the demons maintained a gargoyle-like protective state, looking like some kind of uniquely shaped postmodern sculpture artwork. However, on the scanner, their core high temperature still accurately betrayed them.

“The antenna array is right next to the elevator. We’ll have to split up now.” After driving through the outskirts of the city, the convoy stopped at an intersection.

"I need to go to the Ark Project headquarters, and you need to go to the antenna group's location. We have to split up." The reason for not going to one place first and the other later is that time is really running out. The blizzard will be coming soon, and if we can't deal with it in time, then everyone will be trapped in the dead city for who knows how long, and we might have to rush in next year to collect our corpses.

"Also, be careful of the demons inside the buildings. While the demons outside are frozen solid by the low temperatures, it's hard to say what might happen to those inside." The demons outside are dormant in the low temperatures, but in buildings, especially underground structures, where the temperature is relatively warm, there are probably quite a few demons that can still move around.

Although their activity and division ability will be greatly affected in this environment.

"Understood." The convoy split at the fork in the road, with two Odin tanks on each side. These behemoths equipped with obstacle removers were practically the vanguard clearing the way in this dead city.

The roadblocks, vehicle wreckage, or other collapsed obstacles of the early inhabitants can all be broken with a single collision. If they can't be broken, a single shot from a twin Originium railgun can force them open. However, to avoid alarming the demons like the Great Yan and having to escape from a dead city, people usually choose to take a detour when given the option.

"It's so quiet..." Alexander seemed to have triggered some kind of PTSD, appearing very tense. Apart from the crunching sound of the armored vehicles rolling over the frost and the roar of the engines, no other sound could be heard.

The city outside the car seemed frozen in ice and snow and time. The streetlights, adorned with icicles, silently watched the convoy of cars passing by until they disappeared around the corner.

Soon, the antenna of the communications center was exposed. It was a giant facility built on high ground. The most conspicuous thing was the ruins of the white spherical building. Most of the protective panels on the exterior had fallen off, revealing the bare skeleton. A thick layer of snow had accumulated on the metal frame. Next to the spherical building, two tall towers, one large and one small, seemed to be quite intact.

As they got closer, they discovered that the base was a two- or three-story building, designed somewhat like a weather center. "Boss, we can't go any further, we have to get out and walk!" Although the wreckage of the vehicles in the parking lot wasn't a problem, Odin really couldn't drive up there.

“Deep Space Communications Laboratory… looks like this is the place.” Old Xia nodded, looking at the sign at the entrance of the parking lot that resembled a megalithic structure. “Let’s go, we can only walk now. Leave a few people to watch the vehicles and send a signal if there are any problems. Guard our escape route. The rest of you, follow me.”

“Excuse me, sir, it’s best to leave scouting to the professionals.” Blitzkrieg stopped him. “Alexander?”

"Hmm..." The silent Russian man didn't say anything, just checked his weapon, and then stood behind Old Xia. Climbing the slippery, snow-covered steps, the rusted railings, so fragile they seemed about to crumble at the slightest touch, emitted a dangerous, faint scraping sound. The team had to stay as close to the mountainside as possible as possible.

At regular intervals, the leading sprinters drive a piton into the rock face and secure the climbing ropes so that the members carrying important parts behind them can hold on tightly to prevent slipping or rolling down.

The location of the entire communication station is not very high, about the size of an artificial mountain. In fact, it is quite obvious that the rocks at the base are artificial rocks, and there may be some underground facilities inside.

Soon, the group successfully climbed to the small rest plaza at the top. In the past, this place had bright lights, meticulously manicured flowerbeds, and benches for resting, but now, all of that has been destroyed by time and snow, with only the sturdy stone fountain statue still standing.

The laboratory door was locked. Flash had assumed it would be as rotten as the previous metal parts, easily kicked open, but when he pulled hard, the chains made a clicking sound, clearly very sturdy.

"Get out of the way!" Blitz waved for the others to step back, then pulled out his gun and aimed it at the chain locking the door at an almost vertical angle. "Bang!" A professional breaching round fired, sending sparks flying, and the chain snapped. But the door still wouldn't open. He had to fire a few more shots at the hinges on both sides of the door to remove the entire metal door before he was done.

"It's rusted shut and stuck together. To open it normally, it would probably have to be cut open," Shuanghua said after inspecting the door. "I doubt the inside is in much better condition either."

The still intact doors and windows made the interior of the building less damp and free of traces of ice and snow. Although the walls and all the objects were covered with a thin layer of frost and a thick layer of dust, they were still in much better condition than the outside.

Footsteps echoed in the empty reception area, heading down the corridor into the depths of the building.

"This is the office and reception area." Old Xia checked the still-patterned and rusted metal signs against the ancient script dictionary the doctor had given him. "To the left is the exhibition hall for open days, to the right is the lecture hall, the middle path is the offices, the first floor is the general area, and the second floor is the internal management staff's office area. We have to go through here and directly into the last building. There's also a small garden and courtyard behind it to separate the research area from the daily office area."

Should I search here?

