Courtship Period

[Di——]

[The intelligent system of the escape cabin has been activated, the surrounding environment is being detected. The oxygen content is 30%, and the temperature is 30°C… suitable for human survival. ]

[Starting to awaken…]

A neutral electronic sound entered his ears, and Ban Xia felt like he had just taken a long nap on a sunny afternoon.

After sleeping for too long, he realized that it was time for him to wake up, but his eyelids were too heavy to open.

The subtle sound of the electronic equipment running in his ears was particularly hypnotic. Ban Xia tried to open his eyes several times but couldn’t open them, and almost fell asleep again.

“tweet—”

“tweet—”

A sound similar to a birdsong came from outside, making it noisy as if a flock of birds had landed.

Where are the birds from? Ban Xia’s closed eyelids moved slightly.

“Dang-dang-“

Something was banging upstairs, no, not upstairs! The sound is too close!

Ban Xia suddenly opened his eyes, the surroundings suddenly brightened, his vision was blurred for a moment.

Ban Xia narrowed his eyes slightly, when his eyes got used to the light, he saw a transparent hatch above his body. The sky outside the hatch was blue, as clean as if it had been washed with water.

Where… is this?

Ban Xia blinked blankly and heard a soft electronic female voice ringing in his ears.

[Woken up successfully.]

[Please note that this escape hatch is about to run out of nutrients, please leave as soon as possible. 】

Wake up? Escape hatch?

Ban Xia slowly turned his head to look at his side, he saw a pure white metal wall with light blue numbers blinking on it, showing that his body temperature is 37.1°C, and his heart rate is 62 beats per minute.

Is this… the spaceship’s escape hatch?

Ban Xia’s pupils suddenly dilated in shock, not only because he found himself lying in the escape hatch, but also because a big scarlet bird head suddenly appeared above the hatch.

The big bird’s black eyes met Ban Xia’s gaze. This large bird with an extremely long neck lowered its head, and its black beak suddenly hit the hatch.

“Dang-“

Ban Xia almost subconsciously wanted to step back, but his weakness and the limited space in the escape hatch made it impossible for him to complete this action.

He could only stare tensely at the long-necked bird that suddenly appeared, his solemn expression reflected on the transparent hatch.

Doubts arose in Ban Xia’s heart.

Is the sound I just heard the bird pecking at the escape hatch?

A large bird with a strange appearance, not any kind I am familiar with, where am I?

Ban Xia still remembered that he was going to take office at Polaris, and the spaceship crashed on the way. He and the crew left in the escape hatch, and then encountered a wormhole…

After waking up again, he came here and saw this long-necked bird.

What is this place?

Some animal lover’s house? Ecological Park? Primitive planet?

Ban Xia pursed his lips and looked at the long-necked bird pecking at the escape hatch outside, it was difficult to judge for a while.

Although from his point of view, he could only see the other’s head and a section of the neck, he could feel that the bird was much taller than the average adult.

Is there such a bird on the planets to which the alliance belongs?

The long-necked bird shook its head and seemed to be dizzy. Just when Ban Xia thought it was going to give up competing with the escape hatch, the big bird turned its head and made a few “cluck” calls. Soon, Ban Xia heard one after another’s birdsongs response.

Hiss, how many birds must be around here?

One, two, three… Vermillion bird heads appeared in Ban Xia’s field of vision, filling the sky above the escape hatch.

“Tweet?”
“Tweet tweet?”

The long-necked birds screeched wildly, pecking at the escape hatch from time to time.

The escape hatch is a product that can be used in space anyway, and it will definitely not be damaged by a few birds, but Ban Xia is still a little nervous.

It is impossible for the Union to allow citizens to keep so many large birds, that is to say, he should not have been found and brought home by some animal lovers.

It’s not very likely that this is an ecological park. Such a large escape hatch should be intercepted before it floats within a kilometer above the ecological park.

In the same way, in any place where the star network is completely covered, an escape hatch bearing the mark of the Alliance military will not be allowed to float out.

Then there is only one possibility left, which is a primitive planet that has not yet been fully developed.

