Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

The farm's supplies are running low, not ammunition, but more than half of the potatoes meant for relief. Every time we persuade the guerrillas who still have a basic moral compass and conscience, we have to leave them some food and supplies so they can get through the winter.

And those mobile towns that have been attacked and looted by thugs, they also need to be informed of the location of the farm's supply trading points, and provided with food and some basic supplies.

However, this behavior also has great advantages. Firstly, these mobile towns have become familiar with each other and know where to trade food and supplies, which avoids Xia Lin having to lead the caravan to the wasteland or even cross the blockade to find southern cities to trade.

Secondly, some of the guerrillas chose to set up camp after obtaining food, because going further north would not only mean harsh conditions, but also the possibility of encountering "demons" or other such creatures roaming the icy desert.

These guerrilla groups essentially became a natural barrier for the farm. Anyone who wanted to pass through this area had to fight their way through each checkpoint, giving the farm time for warnings and reinforcements.

Moreover, they had been active in the south for so long that they couldn't have taken large quantities of supplies like grain with them when they fled, but they still took a lot of other items with them, which were also good trade goods and research samples.

On the way back, Frostnova saw that on the edge of the farm, the mobile town where they had hanged the nobles had chosen to settle down, switching from mobile mode to deployment mode. The Originium Power Plant was billowing black smoke, and the roar of the machinery could be heard even across the wasteland.

Clearly, regardless of who did it, the fact that a nobleman from Ursus was hanged means the new mayor won't have a good time.

Everyone might be purged and investigated by the Ursus Police, and going back to the south would be a living hell.

Now there is only one option left: to set up camp close to the farm's edge. Fortunately, Xia Lin and his team cleared out all the surrounding snow forest for safety.

Although not deeply plowed, the flat land, which had been simply turned over by bulls and had its tree roots crushed, was still suitable for agricultural production.

If viewed from above, the entire farm area is divided into several squares by long strips of reserved woodland.

The edges are completely flat to prevent people from crossing the woodland to evade patrols.

The two mobile towns were docked here, and nearby was the supply point set up by the farm for its outposts. To appease the panicked civilians, the Shield Guard sent people to collect a large quantity of potato starch and maltose, and then to clear out the property and private warehouses of the hanged nobles.

Opening granaries and distributing grain was the most powerful tool for coercion; everyone who took the nobles' wealth had no choice but to follow them wholeheartedly.

Because if they ran back to the south, being hanged by the masses would be their only fate. Moreover, the reluctance to part with wealth was not only true for nobles, but even more so for ordinary people.

Of course, another reason was that the Yeti Squad's overwhelming victory over the Ursus military and police gave them hope.

Otherwise, even if it means being hanged, many people would still be unwilling to accept this change and would want to return to the "simple and plain days" of the past.

Even people living in modern times who have no worries about food and clothing sometimes have fools who want to go back to the feudal era and live a "simple and rustic landlord's life." How much more so for those who are already struggling enough.

[It's understandable that someone who travels back in one direction has to find joy amidst hardship, but those who travel in two directions and still think this way... they must have never seen the true aristocratic life of the feudal era or ever farmed the land...]

After replenishing their Originium fuel rods and cooling water, the patrol vehicle sped onto the farm road and headed towards the core area of ​​the farm, just as Patriot, accompanied by a large group of elderly, women, and children in a truck, unexpectedly encountered her.

"These people are..." "Rescued infected people. I plan to settle them in our camp," Patriot replied in a muffled voice. These were women, children, and elderly people who had lost their ability to work. To ordinary guerrillas and troops, they were pure burdens.

Moreover, it was impossible for them to form a settlement and live a normal life in the wild like the other rescued infected. They could only be placed in the Shield Guard's camp, and with the Shield Guards having to help them go to the fields to earn food, this burden was undeniably heavy.

"Actually, I also have quite a few infected people and civilians on my side. However, their situation is better." At least they can still survive, just with exceptionally difficult circumstances.

