Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

"What score would you give it? By your standards? Out of 10?"

"Hmm, 7 out of 10, maybe 8."

"Such a high score?" The Doctor was somewhat surprised, as the Terrans' performance was really not that good.

“No matter what means you use, no matter what hitch you get, surviving this kind of disaster is worth 5 points.” Old Xia sighed. “In the universe, survival is never a given. If a civilization can survive this kind of disaster twice, you are worth at least 7 points, no matter what the reason or cause, because the universe does not listen to excuses.”

"If you think that this success was due to the Star Alliance's technical assistance and a series of coincidences, and therefore not very valuable, then you don't need to think so. In the universe, there are countless civilizations that possess the legacy and funding of advanced civilizations but cannot withstand even a disaster smaller than this and are directly wiped out. If you think you are not worth this score, then they probably belong to the category of being worthless."

As for the civilizations that score above nine out of ten in Lao Xia's standards, which can withstand the challenges on their own, they are probably considered to be at the level of "overlords". Out of more than five billion races in the Milky Way, the fact that a double number of them can emerge is already a sign of exceptional talent. Of course, the general fate of exceptionally talented people is to be crushed and wiped out by established overlords.

This is a truth that humanity only understood after the One Star Wars were over. Perhaps it started as just friction, but later, after realizing the potential and talent of this race, it truly became a war of transition between old and new dominant civilizations. Exterminating and crushing them with all one's might was the greatest respect.

"So, you don't need to belittle yourselves. As I've said before, the universe is ruthless. It doesn't listen to explanations or excuses. Whether you copied answers, had a great leader as your successor, or benefited from ancestral legacy, whatever the method, as long as you survive, you are successful. If you don't survive, no matter how many excuses or grand ambitions you have, they are all worthless."

"Which ethnic group wouldn't produce a few pillars and heroes in such a time? You're no more heroic than them, but they perished while you survived. So, you're worth at least a 7 out of 10, even if there's a lot of luck involved. Luck is also a form of strength."

Are you kidding me? Are there only one or two powerful civilizations in the universe that went extinct because of bad luck? The tombstones of these unlucky ones could circle Terra, maybe even more.

"Actually, the score you get this time isn't important; what's important is whether you can pass every time." Old Xia closed the hatch, and the doctor's voice rang out over the surrounding broadcast system. "That's true, but reviewing your mistakes notebook is also one of the keys to ensuring you pass next time."

“In this universe, a single mistake isn’t necessarily a mistake.” Old Xia tested the stability of the neural links. “Hmm, the initial test is fine. Try starting the engine.”

"Won't it fly away?"

"No, use the lowest power setting and get this thing moving normally first." Outside the ark, the massive ancient engine, after sleeping for thousands of years, was ignited once more. The debris cloud surrounding the ark instantly created a wide "channel." Small metal fragments and debris hit the outer shell, making a constant crackling sound, and the ark slowly began to move.

"No problem, the system is working perfectly."

"Well, it's good that there are no problems. There's no way to adjust it now if there are." Old Xia stood in front of the control panel, while his wife and children, who were going to travel with him, packed their luggage on the spaceship. After this trip, they should at least bring back some local specialties, right?

"The Ark is about to conduct a flight test. All on-duty personnel, immediately enter the nearest hibernation pod. Repeat, the Ark is about to conduct a flight test. All on-duty personnel, immediately enter the nearest hibernation pod!" Alarm bells rang throughout the Ark's interior passageways. Only after everyone had entered their hibernation pods did the Doctor slowly pull the power up.

The colossal beast, as large as a mountain range, slowly accelerated. The remains of the ancient people's facilities, fragments of Originium, and meteorites were about to be smashed to pieces on the surface armor layer. Sluggish and slow, each step seemed to be exerting all its strength. This old beast, which had slept for thousands of years, finally broke free from the beast pen that had imprisoned it for thousands of years.

From sluggish to agile, from slow to fast, from exerting all its strength to galloping freely, the Ark continuously accelerates towards the land of Terra. It will circle Terra once, both to recharge the gravity springboard and reduce the pressure on the main engine, whose lifespan is already uncertain, and to test its control system.

"Looks like he did a pretty good job." Old Xia released the control panel. "Although I really wanted to say goodbye, I guess we won't have the chance to see each other again, right?"

"Who can say for sure? I told others the same thing back then, and I still got dragged out of my coffin in the end," the doctor said jokingly. The ark began to set sail, as if he had shed all his masks and burdens, because from now on there was no turning back, only moving forward.