The long-necked birds gradually lost patience with this escape hatch that could not be pecked open, and most of the bird heads on the hatch cover left.

Ban Xia speculates on the situation of this planet.

There are already animals on this planet that probably originally were born on this place, or maybe introduced by aliens, but the monitoring system has not been installed, and it is impossible to accurately capture foreign objects, which makes his escape hatch wander outside.

Having generally understood his own situation, Ban Xia only hoped that this planet would not be too primitive and that at least there was an airport so that he could rush to Polaris to take up his post.

The last few long-necked birds also left with the calls of their companions, but the chaotic birdsong always lingers.

Just listening to the sound, Ban Xia could imagine how close the huge flock of birds was from the escape hatch.

His escape hatch appears to have fallen into the habitat of this long-necked bird colony.

This is not good news, it’s also unknown if the birds are carnivorous or herbivorous.

The escape hatch will isolate the signal of the star network, and Ban Xia cannot communicate with the outside world. It is also unrealistic to wait for the birds to leave the escape hatch.

Ban Xia unplugged the nutrient solution¹ delivery tube connected to his wrist and tried to move his limbs slightly in the escape capsule.

He was unable to lift his limbs and exert strength, he felt sore and stiff, and it was extremely difficult to move.

Through the reflection on the transparent hatch, Ban Xia saw what he looked like now: his short black hair was a little messy, his black pupils reflected mottled and broken light, and the same black military uniform was meticulously fitted to his body, which made his complexion look extraordinarily pale.

The nutrient solution that was about to be depleted, the weak body, all reminded Ban Xia that he didn’t just take a nap in the escape hatch.

The military escape capsule will have enough nutrient solution for seven days. Before he was pulled into the black hole, he had drifted in space for a day. Now the nutrient solution is almost exhausted, which means that he slept in the escape capsule for at least five days.

I don’t know if the soldiers in the same spaceship have landed on this planet… If I don’t contact the military as soon as possible, I’m afraid the officers at home will go crazy…

Ban Xia thought about it a lot.

When his movement became smooth, and the limbs gained some strength, Ban Xia took out an anesthesia gun from the space bracelet on his left wrist.

The cold touch of the gun made Ban Xia concentrate. He listened to the birdsongs outside. He roughly judged that there were no birds within ten meters of him, so he raised his hand and clicked on the touch screen on the inner wall of the escape cabin.

[Click——]

The sound of opening the escape hatch sounded, Ban Xia pushed open the hatch cover without hesitation and sat up, looking at the surrounding environment for the first time.

His escape hatch landed on the edge of a lake, and on the left was a jungle. The trees in the forest were extremely tall, as if they had grown naturally for thousands of years.

On the right is the blue lake, where flocks of scarlet long-necked birds gather, or comb their feathers with their beaks, or bury their heads underwater in search of food.

Before, I could only see part of the long-necked bird in the escape hatch, and the feeling of surprise is not that obvious. At this time, I was even more shocked when I saw their whole body. Hundreds of big vermilion birds more than three meters high stood in the lake as if flames were burning on the water.

Ban Xia didn’t have time to take a closer look, because there were already quite a few long-necked birds looking at him, and the ones close to him were running towards him with a “cluck” cry.

Stepping out of the escape hatch and stepping on the shallow grass submerged by the lake, Ban Xia grabbed the gun and pulled out his legs, ready to run into the jungle.

Ban Xia had never seen such large birds, and he didn’t know if they were some kind of alliance-protected animals. He didn’t dare to do anything to them easily.

Bang-bang-

A heavy sound, as if something heavy was hitting the ground, the calm lake water was shaken by waves, and Ban Xia who had just taken two steps was shaken to the point of being unsteady and almost fell.

The earth, the lake, the jungle, everything around seemed to be shaking.

Earthquake?

Ban Xia stabilized his still weak body. He didn’t know if he should run into the jungle for a while. If there was an earthquake, neither the lake nor the jungle would be safe.

