Miao Star, a very strange planet in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The local Wisdom Civilization has already developed Controlled Nuclear Fusion Technology and possesses rudimentary interstellar navigation means, becoming a bona fide Level 1 Civilization. But this Wisdom Civilization has no ambition to advance the Universe; rather, they willingly nestle on their own planet, with their most notable feature being their tourism culture.

If judged by the standards of the New Human Civilization, this local Wisdom Civilization is undoubtedly a Sinking Civilization. However, because this civilization is quite unique, new human citizens often come here to travel.

"Whew... The famous Miao Star, here we come!" Lin Yueyue remarked as she gazed at the blue planet outside the window with a sigh.

More than a year after that disaster, life had returned to peace, and even though she had lost some friends and relatives, life had to go on.

She had completed her psychological treatment and joined a tour group with some friends to Miao Star to unwind.

The native wise species of Miao Star resemble dolphins, with two hands and two legs, living on land.

These "Dolphin People" are very gentle, not very aggressive, and their etiquette habits are somewhat similar to those of humans.

For a civilization that has developed fusion technology and is almost at its end, new humans usually adopt a "Point Contact Treaty," meaning point-to-point contact, to interfere as little as possible in their internal affairs.

On the spaceship, an Artificial Intelligence said, "Hello, passengers. I am the Harmony ship's AI. We have signed a tourism agreement with this planet. The local residents are aware of aliens, so you can personally land on the planet for your tour."

"Here are a few precautions: The first is to respect local customs, particularly regarding the 'Miao' customs, which involve certain societal and cultural norms. When you see eccentric things, whether reasonable or not, do not point fingers excessively or judge based on human morals."

"Second, to purchase goods here, you need to use the local currency, and we will provide currency conversion tools. It is strictly forbidden to engage in black market currency exchanges locally, and trade in New Human Civilization products is also forbidden…"

The Galactic Progress Alliance is a Level 5 Civilization alliance, and their currency is naturally extremely valuable, whereas Miao Planet is merely a Level 1 civilization, with a vast disparity between them. Banning these secretive currency exchanges helps avoid diplomatic risks and reduces certain fraudulent activities.

"The third and final point, do not rashly consume food here that lacks safety standards, as some might cause poisoning or carry risks of addiction."

After the introduction, the spaceship landed smoothly on the ground, and all tourists disembarked.

The atmosphere on this planet has a higher concentration of oxygen, so one can breathe freely.

Lin Yueyue saw dozens of dolphin-like attendants lining up in two rows with fluffy, white Meows perched on their heads, creating a continuous "purring" sound.

A Miao is a furry creature, appearing quite cute, with a mass of about 2.5 to 5.5 kilograms.

In reality, this creature is not to be underestimated. It's a very agile species that can climb trees and catch some small animals.

But under the long-term care of the Dolphin People, these creatures have become quite lazy, basically losing the ability to take care of themselves.

The Dolphin People grab them by their behinds, and the Miao makes a "purring" sound from its throat, showing it feels comfortable.

"Purr!"

"Purr!"

"Purr!"

Human tourists walked through the attendants' lineup, with the ocean-like "purring" sound heard everywhere.

The Dolphin People regard this sound as a high-end etiquette, so they keep scratching the Meow's behinds. The louder the "purring" sound the Meows make, the more respect they show to the guests.

Faced with such a whimsical scene, Lin Yueyue could barely hold back the muscles on her face from laughing. She looked back at her good friend Li Qing, who seemed to have a tooth mark on her lip.

Finally, it was time for free activities, and many people began to laugh out loud.

Hahaha!

After laughing, Lin Yueyue asked, "Why are you bleeding?"

"I almost couldn't hold it just now and accidentally bit my lip!" Li Qing replied somewhat helplessly.

Up ahead is a huge Miao culture amusement plaza built specifically for aliens, with a dazzling array of shops and cultural museums inside, showcasing a Meow sculpture over a dozen meters tall.

In some places, people can personally touch these furry creatures.

"Here, Miao have a higher legal status than the Dolphin People, so there are no stray Miao; each Miao has an owner... Oh, and the most important point: Miao are not allowed to fall on concrete in outdoor areas, or their owners will be fined; abandoning a Miao isn't just a fine, there's a possibility of jail time!"

"Each Miao has its own citizen ID and an owner. Haha, isn't that interesting?"

Clearly, Lin Yueyue had done quite a bit of homework for this trip, almost effortlessly recalling the local customs and culture.

"Why did this bizarre culture appear?" Li Qing asked while taking a few photos of a nearby statue.

Lin Yueyue thought for a bit: "I'm not really sure... Maybe it's related to local cultural history. It's said that in ancient times, these two species were in a symbiotic relationship, even closer than humans and dogs."