"What are you planning to do, Boss Xia?"

“Old Xia? He’s planning to select some reliable and honest people as hired workers. You’ve seen it too, the land by the roadside can’t just stay empty forever.” Yelena pointed to the land on both sides of the farm road that had been covered with plastic film.

"Old Xia is also planning to recruit a group of civilian workers in those mobile towns to help out..."

Compared to feudal aristocrats, capitalists were indeed far more advanced in this era, although in some ways they were also far more brutal.

However, without this brutality, it would be difficult to transform a group of idle and carefree agricultural people into a disciplined industrial workforce.

In the early days of industrial development, no country, regardless of its banner, could ultimately change the fact that these machines were designed to devour people—literally, literally.

Xia Lin just wanted to get through this stage faster. The reason why capitalism was considered a representative of progress and civilization for a period of time was that capitalists would spare no effort to improve machinery and equipment in pursuit of maximum profits. They would find that simply exploiting workers' wages and physical labor would soon come to an end, and they would consciously cultivate workers' job skills.

To put it bluntly, it means improving the treatment of skilled workers to a certain extent, and in competition with rivals, offering higher wages and benefits to retain these cash cows. The premise of this stage is the rapid development of technology and sufficient profits in manufacturing. If you are more efficient than other capitalists, you will earn more money.

This is why, on Earth, the red ideology suddenly subsided at its most intense point.

Because at this stage, the new industrial revolution forced capitalists to rush to pay costs to seize the market and profits, thus choosing to make concessions to workers and unions.

This concession is insignificant compared to the time wasted arguing with you. Those stubborn capitalists all perish in this process, and this phase will continue until they realize the profits brought by the pure capital game.

Moreover, with the gradual saturation of technological and industrial progress, it is difficult to provide more profits.

Without further profits, their only path to capital appreciation has returned to the beginning—exploiting workers' labor and wages.

However, in this process, capitalists have cultivated a sufficiently advanced group of skilled workers. This group is no longer the mindless tools of the past. As capitalists gradually exploit labor and treatment, they have to take on multiple roles to understand the details of the industry.

Furthermore, under the so-called "team spirit" pressure, they developed the ability to manage collective collaboration.

At this point, they can completely separate the capitalist—this purely superfluous individual—from production, and thus completely dominate and manage the factory themselves, even more efficiently. [For example, a toothpaste factory in Yunnan.]

Only then did capitalism come to an end, and it was replaced by socialism, which was based on a collective economy, and entered an era of distribution according to work, division of labor and cooperation, joint management and enjoyment of dividends.

Of course, no social transformation is ever smooth and gradual before this, and the impetus for the Covenant to enter this intermediate stage of socialism was—

One Star Wars nearly destroyed the original social structure, forcing people to rely on collective economy to maintain the basic operation of human society.

With the addition of AI and the core of mind over finance and distribution, this social system has a basic principle: a relatively fair and emotionless distributor, thus avoiding the biggest drawback of the early collective economy: the egalitarian system.

Chapter Seventy-Two: It's a Rabbit, Not a Donkey

Chapter 72

The mobile town called Schutzburg eventually stopped around the farm, while another one, for reasons unknown, chose to move south after a brief stay. "They're going to report us," Yelena said, taking off her gear and hanging it in the closet in her room. She was only wearing a thin indoor top and thermal tights, looking full of youthful energy.

"Yes, betrayal, of course. Let them go, then eliminate the more threatening ones. Trading a group of people for one person's life is a good deal."

"It doesn't matter, Ursus won't be committing all its troops right now." Ursus's communications were almost entirely unencrypted, seemingly to make the infected feel the pressure and humiliation of being betrayed, as they announced the new policy over the radio.

Ordinary people who report infected individuals and their settlements can receive official rewards, and several exemplary cases have been identified and promoted. Infected individuals who renounce the evil and embrace the good can be spared death and instead exiled beyond the border, and it is reiterated that this is the emperor's benevolence.