“Tweet–“

The long-necked birds screamed with a vague fear in their voices. Ban Xia turned to look, and the few long-necked birds that had just run towards him had already returned to the flock.

The long-necked birds screeched, flapped their wings vigorously, and took off together after a run.

Are they escaping?

As a human with no wings and no aircraft, Ban Xia looked at the escape hatch that hadn’t closed yet, hesitating whether to lie down again.

The escape hatch can save him for a while in the earthquake, but if there is no search and rescue personnel after the earthquake, and he is trapped in the escape hatch again, it is really over.

Wait…

These vibrations seem a bit wrong?

It’s not like the vibration caused by the fracture or dislocation of the rock formation, but it seems like something big is coming this way.

“The big guy who can make the ground shake, is it a heavy mecha?”

Ban Xia listened intently, “No, the sound is too messy, there is no sense of regularity of human machinery.”

It seems that a group of extraordinarily large animals is walking towards the lake.

The flock of long-necked birds flew away in panic, and Ban Xia didn’t dare to stand on there alone.

Looking around, Ban Xia selected a giant tree outside the jungle and ran over quickly.

The sense of vibrations became stronger and stronger that Ban Xia could vaguely hear the sound of trees breaking. He looked at the tree that can be hugged by at least a dozen people, and chose to trust the other’s “waist circumference”².

Ban Xia had performed missions in various harsh environments, not to mention climbing trees, he had even climbed over the stems of the alien flower king.

But his body is too weak now, and climbing a giant tree makes him exhausted.

Ban Xia supported the trunk, crouched down on a branch about half a meter thick, and looked up into the jungle.

Trees swayed not far away, and some birds and winged insects rose and fell.

Ban Xia frowned slightly. All of these are kinds of birds and insects he had never seen before. It was the first time that Ban Xia felt that his biological knowledge was so lacking.

The heavy sound was getting closer and closer, and Ban Xia saw a huge black shadow break through the trees and slowly emerge from the woods.

The first thing that appeared in Ban Xia’s sight was a pair of long and thick curved fangs, followed by a leg that was wide at the top and narrow at the bottom and covered with long brown hair… No! That’s not a leg, it’s a proboscis!³

Ban Xia watched in astonishment as the long-nosed and fang-toothed beast approached, a word suddenly came to his mind—mammoth.

“It doesn’t seem to be a mammoth…”

This long-nosed beast has a long mane on its head and back neck. The base of the mane is white, and the color becomes darker as it goes to the tip.

Some of the pointed manes were vermilion red, and some were blue and green, very gorgeous.

Ban Xia had seen mammoths created by biologists in Guxing’s⁴ ecological garden, but they were not so fancy.

Are these big guys a race unique to this planet?

With doubts, Ban Xia took out a rimless monocle from his coat pocket, and called out in a low voice, “J03.”

[The optical brain has been activated, J03 will serve you. ]

The monocle floats automatically, and stops firmly in front of Ban Xia’s left eye, suspending quietly.

Ban Xia turned his head to look into the jungle, the monocle moved with his movements, always hovering about a centimeter in front of Ban Xia’s eyes.

Ban Xia stared at the long-haired behemoth, and the data of it appeared on the lens.

[Unknown male race detected. 】

【Height is 5 meters, body length is 8 meters, and incisors⁵ is 3.5 meters long…】

Unknown race?

Is there no relevant information even in the Light brain database?

A little doubt arose in Ban Xia’s heart, while then another long-haired giant beast came out of the jungle, followed by the third and fourth…

These giant beasts were so huge that every footfall could be heard.

The giant beasts sometimes ripped off a handful of leaves from the tree with their proboscis, sometimes rolled up a handful of grass from the ground, and then walked towards the lake while eating.

Fortunately, the giant tree where Ban Xia was located was tall enough, and the leaves were concentrated on the top crown, which did not attract the attention of the long-haired beasts.

When the long-haired beasts all gathered by the lake, the earthquake-like tremor gradually stopped.

Nearly a hundred long-haired beasts occupied almost the entire lakeshore. The long-haired beasts hung their long noses into the lake water, sucking the lake water and sending it to their mouths.

