Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

Of course, another theory is that they suck people in because they want to have sex with them, although the latter theory is closer to the dolphins' intentions.

After circling the lake several times and confirming with professional expert Grandia that the sea creature, which had inexplicably wandered to land so far from the ocean, and everything it left behind had been completely decomposed and harmless, the group returned to the farm.

The hunters wanted to return to the sea, while Xia Lin organized people to clean up the fields and crops damaged by the ice storm, as well as repair the newly built factory buildings that had been destroyed by the ice storm.

Chapter Fifty-Nine: A Red Stem Fell From the Sky

Chapter 59

The extreme cold storm froze the land so hard you could knock on it, and the seedlings of various crops were practically like long and short blades. Even with gloves on, you could easily get cut by the frozen leaf edges, making the process of clearing these crops extremely slow.

However, there is some good news: most of the pests and diseases in the soil were killed by the frost, and the weeds also perished. Even plants adapted to Terra's extreme climate could not withstand the devastation of this natural disaster.

The frozen soil was broken up again, and the work was done little by little using bull tractors, manpower, and barely usable animal power. Xia Lin's vehicle was used to deal with the areas that were frozen to the point of being as hard as steel, while the others dealt with the areas less affected by the ice storm.

Even with the Patriot's modified strength and arm power, the job was still a bit strenuous, and the infected were gritting their teeth and persevering, as they had to finish the task before the natural blizzard came.

The snowflakes of natural disasters and blizzards are mostly composed of sublimated carbon dioxide and other components, which will sublimate and disappear after the temperature rises. Naturally occurring blizzards, on the other hand, are different.

If the frozen soil clods are not broken up at this time, the accumulated snow will melt again at the beginning of next year, and the originally cultivated land will instantly turn into a muddy mess. Water will not be able to penetrate and will flow everywhere on the surface and accumulate in low-lying areas.

The earth's insulating structure makes it difficult for the temperature to drop under normal circumstances, thus protecting the plant's root system.

However, it also means that once the temperature drops to this low level due to a natural disaster, it will take much longer to rise back up than it would to rise again due to the accumulation of snow on the ground.

Turning cultivated land into uncultivated land, or even muddy land, is a tragic scene that no one in agriculture wants to see.

Therefore, it is necessary to break up the frozen soil at this time, turn it over, and use the sunny weather of these days to restore it to its original state before covering it with a new insulating mulch.

"The harvest is not good. We'll have to plant again next spring." Xia Lin never expected that the natural disasters here would be even more terrible and powerful than he had anticipated. It seems that specialized cloud-driving shells and cannons will have to be prioritized on the work list.

Besides the troubles caused by the natural disaster, Xia Lin also discovered that a large amount of Originium particles had been deposited in the areas hit by the ice storm. These particles ranged from low-purity ore, which the locals called Originium blocks, to higher-purity crystalline Originium ore. In order to reduce Originium contamination and prevent the spread of infection, Xia Lin drove around and marked these newly formed Originium ore deposits with marker poles.

After resolving the land issue, he planned to bring the infected to mine all the mines and refine them into high-purity Originium crystals. He also wanted to investigate Terra's staff and spells to see if they could be implemented mechanically.

After all, some of the Originium Arts here are quite interesting. For example, Xia Lin didn't quite understand how the Originium Arts of the medical mage that promotes the healing of external injuries worked, and it didn't seem to have any effect on him.

The hunters chose a fine, sunny day to leave. As payment for their help, Xia Lin gave them some food and necessary supplies for the journey. During this time, the hunters also exchanged some unimportant technical information and knowledge about mechanical design.

Both sides found each other's technical systems strange, but they were both somewhat enlightening. And strictly speaking, Xia Lin lost out in this exchange.

He was neither a senior engineer nor a scientist, and the fragmented information he shared was often just something to be curious about, with very little inspiration or usability.

