Chapter 20

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Chapter 20: Wedding

The wedding combined traditional and local customs, as the local ceremony was too simple. It was basically setting up tents outdoors, clearing a space, gathering to eat and drink, singing and dancing, partying until late at night, and then the newlyweds taking care of their responsibilities while others continue to celebrate. The only formal part was when the bride’s family returns a portion of the groom’s gifts and provides a dowry, serving as the new couple’s first possessions after marriage.

According to tradition, the groom should arm wrestle and wrestle with the eldest uncle to prove his health for a happy married life and the ability to have healthy children. However, faced with a muscular man resembling a predator weighing 130 kilograms, the officer had to persuade to skip these activities, or else Lin Shenhe would likely end up spending his honeymoon in bed with at least a level two disability.

"You’re really weak, you need to exercise more and eat more meat." The honest and sturdy man from the tiger clan patted Lin Shenhe’s shoulder, making a sound as if hitting a punching bag with a baseball bat. Immediately, Lin Shenhe’s expression changed, "You won’t be able to do much work like this, how will you support a family?"

"Brother, Lin is a scholar and doesn’t need to work in the fields!"

"Oh! I forgot, sorry~"

"…" Lin Shenhe felt tired, wondering who among them could compare to those who carry heavy equipment and climb mountains, while looking like they don’t do enough exercise.

However, this kind of endurance and physical strength are really good for doing hard work. Originally, the geological team planned to wait for some simple mining equipment to be brought over from Earth. Instead, the Nico people organized strong men from nearby villages. After feasting for three days and resting for a while, they grabbed their shovels and went into the mountains. At a rate of 1.5 tons per person per day, they managed to dig out a small semi-open iron ore mine. Meanwhile, the humans provided plenty of meat, grains, and high-protein food.

(They have been feeding him insect farming protein enriched with sugar powder, which is made of a mixture of fly larvae, artificially reared grasshoppers, and the protein powder from American cockroaches, with functions to enhance immunity and promote tissue healing. Yes, it’s a special nutritional supplement for wounded soldiers. I really regret looking at the ingredient list of the recovery fluid – it only has one ingredient: dried American cockroach. Don’t ask what a cockroach is…)

With an abundance of food and ample rest, the men who used to look thin and weak as if they could collapse with a gust of wind, almost inflated like balloons, and the women too. It seemed like their race has the ability to slow down development when food is scarce and accelerate it rapidly when food is plentiful. However, further research revealed that a special digestive enzyme in their stomachs and intestines was actually at work, breaking down animal protein from meat products more efficiently, synthesizing muscle fibers and fats, and promoting rapid maturity of organs including bones and the brain.

However, this digestive enzyme is basically useless for plant fibers and starch. Their ability to digest plant fibers and starch is almost zero. It is necessary to chew for a long time or spend more time slowly fermenting and breaking down these components into sugars in another small pouch attached to the main stomach before they can be properly absorbed.

Based on this discovery, the research team concluded that they must have evolved from a purely carnivorous organism, but due to environmental reasons, gradually began transitioning towards omnivorous and even vegetarian diets, but not entirely – for example: like giant pandas, ranking second in the bear family in terms of combat power, they survive on a vegetarian and cute lifestyle.

Therefore, when the second batch of supplies arrived, Earth specially adjusted the supply allocation. Due to the greatly increased carrying capacity, a solution to the food problem on Earth was achieved in a way that… I don’t know how to put it exactly.

China took a rock from Mars along with the soil on top, and established a super high-pressure carbon dioxide gas cultivation farm near the orbit of Venus, with one side always facing the sun and rotating around the sun. Through 24-hour uninterrupted light filtered by the dome, plants are assisted in photosynthesis while microorganisms decompose water and organic matter. It is said that once it starts operating, the food crisis will never occur again.

In an environment with zero gravity, strong light, warmth, high humidity, and high carbon dioxide, crops that have been transformed by the Great Druids grow and accumulate sugar at a rate several times faster than on Earth. Rice that won’t collapse due to gravity has even evolved into a peculiar type with multiple grains on a single stalk, reaching over 3 meters high, resembling a flowering bamboo.

(P.S.: You might not believe it, but bamboo and rice are the same type of plant, both belonging to the grass family, and their grains are edible.)

Besides growing bamboo rice and soybeans that can produce animal protein, the Druids also received high-quality pig and cattle breeds from Earth. The Great Druids even tried establishing alien animal husbandry on the planet.

The samples of the local fat head beasts were taken back to Earth on the returning transport ships. They were handed over to the Druids on Earth for domestication. In the future, there might be a special place like an alien biological zoo for ordinary people to see alien creatures without leaving the planet.

One Nico girl with a physiological advantage had a discovered disadvantage – due to her biological night vision sensitivity, she developed severe nearsightedness. Fortunately, early detection allowed for laser treatment, restoring about half of her vision, but she still needed to wear special glasses.

This also meant they had to say goodbye to jobs that required long hours in front of screens and computers, at least until specially designed screens were made for them, which came with their own set of challenges.

For example, after consuming a lot of sugary treats, their nervous systems would quickly enter a relaxed state, secreting dopamine and endorphins as a reward mechanism. This information came from Lin Shenhe’s newlywed wife, who ate too much wedding cake and ended up… well, just look at Lin Shenhe’s pale face the next day.