Ban Xia found that there were also a group of small birds of different colors around these long-haired behemoths. They were really small compared to the long-haired behemoths. Each of them was nearly 30 centimeters long.

Those brightly colored birds flew down from the giant beast, drank enough water by the lake, flew back to the giant beast, and peck in the giant beast’s hair, none of the giant beasts had any intention of driving them away.

Symbiotic relationship?

With a thought, Ban Xia turned on the camera mode of the light brain and captured this scene of harmonious coexistence.

After taking the picture, Ban Xia opened the search bar, entered the picture, and prepared to check the information of this long-haired behemoth on the star network.

On the Light Brain’s page, the little blue-green chrysanthemums⁶ turned and turned, but no search results came out.

[The star network failed to load⁷, please try again later. 】

“Why is the internet speed so poor?” Ban Xia looked at the star network signal icon in the upper left corner of the light brain.

The five bars of the signal bar are empty.

Ban Xia frowned slightly, is this planet so backward? There is no global star network coverage.

The information was impossible to check, so Ban Xia tried to open the planet map and saw the swirling blue-green chrysanthemum again.

Sure enough… without the Star Network, there is no way to find nearby human settlements and airports from the map.

He can only be self-reliant.

Ban Xia stroked the space bracelet on his left wrist, and an electronic eye for detection appeared in his hand.

Ban Xia connected the electronic eye to the optical brain, then controlled it to fly.

Repeat the process just now, and release two more electronic eyes.

The electronic eyes spread out over the jungle, and the images they detected are displayed simultaneously on the optical brain.

Soon, a map centered on the giant tree where Ban Xia was located was gradually drawn.

Ban Xia sat down on the branch, rested to recover his strength, and distracted himself from the formation of the map.

Until it was getting late, flaming clouds burned half of the sky red.

Ban Xia carefully looked twice at the map drawn by the images sent back by the electronic eyes. The map was full of pure primitive jungle features, without any human buildings.

Is this jungle too big?

A trace of unease flashed in Ban Xia’s heart.

On one hand, he didn’t know how long it would take him to get out of the jungle. On the other hand, highly developed planets rarely had such large jungles. Even on tourist planets, there would be many human buildings in the jungle.

And Ban Xia did not see any human buildings from the electronic map.

Probably… this is a maverick planet?

The control range of the electronic eye is limited, Ban Xia can’t stay here and wait for the electronic eye to continue exploring, so he has to go into the jungle.

“Ang-“

A long whistle came from the lake, Ban Xia turned to look, and saw that the largest long-haired beast was walking towards the jungle, it raised its proboscis and made a high-pitched cry.

Behind it, several long-haired beasts stood up one after another, followed behind the long-haired beast that seemed to be the leader, and walked slowly towards the forest.

Ban Xia’s gaze fell on the long-haired beast’s broad back.

Maybe I can hitch a ride?

Ban Xia is very clear that with his current physical condition, it is difficult to walk one kilometer, he needs a means of transportation.

In his mind, he roughly simulated the path of the long-haired beast, Ban Xia got up and jumped to the branch beside him.

The height of this branch is just right from the ground, if the hairy beast walks under it, he can easily land on their backs.

The long-haired beast leader walked in his direction.

When the giant beast leader passed under the tree, Ban Xia leaned forward slightly.

Leap of Faith!

“Tweet——”

He successfully landed on the back of the giant beast, startling several birds of different colors, but the leader of the giant beast just shook his head and continued walking into the jungle without any reaction.

Ban Xia breathed a sigh of relief, but suddenly felt a gaze from behind him.

Ban Xia turned his head to look and met the eyes of a long-haired beast following the leader.

The long-haired beast had a handful of fern-like plants rolled upon its long nose and was about to stuff it into its mouth. Seeing Ban Xia looking over, the long-haired beast raises its long nose and stretches out to Ban Xia, then a handful of green ferns fall into Ban Xia’s arms…

Ban Xia glanced at the plants on his coat, hesitated for a second, then politely said: “…Thank you?”

