Jiang Ye successively reviewed a large number of insectoid biochemical weapon data and various strange corpse photographs.
Some biochemical weapons were targeted at humans, while others were aimed at plants and animals, leading to ecological collapse in many areas of Saluxing, significant reductions in food production, and widespread death among poultry and livestock.
Some biochemical weapons were static; once eliminated, the threat ended, though eliminating them came at a heavy price.
However, some biochemical weapons had learned to mutate, constantly evolving into an endless stream of subspecies. These subspecies would then merge with each other to form "Poison Kings." After fully developing their evolutionary trees, they would repeatedly sweep across Saluxing, crushing the defensive lines of major cities, causing wails of grief in hospitals, and melting the furnaces of crematoriums.
Jiang Ye felt as though the insectoids were like some kind of demonic god, repeatedly extending their giant hands towards Saluxing. Each time a palm grasped, it snatched away countless lives, conjured legions of wronged souls, and left behind mountains of corpses.
"Your fight has been incredibly difficult," Jiang Ye sighed. "In such harsh conditions, you still have four billion people united against a common enemy, remaining on your planet to continue fighting instead of fleeing to other worlds. The people of Saluxing are not simple; you have courage."
"Before the war, our planet had 1.4 billion people. Over the years, due to deaths and evacuations, over ten billion have perished, leaving only four billion," Cen Zi said with an embarrassed expression. "And some people don't flee to other planets because they can't afford the ship tickets, or because the insectoids frequently destroy our escaping spacecraft, making them afraid they won't make it out."
Jiang Ye's expression stiffened slightly. As expected, there was no such thing as fighting to the bitter end; when war broke out, most people would try to run.
"However, those who remain now are all strong-willed. Military enlistment queues are always full, and schools are actively promoting anti-insectoid propaganda. Especially the young people who grew up during the war, they possess a spirit of facing death as if it were home," Cen Zi said. "Last January, we achieved a great victory through a surprise attack, destroying an insectoid star base. Within a dozen light-years, there are no more enemies, so Saluxing's environment is temporarily safe. It will take time for the insectoids to return. Every day, there are street protests on Saluxing, with the populace wanting to counterattack, invade insectoid planets, and kill them all."
"What is your stance?" Jiang Ye asked. "Do you want to counterattack?"
"With the blood feud, of course, I want to. But our strength is insufficient at the moment," Cen Zi shook her head. "We can only take it one step at a time, consolidate our defenses, accumulate strength, and then discuss it in the future."
Cen Zi reached into the pile of documents, found a document marked in red, and placed it before Jiang Ye.
"This is what I told you about earlier, the most troublesome issue of the deformed people," Cen Zi sighed. "Brother-in-law, please take a look."
Jiang Ye opened the document, and many photographs immediately appeared before his eyes.
The first photograph showed a small Caucasian girl sitting on a hospital bed, lifting her shirt to reveal her abdomen. A fleshy growth resembling a foot had actually grown on her belly.
The caption read: "Tenth year of the war, the first deformed child, Splinterhall Octaviel, 14 years old, residing in a nuclear radiation zone, had been infected with various biochemical agents multiple times."
The second photograph was a class picture, with over forty students of various skin colors, but all of them were monsters.
In the front row, one boy had grown two identical heads. The left head was lively, but the right head had its eyes closed, its face covered in brown spots, and its hair had almost entirely fallen out. The scalp was layered with white skin, resembling a preserved corpse head.
Several students were blind, their eyeballs bulging from their sockets, some as large as rotten pears. One eye had turned milky white, the eyeball turned to the side, revealing the ligaments behind it.
One student had an ear growing on his cheek, while his companions had three left hands, each with a different number of fingers.
The first row had eight students in wheelchairs, either legless or with one normal leg and one thin, monkey-like leg.
Facial deformities were even more common; several students looked like vengeful spirits, their faces engorged with blood, lips bruised purple, appearing quite terrifying.
The caption below the photo read: "Twelfth year of the war, a group photo of the first deformed people's junior high first-year class. Five students died within two years due to rejection reactions; the remaining students have survived to this day."
The third photograph was of a beggar curled up in a street corner. The beggar's skin had a chilling greenish hue, blood was constantly flowing from the corners of his mouth, and one ear was missing. He wore a dark green military overcoat, with a bowl placed before him, drowsy. His greenish skin made him look like an alien who had wandered into human society.
"Thirteenth year of the war, a deformed beggar on the streets of Chuxiu City. The veteran affairs office confirmed his identity as a second lieutenant in the space force. Due to cerebral pathology, he suffered from amnesia and did not remember who he was, thus becoming a beggar. Currently, this individual is undergoing treatment at Saluxing's Eighth Military Sanatorium."
Following this were a series of photos, all related to deformed people: deformed people in hospitals, deformed people wandering the streets, deformed vagrants frozen to death in the wilderness... Almost every deformed person had a different deformed part. Some had only minor deformities, while others had almost transformed from human into another species. The majority were children, appearing like a group of growing monsters.
After viewing the photos, there was a page of descriptive text.
"During the long war between Saluxing and the insectoids, various insectoid weapons were unleashed upon civilian areas."
"Nuclear radiation and biochemical agents repeatedly ravaged the population, causing widespread civilian deaths. Survivors often developed severe genetic diseases, thus becoming strangely deformed people. Factors such as economic collapse leading to malnutrition, environmental pollution, psychological stress, and intermarriage among deformed individuals further increased the probability of deformities."
"The deformity rate among infants born after the war increased threefold compared to before the war. In some areas, the infant deformity rate even reached 80%. Spontaneous abortions, infant mortality, and maternal deaths surged, causing the average life expectancy on Saluxing to decrease by 12 years. In the foreseeable future, the decline in average lifespan is expected to continue."
"Currently, Saluxing classifies deformed people into four grades:"
"Minor Deformity: Does not affect normal life, outwardly not obvious, with a low probability of inheritance. Examples include cupped ears, small skin tumors, polydactyly, abnormal hair growth, and non-fatal internal organ lesions."
"Mild Deformity: Little impact on normal life, outwardly noticeable, with a certain probability of inheritance. Examples include abdominal hands, single ear absence, single hand absence, leg length discrepancy, large areas of skin discoloration and ulceration."
"Severe Deformity: Significant impact on normal life, extremely noticeable outwardly, with a very high probability of inheritance or difficulty in reproduction. Examples include double heads, multiple organs, skeletal deficiencies, gigantism, and dwarfism."
"Terminal Deformity: Severe deformities of vital organs and body tissues, highly prone to death. Examples include multiple hearts, exposed brains, fishbone bones, missing kidneys or livers, exposed blood vessels."