The earthquake statistics are out, with a total of 8,012 dead or missing and 54,800 injured.
Many of the injured would have been counted among the dead if not for the timely rescue and medical assistance provided by the mechanical soldiers.
Given the half-month warning, everyone's preparation, and the pre-quake notifications, such a severe casualty count can only indicate that the work on Har Star was inadequate, and the public's earthquake preparedness knowledge and attentiveness were insufficient.
The High Priest convened several emergency meetings, summoning high-ranking officials from all departments and regions, slamming his fists on the table in anger.
Jiang Ye attended the meetings as an observer. He needed to accumulate experience with global disasters in case Jiang Ye Star and Bi Rong Star ever needed it. Moreover, the troops were involved in the population transfer and disaster relief on Har Star, so understanding the specific situation would help minimize casualties in the future.
The preliminary death investigation was publicized at the last meeting, revealing a bizarre array of causes of death.
Some were burned to death by residual chemicals from a factory explosion.
A disabled person, unable to evacuate in time, was crushed to death by a collapsing ceiling, bleeding profusely.
Some died of sudden heart attacks after witnessing the horrific aftermath of the earthquake.
Others fell into fissures and perished.
Some were crushed by falling trees.
Still others were decapitated by large glass shards falling from skyscraper buildings.
Cheap intelligent hovercars, sensing the tremors, automatically took off to avoid the shaking. However, due to network disruptions, they crashed, crushing people on the street to death.
Backup power lines beneath the roads buckled from the strong tremors, flipping onto the road surface and electrocuting a passing child.
Some were crushed to death after hiding in unsuitable places for shelter.
Others drowned after being swept into rivers by overflowing waters.
There were also suspected homicide cases with unknown causes.
The methods of death were truly bizarre, yet many of these deaths could have been entirely avoided.
During the meeting, the rescue teams from Jiang Ye Star were specifically commended. Thanks to the swift actions and correct measures taken by the mechanical soldiers, the death toll was reduced by at least ten thousand. Jiang Ye smiled without comment, unsure if this number reflected the actual situation discovered by the investigation or was a persuasive statement to urge him to increase rescue efforts.
Within a week, seven large-scale extraterrestrial real estate companies had set up operations on Jiang Ye Star. The mega-corporations included Hermit Crab Real Estate Group, Pangolin Real Estate Group, and Three Burrows Rabbit Real Estate Group.
These three were fierce rivals of Termite Real Estate. Jiang Ye was quite surprised that they received approval and invitations to set up operations from Xu Yan.
When Jiang Ye Star was still under construction, Jiang Ye had chosen between Termite Real Estate and these three major companies, ultimately selecting Termite and allowing Xu Yan to monopolize the market for so long. Now, after all these years, the other three real estate companies had finally entered the scene.
There were also four other sizable real estate companies: Black Whale Company, Tang Dynasty Company, Breath Company, and Church Company.
These four were rather unique.
Black Whale Company specialized in marine construction, having undertaken numerous marine cities on over forty planets. Their specific areas included land reclamation cities, floating island cities, and underwater cities. In addition to marine cities, Black Whale Company was also adept at marine mineral extraction. One of their flagship products was automatic offshore mining towers and offshore wind power plants. It was likely that Xu Yan approved Black Whale Company's entry due to these two products.
Tang Dynasty Company was responsible for high-end interior decoration, serving exclusively wealthy clients. As long as the payment was sufficient, Tang Dynasty Company could provide any interior design effect imaginable or unimaginable, easily handling everything from pure minimalist styles to opulent designs reminiscent of ancient imperial palaces.
Breath Company focused on environmental protection, with large projects including breathable architecture and smaller projects like urban parks, road greening, indoor plant systems, and rooftop gardens.
Church Company, as expected, specialized in the construction of various religious sites, placing great emphasis on architectural artistry and striving to create buildings that resonated most deeply with people, tailored to the local conditions.
Jiang Ye had seen actual footage of projects from Church Company's promotional videos. For clients with ample funds, they offered incredibly opulent and majestic cathedral designs that would leave ordinary visitors awestruck and inclined towards conversion upon entering. For clients with limited funds, they offered exquisitely crafted designs with subtle miracles. For instance, a rural church on Har Star featured a large cross carved into the wall, which would shimmer brilliantly when sunlight streamed through the gaps each day, bringing the colorful crushed glass stones on the ground to life with magnificent light and shadow.
Jiang Ye had initially thought that with the introduction of these real estate companies, the matter would be concluded, and large-scale construction would commence.
However, to his surprise, Xu Yan suddenly arrived on Har Star by spaceship.
Jiang Ye met with her at her residence in the Divine Palace for lunch.
Xu Yan was wearing a striking crimson formal outfit, which was quite festive.
"Har Star is experiencing constant earthquakes, the entire planet is in mourning, and you're dressed like this... it's not quite appropriate," Jiang Ye remarked upon meeting her.
"Oh!" Xu Yan exclaimed, covering her mouth in alarm as if suddenly remembering something. "I didn't think of that. This outfit was a signed piece given to me by the designer when I attended Fashion Week."
"Fashion Week?" Jiang Ye blinked in surprise. "Were you on a business trip off-world?"
"No, there's too much going on on Jiang Ye Star, I couldn't get away," Xu Yan replied. "It was the Fashion Week in Binhai City, organized by Tian Rao. It was exceptionally well done, with many intergalactic supermodels and several emerging fashion designers."
"I hadn't paid much attention," Jiang Ye said, slightly surprised. "The fashion industry is quite niche, after all."
"Tian Rao has started her own brand," Xu Yan said with a smile. "Her company's newly launched men's and women's wear are already selling for sixty thousand yuan a piece. They employ a scarcity marketing strategy, making them difficult to buy even with money. Typically, they're first sold to female bosses of wealthy clubs or the wives of male bosses. The market price has already been driven up to over two hundred thousand yuan per item. This signed outfit I'm wearing might sell for four or five hundred thousand."
Jiang Ye was astonished.
So expensive!
His own clothes were quite inexpensive. His summer t-shirts, shorts, and shoes were in the thousand-yuan range, appearing similar to items costing a few hundred yuan, but made with special fabrics. Cen Yemeng had more clothes, and some were more expensive, with high heels costing seventy to eighty thousand yuan, but not a single outfit exceeding two to three hundred thousand yuan.
"I've come to ask for your approval," Xu Yan stated.
"Approval for what?"
"I plan to establish a joint company, integrating the subsidiaries of Termite Real Estate, Black Whale Company, Tang Dynasty Company, Breath Company, and Church Company on Jiang Ye Star," Xu Yan explained. "Each of our companies has its strengths, and our advantages are things the others cannot learn. If we can combine them, complementing each other's strengths, our capabilities will be exceptionally high."
Jiang Ye was surprised. "That's certainly a good idea, but would those companies agree to it?"
"I've already contacted them, and they've all agreed. After all, I'm in charge of approving construction projects on Jiang Ye Star. If I don't give my consent, they won't be able to get a single bite," Xu Yan said with a sly smile.