Isabelle raised an eyebrow, said nothing, and turned to leave.
Jiang Ye sat down before the main control console. The screen automatically lit up, displaying information about the camp.
The camp had developed well over the past few days. Its area had doubled, and many new resources had been discovered.
【Crashed Starship: An alien starship that crashed here three hundred years ago, now almost completely rusted. More than half of it has been absorbed by nearby plants, leaving no valuable parts. However, the ship's radioactive power unit caused significant plant mutations in the vicinity.】
【Mutated Grassland: A collective mutation of grass affected by radioactivity. The blades have turned from green to golden yellow and are rich in metallic elements, making them valuable for biological research. Scientists have offered a high price of 5,000 yuan per jin of dried grass. It has been observed that the wild grasses here have evolved distinct sexes. Male and female grasses can only produce seeds when their root systems are connected. The number of seeds is too large for the female grasses' nutrients alone to supply, requiring the male root systems to provide some nutrients and water. There are also instances of apparent "divorce" for unknown reasons.】
【River: The water is clear and can be drunk directly. It contains various alien parasitic organisms, but they cannot parasitize human cells.】
【Fossil Mountain: A small mountain about 400 meters high. Numerous skeletons have been found in the rocks. The fossil market offers 180,000 yuan per ton for acquisition.】
【Wild Unicorn Valley: A valley where numerous wild unicorn sheep of Birong Star are found. Their hides, horns, and meat are all highly priced. When hunting, aim for a clean kill to avoid damaging the fur.】
Jiang Ye raised his eyebrows and opened the voice channel to issue commands.
"Is Team Two Captain present?"
"Reporting, Commander."
"I see your team's location is all within the mutated grassland. Are you harvesting grass?"
"Yes, Commander. We've already harvested 16 mu of grassland and are preparing to bundle it for transport back to the camp."
"Take a few soldiers and head to the Wild Unicorn Valley, about 10 kilometers away. Capture a few live sheep, feed them the mutated grass, and let's see what happens," Jiang Ye said.
"Reporting, Team Four is capturing sheep. Can I just hand the grass over to Team Four?"
"Yes, no problem. Bring the sheep fed with mutated grass back to the camp. I want to observe the situation."
The deployment of wild resources was temporarily set.
Jiang Ye checked the status of the cryptobiosis insect farm.
【Harvesting: A new batch of cryptobiosis insects is being caught and cleaned, processed into canned goods, and awaiting collection by the cryptobiosis company.】
Jiang Ye was curious about what these creatures would look like when fully grown, so he left the main control room and headed to the cryptobiosis insect farm.
The farm was indeed bustling with activity. Each factory building had seven or eight people busy with harvesting. However, the operation method was quite primitive. They used small fishing nets to scoop them from the water. After catching a netful of cryptobiosis insects, they would put five or six back to continue breeding. The rest were repeatedly rinsed with clean water.
Jiang Ye reached out and picked up an adult cryptobiosis insect to examine it. It was indeed very different from its larval stage.
The larvae he had seen before were like peanuts with legs.
Now, they had developed to six centimeters long, plump, and somewhat resembled silkworms. Their body color had deepened to a dark purple, making them much more disgusting, and they were no longer as cute as when they were young. Jiang Ye realized that many animals were very cute as babies but became terribly ugly when they grew up.
The feeders, panting with exhaustion, stuffed the cleaned cryptobiosis insects into the canning machine. With a whir, the machine rolled out piles of insects sealed in transparent cans.
Jiang Ye picked up a can of insects. The cryptobiosis insects inside were still moving. However, they were packed too tightly to move freely, only able to twitch their tiny legs.
"They're sealed in alive like this?" Jiang Ye asked a feeder.
"They'll die soon," the feeder replied.
"No preservatives needed? No sterilization?"
"They are sterilized in the canning machine when sealed. The shelf life is 36 months, and they'll definitely be eaten by customers before then."
"I recall these small insects grow by eating excrement and drinking urine," Jiang Ye lowered his voice.
"That's correct."
"So, won't there be any residue of that in their stomachs?"
"As you can see, the breeding ponds are filled with clean water. Twenty-four hours before harvesting, we replace the water with clean water, changing it every hour. We also play heavy metal music to startle them, making them expel any waste from their bodies. These insects are now clean. They might contain some alien parasites, but they won't parasitize human cells," the feeder said respectfully. "Of course, if there's any residue... well, it's not us eating them, is it?"
"..." Jiang Ye was speechless.
"Will they cannibalize each other in the cans?" Jiang Ye asked. "Cryptobiosis insects don't kill their own kind, right?"
"Of course, they do. When food is scarce, they eat each other, the big ones eating the small ones. However, the cans have very little air and time crystals. You see, some have already died. Before they can even start cannibalizing each other, they all perish."
"Alright, you may continue your work," Jiang Ye nodded. He actually wanted to ask if they would dehydrate in the cans, but asking too many questions would detract from his authority as a great dictator, making him seem ignorant.
Thank goodness, the entire camp was finally on track. Before, the whole camp was like a haunted place, with a terrifying atmosphere. Maintaining the camp on Birong Star had cost a lot of money, but now it was slowly starting to recoup the expenses.
Jiang Ye spent 10 hours at the camp. There wasn't much work that required his attention; he just observed.
When he felt his energy was almost depleted, he returned to the spawn house to log off.
Climbing out of the remote control cabin, he didn't feel nauseous, just hungry and tired.
The cleaning robot heard the movement and scurried over, saying softly, "Master!"
"Ah," Jiang Ye replied without looking at it.
"An annoying person has come in and is making a mess in the kitchen!" the cleaning robot whispered.
"Who?"
"I don't know her name, but she's a woman who got drunk here before," the cleaning robot said. "Please go subdue her quickly! It's so infuriating, is there no law!"
Jiang Ye went downstairs to the kitchen. He could hear the sizzling sound of something frying in oil even from the hallway. He was puzzled, why use a frying pan when there was a food printer? The frying pan at home was basically a decoration, a display piece. This was the first time it was being used.
Upon entering the kitchen, he saw Tian Rao.
She was wearing a black wetsuit, standing barefoot in front of the frying pan, busy. Her oxygen tank and flippers were placed in a corner of the kitchen. She was dripping wet, looking like a sea nymph who had just emerged from the ocean.
"What is this..." Jiang Ye walked over to look. The pan was full of oil, with many small golden-yellow circles inside.
"I just went diving. I caught a lot of shrimp. I forgot their name, but they're a very rare type of alien shrimp. I'm making some fried shrimp for you," Tian Rao said, revealing two small fangs as she smiled.
"Oh, I'm so touched," Jiang Ye pretended to wipe away tears.
"It's good that you're touched! I have something to ask of you later," Tian Rao said.