[The new extermination map shows that Iberia does indeed border Ursus. To the east of Ursus is Yan Kingdom, and south of the border between the two countries is Iberia. Directly south of Ursus is Casimir, and to the southwest is the Pope... Iberia is indeed a peninsula, facing Casimir across a cape...]

"Their goal is to alienate the infected from their families and friends, and even fellow infected people might betray others for a pardon certificate." Xia Lin shrugged, indicating that this practice was very common.

After all, Ursus is targeting guerrilla organizations on its own soil. They have the dual advantages of policy autonomy and a basic sense of belonging. If they are even slightly clear-headed, the guerrillas will suffer a great blow.

"Will they really grant amnesty to the infected?" Even being expelled from their homes is better than being squeezed dry and then killed. Ursus's scouts won't kill all the infected. They will intentionally squeeze every penny of the infected's income until all their property and resources are drained, including their own labor.

“Yes…” Xia Lin nodded. “They will definitely grant amnesty to the first batch, and even the second batch of surrenderers, but for the later ones… I’m afraid that at most one or two out of a hundred will be granted amnesty just to make it look like a show.”

"Can this... be revealed?"

“No, how can you tell them that they were honest and reliable before but will turn out to be a bunch of liars, and vice versa? People only believe what they see and are willing to believe. Even if you tell them that and put the evidence in front of them, they will only think that you are maliciously slandering them.” Xia Lin shook his head, indicating that this was impossible. This was also Black Snake’s grasp of human nature and human psychology.

"What should we do then?" White Rabbit asked with some worry. Outside the window, the infected workers were clearing snow from the fields, preparing for the upcoming spring planting. She suddenly felt that these infected people, whom she knew so well that she could call each one by name, had become somewhat unfamiliar, as if she had never truly understood them.

"There's nothing we can do. This approach only works on infected individuals who are living hand to mouth and whose only option is to betray others to save themselves. Similarly, if they can betray their fellow citizens, they can naturally betray Ursus, and the latter will face even less psychological pressure in doing so..."

"Old Xia, what are you planning to do..."

“They set up bounties, so we followed suit. Although we are not as large as Ursus, they have to deal with the interests and demands of everyone from top to bottom, while we don’t.”

The biggest difference between Xia Lin and the ruler of Ursus is that he does not pursue local power and wealth, but rather strives to restore a peaceful and stable life in the interstellar era. The products of his farming will eventually be transformed into something else, rather than being hoarded like a miser.

"What are you planning to offer a bounty for? Those police squads?"

“No, it’s about offering bounties for those traitors,” Xia Lin said with a smile. “I’m going to talk to Patriot about this. His Shield Force should be happy to help.”

A patriot is a pure warrior. He never believes in empty talk; he only believes in the path he has walked step by step, and only in what he can see and touch.

If Talulah is an idealist, then Patriot is closer to a doer.

Froststar White Rabbit falls somewhere in between; she doesn't trust things that are just empty talk, but she still holds a sliver of hope for the future.

Patriots called it "a fairy tale for young children" and lamented that "the endless suffering of this land cannot even accommodate a child's fairy tale."

Talulah's betrayal and change of heart led to the meaningless deaths of Frostnova and the others, shattering even their fairytale-like hopes.

This also reflects the patriots' trust in Xia Lin; he didn't claim to save or change anything.

But his actions, every day, every little thing he did, were genuinely changing the situation of the infected people on this land.

Even though the number of infected people covered is still small, and even though the crops in the fields are not enough to feed all the infected people in Ursus or even Terra, at least he has taken the first step.

"A bounty on those traitors? What price are you prepared to pay?" When Patriot was found by Xia Lin, he was carefully examining the soil in the field, turning over and over in a pile of moss and weeds. Only after listening to his account did he look up at Xia Lin.

