Eight hours later.
Jiang Ye and Fu Qiuyan, clad in orange protective suits, arrived at the lowest level of the interstellar prison once more, observing the Blue Toad person in its cell through the glass.
Language experts, four in total, also in protective suits, were busy calibrating their equipment. The setup included seven or eight devices, such as sound emitters, laser projectors, and computers. Jiang Ye, unfamiliar with the technology, watched with a mixture of understanding and confusion.
The Blue Toad person was asleep, but it shifted and opened its eyes. Its dark, beady pupils glanced at the humans outside the window before closing again.
"It should wake up soon," Fu Qiuyan said.
"It just opened its eyes, isn't it already awake?" Jiang Ye asked.
"No, it's still in a sleep state," Fu Qiuyan explained, pointing to a computer screen displaying the Blue Toad person's bio-electric curve, which remained smooth, like ripples on a wind-swept lake. "It opened its eyes due to sleep vigilance."
"Sleep vigilance?" Jiang Ye frowned.
"Creatures like the Toad people, when sleeping, open their eyes every half hour to observe their surroundings," Fu Qiuyan elaborated. "The images it sees when it opens its eyes enter its brain for post-processing for a minute before it reacts. If there's no change in the environment, it continues to sleep. But it saw us all outside the window just now, so it will definitely wake up."
Jiang Ye was astonished. Such a characteristic? Extraterrestrial life was indeed strange.
As expected, after about fifty seconds, the Blue Toad person suddenly opened its eyes and became fully conscious.
It crawled towards the window, extending its claws, ready to write the name of the convention. However, this time was different. The language experts were prepared and immediately typed on their computers, causing distorted blue symbols to appear on the glass.
The Blue Toad person paused, then its entire skin bulged slightly, indicating excitement. After carefully reading the symbols on the glass, it raised its claws and wrote with blue mucus, quickly producing a series of scribbles.
Jiang Ye and Fu Qiuyan both leaned closer to the computer screen. The left side displayed the Toad person's language, while the right side showed the human translation. The conversation that had just taken place read:
"Blue Toad person, we wish to negotiate with you. Can you represent the other seven Toad people and communicate with us?"
"Yes, I am the leader. They listen to me, and they have no communication ability."
Just as the language expert was about to type again, the Blue Toad person preempted them, wiping the mucus off the glass with a large claw and rewriting a string of characters.
"I have a gland disease. Since my capture, I have not taken medication, and my gland is in severe pain. I hope you can provide me with medication first, otherwise, I may die from the pain soon."
The language expert looked at Fu Qiuyan for his opinion.
"We can provide it," Fu Qiuyan nodded.
The language expert typed on the computer, "We can provide medication. Please list the names of the drugs you need, and we will find them as soon as possible." This message was translated into the Toad person's language and then projected onto the glass via laser.
The Blue Toad person raised its claw and wrote a single word, which the computer immediately translated:
"1000 eggs, once a day."
"Commander, it needs eggs for its illness," the language expert reported.
"Eggs? What kind of eggs?" Fu Qiuyan asked, bewildered. "Raw or cooked?"
The language expert translated, and the Blue Toad person immediately wrote a long reply:
"Ordinary eggs from conventionally raised human chickens, raw is best. My gland disease requires significant protein supplementation, and raw egg protein is more easily absorbed. As for specialized medicine, only a few pharmaceutical companies on the Toad person planet produce it, so you cannot buy it. Therefore, giving me eggs will suffice. If possible, please sterilize the eggs. I do not know if my injected vaccine can resist the microorganisms on the human planet."
"I am in great pain right now, so I apologize, but I cannot negotiate until I have eaten the eggs."
Having finished writing, the Blue Toad person curled up in the corner and began to sleep again, appearing half-dead.
Jiang Ye had always assumed the Blue Toad person curled up in the corner to sleep due to depression after being captured and a desire to avoid further contact with humans. It turned out it wasn't a matter of mood, but rather suffering from debilitating pain. Through this detail, Jiang Ye felt that this Blue Toad person and the mining team did not possess deep reserves. While current medical technology was advanced, any interstellar armed force of even moderate standing ensured the complete health of its personnel, as illness could affect combat effectiveness and become a hidden threat to the unit.
Fu Qiuyan immediately instructed the guards to comply with the request.
Soon, over a thousand eggs were placed in transparent plastic containers and delivered into the cell by a robotic arm, forming a mountain of eggs. The Blue Toad person immediately perked up and let out a strange cry.
On the other side of the cell, a Yellow-Green Toad person, awakened from its sleep, crawled to the egg containers and began unpacking them. The Blue Toad person lay beside it, its massive mouth, resembling a bucket, open. After the Yellow-Green Toad person unpacked the eggs, it began throwing them one by one into the Blue Toad person's mouth.
Every ten eggs, the Blue Toad person would close its mouth with a thud, chew, and swallow both the shell and the liquid. While the Blue Toad person was chewing, the Yellow-Green Toad person grabbed an egg, intending to put it into its own mouth. The Blue Toad person suddenly struck its face with a claw, producing a loud bang.
"Good heavens," Jiang Ye exclaimed, stunned. "These alien species are quite barbaric."
"It's actually quite normal. They are likely some kind of military or bandit group," Fu Qiuyan said. "When a subordinate eats the superior's food in front of them, they naturally get beaten. Moreover, Toad people are inherently strictly hierarchical. Before I came, I reviewed their laws, and the punishments for the same crime differ depending on the color of the Toad person."
"Damn," Jiang Ye marveled.
The Blue Toad person ate for a long time, finally consuming half of the eggs. It waved its claws, and the Yellow-Green Toad person obediently retreated to a corner of the cell, casting a reluctant glance at the remaining eggs before turning and curling up to sleep.
The Blue Toad person approached the glass and continued writing.
"Ask it for information. Who is it, which planet is it from, what is the mining team organization, and why were they competing with us for mining rights in the Xinke asteroid belt?" Fu Qiuyan instructed the language expert, then turned to Jiang Ye. Jiang Ye remained silent, indicating he would not interfere.
The linguist began to ask questions, and Fu Qiuyan posed a barrage of them, causing the linguist to type for a long time. The translated Toad person language seemed to have some imperfections, and after the linguist made minor adjustments, it was projected onto the glass via laser.
The Blue Toad person stared at the multitude of questions for a long time. It rubbed its body with its claws, picking up mucus as if dipping a brush in ink, and then began to write furiously. Soon, the Blue Toad person had filled almost an entire side of the glass with Toad script. As the translation results emerged, Jiang Ye and Fu Qiuyan leaned in to read them, both displaying expressions of surprise.