"That's true. We do have some experience in digging up other people's ancestral graves and digging up our own."

"Oh, you guys dig up other people's ancestral graves? While we still have some time, why don't you chat with me for a couple of dollars?"

"Haha, let's do it next time then. This is a long story." Silence fell over the control room, or rather, the entire Ark was silent.

"Although I was prepared, when the day actually came..." The panoramic dome revealed the landscape of Terra, with churning clouds and faint traces of volcanic eruptions, "I was still a little uneasy."

"You'll get used to it. Every civilization has to go through this phase. It's okay to miss the crib a little, but there's no need to keep sleeping in it forever. Toddlers always have to learn to walk. Whether it's with the help of others or through their own efforts, they will eventually have to take that step."

And you?

"Oh, we're a bit special. We just stepped out and got into a fight with the chubby kid next door. We don't have time to be sad," Old Xia laughed. "That's why I said you don't need to belittle yourselves. Otherwise, the chubby kid next door could point at us and say you only won by picking up bricks."

"A universe fraught with peril."

"Actually, it wasn't exactly fraught with danger. When the early inhabitants of Terra were practicing slash-and-burn agriculture, the area outside the village fences was indeed fraught with danger, but..."

“…Hmm.” The Doctor paused for a few seconds. “Each generation does its own thing. My generation’s work is completely finished with me. Next is the work of the Terrans’ generation. You’re right. We got a good score on this test, but how we do next time depends on the people after us.”

The Ark acceleration will take several months. During these months, the Doctor has made the most of the drone system left by Lao Xia to adjust the Ark. Before the initial burst of power arrives, the Ark will accelerate to the same speed as the target star system and will soon activate the warp drive.

"Then I'll take my leave." A small spaceship detached from the aviation bay. "Thank you for your help, have a safe journey."

"Warp Engine activated!" The Ark vanished instantly in a beam of light, leaving only gravitational ripples spreading in place. At the same time, the initial burst of light began in full force. In just a few seconds, the sun's brightness increased by hundreds of millions of times. The clouds over Terra were shattered at a visible speed. A golden wall of fire swept across the land from east to west with the rising sun. A few minutes later, the sun returned to calm.

The people hiding in the shelters breathed a sigh of relief. Judging from the situation, the disaster seemed to be over. Of course, the outside world was still not very suitable for human survival. If the rain was hot water before, now it was boiling water rain and scalding torrents of boiling water. Few microorganisms could survive.

"They really can run away!" Emperor Ursus looked at the intelligence in the hands of the assassin who had risked his life to make contact. The remaining observation post and communication equipment had reported the disappearance of the Ark, or rather the space city. Although it was uncertain whether it had gone around to the other side and disappeared or had escaped.

"It is expected that in 5 to 10 years, the external environment will cool down to a habitable level, at which time the shelter can be opened."

Indeed, this was the case, because after the eruption, the sun entered a brief period of sagehood, which meant that the Terrans could get by for at least another forty or fifty years.

However, the next flash could take away one-third of Terra's atmosphere, followed by several decades, or perhaps a century of sage time if you're lucky, and then a complete and ultimate explosion—wiping out the entire galaxy.

"Autonavigation off, heading towards a waypoint"

"Hey Xia, did you come to the wrong place?" Yelena leaned on Xia's shoulder, looking out the porthole at the dark, empty landscape. "Didn't you say there was another spaceship coming back with us?"

"Uh, I don't know, but the jump guidance system responded, so it should be nearby." Old Xia turned on the ship's radar and scanned the area, but found nothing.

"Buzz~" "Buzz~ This piece of junk is really unbearable. Ah, connected." A somewhat flippant voice came through the communicator, "Sorry, due to the traffic accident, we can't send anyone to take you away for the time being. But don't worry, I've already called a repair ship. You can return with them..."

"Buzz!"

"Oh, they're here." A metallic landmass appeared above Lao Xia's head in space, with brilliant lights illuminating the steel land. The hatch opened, and the traction beam pulled Lao Xia's small escape spaceship inside.

After a few minutes of inspection, the trestle bridges were connected.

"What did you guys do? The accident scene is in such a mess." The engineer, wearing an orange jumpsuit, started complaining as soon as he saw Lao Xia come out. "The passageway here is so narrow, even the engineering ship can't squeeze through."

"Um, although I don't know which accident scene you're talking about, I think you've probably misunderstood. I'm not with the ship you're repairing." Old Xia explained, and only then did the other person look up at Old Xia and the large group of people behind him, his expression one of surprise for a few seconds.

