Otherworld Girl Development Guide

The demolition workers picked up a long, thin drill bit and prepared to start working on the aircraft's cockpit.

With a buzzing sound, the sharp alloy drill bit slowly made a hole on the outside of the cockpit... In no time, it drilled open the outside of the cockpit, and with a whoosh, a transparent liquid gushed out from the hole.

"They even increased the internal pressure?"

The demolition team was stunned for a moment, then quickly manipulated the probe to penetrate deep into the egg-shaped cockpit through the hole.

The probe's feedback image was completely black, making it impossible to see anything in the cockpit, and the infrared imaging feedback image was also only one color.

"It's too dark... I can't see anything..."

"Turn on the lights..."

Under the instruction of the on-site commander, the operators turned on the lighting device on the probe.

With a click... everyone present felt their breath catch in their throats.

Even the person controlling the probe shuddered.

A huge, hollow pupil, ten times the size of a human eyeball, stares blankly at the camera. What's most unsettling is the emptiness in the eyeball, devoid of any emotion.

The cockpit was filled with liquid, making it difficult to make out the other person's appearance. They looked like a mollusk that was transforming into a human... Their entire body was covered in translucent skin, and you could vaguely see their internal organs and cartilage.

Inside its translucent head is a brain about the size of a human's, proving that this creature's "intelligence" may not be lower than that of humans. In a sense, the octopus's "intelligence" is really high. If it weren't for their long lifespan and the fact that the ocean is not suitable for metallurgy, these octopuses might have become the dominant species on Earth.

The soft-bodied head is flanked by "optical organs" more than ten times the size of human eyeballs, and tentacles of varying lengths, resembling octopus tentacles, are wrapped around the sphere inside the cockpit...

However, the mollusk was now lifeless, floating quietly inside the egg-shaped cockpit, giving the impression of some kind of organ preserved in formalin.

"Is this... a seafood spirit really...?"

Biologists are very curious about the "seafood" inside the aircraft.

The information from the probe shows that the mollusc's interior is also filled with bodily fluids, and its internal organs float in the liquid... It has to be said that the existence of "spiritual" molluscs in the deep sea is quite in line with human understanding, after all, molluscs are more adapted to the deep sea and have a much higher resistance to G-forces than humans.

In fact, mollusks are better adapted to the universe than humans... but they haven't evolved to breathe air with lungs, and they are more particular about their living environment.

They belong to the deep sea, an environment uninhabitable for humans, but a "paradise" for the descendants of demons. They have never been found on the outskirts of the Abyss Sea because the environment is unsuitable for them.

"Get ready. Once we get back to the Xirang base, take it out and send it to the dissection room. We need to understand its internal structure."

When encountering an unfamiliar species for the first time, it's better to be conservative and use physical dissection. After all, it's unclear whether methods like X-rays and ultrasounds might cause "damage" to deep-sea species whose living environment is completely different from humans, damage that even humans themselves are unaware of. Such damage would undoubtedly affect the research results.

"No wonder they're called 'demons'; their appearance is completely contrary to human aesthetics..."

Next, the egg-shaped cockpit was sealed again using physical means to prevent the creature codenamed "Starfish" from coming into contact with the air, in case it could decompose on its own like a jellyfish.

The cockpit can be left unstudied, but the other sub-modules of the aircraft can still be preliminarily explored.

Shangqiu is no stranger to orienteering technology, so they can more or less understand the general principles of this aircraft.

The lower part of the aircraft has several propulsion modules, and the design concept seems to be a different way of using propulsion engines compared to those on takeoff ships.

However, what really intrigues researchers is how these "starfish" smelt metals in the deep sea.

Click!

The storm continued unabated, and the warships on the perimeter were constantly monitoring any movement in the surrounding waters.

Three nautical miles away in the deep sea, a silver-white submarine was following behind the fleet.

It did not approach the research fleet rashly, but patiently observed these land-based enemies.