The beast: “Ang.”

“Roar—”

A deafening sound wave suddenly exploded in the sky, like the sound of thunder rolling over his head, obscuring the long-haired beast’s cry.

After the roar fell, the surroundings became silent.

There were no bird calls, no insects, and even the long-haired beasts stopped.

What was that sound just now?

There was a ringing sound in Ban Xia’s ears, now he still felt dizzy. He looked up at the sky, the flame-like clouds dyed the sky red, and there were no dark clouds.

What is that? Thunderbolt?

While Ban Xia was tilting his head and rubbing his ears, he suddenly heard the voice of the light brain AI J03.

[Please note that a powerful interracial creature is approaching, and the other party exudes a strong courtship pheromone toward you.】

“Oh?” Ban Xia raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Interracial? Is this planet still inhabited by aliens?!

Ban Xia’s eyes lit up, he had no doubts about the authenticity of the reminder given by the light brain J03. The three electronic eyes he released had hormone collection devices, J03 must have analyzed something before sounding the reminder.

In the human alliance, those who can be called aliens are all races whose intelligence is similar to or higher than that of humans.

The Human Alliance has now become friendly with nearly 100 alien races, and some alien races who like to travel will temporarily live on the human planet.

It’s good to have aliens here, he doesn’t have to go to great lengths to find human gathering places.

It’s just that it’s not clear which race of aliens this “interracial creature” is, and whether it’s friendly to humans.

As Ban Xia recalled the alien races known to possess pheromones in his mind, he glanced around, looking for the alien race that might appear.

A race with pheromones…

Zerg who likes to greet each other with their tentacles? Or mermaids with long tails like jewels that turn into foam after half an hour out of the water? Or the fake rabbit family that looks like a rabbit, feels like a rabbit and is said to eat like a rabbit…

Just thinking about it, Ban Xia heard the light brain continue:

[The light brain automatically generated three plans for you:
One, accept the courtship of the other party, and the alien will excitedly bring you back to the lair.
Second, refuse the courtship of the other party, and the alien will directly take you back to the lair.
Three, run away immediately, the alien will catch up to you, beat you up and take you back to the lair. ]

Ban Xia: “…”

Does this make any difference?

Ban Xia suspects that the light brain has become a mentally retarded AI because it cannot connect to the star network.

Take me back to the lair forcibly?

Oh, I haven’t heard such a funny joke in a long time.

Now the human alliance is very strong. It is known among the alien races, as long as their IQ is still online, they will not want to compete with the human alliance.

Ban Xia called up the real-time shooting interface of the electronic eye, ready to find out if there was any alien existence.

Since the light brain can analyze the pheromone, it means that the other party is not far from where he is, unless the alien is a powerful race that can spread its pheromone tens of thousands of meters away.

Suddenly, the sky darkened, as if something blocked the sun.
　　
Is it dark clouds?

Ban Xia raised his head and met a pair of huge golden vertical pupils.

“?!!”

Ban Xia suddenly stopped breathing.

Where’s the cloud? It was clearly a huge monster flying over the jungle, and the monster’s wide wings spread out, obscuring the sky.

---

Notes

• nutrient solution- if you’re familiar with interstellar or modern overhead CN, you’re probably familiar with this. Most of the time this is described as a pack of liquid, sometimes authors will describe its taste as disgusting, sometimes fruity, but most of the time it’s disgusting. This pack of liquid can make you not hungry for a long time without being unhealthy whatsoever.
• waist circumference- for those who didn’t understand the protagonist’s ‘joke’, he personified the tree’s thickness.
• Proboscis- the long nose of a mammal, examples are the trunk of an elephant or the snout of a tapir.
• Guxing- 故星, it can be translated to “old star”.
• incisors- the front teeth present in most mammals.
• blue-green chrysanthemums- this is the loading interface.
• The star network failed to load- [星网追星去了], it’s the same! After many considerations, I still used the words many people would understand better. It has the same meaning though, I’m really trying hard on delivering a readable and understandable translation, tell me though if you’re being bothered by the way I make this work(. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)