However, Goredia, as the technology governor, benefited greatly. However, it was equally difficult for her to fully absorb and adapt the other party's technology system to her own use. She could only say that it had some inspiration and reference value.

After all, technology is a complex undertaking, even involving painstaking effort and profound knowledge transfer. Such brief exchanges over a few days can only offer some reference and inspiration – especially when neither party understands the core principles of the technology.

After walking some distance from the farm, Goredia stopped and looked at Skadi. "What's wrong with you these past few days? You always seem so distracted. You even get distracted during battle?"

“Captain, I…” Skadi didn’t know what to say, “That person gives me a strange feeling, I always want to get closer, but I don’t know what I want to do…”

"Are you in love?"

"Specter, shut up!" Gladys glared at Specter, then looked at Skadi with a slight frown. "What kind of attraction is it, compared to Sea Child's attraction? Does it involve the thought of tearing the other apart?"

Both hunters and monsters have a mutual desire to attack and hunt each other, and they are attracted to each other even when they are far apart.

“There’s no aggressive urge, but there are other impulses…” Skadi recalled carefully and reported, “A kind of… like wanting to go up and touch it, hug it, it’s very strange…”

“Hmm…” Grandia pondered for a few seconds and came to a conclusion similar to that of Ghost Shark, “It seems that you are indeed in love.”

"See, Captain, I told you so!" Ghost Shark said, feeling wronged that she shouldn't have been scolded; her intuition was always right.

"Love? What is it?" From the time Skadi could remember, she had been in a cycle of hunting, training, and resting. To put it nicely, she was innocent and naive; to put it bluntly, she was a clueless simpleton who knew nothing.

"That's a long story. Hunters are best advised not to have romantic relationships, and you know why..."

Of course, hunters do not prohibit the development of romantic relationships, marriage, or any other kind of relationship, but it is best not to do so, as it will be subject to multiple reviews and investigations before it is allowed to continue.

Graceia understood the reason; she was the chief designer of the Deepsea Hunters Force, so of course she understood, but she couldn't say that the hunters' bodies were filled with the blood of the Sea King.

Therefore, the union and romance of hunters are essentially part of human experimentation, only disguised in a more subtle way.

After all, compared to simply stating that this is a breeding experiment, packaging this selection process and the series of tests and safeguards as identity verification and necessary investigations of special forces members' partners is much milder, and the hunters will not notice the problems involved.

"You'd better learn to suppress your emotions and instincts, or you'll get yourself killed in the next battle."

"Understood, Captain." Skadi nodded. Right now, she was still an ordinary soldier in the disciplined Deep Sea Hunter Squad. Her life had always been simple and straightforward: obeying orders, hunting monsters, protecting her home and family, and living a regular and simple life.

Most deep-sea hunters are similar to her; a psychopath like Ghost Shark is a very rare exception.

Of course, the techniques she uses are slightly different from those used by Skadi, possibly due to some kind of conflict, although Goredia insists that this is simply her nature.

Her usual well-behaved demeanor was entirely an act; her acting was so good that the contrast was too great, so her companions all thought that her unstable personality was due to the influence of the modification technology.

You should know that Specter can perfectly play the role of a melancholy nun, and then in the next second pull out a chainsaw from under her skirt to finely chop up the enemy.

"Alright, I've thought about it carefully. I'll allow you to temporarily leave the team and stay here," Goredia said suddenly, as if she had just thought of something. Skadi was clearly stunned for a moment. "Captain, this is..."

"Command," Goredia said, her expression turning serious. "We've lost contact with the mainland. The land people here are completely unreliable, and I'm also confused about the source of that farmer's technology. I need someone to be in charge of intelligence gathering and communication. Once I return to Argo, I'll try to persuade others and arrange for official diplomatic personnel."

Argo had no diplomats on land. They only occasionally interacted with the Iberians and obtained intelligence through some "exiled" Argo people. Just as humans wouldn't plant spies or ambassadors among monkeys, Argo wouldn't put them among the Terrans.