“No need. Their technical documents aren’t here, just like you can’t find military production documents in a military museum.” Old Xia shook his head. “Let’s go, there doesn’t seem to be any trace of evil spirits here.”

Most of the office doors on both sides were open. For safety reasons, the team opened each door to check for any lurking enemies, but all they found were messy, decaying documents, collapsed bookshelves, rickety fans, and office furniture that looked like it would fall apart at the slightest touch.

The old computer lay askew on the ground, its original appearance completely unrecognizable. The most intact thing in the entire area was the plastic workstation nameplate, while the piece of paper stuck inside had long since rotted into an unidentified substance.

"It's locked again, move aside!" The exit door was still locked, and Flash had to use the universal lock pick again to solve the problem.

"Wait, there's something behind us!" Ash grabbed Flash, who was about to kick open the door with its hinges knocked off, and carefully held the door up, then laid it back down.

In the garden, a sunflower-like statue sat quietly in a corner, its anemone-like head facing the sun, like a thinker. "Demon, hibernate." Ash took a deep breath. "Frostbloom, bomb!"

"Here you go!" Shuanghua pulled out azide explosives from her backpack and handed them to Huijin. "What are you planning to do?"

"Prepare an insurance policy." Ash cautiously approached the dormant demon. This thing had been lingering here for an unknown amount of time, its body covered by a thick layer of ice. Ash used a knife to dig open the ice shell, revealing the writhing flesh beneath. Ash stuffed the bomb inside, and almost instantly, the flesh swallowed the bomb, then covered it again with a layer of insulated armor. The demon trembled slightly.

"Go around it, don't disturb it, go the other way." The team cautiously circled around the giant demon. Fortunately, the laboratory door was not locked. Blitzkrieg used a hot-melt knife to cut its latch, then pushed it inward, and the door opened.

Inside the guardhouse at the entrance, a frozen mummy stared at the person entering with empty eyes. Shuanghua caught the man, laid him down, and then pulled out the weapon of the ancients from her bosom.

"Does it work?"

"Let me see..." Old Xia took it and checked it. He then contacted the doctor, who was still wandering around on the road, and the two communicated for a while. "It's fine. This thing was originally designed for immigrants, or more precisely, for Ark immigrants to deal with the natives. The usage and storage environment were considered from the beginning. Although it may be a little unstable, it can still be used."

How do you use this?

"Like a rifle, but note that its ion battery is dead. You'll need to find a working battery to replace it and then figure out how to fully charge it."

"After all this time, are there any still usable?"

"Yes, at low temperatures." Electronic products and batteries actually perform better and are more durable at low temperatures.

"Here, there are spares." Shuanghua opened the weapon cabinet in the guard room. The fact that the cabinet was less than the weapons and ammunition inside was a dark joke.

"Two shotguns, four pistols, all the same size. The batteries are definitely dead, although they're in pretty good condition," Old Xia inspected.

"The principle is somewhat similar to the ion weapons we have there. It seems to use compressed air as ammunition, ionize the air into ions, and then launch them. The range is very short and the power is very low, but the braking effect on unprotected people is very good. It should be a standard bomb disposal weapon or a non-lethal weapon for police use."

When high-temperature ionized gas is sprayed onto a person, it will instantly cause severe burns and a small explosion to the flesh in that area. Although the wounds look bloody and gruesome, they are not fatal because they will not churn and crush the internal organs like live bullets.

In the case of extensive burns, as long as there is no complications such as sepsis or toxemia, anti-inflammatory drugs and burn ointments can effectively treat the injury. Moreover, for the person who was hit, the pain and muscle tearing will cause continuous suffering, making it difficult to stand up and fight back or continue to move.

It has low lethality, strong braking ability, causes continuous pain and incapacitates the target, and these ion gases are estimated to be charged, with a certain electric shock paralysis effect. It is a standard blast weapon, and for the guards at the laboratory gate, this firepower can even be said to be slightly excessive.

"Take it with you; it's good to keep it as a keepsake." At the very least, you can put it in a museum for exhibition, right?

"However, I do know how the earliest guns and magical firearms came about. They were probably based on this kind of thing, using air or other easily vaporizable substances as ammunition, and then using Originium Arts to vaporize them into a scorching jet that was fired out, making the power seem very low."

To enhance its power, etching bullets were later developed, but the underlying principle remained unchanged. It seems that Lateran only obtained a sample of this police weapon.

Chapter Sixty-Three: Self-Salvation

Chapter 63

The laboratory was in complete disarray, with traces of the escape everywhere: overturned cabinets, bloody handprints on the walls, and mummified corpses at low temperatures—all testifying to the chaos and fear that ensued when the disaster struck.

Moreover, in the rooms at both ends of the corridor, scattered demons can be seen hanging in various corners like cocoons, dormant.

"Be careful, avoid those things, our target is the communications tower behind us." We don't even need to go inside that weather balloon-like facility, because Lao Xia doesn't need their decoders or other auxiliary equipment, he just needs a transmitter.

