A considerable proportion of these ghosts from Solaris were still engaged in work.
Physical labor was naturally impossible; they were all sealed in small black boxes, mostly engaged in intellectual work.
In the battle for Birong Star, the ghosts of Solaris participated as reinforcements. They transmitted signals from their home planet and paid money to hire interstellar engineering teams to help build various facilities.
These ghosts did not need money, nor did they need the territory of Birong Star. The reason they came was twofold: firstly, they had nowhere to spend the money earned from their intellectual labor, and secondly, they treated it as a game.
Jiang Ye could imagine the scene: in the deep, dark ocean, some black boxes occasionally emitted points of light, high-speed data streams shuttled back and forth, and many ghosts inside watched the news and simulated images transmitted from Birong Star with great interest. They had lost their physical bodies for too long, and now that they had the ability to interfere with reality, how could they be willing to be left out?
The fourth opponent was also very strange.
Night Banquet Star.
The data for Night Banquet Star was mediocre. Its population was five hundred thousand, and its per capita income was around the galactic average. It had cities and rural areas, no wars, and a stable society.
If people from other planets visited Night Banquet Star for a short tour, they would find the planet incredibly dull.
But the characteristic of this planet lay in its nightlife.
After six o'clock in the evening, almost all companies and factories closed, and shops on the streets closed one after another. By seven o'clock, public transportation began to stop, and even private cars became very scarce on the roads. After eight o'clock, the entire planet was like a ghost planet. All cities were ghost towns, the streets were empty, and even electronic billboards were extinguished.
This was not due to a curfew, but simply because everyone's activities shifted from offline to online.
In the rooms of every household, there was a dream pod.
After lying down and sleeping, consciousness was automatically uploaded to the planet's network.
Jiang Ye specifically checked the principle of this dream pod, which was similar to the remote control pod he used to go to Crane Star before. The dream pods currently on the market came from an ancient giant called Chen Zhao Technology Co., Ltd.
The planet's network contained models of almost half the universe, as well as users from distant planets.
The consciousness of everyone on the planet could play in the online world all night. What existed in reality also existed in the online network, and what did not exist in reality also existed in the online network.
There were over thirty-four thousand dream games alone, and each game was almost a world. Zombie worlds, martial arts worlds, primitive worlds, fantasy worlds… filled with players after nightfall.
The mayor of Night Banquet Star had a famous saying: "Daytime work is just mechanical survival; nighttime is the real life."
This time, coming to Birong Star, Night Banquet Star actually prepared to mobilize its entire population for military service.
Night Banquet Star planned to deploy fifty billion robots on Birong Star, controlled by all its citizens, one robot per person. No living people were needed; remote control from dream pods was sufficient. If Birong Star could be captured, all citizens of Night Banquet Star would receive substantial monetary rewards.
Of course, this was still just a plan or a slogan. Night Banquet Star did not yet have the capability to airdrop so many robots.
Jiang Ye finished reviewing the detailed information of the four opponents.
He discovered one thing.
Few of the opponents seemed to be purely biological.
The closest species were cyborgs; the others were robots, or even consciousnesses.
Truly a gathering of demons and ghosts, all invading.
Jiang Ye's head ached. Dealing with robots, and not being able to kill them, what was to be done?
His phone suddenly rang.
A new email.
Jiang Ye was slightly surprised. He hadn't received an email in a long time. Such a retro format was usually used only for very important and formal matters. The last time he used it was when exchanging diplomatic documents with Daughter Star.
He clicked it open.
"Respected Mr. Jiang Ye, Star Commander:"
"I am Gong Bili Ge, the trench chief of Trench 106 on Solaris. Our trench has 55 million human souls, of which 10,000 participated in the Birong Star competition, and they are also the entire force of the Solaris faction on Birong Star."
"We were once human, and we will always believe ourselves to be human. Even though we are all confined in small black boxes, we care about the fate of humanity in infinite space. The Mir War has just ended, and all planets need to recuperate. However, it is truly heartbreaking to see various factions fighting and depleting each other on Birong Star."
"I hope to represent the Solaris faction and negotiate with you personally for peace and friendship."
"Gong Bili Ge pays his respects."
The email was short, but the matter was significant.
Jiang Ye's heart pounded.
He didn't know if this email was sincere or a trick, but in any case, it was an opportunity.
If seized tightly, it might even turn the pretense into reality.
Jiang Ye checked the email's path; it had been directly transferred to him from the military network.
He eagerly opened the email editor and began to reply.
"Respected Mr. Gong Bili Ge:"
"I extend my respects to our human compatriots on Solaris. I am willing to bridge the distance between the stars and grasp the hands you raise from the sea. Jiang Ye Star advocates for peace, and I personally believe in the power of friendship."
"May I ask in what form and at what location I should meet with you to discuss matters?"
"Sincerely, Jiang Ye"
The email was submitted to the military, and the transfer address was written as Gong Bili Ge, Trench 106, Solaris.
After a few minutes, the email was sent.
Jiang Ye waited anxiously.
At the same time, he sent photos of the exchanged emails to Shizhi Zhizi, asking her to investigate relevant information to prevent any tricks.
His phone rang again, and Jiang Ye snatched it up.
"Respected Mr. Jiang Ye, Star Commander:"
"I can converse with you face-to-face through holographic projection and online consciousness. If it is convenient, please prepare a dream projector, preferably the Chen Zhao Technology Co., Ltd. 660 new model, the highest configuration version with a delay of less than one second. Then, enter the secret code gongbilige08561, and you will be able to see me."
"You should know that I am merely a consciousness, a soul. I do not need sleep, nor do I have inconvenient times, so you can meet me at any time."
"Gong Bili Ge pays his respects."
Jiang Ye immediately forwarded the email to Su Yueming, "Procure it quickly."
Su Yueming acted swiftly. The next morning, an empty conference room was cleared at the base, and two seats were set up at a moderate distance, facing each other.
A dream projector was suspended above one of the seats.
Jiang Ye had expected the machine to be very expensive and huge, as it sounded like a very advanced piece of equipment. However, when he saw the reimbursement form, it only cost 100,000 yuan, which was incredibly cheap. Its size and appearance were very similar to the projectors in old-fashioned classrooms.
Jiang Ye changed into his formal attire in advance, ate and drank, used the restroom, and sat in the chair, full of energy, waiting.
Secretary Su Yueming entered the secret code on the computer behind him.
The dream projector suddenly activated, and then, a person appeared in the chair opposite Jiang Ye.