The cities on the exiled star were categorized into five tiers by Jiang Ye.
The first tier comprised cities that surrendered entirely, leading to universal rejoicing. These cities were now even better off than before the war, enjoying greater freedom.
The second tier involved cities where the main military forces surrendered, with only isolated extremist elements resisting. After a swift cleanup, normal life could resume.
The third tier saw the city defense forces annihilated, followed by civilian resistance ceasing. These cities suffered a certain degree of destruction.
The fourth tier was where the city defense forces coerced large numbers of civilians into becoming cannon fodder. Ordinary people were armed and driven onto the battlefield. Such cities often experienced engagements of considerable intensity, resulting in heavy casualties. The prisoners in the war camps Jiang Ye had just inspected were all from the fourth tier.
The fifth tier was the most troublesome. The entire city was united in hostility, with both military and civilians fanatically taking up arms to fight to the death. Only a very few wished to surrender. Cities of this tier were almost completely destroyed.
Jiang Ye inspected several cities consecutively, finding examples from each tier.
The differences between the cities of different tiers were extremely stark, almost as if they were different planets.
On the streets of a first-tier city, many pedestrians were strolling. Various restaurants and even entertainment venues were open as usual. Some Jiang Ye Star soldiers on duty appeared very relaxed, chatting with locals under streetlights, or walking while eating snacks from a bag. The sounds drifting through the streets were not of gunfire but of music.
A fifth-tier city had become a complete ruin. Buildings had collapsed, the glass in office buildings was shattered, revealing their steel skeletons. The streets were littered with corpses and destroyed weapons. Along the roadside, resistance fighters executed by flamethrower and bullets lay in rows, resembling dried fish hung on rooftops by fishermen, or scorched wood from a forest fire.
Jiang Ye asked Che Zhen, "Why use flamethrowers? Isn't that too cruel?"
"These individuals carry prion viruses, a biological weapon developed by their own people," Che Zhen explained. "It typically appears on the skin surface as clusters of pale yellow protein blooms, resembling wood ear mushrooms. They injected themselves with the prion virus and then attempted to blend in with civilians, infecting others, who in turn would infect the prisoners of war and our army, thereby completely disrupting our offensive and eradicating our compatriots who surrendered."
Che Zhen gestured, and a nearby mecha soldier stepped forward. Its mechanical blade flashed, opening the abdominal cavity of a corpse.
What erupted was not internal organs, but countless pink and yellow objects shaped like wood ear mushrooms, hundreds of them packed into the abdomen, looking bizarre and disgusting.
Most unnervingly, those wood ear-like structures seemed to be wriggling slightly.
The mecha soldier immediately used a flamethrower to incinerate them, turning the protein blooms into pus.
"This prion virus lacks DNA and RNA; it's a simple protein structure. However, these proteins can absorb proteins from the human body and transform them into identical copies of themselves," Che Zhen said. "Once a single prion virus protein bloom enters the body, the entire person will gradually transform from the inside out into a giant prion virus monster, much like people petrified in ancient legends."
"This process is painful and prolonged. We currently have no effective antidote. The military laboratories are working overtime to develop one. Once an effective agent to eliminate this prion virus is deployed, we will be able to detain and treat these individuals instead of executing them, followed by ideological re-education."
Jiang Ye nodded. The safety of civilians must be guaranteed. As for the resistance fighters, if they could be saved, they would be saved; if not, so be it. This was war, after all, and the safety of his own soldiers came first.
After the inspection, Jiang Ye returned to the space city by spaceship.
He was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and dozed off in a window seat.
As the spaceship left the orbit of the exiled star, an emergency news broadcast jolted him awake.
"The reactionary ruler of the exiled star, Jirou Rin Taro, will deliver a global address tonight at 8 PM, announcing surrender."
Jiang Ye frowned.
He felt something was amiss.
Jirou was an old madman who had already sent millions of soldiers and civilians to their deaths. He had previously advocated for total annihilation. How could he suddenly have a change of heart?
The spaceship arrived at the space city.
Jiang Ye hurried to Cen Yemeng's office.
He expected Cen Yemeng to be extremely busy, but upon opening the door, he found her sleeping on a recliner, wrapped in a small blanket, curled up like a kitten, her eyelashes long and elegant.
Hearing the door open, she cracked an eye open and then smiled.
"How was the inspection?" Cen Yemeng asked.
"Was Jirou's surrender speech your plan?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Yes, we created an android exactly like Jirou, with its vocal cords adjusted to match his voice. The fake Jirou is now intensively training his acting skills and will be sent to the studio shortly," Cen Yemeng yawned. "Come lie down."
Jiang Ye locked the door and walked towards the recliner.
Cen Yemeng shifted over, making room for him. Once Jiang Ye lay beside her, she pulled the blanket over them both, resting her head on his chest and continuing to doze.
Jiang Ye held her, feeling that she was not the commander of this war, but merely a cute young girl.
"Jirou's whereabouts have been elusive. This old fox has many hiding places and we don't know where he's hiding, but he's definitely still somewhere on the exiled star," Cen Yemeng spoke softly. "Originally, we planned to capture the ringleader, either alive or dead, to control the situation or make an example of him, forcing the armies in various parts of the exiled star to cease their resistance. But since we can't find him, we have to use a fake to impersonate him."
"Are you sure there won't be any problems?" Jiang Ye asked.
"The entire planet's signal is blocked by us. The television and internet on the exiled star can only broadcast our content," Cen Yemeng said. "The real Jirou cannot deliver a televised speech, so whatever the fake Jirou says will become the truth."
Jiang Ye also nodded. "Moreover, many places are unwilling to resist, they are just afraid of Jirou's future retribution. Now, under the guise of Jirou's name, even if some regions on the exiled star suspect it's fake, they will tacitly acknowledge it as real."
"Exactly. As long as our offensive is fierce enough, even a fake will become real," Cen Yemeng said.
"The situation in the prisoner-of-war camps is dire," Jiang Ye said. "I plan to transfer more troops and engineering teams from Jiang Ye Star and Bi Rong Star to build better POW camps."
"That's fine," Cen Yemeng nodded. "I was also about to order the release of some well-behaved prisoners to alleviate the high pressure in the various POW camps. Keeping those people locked up indefinitely isn't a solution."
"The time is not yet ripe. Releasing some prisoners might cause them to pick up arms and resist again," Jiang Ye said. "We'll wait until the entire planet's situation is settled."
"I know, that's why I said I was about to order it, not that I had already ordered it," Cen Yemeng smiled. "After the fake Jirou's surrender speech, we'll see the situation in various parts of the exiled star and then decide whether to release the old prisoners."