"But as time went by, the intelligence of the Dolphin People gradually rose, society became more and more advanced, and the role of the Miao species became smaller and smaller."

"Afterwards, incidents of abusing and abandoning Miao emerged, triggering a strong backlash from traditional culture, thus these laws were established and evolved into what they are now."

"As you know, maintaining a moderate societal trend isn't easy; it often shifts from one extreme to another. When some people abuse Miao, others want to protect them. So, how do you prohibit this minority abuse? Well, laws have to be enacted... It's the saying, too much of a good thing can be harmful."

Li Qing nodded her head, still finding it difficult to imagine such a peculiar history.

She said, "I think there would still be Dolphin People who resent this practice, valuing a species higher than themselves. Isn't that too strange?"

"If I lived in this environment, I might feel annoyed. It's just too strict."

Lin Yueyue nodded but soon shook her head: "Even if they don't like it, what can they do… Would the policymakers heed the opinion of a minority? Of course not. Sometimes, even the majority's opinion isn't listened to."

"Because this unique culture can attract aliens, bringing huge economic benefits, and that advantage is enough! If they changed this culture, it would just be an ordinary planet; who would still come here for tourism?"

Lin Yueyue seemed to think of something: "Let me give another example. Why did some countries ban eating dog meat and abandon their traditional culture? Are dogs pitiable? Aren't pigs, cows, and sheep pitiable? Aren't chickens and ducks pitiable? Isn't it all to align with foreign cultures or to satisfy some people's moral superiority? It's hypocrisy."

After she put it that way, the evolution of this Miao culture seemed a bit more understandable…

"Mishi Mishi (Hello), Ha Laji Ka Baga (How much for this baked bun)?"

"5 Yuan!"

This Dolphin Person began to skillfully make the baked bun, displayed with a safety label on his table, indicating humans can consume this food.

A Miao stood on alert on his head, even though such vigilance doesn't have much meaning in today's society... The Miao still dutifully fulfills its responsibilities.

"Their society still has poor people…" Lin Yueyue stated.

"How do you know he is poor? Is making baked buns synonymous with being poor?" Li Qing asked, slightly puzzled.

Lin Yueyue explained: "Because the Miao on his head is vigilant, he's poor. In the real upper class, Miao have long lost such instincts, all of them being lazy and chubby. Only in the world of the poor might there still be conflicts. This Miao looks lean and even keeps its claws, possessing some combat ability. It's said that the black market is quite prevalent on this planet…"

"Black market?!"

"Of course, I've read in the Superhuman investigation report, that this is a society with a huge wealth gap. In places beyond government control, they can only rely on the local black market to resolve issues."

"This is a Level 1 Civilization?!" Li Qing was shocked; the idea of a black market seemed too distant for her.

Behind the glamorous exterior, there often lies a dark side unknown to many... However, the civilization presented to tourists is all bright, even somewhat comical and cute.

But how many people are really willing to understand the true truth?

"Your sesame cake!"

"Thank you!"

Lin Yueyue took a bite. The flour on this planet was very chewy, and the filling somewhat resembled preserved vegetables.

Next, the two of them visited well-known tourist spots like the Miao Restaurant, Miao Amusement Park, and Meow Museum, which were indeed quite interesting and provided a uniquely delightful experience.

They even got to touch these furry animals themselves, of course, with the owner's permission first.

In the amusement park, there was a group of Dolphin People specially raised Miao here.

"Purr purr, purr purr..."

"Look, it's making noise, it's making noise! Wow, this Miao is so fat, it feels so great to touch!"

"...Why does touching here make it purr? And why does it arch its body when you touch it?"

"Haha, I know, touching it here can satisfy its sexual desire, so naturally it feels great! Hehe."

"If only I could keep one myself!"

"No way, this was stipulated when both governments signed the agreement. Buying and selling Miao privately is not allowed, otherwise, their society would be chaotic. To many Dolphin People, Miao is like family and cannot be used for trading."

"Alright, alright, I get it... I think living here can actually be quite happy. Raising small animals every day is also nice."

Listening to her companions' discussions, Lin Yueyue felt a bit powerless and couldn't help but retort, "Happy? Just because they present a shiny exterior, you think this civilization is happy? Do you truly understand this civilization? Have you read the Superhuman report? Speaking without in-depth investigation is an irrational behavior!"

"You feel happy just touching a few times now, wonder if you'll still feel happy living worse than Miao?"

"Alright, alright, Sister Yueyue, don't be so serious. Everyone's just out here for fun." Li Qing quickly advised.

Lin Yueyue didn't continue speaking, just shook her head, not wanting to continue playing here.

