Jiang Ye arrived at the space city and attended an intelligence briefing as a military advisor.
His seat was at the end of the long table, with a group of male and female officers in front of him, and Cen Yemeng and her female adjutant at the very front.
Jiang Ye was a bit confused, not understanding why he was seated so far away. He had thought he would be sitting with his wife. The other officers, seeing Jiang Ye's seat, looked somewhat apprehensive, shifting uncomfortably one after another.
Fortunately, the meeting began quickly, and everyone's attention was drawn to the holographic projection.
Cen Yemeng had clearly reviewed the intelligence and was personally responsible for the explanation.
She had changed into a black female military dress uniform, her expression stern and her tone serious, exuding a sense of authority.
Jiang Ye maintained a neutral expression outwardly, but was greatly surprised inwardly. His impression of Cen Yemeng had always been that of a gentle, smiling, and soft wife. He hadn't realized she could possess such a queenly aura.
"The intelligence we've obtained this time is about the civilian environment on the planet of exiles. Please jot down any thoughts you have on the paper in front of you. After all the intelligence has been shared, we will speak in a clockwise direction," Cen Yemeng said.
"The first piece of intelligence comes from Wu Ma Nan. Wu Ma Nan landed on the Platinum Desert of the planet of exiles in a single-soldier mecha and, after a long journey, reached a small city in the north. This small city has a population of 500,000," Cen Yemeng paused abruptly. "I previously asked you all to memorize the city information of the entire planet of exiles. Commander Ji Gaoyang, please stand up and tell us which cities are located north of the Platinum Desert, and which one Wu Ma Nan reached."
A dark-faced man stood up, stammering. Suddenly, he puffed out his chest and said loudly, "Report, Commander! I haven't memorized the Platinum Desert yet. Please forgive me!"
"The Platinum Desert is at the very top of your unit's primary assault area. You can't even memorize this?" Cen Yemeng frowned. "As the highest-ranking officer of a unit, if you can't even grasp the basic situation of the region you're about to conquer, not knowing city names and populations, how can I trust you to go into battle? Commander Bai Su, the Platinum Desert is also within your unit's secondary assault range. Please stand up and answer the question."
"Report!" a very short, pale-faced man stood up abruptly and replied quickly in a strong voice, "North of the Platinum Desert, there is a total of one large city, six small cities, and twelve villages. The one with a population of 500,000 is Qiyu City. Qiyu City is located at 33 degrees North latitude, with a dense population. Most buildings are made of wood and sand bricks, and the streets are narrow. Using incendiary bombs for bombardment would be the most economical. Two small-yield general-purpose nuclear bombs, dropped at the eastern city square and the second avenue on the west side, respectively, would effectively cover over 95% of the population."
"Very good. This is what a military officer should be like. Commander Bai Su, please sit." Cen Yemeng nodded.
Bai Su sat down, his expressionless face glancing at Ji Gaoyang. Ji Gaoyang took a step back, standing by the wall like a student performing self-punishment, his expression extremely embarrassed.
"Wu Ma Nan lingered around the outskirts of the city to scout and discovered that the entire city strictly adheres to the system of congregating by the same name. The shop assistants in the malls are all Jennys, the firefighters are all Ma Tingyi, and in the residential buildings, each building houses the same family. For example, in the special steel plant community that Wu Ma Nan visited, Unit 1's families are all Ma Nan Mandel husbands and Dan Nier Lis wives, totaling 66 Mandels and 66 Lis."
"These people operate on a shift system. Families numbered 1 to 33 work at the steel plant during the day, and the remaining families work at the steel plant at night. They switch every two months," Cen Yemeng continued. "However, our intelligence officer Wu Ma Nan discovered that currently, only families numbered 2, 16, 17, 33, 38, and 50 to 55 have children. Every child looks the same and is named Richardson Oscar."
As Cen Yemeng explained, some photographs appeared on the holographic projection. They were group photos of the special steel plant community during a gathering. A large group of identical men and a large group of identical women smiled uniformly at the camera, each wearing a numbered tag on their chest. In the front, several blond, blue-eyed little boys were crouching; some were teenagers, while others were still crawling babies, but it was evident they all looked the same.
"You should all have noticed the problem. Why is it that for families with the same couple and the same job, some families have no children, while others do, and yet the ages of the children are all different?" Cen Yemeng said. "Wu Ma Nan found out the reason for this strange situation. This reason exposes deep-seated social contradictions on the planet of exiles. Please listen carefully."
Cen Yemeng gestured, and the holographic projection changed again.
A certificate with ornate English signatures was displayed, and the translated result appeared below the photo.
[Qiyu City Special Steel Plant Fifth Production Line Safety Officer Ma Nan Mandel (No. 16), in the face of extreme danger during a sudden mechanical failure, bravely rescued the equipment, saving the steel plant approximately 13.29 million in equipment repair costs.]
[Such heroic actions should be rewarded. Ma Nan Mandel (No. 16) and his wife Dan Nier Lis (No. 16) are requested to wait at home on February 32nd. Around ten o'clock in the morning, your precious child will be delivered to your doorstep. The child is a healthy Grade B male infant, named Richardson Oscar (No. 1), aged two. His future profession will be a designer at the West City Clothing Factory.]
[Richardson Oscar (No. 1) is cultivated and produced by Platinum City Biotechnology Company, using the standard genes of Ma Nan Mandel and Dan Nier Lis. In case of quality issues, or death from illness or disability within five years, please contact the company's customer service for returns or exchanges.]
Jiang Ye's scalp tingled.
The others at the conference table gasped and exchanged uneasy glances, deeply disturbed.
So this was how parents on the planet of exiles obtained children. There were specialized companies that directly cultivated a child using the genes of both parents, delivering them like a gift. The child's profession and even grade were predetermined.
"You may ask any questions you have," Cen Yemeng said.
"That..." a fierce-looking officer raised his hand, hesitating, "Do couples on the planet of exiles... not have that kind of life? Why can't children be born naturally?"
"According to Wu Ma Nan's report, there are very complex reasons for using companies to produce children," Cen Yemeng said. "Firstly, these large companies are the private property of the leaders of the planet of exiles. Secondly, industrial production of children ensures that all children are identical and do not experience severe genetic mutations. The upper echelons of the planet of exiles do not wish for a situation where 'nine dragons are born, each different.' Thirdly, ordinary people do not have the right to procreate; they can only pray for children from their superiors." Cen Yemeng paused. "As for that kind of life, of course, they have it in private."
Jiang Ye suddenly spoke, "Has Wu Ma Nan spoken with these people? Have the locals said anything about their psychological state?"