Jiang Ye coughed lightly, lifted the curtain, and stepped onto the balcony.
The woman chatting with Cen Yemeng turned around. She had a rather plump face, sharp eyes, but a very friendly smile.
Jiang Ye recognized her instantly: Zhang Qiongshi, who owned five planets, all renowned for their wealth. In terms of strength, Zhang Qiongshi was far more formidable than Jiang Ye.
"Brother Jiang," Zhang Qiongshi nodded with a smile, her tone as natural as if they had known each other for a long time. "A pleasure to meet you."
"Sister Zhang," Jiang Ye replied. "I've heard much about you."
"Husband, Sister Zhang and I were just discussing the matter of developing new planets," Cen Yemeng said. "Sister Zhang has an opportunity for us."
"You can't say I'm giving you an opportunity; I'm requesting your help," Zhang Qiongshi corrected. "Brother Jiang, do you have any thoughts on opening up new planets?"
"Yes, which planet specifically?" Jiang Ye asked.
"It's like this, I'm preparing to open five new planets simultaneously. The procedural steps are almost complete; we just need the troops to land," Zhang Qiongshi explained. "However, my troop strength is a bit stretched, so I plan to give up sovereignty over one planet and only ask for some resources."
"Opening five planets simultaneously?" Jiang Ye's expression was shocked. "Your strength is truly impressive. I find it difficult to manage even two at a time."
"These are planets in the outer rim of the Andromeda galaxy. There's no alien civilization there, or they're just barren rock planets, or they only have some very primitive alien life forms," Zhang Qiongshi smiled. "It's easy to claim such planets. As long as you burn enough fuel and buy a few more Nebula-class warships, it's actually quite simple."
"Just now, Mengmeng and I were talking, and with your strength, opening five planets simultaneously shouldn't be a problem. I feel your military power is even stronger, especially since they are your own troops. I have very few native troops; they are mostly mercenaries I bought at a high price," Zhang Qiongshi sighed. "Mercenaries, fighting for their wages, tend to cut corners."
"Are we already entering the Andromeda galaxy?" Jiang Ye caught the key point. "I remember Andromeda is quite far."
"Because the planets near the Milky Way are all occupied, it seems only one in a hundred thousand planets remains unclaimed," Zhang Qiongshi said. "So now there are two new directions: one towards Andromeda, and the other towards the Triangulum galaxy."
"What about the Big and Small Wheat galaxy direction?" Jiang Ye asked. "I remember it's closer than the Triangulum galaxy. Triangulum is too far, two million light-years; even a star-class ship can't pass it."
"Big and Small Wheat is indeed closer, but the Great Wheat Empire is there," Zhang Qiongshi explained. "The Galactic Empire fought a war with the Great Wheat Empire about a million years ago and ended in a draw. After that, both sides maintained a peaceful coexistence. Now, the Great Wheat Empire is in a civil war, so we are taking advantage of the opportunity to seize planets in Andromeda."
"Sister Zhang just said that the competition for planets is very fierce now, with many planetary powers claiming five or ten planets each. The outer planets of Andromeda, the Galactic Empire has already claimed over seventy thousand, and this is just the beginning," Cen Yemeng said, looking at her husband.
"That's right, everyone is fighting desperately now. Whoever claims more gets rich, swallowing greedily, getting fat in one gulp. The bold get rich, the timid starve," Zhang Qiongshi nodded. "You two, husband and wife, are in your prime and have the ambition to expand. You should seize the time. Pick one of my five planets first, and let's cooperate, how about it?"
Before Jiang Ye could answer, Zhang Qiongshi took out a card from her pocket and handed it to him.
The card only had one line of text printed on it: "Universal Storage Card, please attach to the back of your phone."
Jiang Ye took out his personal backup phone and attached the storage card to it.
A file instantly opened on the screen.
The file was a massive 48GB, containing five sub-files, each labeled with a different planet name.
Muyun Star, Coleridge Star, Zhuangpu Star, Daiyong Star, Pingdao Star.
Jiang Ye clicked on them. They were filled with planet-related information, vast and illustrated.
Judging by the number of pages, it would take a week to read the data for each planet, and if printed, it would be the thickness of a series of novels.
"You can take a detailed look at these planets after you go back," Zhang Qiongshi said. "I recommend Pingdao Star."
"Why?"
"Pingdao Star is the most habitable, with suitable gravity and temperature. It only needs its atmospheric environment to be modified for people to live there. So, if you get this planet, it will be easier for you to develop it. I want the gold and rare earth mines of Pingdao Star. As long as you give me the mining rights, the rest is yours."
"What is my task?" Jiang Ye asked.
"To quell the resistance on Pingdao Star," Zhang Qiongshi replied. "There is a giant lizard on Pingdao Star that has a certain level of intelligence but lacks interstellar travel capabilities. To be honest, dealing with these giant lizards is quite troublesome. I've sent many probes to Pingdao Star before, but they were all destroyed by these giant lizards. Consider it carefully. If you think it's suitable, we can contact each other later."
"Okay, I'll go back and discuss it," Jiang Ye nodded.
After chatting for a while longer, Jiang Ye left the balcony and continued to talk with other planetary leaders.
Two hours later, Director Dai finally made an appearance, entering with a hearty smile.
Everyone in the hall stopped talking. A wave of "Greetings, Director" followed, and then silence descended as everyone quietly looked towards Dai Zhixing at the entrance.
Jiang Ye was shaken. Hundreds of planetary leaders, looking at Director Dai like obedient students – what immense prestige!
Dai Zhixing scanned the room, picked up a microphone, and said:
"It's been a long time since I've seen everyone. You all look well. I wish you all a pleasant dinner!"
After speaking, Dai Zhixing put down the microphone and left.
A thunderous applause erupted in the hall, a wave of sound that washed over them.
Someone gently poked Jiang Ye's waist. Turning around, he saw Liu Jizi.
"So impressive," Liu Jizi whispered, leaning close to Jiang Ye's ear. "Saying something so obvious, and so many people applaud."
"You don't understand. In such private occasions, the more important the person, the less they need to say a lot of nonsense; a single word is enough," Jiang Ye smiled. "The fact that the Director can organize such a dinner greatly enhances his prestige."
"It's too much. The people in this hall represent at least several thousand planets, all subordinates of Director Dai," Liu Jizi marveled. "And I heard them say that not everyone has come to this dinner yet."
"They definitely haven't all come; those present are only a portion of Director Dai's subordinates," Jiang Ye said.
"How many in total?" Liu Jizi was curious.
"I'm not sure either. I'm not a core figure, just a small fry for now," Jiang Ye replied. "I estimate that another seven or eight halls like this would be needed."
"Holy cow." Liu Jizi was stunned. "There are that many?"
"If we go to war with aliens, the Director is one of the few people who make the final decision. What do you think?" Jiang Ye smiled.