Although all cultural experiences here are novel, thinking that they are all fabricated content to please tourists makes it uncomfortable.

"Experiencing some fake culture is not as good as experiencing the Virtual World."

"Now the Virtual World has almost everything, you can play just by Consciousness Upload and don't even have to take the spaceship."

Lin Yueyue decided to return to the spaceship, to consult the societal reports investigated by the Superhuman, and understand this world more realistically.

Li Qing reluctantly put down the Miao in her hand and, for the sake of their revolutionary friendship, could only follow this serious friend back to the spaceship.

...

Essentially, this is a very simple capitalist society, not much different from other Sinking Civilizations. Everything brought by capitalism can be seen in this civilization. The culture people experience here is merely the good side of it.

"So I've been thinking, why can't so many civilizations break free from capitalism..." Lin Yueyue put down the computer in her hands and sighed.

"You're making this issue too big!" Li Qing frowned, as this question is indeed unsolvable for young people because they have never experienced the so-called exploitation and being exploited.

Lin Yueyue said, "According to sociologists' investigation reports, there are many reasons why capitalism can't be broken free from, one of which is globalization."

The majority of civilizations, even in the interstellar era, remain divided, consisting of numerous countries.

Generally speaking, these countries are in cooperation intertwined with competition, resulting in the globalization of economy, talent, and goods, with transnational capital playing a significant role in it—they flow to where production costs are cheap.

Once a country imposes restrictions on capital, raising production costs, transnational capital will flow easily elsewhere, causing the country to easily fall into economic recession if the outflow reaches a certain level.

This has trapped virtually every country involved in globalization in a prisoner's dilemma: they must please capital, making it least likely to flow elsewhere.

Thus, the bourgeoisie band together unprecedentedly to form a significant civilization barrier. Even the most ambitious revolutionaries find it nearly impossible to overcome this natural problem, embracing capitalism almost without a solution.

"Therefore, some believe globalization is an insurmountable trap."

Seeing this, Lin Yueyue sighed again.

This is understandable, as in the former Earth Era, some countries allowed hibernation while others did not, causing people who wanted to hibernate to flock there, bringing huge benefits to those hibernation-permitting nations.

Just this small issue of hibernation became so hard to control due to political division, let alone the economic flow in the globalized environment?

Of course, there are way too many traps in civilization, this is merely a small pit, there are much more unsolvable ones. If one really wants to study Cosmic Sociology, it may take a lifetime.

"Is there a planet where one can experience real culture and still is quite interesting?" Lin Yueyue asked the Artificial Intelligence in the spaceship.

"Real, it has to be real, not this kind of fake culture to please!"

The Artificial Intelligence searched for a while, then said, "There is a niche planet where real culture can be experienced. According to investigations, we humans have named it Dolphin Star, located in the far-away Andromeda Galaxy."

"Dolphin Star?" Lin Yueyue indeed hadn't heard of this term.

It turns out Superhumans have already started exploring the Andromeda Galaxy.

"Your age group can look up the information within."

Checking information requires an age group?

The two girls couldn't help but feel curious and quickly searched the screen for a while, spending just a few minutes, and broke out in a cold sweat.

[Dolphin Star, located in the Andromeda Galaxy, Level 1 Civilization, famous tourism planet, where one can experience the most brutal survival competition culture.]

[...On this planet, we have identified two kinds of Wise Species, one resembling monkeys, named Monkey people; another resembling Earth's pigs, named Dolphins. Over long-term competition, Monkey people prevailed, creating a brilliant civilization above the planet.]

[Dolphins have a certain degree of Intelligence yet become the Monkey people's favorite food, reduced to livestock. Note, this livestock has extremely high Intelligence, we believe that with proper education, its Intelligence could reach 100.]

[To reduce Dolphin resistance, Monkey people cut off the forebrain of Dolphins just after birth, and then place them in farms. The fate of Dolphins is to grow their fat and then be eaten. Due to lack of socializing, lack of culture, plus having their forebrain removed, they don't even know they possess potential for Intelligence.]

[A small portion of Dolphins are used for acrobatics in interstellar diplomatic activities, they're allowed to keep their forebrain and possess a certain degree of Intelligence.]

[We found a small group of Dolphins with socializing. Unfortunately, they have neither the desire nor the motivation to resist.]

[The funniest thing is that Monkey people love a dog-like animal and have set strict protection laws for this animal, similar to the Miao Star in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Monkey people satisfy their vanity and moral sense by caring for this small animal.]

...

(PS: This marks the end of the side story, five side stories should suffice, next we need to prepare for the new book. If inspiration strikes later, maybe we'll write more...)

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