"Wow, bro, you guys are really something new! Are kemonomimi (animal-eared girls) all the rage now?"

"When will it be repaired and the aircraft able to return?"

"Forget about it. A transport ship will come in a couple of days to deliver repair materials. You can take their ship back." The engineer had a headache. "I don't know which genius crashed the research vessel on the surface. It's not badly damaged. It doesn't need to be returned to the factory or scrapped. But the engineering ships can't get in here. With our little spaceship, it'll probably take forever to repair."

"Alright, then we'll wait for you a little longer." Old Xia didn't mind at all, and he seemed much more relaxed. "We don't have any guest rooms here, so if you want to stay overnight, you'll have to make do on your own boat."

"It's not a big problem."

"And also, don't touch things randomly. I said, don't touch things randomly!"

"Huh?" Yelena withdrew her hand. "That's a laser-cutting drone. With a one-millisecond response time, your hand would be gone. Let me make this clear: if you get injured by touching things carelessly, not only will you not receive medical expenses, but you'll also have to pay compensation."

"Oh~"

"So how long will it take to arrange the return ship?"

"Let's wait for our injury report. My God, how did this happen?" The engineering spaceship was descending towards the ground, and the white blob was piled up on the edge of the ditch, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

[PS]

It will probably end around chapter 105?

Chapter 103 Facing Away from the Storm

Chapter 103

At the edge of the Terra system, "Buzz!" "Warp Engines Shut Down!" The Ark appeared amidst an asteroid belt, its tail heat dissipation panels fully activated, spewing out white metallic smoke, which was then captured and recovered by the magnetic field after cooling.

"Warp drive test complete." The Doctor's consciousness was now fully integrated into the Ark. Intense pain was radiating from every part of his body. He had to concentrate with all his might to control all the functions of the Ark, a feeling he was already used to.

Compared to the previous numbness and loss of sensation, the pain made him more aware of the fact that he was still alive. "Internal scan, PRST"

“Yes, Captain.” PRST moved from Rhodes Island to the Ark to assist the Doctor in life monitoring and will also work with Capricorn to manage the awakening process of Titan II in the future.

"All hibernation pods are normal, power components are normal, warp engine is overheating, heat dissipation system is overloaded, maintenance and addition of external heat dissipation system are required within 1 hour." PRST and shipborne engineering drones can make minor modifications to the Ark's external equipment.

"Shut down unnecessary components." The doctor reviewed all the components of the Ark, reducing the power of modules that would not affect the Ark's basic functions as much as possible, or putting them into hibernation mode. This would reduce the pressure on the Ark to deal with emergencies, but it would also reduce the load on the cooling system.

The starlight shone into the control room through the transparent floor. At this distance, Terra was less than a pixel in size, and the sun's light appeared cold and distant, offering no warmth whatsoever.

"Inspection complete, Ark may set sail again, Captain." "Warp engine activated." The Ark once again disappeared at the edge of the galaxy, heading towards its destination at faster-than-light speed. It would need to rest hundreds of times along the way until it finally arrived at its destination.

On Terra, scalding water cascaded from the rooftops of the Lungmen ruins, crashing onto the ground. Perhaps some equipment was still operating, not completely shut down, as the city's neon lights flickered faintly. "Whoosh~" A figure wearing a mask and completely shrouded in an old protective suit appeared inside a building, avoiding the pools of water that could scald a person to death, and carrying a crowbar, walked towards a door that had completely lost power.

Like other countries, the Great Yan chose to support Kazdel's space refuge plan and even launched its own. However, they had too little time and failed to build their own escape ark. This meant that, apart from those who had purchased tickets, the Great Yan was severely lacking in underground shelter systems.

Apart from the large shelters in the core area that were modified from the relics of the ancestors, most of the people of Da Yan could only huddle in those temporary shelters, which could not be sustained for long.

After the most intense phase of the solar storm passed, these people had to enter the ruins of the Great Yan city to find supplies to maintain their shelters, including food, medicine, batteries, and hibernation pods, which were only available in large shelters and in far too few for everyone.

"Bang!" The crowbar forcefully pried open the door, revealing shelves piled high with empty metal cans. "Empty, empty, empty!" Metal cans were roughly thrown to the ground. "Got it!" A figure picked up a metal can from the shelf, shook it vigorously, and then opened the lid. Inside was more than half a can of melted and then solidified sugar.

"As expected, only the Xia Group has a relatively abundant supply of supplies." Most of the buildings in Lungmen had been looted. The supermarkets had been repeatedly ransacked by refugees and all sorts of people before the disaster began. Whether they entered the shelters or boarded the ark, they all carried as much food and other necessary supplies as possible.

