"I didn't believe it at first, but then something very interesting happened. Guiwu Star began to massively expand its hospitals. Hospitals in every city were expanding like crazy! What was most outrageous was that there were no official announcements, no news, and some hospitals were even expanding secretly at night, acting as if nothing happened during the day. It was all very hush-hush."
"I tried to apply for immigration to Guiwu Star, but unfortunately, on the day I went, the Guiwu Star Immigration Bureau announced equipment failure and temporarily suspended applications."
"Then more news started coming in. All sorts of messages pointed to Guiwu Star initiating a pilot program for life expectancy reform," Old Dai said. "I often do business on different planets, and some old acquaintances called me. They had also received news through various channels."
"So I started looking for other pilot planets. I guessed that such a big event wouldn't be exclusive to just one planet like Guiwu Star."
"The search was difficult. My family and I scoured the news of various planets day and night, registering accounts on social platforms of different planets. My whole family registered over six hundred accounts in a week, can you believe that? As soon as a planet seemed promising, I would fly there immediately, taking the fastest ship. I flew to twenty planets, spending over four hundred thousand."
"Finally, I arrived at Birong Star," Old Dai said. "The signs on Birong Star were a perfect match, and couldn't be any more obvious!"
"Look, the leader of Birong Star, Jiang Ye, started hinting six months in advance, posting short videos discussing the topic of life expectancy extension. Moreover, the book market, TV shows, and variety programs on Birong Star have been intensively focusing on the theme of life extension for the past six months. This is a signal to you all!"
"I don't need to say more about building hospitals; it's the exact same approach as Guiwu Star. And Birong Star issued a policy a few days ago: a million-dollar immigration tax!"
"Today is January 15th. In sixteen days, it will be February, and immigrants will have to pay a million-dollar tax fee!"
"So I'm posting this video to tell everyone, if you want to immigrate to an alien planet, wait. Talk about it after February! If you have friends or family who aren't yet Birong Star citizens, tell them to come quickly! Hurry up and get registered! Get your Birong Star ID card!"
"I'll bet you all, the situation on Birong Star in the next ten days will be absolutely crazy. The news has spread, and aliens will be flocking over desperately. Whoever acts fast will seize the opportunity. Speed, speed, speed! This is a real chance to change your destiny!"
There were many similar videos.
Numerous accounts had sniffed out clues, either explicitly or implicitly.
Netizens in the comment sections could barely contain their excitement.
In some group chats, people were discussing life expectancy reform at any given moment. Classmates' groups that had been silent for years, chaotic community groups, friendly groups from all walks of life, and even serious work groups all had people initiating the topic, followed by hundreds or thousands of heated discussions.
Even some small newspapers began to speculate intensely, writing articles analyzing the feasibility of life expectancy reform.
Several mobile phone brands submitted reports showing a surge in the number of insomniacs on the three planets, with sleep duration monitored by user bracelets plummeting.
In other words, amidst the countless lights of the three planets, innumerable people lay in their beds, tossing and turning, their minds a whirlwind of thoughts.
Hundreds of billions of people had already felt the dampness in the air, heard the distant tide, and everyone realized that a drastic change was imminent. It was a profound change that would affect everyone's life, and the signs were not as subtle as a rustle of leaves, but as obvious as a sky full of storm clouds.
...
Conference room.
Jiang Ye sat in the main seat, his neck tilted.
Liu Jizi stood beside him, repeatedly pressing his neck with a machine that resembled a fascia gun.
Jiang Ye had worked too late last night and had fallen asleep on his desk. When he woke up, he had a stiff neck and couldn't move his head. His neck hurt terribly.
"Everyone is here. Let's begin," Jiang Ye said. "Report in a clockwise order."
"As of now, we have received 6.6 billion pending alien immigration applications. The speed is increasing, with one billion applications received in the past hour. We need more staff to handle the review process. Perhaps we can transfer some administrative staff from the police force," the Director of the Immigration Department said.
"Reject. The police force is understaffed," the police officer opposite said flatly.
"Transfer some administrative staff from the military," Jiang Ye tilted his head. "Che Zhen?"
"The military has sufficient personnel!" Che Zhen immediately replied.
"Then you two communicate and find some military administrative staff to transfer to help the Immigration Department. Those who help will receive subsidies according to the Immigration Department's salary, and the subsidies will be paid by the Immigration Department," Jiang Ye said. "Only approve immigrants with higher value, such as scholars, artists, and merchants. Ordinary people should not be approved for now. We can't even manage our own people, so where would we find space for them?"
"Understood!" The Director of the Immigration Department showed a pleased expression.
"Continue," Jiang Ye said.
"The major markets on the three planets have started to show ripples," Feng Zhi Shuang said. "The most prominent is real estate. Housing prices in some popular cities on Jiang Ye Star have tripled in the past three days. Many small real estate developers on Birong Star wanted to seize the opportunity to acquire land, but Xu Yan suppressed them. The average housing price on Liuxing Star has also doubled. And this is just the beginning; it's possible prices will increase by four to five times in the next ten days."
"You are responsible for suppressing it," Jiang Ye said. "The current surge is simply because many people want to immigrate, and they don't want to pay the million-dollar immigration tax. After February, when the immigration tax takes effect, this momentum will subside."
"For now, the major markets are controllable. As long as we are not greedy and don't take advantage of the situation to make money, we can stabilize them," Feng Zhi Shuang said. "I request to use twenty trillion in emergency funds to control the market and collect it in February."
"Yes, the money is idle anyway, so use it," Jiang Ye said.
Feng Zhi Shuang immediately took out a document. Jiang Ye picked up the pen, signed it, and pressed his fingerprint, all done swiftly.
"Continue," Jiang Ye said.
Hua Qing, who was drinking beer, quickly put down her bottle. "Everything is normal and proceeding according to plan. All experts have arrived and are undergoing intensive training. The first batch of life extension surgeries should begin before February. All life extension hospitals on Jiang Ye Star are in operation. 55% of those on Birong Star are in operation, and the rest will be operational within a week. Those on Liuxing Star are under construction and are expected to be completed by February 1st."
Hua Qing was responsible for coordinating the technology. The life extension surgery experts sent by the military and the life extension surgery equipment transported were all accounted for and distributed by Hua Qing.
"Are there any difficulties?" Jiang Ye asked.
"No, our work is going very smoothly," Hua Qing said. "The only problem is that too many people are gathering near the life extension hospitals, and people are constantly trying to break in. Police forces from various regions are helping us maintain order."