However, Xia Lin's situation is different. Whether it's the technological system, the scientific theories behind it, or even their understanding of sociology, they are all different from the land people. For Argo, they are a force that is worth establishing long-term and stable relations with.

In particular, although the other party did not understand the Sea Sith itself, they showed considerable knowledge about the Sea Sith as a life form and race. This is why Goredia believed that Argo needed to have a permanent overseas liaison officer.

As for other land powers and countries, they are basically not taken seriously by her. From the general public to their leaders, they not only do not understand Hai Si, but they cannot even face the threat of Hai Si. They regard these things or similar things as "demons" or "gods".

The Argonauts' attitude towards this was much like that classic line: "Sir, how can you conduct politics while associating with insects?"

Of the two people currently under her command, Ghost Shark is definitely not suitable. Although her cheerful personality can mask a significant portion of her intelligence-gathering intentions and prevent her from provoking hostility.

However, she is too prone to letting slip things, and her eccentric personality makes her unsuitable for this kind of tedious and boring work.

Skadi was tight-lipped and followed orders, but she lacked resourcefulness.

However, considering that there is currently no conflict of interest between the two parties, this can be regarded as a special training and exercise for her.

"Understood, I got it, I'll go back now."

“Hey, wait a minute…” Goredia looked her up and down for a while, then fell into deep thought. “There’s no rush now. Let’s go to the nearby town first.”

"Huh?" Skadi looked at Gretia with confusion in her bright red eyes.

A few days later, on the farm's hillside, in the cloudberry growing area, the cloudberries planted on the leeward side were the only ones to survive because the hillside blocked some of the ice storm's airflow. This plant, which grows in the Arctic region, has an extremely strong ability to withstand cold; as long as it is not directly hit by an ultra-low temperature ice storm, some of them can survive.

Wearing thick work gloves and boots, Yelena followed Xia Lin, trudging through the snow and debris, checking the condition of the cloudberries.

Even with the leeward slopes blocking the extreme cold air currents of the ice storm, a considerable number of cloudberry seedlings still died.

However, most of them survive, but they need manual loosening of the soil and care. Among all the berries that Xia Lin has, cloudberries are the most cold-resistant and resistant to harsh climates, but conversely, they are also the most delicate crop.

Like strawberries, cloudberry is a creeping crop that thrives on rocks, tree roots, and slopes. Sometimes, cloudberry bushes can even be seen on the razor-sharp cliffs of the fjords of Northern Europe. This means that while its care and management don't require too much attention, it also means that it cannot be grown using mechanized automation.

Harvesting is the only type of harvesting that Xia Lin has that cannot be done automatically and must be done manually, which is also extremely disgusting. It is a good helper to kill the infected people's leisure time and prevent them from fighting.

"Be careful not to damage the root system, and don't dig up all the snow; the snow layer is beneficial for the seedling's growth..."

Xia Lin, carrying a small gardening shovel, patiently taught the white rabbit how to care for the cloudberry seedlings and check their growth.

"Hmm, this seems so complicated." The white rabbit had never seen such a troublesome crop before. Even the strawberries in the greenhouse, which were just as delicate, were not as complicated and troublesome as this.

"When it's harvest time, you'll find that this cloudberry is the most delicious berry you've ever seen, and also the most infuriating berry you've ever seen. It's called the aristocrat of berries, the gold of the Arctic. Do you know why?"

"Because it's expensive?"

"Well, the price is one aspect." Why does Xia Lin grow this stuff? Of course, if he doesn't grow it himself, how can he afford to eat it?

Since we've fallen to this point, and we happen to have a batch of expensive cloudberry seeds purchased with colonial public funds, of course we should plant them as soon as we can meet our basic survival needs!

Anyway, it's not like he's going to collect and plant all over the mountains. As long as he teaches the white rabbit and then lets the rabbit teach the other infected people, he just needs to wait for the harvest in August or September to start eating.