Chapter 365 Three Stages

Shangqiu.

As the largest city on Mingrui Star in the Rabbit Kingdom, and also the most advanced city on the continent, it is a city that all locals hope to obtain a residence permit in.

After four years of continuous development, Shangqiu has become the most unique city on Mingrui Star.

Compared to the medieval aristocratic atmosphere of the Crimson Capital of the Rebonia Empire, Shangqiu has a more relaxed vibe, with little rabbits everywhere striving for a better life.

The air here is so sweet, making it a city that countless young people from the mainland yearn for.

Electric cars shuttle through the city. In the bustling commercial area, there are many locals who come to Shangqiu from all over the mainland to travel. They spread the beauty of Shangqiu and promote its reputation as a "land of hope" and a "city with the sweetest air" to the whole mainland through word of mouth.

In particular, the "spectacle" in Shangqiu is known by locals as the "Tower of Babel," a mass accelerator.

The "Magpie Bridge" quality accelerator in Shangqiu is under construction. Although it is not being built as quickly as the "Quest for the Sky" accelerator on Earth, it is being constructed in an orderly manner as part of China's century-long strategy.

After all, Mingrui Star doesn't have the moon as a natural large-scale helium-3 mine, so it's not in a hurry to go into space. Laying a solid foundation first is the key.

At this moment, the high-ranking officials in Shangqiu silently watched the information sent back by the research vessel.

The research vessel returned to the Xirang base without incident, having not been attacked during the entire process.

This is good news, and it's also bad news...

The good news is that the research vessel returned to the Xirang base with important artifacts and the demon's physical form, which will allow Shangqiu to better understand the enemy in the sea.

The bad news is... these enemies know how to be patient. After being attacked, they didn't immediately retaliate, but instead accumulated strength. A dog that bites doesn't bark!

"A demon banished to the abyss by the goddess..."

The anomalies in the Abyss Sea were clear from the day the rabbit arrived on Mingrui Star. There were no fish in the Abyss Sea; fish only existed within fifty nautical miles of the Xirang Base, along with fish-men.

Once inside the Abyss Sea, one finds only sea monsters and various giant marine creatures... After encountering the "starfish," the higher-ups began to doubt the legends on the mainland, which claimed that the "goddess" drove the demon to the Abyss Sea and sealed it there.

However, these demons are mollusks, which are adapted to the deep-sea environment. This means that the legend is just a legend and is missing the most important information!

It's believable, but not entirely reliable.

"This is a bit troublesome. Starfish operate in the deep sea, and we currently have no way to detect the deep sea, so we don't yet know what they're doing..."

The old man sighed. Humans can already go to space, and even rabbits can build space stations thousands of meters high in space, but they still have some limitations when it comes to the deep sea.

"...The deep sea is the starfish's stronghold. Let's suspend our exploration of the deep sea for now, consolidate our current achievements, and safeguard our interests in the deep sea."

Shangqiu's goal is to protect its interests in the Abyss Sea and develop seabed minerals. As for its relationship with Haixing, Shangqiu will not provoke Haixing unless Haixing actively seeks trouble.

War should always be the last resort. It's best to resolve problems through communication. Killing the entire family at the drop of a hat... This isn't a fantasy novel, but a confrontation between two civilizations. The cost of war is too high; people really do die!

"I'm worried that after this incident, the starfish will harass our offshore facilities..."

"If they dare to come, cut off their claws!" the naval leader said, squinting. The rabbit doesn't seek trouble, but it's not afraid of trouble either.

"Why didn't the starfish appear before, but now they've suddenly appeared?"

This is something that puzzles Shangqiu. The rabbits have been developing the Abyss Sea for quite some time now, and their first stop on Mingrui Star was the Abyss Sea. Logically speaking, the starfish should have emerged long ago.

"The specific cause is under investigation..."

"Let's prepare to implement the first phase of the 'Tianmen' plan."