"We need to reduce and limit Nico people’s consumption of sweet treats. I don’t want to see the streets littered with people like back in the days of opium wars, filled with sugar addicts."

"Also, regarding Lin Shenhe’s observations, I suggest that no matter how things are on the Nico side, both parties must adhere to monogamous marriage."

"Of course, but why are you emphasizing this?"

"For basic health reasons… Also, that guy from your group who is getting close to the youngest Willhelm daughter, make sure he runs 2000 meters, does 100 push-ups, and 100 sit-ups every day before the wedding. He needs to learn his lesson!"

It’s funny to talk about, but it actually happened. Last night’s situation was more like the woman overpowering the man… Yes, that kind of "you’re the one being dominated." If someone wants to play both sides, they’ll have to kneel without a fight, so it’s better to strengthen regulations in this regard early on in a legal manner to avoid future complications.

(What’s the point of training if you can’t even compete with professional athletes? Just lie down and let the cat do its thing!)

"Alright, let’s get down to business. How are things on the resistance army’s side?" Commissioner Zhao turned to the instructor group, "The training plans are mostly completed, and we also went to deal with the local bandits, pirates, and small imperial forces, as well as some small slave plantations to practice."

"What were the results?"

"Overall, it went quite well. We managed to rescue a group of slaves, made our presence known, then it was a routine of grievances meetings, militia training, organizing production – it all went smoothly like a snowball effect. The imperial forces seem clueless, reacting too slowly. I’m considering making a move towards a big city to give them a challenge."

"By the way, how is Old Liu doing?"

"Not sure about that. We don’t have any super-fast communication means right now. Even if they didn’t activate radio silence, our satellite station’s receiving power won’t pick up their reports. And even if we did receive them, it would be from years ago. It’s better if they send a liaison ship back to report."

"Oh no, if we don’t solve this problem, things could get really complicated in the future!" Quick communication is important to keep different parts of a country connected, maintain a sense of unity among political groups, otherwise there could be dangerous situations like independence movements.

While the people of Nico are gathering strength and revolutionary ideas are spreading among the worker patrols, where is the Chinese fleet?

"Is this the Nyannis and Imperial border conflict zone?" The space ahead was silent, with only occasional flickers of what seemed like illusions.

"Yes, sniff sniff~ that’s right, we followed them ourselves~~~ sniff sniff~" The ratman pilot sniffed proudly, saying scavenging is a skill. You need to know where battles are happening in the vast space, understand both sides’ progress and situations, and be familiar with their ships, weapons, and more to grab the richest space junk first-hand.

Nyannis are aquatic creatures, highly toxic and with semi-transparent bodies, allowing clear visibility of their brains and organs, like a mix of jellyfish and octopus. Their tentacles are shape-shifting, able to command cell death and proliferation, forming different fingers and structures. Despite their slow civilization progression due to underwater living, they were early tool users and advanced in manufacturing – the Empire’s direct rivals and business competitors, much like England and Spain.

"Which one is their transport ship?"

"That one, blue, sniff sniff, long-handled hammer, sniff sniff~"

"All ships, conduct self-checks, deactivate main weapon systems, CIWS kinetic guns switch to copper powder rounds, laser systems set to beam cutting and welding mode, UAV team ready for blockade." Captain Liu radioed to their allied forces involved in the ambush operation.

The main reason they abandoned the Nico Star incident to set up an ambush was due to trouble caused by these rodents. They somehow acquired a mostly new Nyannis transport ship.

After stripping all usable weapons, equipment, and materials, they sold some "useless" shiny crystal powder and minerals to humans. The rats believed humans liked shiny things, so they would fetch even slightly useful shiny metals to exchange for more junk and versatile materials and resources.

However, the issue arose when a new element was discovered during particle collision experiments in Europe using the shiny crystals. It was a super-heavy element theoretically unstable in nature. The refined crystal could produce a dark blue metal showcasing superconductivity at around -20 degrees Celsius.

So, both American and Chinese fleets received orders from their countries to get as much minerals as possible from the Nyannis production area. Commander Liu’s fleet appeared in this border region to capture a Nyannis transport ship. By doing so, they could not only obtain minerals but also trace back the shipping logs to find the origin of the minerals.

Now, what to do after finding them? America, it’s your turn! Use your universal values to come up with excuses to declare war, military occupation, and control.

The Imperial humans may have some familiar traits with animals, but the Nyannis people seemed perfect aliens. To some advanced civilizations, hunting humans may be seen as capturing a species of bipedal primate.

The mice’s intel was mostly accurate. Soon, two transport ships quietly crossed the border towards the Imperial territory. These were likely supply ships providing support to the advance team entering the Empire. Whether they contain superconductive crystals remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, a small escort ship carrying the "Sea Lion Recon Team" was covertly approaching a Nyannis mining outpost. "Remember, don’t speak English!"

What language to speak? Imperial. They must remain masked in full combat gear and exoskeletons, with a small frame on the buttocks holding a bionic tail. "Mission start! Take down the mining outpost!"

The Nyannis mining outpost on the small asteroid was not overly futuristic. It was simply a deep pit filled with water, seaweed, and aquatic life, accessible through a mechanized steel gate for transporting ores, algae, and ice.