This resulted in the city being relatively well-preserved, but it was difficult to find many useful supplies, especially food. The small shelters where they lived had no space for planting. Even if they managed to grow something in a few places, it was only enough to supplement their meals and was far from sufficient to meet everyone's needs.

He hurriedly stuffed the can and the flour sack he found in the corner of the shelf into his backpack, and prepared to leave the supply warehouse. He made a note in his notebook that if this supply point was not discovered, it could at least sustain the people in the shelter for a few more months.

The aftershocks of the solar storm are gradually subsiding. Perhaps if we can hold on for a few more months, things will turn around? However, what he didn't know was that the passing of the aftershocks of the solar storm also meant that the sun's luminosity and heat were decreasing, and its internal nuclear reactions had reached the point of activating the next stage.

The thermal effect is no longer sufficient to counteract the collapsing gravity; the structure is shrinking, light and heat radiation are decreasing, while high-energy radiation such as gamma radiation is increasing, just waiting to reach the critical point. For Terra, this means that after the scorching hot rain, a global cold wave will soon arrive, turning even the southernmost Lungmen into an ice field.

Compared to the Great Yan, the Ursus Bunker, which is betting on both ends, is obviously more well-equipped. However, this is only true for the facilities under the Holy Jun Castle; other areas may not be as good as those under the Great Yan.

The emperor ate a simple lunch while reviewing the documents in his hand. The documents concerned a riot that had occurred at a border camp, but it had been suppressed and was considered a minor issue.

"Continue digging underground to create as many new residential areas as possible, as well as necessary planting areas." The Ursus people are used to hardship, and this environment is no exception.

Even though the Saint-Germain Castle above was already a hot lake, the Arctic snow melted completely, and with the global torrential rain, the area quickly turned into a warm lake. The excavated soil had to be disposed of through the long tunnel that was reserved. This was thanks to the Originium acceleration track that was exchanged with Kazdel before, otherwise it would have been too far-fetched to rely on manpower to throw the soil boxes out.

Meanwhile, inside the bunker of the Great Yan, the tall glass frame was finally completed thanks to the workers' efforts. The cylindrical launch silo was transformed into a multi-layered circular plantation. Turbid hot water flowed in from the top, and after being filtered and cooled, it became irrigation water.

"How is it going?" The emperor, cloaked and standing at a safe distance, said, "Your Majesty, the project is progressing smoothly, however..."

"But what?" The emperor lowered his eyes slightly, already knowing what was going to happen. After a few seconds of silence, he said coldly, "Kill them."

Here, the power of the aristocratic families has been weakened to the extreme. They cannot bring in those peasants, nor can they allow those crude soldiers to pollute their exquisite underground paradise. Having lost the ability to manipulate the people's hearts and lacking military force, the emperor now has nothing to fear.

Moreover, even if you were to concede that your empire had collapsed from its vast lands to a state of being reduced to a few dozen underground cities with a population of less than ten million, you would not need to make any compromises with the bureaucracy, because it would be perfectly feasible for them to rule this level of territory directly.

When the separation of powers is no longer needed, and when people no longer need to act as regents, then the end of the traditional feudal bureaucracy will come.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"I deeply regret not heeding my uncle's advice," the emperor said, looking up at the glass display case. "If my Great Yan had cooperated with Kazdel earlier, would we be here waiting to die in this cramped place?"

Yes, compared to places like Ursus where there is still hope, every person in the Great Yan knows that staying in the shelter is just waiting to die. The cage outside will collapse sooner or later. Even if the external environment recovers, they will have to repeat the arduous process of the Great Yan ancestors opening up the mountains and forests, and fight bloody battles with those giant beasts, monsters, and evil creatures to stand firm.

"I also regret that I did not give birth to a beautiful daughter, otherwise..." Although this was just a thought, the Great Yan people had done this kind of thing countless times, and everyone knew the effect. However, now the emperor really needed to find an excuse to convince himself and others to excuse this wrong decision.

"It's hard to tell whether it's a blessing or a curse, Your Majesty."

"That's true." The emperor pondered for a moment. Boarding the Ark would only mean being dependent on others, and it was hard to say how feasible the Ark plan was.

However, what he didn't know was that Lao Wei hadn't boarded the ark at all, but was actually below the refuge in Lungmen.

"Why did you let Huijie apply for an Ark spot as a police superintendent from Lungmen?"

"So that she can live." Old Wei has no children, only this niece. "It doesn't matter to us two, she has to live."