Chapter 37
The aftereffects of Chenxi's post on StarNet seem to have been completely resolved, but in fact, it's far from over. In places Chenxi hasn't noticed, some far-reaching effects are slowly taking hold.
In the outer universe, in the vast expanse of space, a fleet of starships was advancing. At the speed of the starships, planets were swept past at lightning speed. At this speed, when a group of star beasts spotted the starship fleet from afar, the race within almost stood on end. They immediately urged their star beasts to move aside as fast as they could, making sure not to block the path of the intelligent race's starships.
Fortunately, the alert crew of star beasts spotted the starship early, and everything was still in time. After they managed to steer the star beasts away from the AI's flight path, they all breathed a sigh of relief and even wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads. Luckily, they spotted it early; otherwise, if they had really blocked the AI's path, those cold and ruthless AI wouldn't have bothered with them, and their fate would have been unpredictable.
The Star Beast teams that had retreated to the side did not make any rash moves. They simply waited quietly, intending to continue their journey to their destination after the Civilian starship had passed. At the same time, they couldn't help but watch the rapidly approaching Civilian starship with a mixture of fear and dazzle. After all, encountering a Civilian starship in space was not an opportunity for everyone, and this was enough for them to boast about to their fellow races for a long time afterward.
As the AI starships drew closer, they could feel their cold, imposing, and menacing presence even more. The sheer size of the behemoths was enough to make the hearts of almost every race stop. Fortunately, the AI starships never paid any attention to them. As long as they didn't block the starships' path or recklessly approach them, the AI starships would completely ignore them. Soon, the AI starships would pass right by.
However, all these star beasts who held such firm beliefs witnessed a scene that nearly stopped their hearts in shock: the intelligent race's starships stopped abruptly as they approached them!
This is what it feels like to be scared to death.
The races among these star beasts stared blankly, their eyes wide with terror, their hands and feet trembling as they looked at the fleet of starships that had stopped in front of them, yet they couldn't understand what they had done to offend the intelligent race.
Meanwhile, in the command center of the starship fleet that had stopped in front of the star beasts, a large screen was displaying a perspective image of the opposing star beast fleet.
These images show that most of the opposing star beasts are Berserkers, with some other races as well. But that's not the most important thing. What's important is a group of star beasts in the middle of the star beast ranks. Compared to the thermal images of the other star beasts, which are crowded but still relatively normal, those star beasts are a blinding red. It's clear that countless living creatures are crammed together, one on top of another, in an extremely crowded and oppressive space that has almost exceeded the safety threshold for biological survival. More importantly, they can distinguish from the scan images on the screen that those crowded and stacked among the star beasts are all Ear Foxes.
The intelligent beings present almost instantly understood what the opposing Star Beast team was doing: they were slave traders. Considering their current location, these Ear Fox Clan members were likely captured from the Ear Fox Clan's planet and were preparing to sell them to other planets.
This wasn't the first time the intelligent beings on the starship had witnessed such a thing. In the past, they had all turned a blind eye, not even sparing a glance. After all, their responsibility with these races from outer space was only to regulate their development and maintain basic ecological balance. As for other things, such as how they interacted with each other, that was their own business.
But today, upon seeing the glaring red in the thermal imaging, these starships couldn't help but stop, with almost all the intelligent beings in the command room staring at that red.
Within that red expanse lay a vast number of Earfoxes. Given the sheer density of the crowds, it was uncertain whether all the Earfoxes would survive by the time the Star Beasts reached their destination planet. Consequently, that dazzling red expanse would inevitably be marred by patches of darkness.
Even for those lucky enough to survive, the Ear Fox Clan will not have a good life. Sold into slavery, they will live the hardest and worst days, doing the most work, yet they still cannot guarantee a peaceful life forever.
At this moment, Chen Xi's words came to mind for all the members of the Intelligence Clan—"The Ear Fox Clan is so cute, I love the Ear Fox Clan the most."
This is the race that Chenxi likes. If these fox-eared people die, Chenxi will probably be sad.
The mere thought of this possibility caused a flicker of emotion to rise in the cold, crimson eyes of all the intelligent beings. Then, the intelligent starships raised their cannons and aimed them at the star beasts.
The Berserkers among all the Star Beasts were almost all paralyzed with fear when they saw the starship's cannons pointed at them. What happened next felt even more surreal, so much so that even after it was all over, they still felt a sense of unreality. They had actually been robbed by the Intelligence Clan?!
But looking at the star beasts missing from their ranks, and then at the star beasts being dragged away at high speed by nets beneath the Intelligence Clan's starships, they had to admit the truth.
But at this moment, no one was heartbroken about losing the captured slaves and the precious star beasts. They were all immersed in the relief of surviving the ordeal, and even urged the star beasts to leave quickly. It was terrifying, so terrifying. They had just thought they were going to stay here forever.
...
Meanwhile, on the main planet of the Earfox Clan, a settlement of the Earfox Clan was immersed in deep sorrow. Overnight, more than half of the Earfox Clan members had disappeared from the settlement. At a glance, the place was deserted, and many of the thatched huts had never been opened again.
A short child, less than half the size of the other fox-eared creatures, stood at the entrance of the settlement for a long time, until it got dark, before walking back dejectedly.
When I got home, the house was empty except for my grandfather preparing dinner, a stark contrast to the usual lively atmosphere.