Do you know how to harvest them when they are ripe?

"Hmm, like harvesting tomatoes? Taking a basket up the mountain and picking them one by one?"

“Oh, then that would be a disservice to the title of nobleman…” Xia Lin laughed. “The ripening period of cloudberries is uncertain, and a difference of a few days or even a few hours can cause a drastic change in flavor. Therefore, when harvesting, we need to enter the harvesting area 3-4 days in advance, bring tents and tools, and wait to pick and preserve them when they are at their best ripeness.”

"If it's too early, it'll be sour and hard; if it's half a day late, the skin will be completely ripe and rotten at the slightest touch. And the worst part is that the ripening time of each cloudberry plant is slightly different, so the entire harvest season has to be done by hand, which makes the cost of manual cultivation almost the same as the cost of collecting from the forest."

Considering the labor and time costs of the Covenant, 80 Star Coins for 50 grams is considered cheap.

Especially since this thing is lightweight and bulky, it can easily crush creeping crops if you're not careful.

"Therefore, to ensure the best flavor when picking cloudberries, you need to arrive early, just like you would treat a nobleman. The picking process also needs to be followed strictly, unless you plan to eat them on the spot."

That's how Scandinavians do it. When the cloudberries are ripe, they drive there early to pick and eat them on the spot, avoiding all the hassle. They taste each tree one by one, picking the best one to finish, whether to make jam, berry wine, or eat it as fruit.

"Is it delicious?" Yelena looked at the green seedlings on the ground with sparkling eyes. She had seen pictures and videos of cloudberries being grown, and they did look very tasty.

"I've never tried it, but if it's that expensive, it must be delicious. I've heard it has a creamy texture and a sweet and sour taste like yogurt, and it gets incredibly sweet when fully ripe..."

"Cream—" Yelena exclaimed longingly, "It would be wonderful to make a cake with it."

"That's right, cloudberry jam cream cake, that's decided. We'll make this and eat it when the goods arrive."

Next August, the cows will enter their milk production period, and you can make cream, yogurt, or butter from them.

Just as the two, one big and one small, were squatting on the hillside, as if a father and daughter were doing gardening crafts, an infected person shouted from below the slope that one of the people who had left had returned.

"Hmm?" Xia Lin looked up, and the white rabbit beside her also craned its neck to see who was running around with this envoy.

The red dress resembled a leaping flame on the winter snowfield, or a vibrant rose blooming in the snow. The thin ribbon wrapped around her slender calves, the tie digging into her flesh only an inch, which accentuated the plumpness of her calves and the elasticity of her thighs.

Her silver hair was tied into two long braids, and she wore a hair clip. The hunter looked somewhat embarrassed and shy, her face full of helplessness, and she could only grip the heavy sword tightly in her hand.

"This... Skadi, what are you doing?" Xia Lin stared in disbelief.

"Woo—" The white rabbit squinted its eyes, its expression becoming somewhat stiff.

Chapter Sixty: A Red Stem Fell From the Sky

Chapter 60

Xia Lin was a little troubled by Skadi's request to be stationed there permanently under the pretext of being a liaison officer. Theoretically speaking, this was a formal negotiation between the local forces, and they had cooperated before. Sending someone to live in a cowshed was obviously not the right thing to do.

However, if they lived inside the workshop, the living space was quite limited, and there were many complex and sophisticated devices. The Skadis looked small, but they were incredibly strong. Xia Lin was afraid that they would break something and she would have to fix it herself.

Moreover, the residential area is now almost full with only two people living there, because White Rabbit is closer to his adopted daughter.

Moreover, she is still young, so living in the same room is manageable, but Skadi is obviously a fully developed adult woman, and living together would obviously be inconvenient.

Even for Yelena, Xia Lin plans to wait until she's a little older and then find a way to partition off a small room in the living area as her private room. Girls should have some private space as they grow up, and it's not convenient for them to live with men.