"Don't step on the corpses. These corpses are infected with demonic cells. They are the demons' eyes and ears." The group carefully avoided the demons, stepped over the corpses in the corridor, passed through the experimental area, and headed towards the tower at the back.

Meanwhile, the doctor arrived at the headquarters of Project Ark. It seemed that nothing had changed, but this very lack of change made it seem somewhat helpless.

"We've checked, all the doors and windows are sealed shut, Doctor, what do we do now?" All the gates at the entrances and exits have been lowered, sealing off the entire building and making it difficult for anyone to enter from the outside. Moreover, the building itself is not damaged.

The headquarters is a standard tuning fork-shaped building, with the bottom five floors being a single unit, while the upper floors are divided into two skyscrapers.

"W, figure out a way to open it."

“Fine, as long as you’re not afraid of alerting the demons.” W rolled his eyes and walked toward the gate, while the Doctor looked up at the black building that had hardly changed.

Except for the bottom few floors, the entire building has almost no windows. The outer layer of the twin tower structure is covered with black armor, leaving only a white tower mark. It is different from the marks of Rhodes Island and the Tower of Babel. The latter is a "castle" in chess, while here it is a triangular spire.

“This thing is not easy to blow open.” W inspected the gate. “So, old man, you really don’t have any way to open this thing?”

"No, even if it were, the power is out here, so it can't be turned on."

"Alright, I'll try my best. Everyone back off and find cover!" W quickly stepped back, took two steps to roll over the wreckage of the vehicle that was being used as cover, and pressed the detonation button.

"Boom!" Smoke billowed and the loud noise startled many demons. Those ice sculptures tried to shake off the snow and frost covering their bodies, and the ice shells made a cracking sound.

"Take cover, take cover!" All operators quickly moved into vehicles or concealed corners, maintaining an invisibility state with anti-interference capabilities, remaining completely still.

The demon broke free from the ice shell's restraints, its several eye stalks surveying the surroundings before taking a short step, only to be assaulted by the icy wind once more.

The extremely low temperatures required the demon to expend a significant amount of extra heat with every step. Therefore, after finding no enemies, the demon ceased its activities again, allowing the ice and snow to seal it away in order to conserve energy and maintain the temperature of its core area.

The gate after the explosion was almost identical to the one before, except for a slight dent. "It's completely unblowable unless you use a bigger bomb or demolish the entire building."

What about thermoforming?

“We’ve tried it. This isn’t a wall, it’s an armored door. The thermoforming cutting speed is also very slow. We don’t have much time to waste here.”

"Then cut the wall open."

"Are you sure? Okay, we don't have the building plans for this place, so we can only hope that we're not cutting into a load-bearing wall." The operators picked up the thermoelectric cutter and walked to the wall next to the door, keeping the cutter as close to the wall as possible.

The heat flow rapidly eroded through the outer fireproof layer, followed by the carbon nanotube capsule layer. These two layers took half the time to penetrate. As for the filling material layer, it was penetrated in just a few minutes, followed by another capsule layer.

It took an extra half hour to chisel a small hole in the wall. Then, the hot melt cutter cut down the hole much faster. After another half hour, finally, a passageway just big enough for one person to pass through appeared in the wall.

"My God, why did you build this wall so thick?"

"Uh, Doctor, what's inside..." The scene inside the hall was chilling. Countless corpses were piled up at the entrance like small mountains, and the inside of the gate was covered with fingernail marks and bloodstains. One could imagine the despair and fear of the people inside when the gate was closed and sealed.

Handprints and scratches are scattered all over the walls, windows, and doors. The mummified corpses are piled together and have almost become one. The waxy corpse oil vividly preserves the faces of terror, despair, and pain, presenting them to visitors a thousand years later.

"Ignore them, let's keep going." The doctor's target was the database and his old office. The good news was that the place was so well sealed off that there was no need to worry about the evil spirits. The bad news was that the security system had been activated. Although the lack of power caused all the security machinery to stop, many doors and passages were blocked, so they would have to cut and dismantle along the way.

"This is the headquarters of Project Ark, where the overall design blueprints, module design blueprints, and all the blueprint data of the Ark are stored. To avoid data loss, these design blueprints are stored in the most common way: on laser disks."

In other words, a laser is used to etch a hole of about 0.1 micrometers into the medium, which is represented as 1, while the area without holes is represented as 0. Therefore, as long as you do not physically destroy the data on the optical disc, it can be stored indefinitely.

Of course, high-capacity optical discs of new technologies are an exception. The magnetic powder in those discs could indeed be destroyed by a strong magnetic field in the vicinity, but the data on these small-capacity "carved-on-stone" type discs is never lost.

Of course, how to decode and read them is a headache for future generations. This involves a peculiar phenomenon known as the grandfather paradox. However, in general, this method of preservation can indeed store a large amount of files and data, which is much better than actually carving them on stone.

This proves once again that carving words on stone is the ultimate solution for the information storage industry. After thousands of years, only these "stones" have successfully preserved information and data, while any fancy storage technology has become a pile of meaningless junk.