"You're back, come eat." The grandfather, whose hair was already gray, placed the cooked food in front of him.
But smelling the aroma of the food in front of him, the little fox had no appetite at all. He looked up and asked, "Grandpa, will Dad, Mom, and my brothers and sisters come back?"
The elderly fox-eared creature remained silent for a moment, then said with some difficulty, "They went to a very, very far place, and it will be a very, very long time before they return."
However, upon hearing her grandfather's words, tears welled up in Little Fox's eyes. "You're lying. I heard from Uncle Ace that they were captured by slave traders and will never come back."
Listening to the little fox's lament, the old fox clan offered no comfort, for this was the painful truth, and since the little fox already knew, it was better to accept it sooner rather than later.
However, the little fox was still young, and as it cried, it asked in a whimsical way, "If I grow up and go to another planet to find my mom and dad, will I still have a chance to see them?"
Hearing this, the elderly Earfox's gaze became even more complicated. Then, his face darkened, and for the first time, he spoke in a serious and admonitory tone: "Never have such thoughts. The Earfox who can stay on Earfox Star are the happiest Earfox. You won't find such a life anywhere else."
The little fox was about to cry again when it heard its grandfather's words, because didn't this imply that its parents and siblings, who had been taken away, would have a bad life? The little fox sobbed uncontrollably, asking, "Why? Why did they take Mom and Dad away? Why did they take us away?"
The elderly Earfox did not answer the question, but their hearts were filled with even greater sorrow. Why? Because of their weakness, because they could not defeat anyone, so anyone could bully them, and even come to their home planet to wantonly capture Earfox members and enslave them.
Or perhaps it could be said that it is a miracle that the Ear Fox Clan still possesses a planet. Thinking of these tragic facts, the backs of the elderly Ear Fox Clan members couldn't help but hunch even further.
Because of these events, the elderly Earfox suffered from insomnia that day, tossing and turning until almost dawn before finally falling asleep.
The next day, the old ear fox got up early and began his day's work. After all, all the young ear foxes in the family had been captured, and they had to work even harder if they wanted to have food.
The remaining members of the Earfox tribe in the settlement almost all shared his thoughts, so although the Earfox settlement was a bit quiet in the early morning, it was bustling with activity. Even the little Earfox whose eyes were red and swollen from crying last night started to help his grandfather after waking up.
While most of the Earfox tribe were immersed in their work, they suddenly felt as if the clear sky had darkened slightly. Some Earfox tribe members subconsciously looked up at the sky, and then it was as if they had been choked, unable to make a sound, leaving only a look of terror in their eyes.
More and more Earfoxes noticed this anomaly. The older Earfox, noticing the strange behavior of those around him, instinctively looked up. The next moment, the farming tools in his hands fell to the ground, and he stared blankly at the massive Intelligence Clan fleet that almost blotted out the sky.
The starship that intimidated all the Earfoxes was cold and majestic, its silver hull gleaming brightly in the sunlight.
When the Earfoxes saw other races' star beasts, they knew to scatter and flee. But when the Intelligence Clan's starships appeared above them, all the Earfoxes were shocked and terrified, completely unsure how to react.
They watched helplessly as the starship slowly approached them, dropped something down, turned around, and disappeared back into the clouds.
It wasn't until the starships completely disappeared that the blank minds of all the Earfox seemed to regain their ability to think. Then, their attention turned back to the things left behind by the Intelligence Clan, which were slowly descending.
Star Beast?
This was once their greatest fear, because the appearance of star beasts generally signified the arrival of alien races.
But were these star beasts thrown down by the Intelligence? How could that be?
Because there were too many things that puzzled them, most of the Ear Fox Clan did not rush to escape, but instead watched warily in the direction where the star beasts were falling, until some Ear Fox Clan members suddenly realized that these star beasts were somewhat similar to those used by the Mad Beast Clan that had come to capture them before.
However, most of the star beasts looked similar, so they weren't sure. But subconsciously, they still moved a little closer to the star beasts, with an expectation they didn't understand.
As the star beasts slowly descended under the watchful eyes of all the Ear Fox Clan, they came to a stop on the ground and then moved slightly. One by one, familiar figures with fluffy tails reappeared in their sight.
All the fox-eared tribe members in the settlement looked on incredulously.
Today was a beautiful day, with warm and dazzling sunshine. In this bright light, all the Ear Foxes witnessed a miracle. They saw many of their loved ones, whom they thought they would never see again, struggling to support each other, and then running towards them with happy and excited smiles on their faces.
When he saw his son, daughter-in-law, and several grandchildren among them, the old Ear Fox suddenly burst into tears. He had never believed in miracles before; the Ear Foxes who had been captured by slave traders had never returned. But today, he had witnessed a miracle with his own eyes.
...
While the Earfox tribe, who had been forced to separate, were enjoying their reunion, the intelligent race that had brought back the star beasts containing the Earfox tribe and placed them on the Earfox tribe's home planet were also in high spirits.
Of course, after doing good deeds, they did not forget to take the most important step, which was to post the process of doing good deeds and the photos of the Ear Fox Clan they rescued in the comments section of Chenxi's Ear Fox Clan post.
Postscript: I rescued many ear foxes today. It was really heartwarming to see these adorable ear foxes reunited with their families.
And it's clear that this isn't the only starship fleet that has engaged in similar behavior in different parts of the universe; in a short time, Chenxi's posts were almost flooded with comments like this.
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