The Tianmen Plan was a contingency plan drafted by the Shangqiu General Staff a long time ago, devised after learning about the legends on the mainland and the anomalies in the Abyss Sea.

As a rabbit, I had already prepared all sorts of contingency plans, because what if I didn't have one for an unexpected situation...

The core of the Tianmen Project is to safeguard the interests of the rabbits in the Abyss Sea and maintain the mining of all important minerals.

Fate plays tricks on rabbits; their first "third kind of encounter" was not in the universe as they imagined, but in the deep sea.

Now that the threat has emerged, according to the contingency plan, the situation will unfold in three phases, which is also an attempt at a "third kind of contact".

The first thing the rabbit needs to do is continue to try to communicate diplomatically with the "starfish";

The best solution would undoubtedly be a diplomatic one. If that fails, then we will proceed to the second phase of the "Tianmen Plan": strategic defense.

Relying on the Xirang base and Pengkun-1 as strategic pivots, we will not proactively escalate the conflict with Haixing, and all military operations will primarily focus on protecting China's maritime interests.

Humanity's nuclear weapons are very powerful, but they cannot solve all problems. You may feel great dropping nuclear bombs, but who can guarantee that the enemy doesn't have strategic weapons similar to nuclear bombs?

Putting aside other factors, as marine life, the creation of tsunamis reaching ten meters in height poses a significant threat.

A civilization, whether it's a starfish or a human, possesses intelligence and prioritizes survival.

Dropping nuclear bombs right off the bat, showing a willingness to wipe out your entire family... would undoubtedly turn a local conflict into a full-scale war.

Of course, strategic defense is the second phase of the Tianmen Plan. Once the relationship with Haixing completely deteriorates into an irreconcilable state of war, the rabbit will not hesitate to act.

The third phase of the Tianmen Project was to gather strength and wipe out the starfish in one fell swoop. This was the greatest respect that the terrifying upright ape had for marine mollusks!

After all, in the end, it all comes down to ability!

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Zhou Mingrui stared at the charred remains of the Type 054L corvette on the deck. The external radar antenna array was burned out, and the once-beautiful hull was now patchy and bald, with blackened areas here and there...

Some of the wounded are being transferred to the hospital at the Xirang base, where they will receive more specialized treatment.

"Are they alright?" Zhou Mingrui asked with some concern, looking at the sailors lying on stretchers with bandages wrapped around their shoulders.

"It's nothing serious, most of them are just burns. The catalytic enzymes will quickly restore the burns to their original state," Shi Qiang explained from the side.

Chapter 366 Planning Ahead

The second scientific expedition to the Abyss Sea has ended, or rather, has been "forced to end," with only half of the planned expedition completed...

The biological research institute at the Xirang base.

On the laboratory dissection table, a biologist is dissecting a starfish.

Fresh starfish were just removed from their egg-shaped cockpits, and experts in protective suits rushed to study them in a sterile room before they could decompose on their own.

A sharp scalpel sliced ​​open the starfish's skin, revealing its internal organs and some translucent organs of unknown purpose...

Organs are removed from the recipient's body and placed in special containers. Soon these organs will be sent to the laboratory for analysis.

We will refer to the seafood on Earth. Both are deep-sea creatures, and even though they are different, they still have commonalities.

What scientists are very interested in is the starfish's brain. Their brains also float in a translucent liquid and are covered with a dense network of neurons, theoretically 20% more than humans. In other words, starfish may be more intelligent than humans!

One day later...

The report about the starfish was placed on the desk of the Shangqiu leaders, and a meeting was held at the same time.

"Take a look, everyone, this is our future main 'neighbor'..."

Because of its geographical location, Shangqiu would be a bridgehead directly facing Haixing once the Xirang base fell, while the nearby Karva Republic would be slightly further back.

This raises some suspicions: did Queen Estée know something before she leased this land to the Rabbit? It's too much of a coincidence.

The leaders picked up the report, glanced at it, and then put it down, and the meeting room fell silent.