The excavation had been ongoing for four days.
Progress had been immense.
Jiang Ye visited the research institute and saw the biological models restored from fossils.
They were all large insects.
Soft-bodied, shelled, and hairy. Insects of various colors, sizes, and structures, all bizarre. The small ones were only finger-sized, but the large ones were as tall as elephants.
Standing beneath the giant, multi-meter-tall beetles, Jiang Ye was horrified. These things were too massive; his own physique wouldn't even be enough for a single meal.
Fortunately, Jiang Ye Star had no such creatures back then, or he would have been long gone.
"From the fossils found so far, this area should have been an insect kingdom," a researcher explained. "We've found over three thousand species of insect fossils, not from the same period, but spanning over a hundred thousand years, from a million to 1.15 million years ago. We haven't found any other forms of life yet, and we don't know why."
"These insects are all frighteningly large," Jiang Ye remarked.
"It's related to the atmospheric environment of Birong Star at the time. Earth also had similar periods where plants, animals, and insects grew to terrifying sizes," the researcher said. "It's worth noting that the metal component found so far is from the same period as these insects, and it's possible they built it."
"Were these insects that intelligent?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Most of the insects had large brains, some even had dual brains and bone brains."
"Bone brains?"
"The brain was inside the bone, with neural tissue distributed throughout the body. It's a very special structure. Some extraterrestrial beings also have bone brains and can have intelligence several times higher than humans."
"They could manufacture metal parts, meaning this insect kingdom had already established a civilization?"
"Currently, the possibility is very high."
Jiang Ye was aghast.
He personally feared insects, or rather, was disgusted and afraid of them.
Whenever he saw a slightly larger insect, Jiang Ye would steer clear, afraid it would fly and land on him. The thought of squashing one and it oozing a sticky fluid made him feel terribly disgusted.
Now, to be told that this region of Birong Star was once home to a kingdom built by various insects, the mere thought of that scene felt utterly insane.
In the following days, the military also dispatched additional archaeological research teams to accelerate the excavation.
The deeper they dug, the more things they unearthed, and the more complex the variety became.
Jiang Ye spent his days in his office watching live broadcasts and reviewing photos from the excavation sites. He even dreamed of the insect kingdom's past, trying to guess its social structure, technological level, and insect culture.
Soon, the excavation site uncovered something utterly preposterous.
A spaceship.
Not a new one, but one that had almost dissolved into the soil, a million-year-old spaceship. It was about the size of eight double-decker buses stacked together, with twin engines and complex components.
It was either a spaceship of the insect kingdom or one that had visited the insect kingdom, left here for various reasons, and over the long passage of time, had become a spaceship fossil.
Seeing the photo of the spaceship fossil, Jiang Ye's scalp tingled.
A million years ago, this thing existed on Birong Star.
A million years ago, humans probably hadn't even invented trousers, and were still chasing wild boars in the forests clad in animal skins.
So, this planet had once hosted a flourishing cosmic civilization. For what reasons had they disappeared from this planet?
The military sent even more personnel, a total of fifty thousand people working, half excavating, and half researching in laboratories.
Jiang Ye wasn't idle. He summoned Tang Hanliu from Jiang Ye Star. Soon, a live broadcasting team was set up at the excavation site, tracking the archaeological process of the insect kingdom with multiple cameras 24 hours a day.
Some merchants from Jiang Ye Star quickly registered the Birong Star Insect Civilization Company and began producing insect models, targeting the children's market.
Gradually, some extraterrestrial journalists began submitting applications to come to Jiang Ye Star's excavation site to take photos and conduct interviews.
Jiang Ye conducted background checks on these extraterrestrial journalists.
As expected, sixty percent of the journalists came from other rival powers of Birong Star.
Their interest in archaeology was likely a pretense; the real intention was to scout for intelligence on Jiang Ye Star's territory.
Jiang Ye decided to play along.
He arranged for a special escort team to attend to these journalists throughout their stay.
The escort team, all former military officers, would intentionally or unintentionally gather to chat during their escort duties, allowing the journalists to overhear their conversations.
The topics of conversation were, of course, sensational.
"Have you heard the rumors? Our Commander Jiang is planning to send ten million people to Birong Star."
"Last week, a trillion-dollar project was initiated, and next week another trillion-dollar project will start. How long can such large-scale projects be kept secret? It's estimated that our ranks will surge before long, and then it will be awkward."
"I was drinking with my superior the other day, and he said he went to a secret military base in the Arctic. They already had over five million robots stored there, all brand new, still in their plastic packaging. I don't know what they're doing with them."
"Five million isn't that many. The military base where I had my training had over twenty floors of underground warehouses filled with military supplies. I don't know where the military got so much money, and what they're planning. Those supplies seemed endless, enough to fight several large-scale battles involving hundreds of thousands of soldiers."
"I heard the military is already secretly supporting the Commander, planning to turn Birong Star into a military stronghold, designated as a Class A node in the planetary defense network."
The speakers were intentional, and the listeners were attentive.
Some journalists had eyes that seemed to gleam with understanding, but their complexions grew paler. Others feigned curiosity and casually inquired, but the escorting officers merely smiled and remained silent, their expressions quite mysterious.
Jiang Ye had initially intended this as a casual maneuver, to release some smoke bombs through these journalists, not expecting significant results.
But to his surprise, tangible results were achieved very quickly.
News arrived from Jiang Ye Star that several planets had approached through secret diplomatic channels, wanting to cooperate with Jiang Ye Star in developing Birong Star.
Jiang Ye checked the territories of these planetary powers on Birong Star. They were located in various positions, and their holdings were not small.
This was an unexpected delight.
The other parties likely felt that obtaining sovereignty over Birong Star was impossible.
Rather than returning in utter defeat, it was better to leverage their current negotiation chips, sell their land for peace, and gain some benefits.
With the other side voluntarily surrendering, Jiang Ye naturally welcomed them with open arms.
He instructed his subordinates to negotiate well with the various planetary powers that came to pledge allegiance.
Soon, a price list was placed on Jiang Ye's desk.
[Jingbai Star: Hopes to open 28 Star-owned enterprises on Birong Star and be tax-exempt for twenty years.]
[Shushan Star: Hopes to have an exclave city on Birong Star, possessing only jurisdiction and operational rights. They can invest in the city's construction and collect profits generated by the city's economy, but not military authority.]