Space Odyssey from Abandoned Mining Space Station

Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Crazy Animals

The two days passed quickly.

Three days after Chen Ming found the pulp orange fruit, which was the fifth day after the spaceship landed.

With Chen Ming’s efforts, the temporary survival base around the spaceship had somewhat taken shape.

In the first two days, Chen Ming cleared a whole piece of area without weeds next to the spaceship, starting from the place where the pulp orange fruit was planted.

By slightly modifying the electric saw from the maintenance kit, he used it as a tool to cut down trees and felled some trees in the surrounding woods.

He then installed a simple fence around the spaceship and set up some traps.

It’s undeniable that Chen Ming’s terminal really had everything.

Books like ”Wilderness Survival Guide” and ”Simple Environmental Trap Layout” were almost as numerous in the terminal as those professional books related to maintenance.

It’s like cramming all the knowledge about surviving in the natural environment into the terminal.

Although Chen Ming didn’t have much time to read it thoroughly, he could still look at the part he needed now.

So, the temporary camp was built through Chen Ming’s exploration.

Apart from the tasks near the spaceship, Chen Ming had also examined almost all the surrounding plants.

In the current autumn season, Chen Ming found two other types of edible crops without much difficulty.

One of them looked similar to rice, but there were many pale purple hairs on the ears, making it look like flowers from afar.

Its name was very descriptive: Flower Rice.

The other one looked very much like soybean, with fruits and seeds enclosed in pods, and the name was simply Purple Bean.

Chen Ming found only a few samples of these two plants, but each variety had a lot of seeds, so Chen Ming planted some in the hydroponic cabin.

The seeds of pulp orange fruit, flower rice, and purple bean almost filled the space of the hydroponic cabin.

The extra seeds, like those of the pulp orange fruit, were all planted by Chen Ming in the land he cultivated over the past two days.

Meanwhile, the insect eggs and insect corpses stored in the cold room were juiced by Chen Ming using the Nutrient Liquid Extraction Device... After juicing into nutrient liquid, they were sprinkled into the soil as the first batch of fertilizer for this field.

After realizing earlier that he could obtain meat through hunting, these insects and eggs, originally serving as the last backup food, were no longer needed.

They ended their mission after letting Chen Ming understand the workflow of the Nutrient Liquid Extraction Device.

However, the hydroponic cabin wasn’t completely out of empty space.

Chen Ming deliberately left a small space in the corner of the hydroponic cabin.

It was used for cultivating the herbs he found on Rimu Star, by referencing the book ”Common Herbal Preparations (Rimu Star)” from the doctor’s terminal.

Chen Ming was well aware of the importance of medicine; even if he wasn’t sick or injured, these medicines were absolutely indispensable.

With sufficient nutrient liquid, the hydroponic cabin maintaining the original natural environment of Rimu Star, and the meticulous care of farming equipment.

The growth rate of crops in the hydroponic cabin could only be described as rapid; it was almost visible to the naked eye.

As long as the first batch of crops was cultivated, and the second generation could be stably cultivated, the spaceship would have a continuous supply of renewable crops and herbs to ensure health.

Next, he only had to wait until he had enough harvest from hunting or the outside fields grew enough crops, plus packaged survival food that could last for half a year, then leaving some surplus.

Chen Ming could prepare to let the spaceship take off again.

In these two days, Chen Ming also discovered many traces of animals near the spaceship.

Even though he scared away the animals spying at night with a spotlight the night before, he could clearly feel the next day that those animals had become bolder.

Last night was even more outrageous; Chen Ming was woken up by the motion alarm set on the cameras outside the spaceship.

He found that after he fell asleep, some animals had even approached the area where he planted vegetables.

If it weren’t for the fence he had prepared beforehand, Chen Ming might have suffered silently.

So, Chen Ming’s task today was, first, to reinforce the fence and build traps to prevent last night’s situation.

If the surveillance malfunctioned even slightly, the crops Chen Ming planted outside would be in trouble.

Second, he planned to track down the traces of a small-sized animal from those that spied on the spaceship last night.

The traces of this animal were the most obvious compared to others, and Chen Ming couldn’t just let it go.

After watering the crops outside, Chen Ming put on his gear and prepared to head out.

But just as Chen Ming was about to move, he suddenly noticed an animal similar to a deer that he had seen at night earlier, showing its head on the east side of the hill where the spaceship was located.

Chen Ming immediately became alert, picked up his gun, feeling a bit excited inside.

Was he finally about to hunt his first prey?

Wait, Chen Ming suddenly realized something was off.

As the animal, which was likely a deer, showed its head, several more deer emerged from behind the hill.

Their state was strange, with dull expressions, bared teeth, and drool constantly flowing from the corners of their mouths.

This seemed somewhat abnormal.

Chen Ming furrowed his brow and stopped his steps toward the outside of the spaceship.

Somehow, the more he looked at this group of deer, the more he felt they were similar to the group of empty jellyfish he once encountered.

To be safe, Chen Ming connected his consciousness to the spaceship’s two modified machine guns.

He glanced at the panel of the two machine guns as well.

[22mm Machine Gun·Modified]

[Type: Small Kinetic Energy Weapon]

[Manufacturer: Sinda Rockwell Weapons Company]

[Loaded ammo: 1000/1000]

[Effective lethal range: 2000 meters]

[Firing rate: 800 rounds per minute]

[Modified parts: chain feeding system, dual-barrel, stabilizing frame, high-strength barrel]

[Durability: 100%]

[Available operations: replace/modify]

This was currently the most powerful weapon Chen Ming could produce, with firepower at least three times as high as the previous machine gun.

Back then, Chen Ming had the confidence to eliminate all of those empty jellyfish; this deer herd was nothing.

It was just at this moment.

The suddenly appeared deer seemed to notice the spaceship and unexpectedly charged toward the spaceship.

Chen Ming was already prepared.

The two machine guns immediately opened fire.

The metal storm almost covered the entire deer herd.

But these deer seemed to have lost the function of fear.

The fierce gunfire, flames, and their fallen companions didn’t stop their charge toward the spaceship.

Chen Ming even saw a deer with its two front legs broken, its belly torn by bullets, guts spilled all over the ground, still staring with bloodshot eyes, wriggling in the direction of the spaceship, and after struggling a while, it died.

This deer herd was definitely not right.

Chen Ming didn’t feel the joy of obtaining prey at the moment; instead, he was filled with confusion and unease.

This planet seemed to be somewhat unwelcoming to him.