Jiang Ye frowned as he read, his mood inexplicably heavy at the thought of so many people on Salu Star being classified as deformed.
He turned a page, and the information continued.
"The current statistics for the four levels are as follows:"
"Mildly Deformed: Approximately 640 million people"
"Moderately Deformed: Approximately 130 million people"
"Severely Deformed: Approximately 24.7 million people"
"Critically Deformed: Approximately 30,000 people"
"Among these, mildly deformed individuals can be approximated as healthy people with chronic illnesses or weakened immune systems, and their condition does not affect production activities. They can be disregarded when considering relevant policies. Critically deformed individuals have a high mortality rate, thus their current population is extremely low. However, this does not mean the proportion of people developing critical deformities is small. In radiation zones and areas ravaged by biochemical agents, the proportion of critically deformed individuals can exceed 30%."
"In addition to these four levels, there is a controversial theory—the 'Mad Deformity' theory."
"Brain science expert Feng Shiying published a paper stating that a large number of people, while not exhibiting external physical deformities, have undergone deformities within their brain tissue."
"The forms of deformities include abnormal brain tissue volume, neuronal lesions and faulty connections, structural changes in different brain regions, and impaired blood oxygen supply and waste removal."
"Common manifestations of this type of brain-deformed population include madness, idiocy, bizarre behavior, pica, mental disorders, and severe psychological problems. A very small minority may even experience enhanced intelligence due to brain deformities, becoming geniuses in certain fields."
"Feng Shiying believes that the number of brain-deformed individuals is enormous and will become a significant factor in subverting Salu Star's society, urging relevant parties to pay attention."
"However, many medical experts oppose the 'Mad Deformity' theory, arguing that the brain's plasticity can easily offset simple deformities. After soldiers sustained battlefield injuries and had parts of their brain tissue removed, the remaining tissue would rapidly assume corresponding responsibilities, with little impact on the individual."
"Opposing scholars claim that the so-called madness, idiocy, mental disorders, and severe psychological problems are primarily caused by the immense survival pressure brought about by prolonged destructive wars, and it has been established that severe stress leads to psychological issues."
"As the 'Mad Deformity' theory is still in its nascent stages and highly debated among various parties, it has not yet been included in the classification of deformed individuals."
Jiang Ye's scalp tingled.
According to this report, in addition to hundreds of millions of visibly deformed people, there were also a large number of brain-deformed individuals lurking within the so-called normal population.
On the surface, they all looked the same, but some people's brains were entirely different.
It felt akin to computers with identical external casings but vastly different internal chips and graphics cards, making them entirely different machines. The so-called "madly deformed" were also fundamentally different beings from ordinary people, yet they mingled among the general populace.
It gave him a sense of playing a werewolf game. Jiang Ye couldn't imagine what daily life was like for the people of Salu Star. He touched the back of his neck, feeling a chill.
This matter served as a wake-up call for Jiang Ye. In the future, when accepting immigrants on his own planets, he would need to implement stricter qualification reviews to avoid letting in too many of these seemingly normal individuals who were actually madly deformed.
The subsequent report detailed current medical research, identifying drugs that could alleviate the acceleration of deformities, treatment methods to eliminate specific deformities, the number of deformed individuals that could be saved after the widespread adoption of relevant treatments, and projected the economic market scale that would be stimulated by the completion of deformed person treatments.
Jiang Ye was not sensitive to medical matters, being an outsider. However, he was keenly interested in economic and demographic analyses. He read word for word, gaining a vague understanding of Salu Star's situation.
"This is indeed tricky, very tricky indeed!" Jiang Ye looked up.
"There are some things not mentioned in the report, which I'll tell you about, brother-in-law," Cen Zi said.
"Go ahead."
"Our planet has already seen the emergence of over a dozen 'Deformed Cities,' where the vast majority of the population consists of deformed individuals, with monsters filling the streets. These have almost all formed in the last two years," Cen Zi said. "The public's mood is very complex. On one hand, there's discrimination against deformed people, a discrimination that includes many emotions like fear, disgust, and guilt. On the other hand, many people want to fight for the deformed people's right to a normal life, because everyone worries they might become deformed themselves one day. If they suppress the deformed people today, those same suppressions will fall upon them tomorrow."
Jiang Ye nodded, putting himself in their shoes, and could understand this conflicting sentiment.
"Actually, I wasn't supposed to be the Planetary Governor of Salu Star. It was supposed to be General William. He had high prestige in the military, and he led many battles. We had already decided that General William would be the supreme leader after the war," Cen Zi suddenly changed the topic.
Jiang Ye reacted quickly, guessing the implication. "This General William, did he mishandle the deformed people issue?"
"He didn't just mishandle it; he nearly made a grave mistake," Cen Zi said. "General William had extreme tendencies. He claimed that deformed people would contaminate the entire planet's gene pool, dragging everyone into an abyss of extinction like cancer cells. After delivering a passionate speech, General William mobilized the army, rounded up deformed people on a large scale, and prepared for mass executions. He didn't call the executions 'executions' but rather 'purification operations,' implying that deformed people were dirty and needed to be purified."
"Holy hell," Jiang Ye exclaimed in shock. "Aren't there hundreds of millions of deformed people on your planet? And over twenty million severely deformed? This William planned to kill them all?"
"Yes, he planned to kill them all," Cen Zi said.
"Holy hell, holy hell, holy hell!" Jiang Ye was dumbfounded.
"That's why I called a halt to the military purification operation, reached a consensus with some old generals in the army, and quickly executed General William. Along with some of his staff and loyal generals. Those involved in the purification operation were all executed, while others who didn't participate received lighter punishments," Cen Zi said. "Because of this, I am now the Planetary Governor."
Jiang Ye was inwardly astonished. This sister-in-law was truly extraordinary, a formidable character through and through. She spoke of it so casually, but to accomplish such a feat required terrifying levels of courage and capability.
Jiang Ye suddenly thought of Cen Yemeng. During the Exile Star War, Cen Yemeng had shown a similar ruthlessness, acting decisively and with immense resolve. Perhaps the Cen family possessed a gene for such formidable individuals.
"However, as time passed, I actually find myself understanding General William a little now," Cen Zi sighed. "The sheer number of deformed people is an enormous burden on the planet, causing severe internal strife for Salu Star. William's approach was likely a shock therapy—a short pain is better than prolonged suffering. We can deal with the remorse later; the important thing is to get things done. Of course, I know this approach is too extreme, too inhumane, and definitely not viable. But I have been tormented by the issue of deformed people and would like to ask for your advice, brother-in-law."