"With lives on the snowfield..."

"What is it?" Patriot was slightly confused. He knew that Xia Lin never told riddles or said anything mysterious, which was in stark contrast to the new infected doctor.

Kal'tsit is a qualified research director, and a qualified research director must be an elite riddle master.

Otherwise, you can't get people to part with large sums of money for a roll of toilet paper or a coffee cup—don't talk to investors about technical stuff they don't understand or aren't interested in.

"This," Xia Lin placed on the table was a small box containing snow-white crystals, "sugar."

“Hmm…it is indeed life on the snowfield.” Patriot picked up the cube, which was only the size of his thumb. The crystal-clear, machine-made square sugar cube looked very exquisite. Even when he was in the army, such a luxury item was not something he could buy often.

Because he would occasionally buy something, Helen would nag him for ages until he retreated to his study to find some peace and quiet, just like every time they argued about his going to war.

The thought of his deceased wife brought a look of sorrow and regret to Patriot's face, but he quickly composed himself. The legendary warrior of Ursus could not afford to be weak, not even in the face of his son's curse or his wife's remains. He had too much on his shoulders, and he could not fall until he found a moment when he was ready to give his life.

"How is it? However, I'm not very familiar with the terrain and society of Ursus, and the other infected are even less so... They can do the work, but they're not good at infiltration here."

"So you think 'Shield' is particularly good at that?"

“If you’re not good at it, it’s impossible for you to get intelligence about the mine and accurately penetrate Ursus’s patrol network. Others will think you’re a bunch of reckless brutes who only silently advance on the front lines, but I don’t see it that way.”

"Hehehe, you're not a soldier, but surprisingly, you know soldiers very well."

“In a sense, I am.” Xia Lin raised an eyebrow. “I’ve also received full military training. You don’t actually think that my firearms are something civilians can just casually possess, do you?”

"I don't believe it. You have the spirit and perseverance of a warrior, but you lack the strength of a warrior..."

"Well, for the moment, perhaps..." Xia Lin said noncommittally, "A large part of my training is indeed not applicable right now."

"I'm curious, what would it look like if it were unleashed? Would it be some kind of explosion?"

"Pretty much, but there's no point in discussing this topic here. It's like telling you that if I had a 'Beast Nest' and could hang everyone in Ursus who defied me from a lamppost within 30 days, you wouldn't believe me, and you wouldn't understand the meaning of what I'm saying. Just like I still don't understand the demons you're talking about and those inner guards implanted with demon fragments..."

“Well, so you’re like a soldier, but you’re not.” Patriot let out another strange chuckle.

"Is this settled then?"

“It’s settled!” Patriot nodded. “Traitors and sellouts must die; it is a disgrace to a soldier to let them live.”

"Ugh—" Froststar stretched and yawned. After running around for a while and resting, she felt itchy all over. The girl walked down the slope. The chicks in the chicken coop were chirping and seemed very energetic. By the fence, three animal-eared girls of different sizes were squatting there, looking like they wanted to reach out and touch them but didn't dare.

Yelena narrowed her eyes slightly and strode over. Just as the largest Luber girl was about to pull the other two behind her so she could face the host's anger herself, Yelena took two steps past her, picked up the smallest rabbit-eared girl, and rubbed against her forcefully.

"Fluffy—" "Hmm?" Young Amiya stared with her big eyes, looking somewhat confused. "I want one too, I want one too!" The equally young Lupo wolf-eared girl tugged at Frostnova's clothes, seemingly wanting a hug as well.

Frostnova is actually quite old, around 26 years old when she first appeared, 7 years older than Amiya and 12 years older than Rosemary.

Even though she's several years older than Red, and Sister Ta and Old Chen are even older than Frostnova, they were both in their late thirties when they appeared...

"Why did you come here?" "Well, the doctor had a lot of patients and work to do, so he let us out. The doctor said it's safe here."