"Suppose Birong Star is a good alien planet, and you plan to expand your business territory there. Tell me the specific intelligence process," Jiang Ye said.
"I need to start from the beginning."
"The beginning?" Jiang Ye was stunned.
"Most companies expanding to alien planets use networks, libraries, and various public data to determine which planets are viable," he said.
"But we don't do that. We directly send spy teams to each planet to assess the situation on the ground. Even if public data indicates a planet is unprofitable, we still send spy teams to check it out," Tian Rao said. "This is to find hidden gems and break through information cocoons. After all, as everyone knows, public data and actual data are often two different things. To gain an edge over other companies, you have to go a step further than them."
Jiang Ye nodded. "I understand. Some planets' public data might be outdated. In reality, the planet might be developing rapidly, but outsiders still think it's stagnant. By catching these opportunities, you can find hidden gems."
"Exactly!" Tian Rao nodded emphatically. "Data that everyone knows is useless. What others don't know is valuable."
"And then?"
"Once our spy teams arrive, their work mode is similar to military spies. They will investigate the local economy, population distribution, and social culture, conducting massive analyses of the entire city or even the entire planet. This will tell us what kind of place it is," Tian Rao said. "When funds are sufficient, spies will directly buy information locally. When funds are insufficient, spies will work locally, supporting themselves while gathering intelligence."
"Buy information? How do you buy it?" Jiang Ye asked.
"We buy internal data of the planet, such as household registration data, consumption data, tax data, and raw material data for a city. This is often purchased from local officials or low-level employees of relevant institutions. We can also buy business data from target companies and business associations. We can even order from local hackers," Tian Rao said. "Generally, the prices are outrageously low. Detailed information on a million people can be bought for less than fifty thousand yuan, including phone numbers, consumption records, kinship, and even social media accounts and passwords."
Jiang Ye looked shocked. "That sounds completely illegal."
"Yes, so spies have to be careful not to get caught. If they are caught, they might be executed," Tian Rao said. "So far, no spies have been caught. If they are, the company won't bail them out. Most dispatched spies act within their means. If data security is very strict in a region, they will collect information themselves. They only attempt to buy data in less strict areas."
"After obtaining this macro data, spies will also collect micro data in a targeted manner," Tian Rao continued. "For example, if the target planet has potential enemies, they will focus on collecting enemy data..."
"How detailed can intelligence gathering on a specific person be?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Immensely detailed. Our spies will eavesdrop, track, hack into networks, make inquiries, bribe their close associates, and contact their enemies. The methods are diverse. Once, for a mission, our spy even climbed into the target's house in the middle of the night and installed a listening device in his car. We also have specialized network virus teams that write software and embed it into QR codes printed on so-called coupons distributed to targets. When the target scans it, the webpage won't open, and after refreshing twice, about seventy to eighty percent of their phone data is compromised. But they won't notice anything during the process, only thinking the network is temporarily slow," Tian Rao said. "Let me tell you a few typical examples."
"Okay."
"On Yan Hai Star, there was a CEO of a rival company. While our spies were tracking him, they discovered he was having an affair with a female subordinate behind his wife's back. So, our spies anonymously mailed photos and videos of the CEO and the subordinate to the CEO's wife. This CEO was in fierce competition with our company and was a formidable opponent. After his home life exploded, he was overwhelmed and couldn't manage his work. We then gained the upper hand in the local market."
"Still on Yan Hai Star, we stole the mobile data of one of the opposing negotiators and discovered he had a rare chronic illness that he couldn't cure. So, we privately bought him a treatment opportunity, and he left the negotiation team to seek treatment. While he was being treated, our spies bribed his wardmates, chatted with him daily, and learned that his son and daughter were both graduating from junior high school that year and had poor grades, making it difficult to get into high school. We immediately arranged for his children to study abroad." Tian Rao said, "After this person recovered, he became our informant and leaked a lot of company data to us."
"On Cheng Gua Star, there was a female manager at a rival company. We bought her social media data and found that she frequently accessed a civilian account secretly at eleven o'clock at night, almost every day, but never followed or messaged. After further investigation, we discovered that the account she was secretly viewing at midnight was a boy she had a crush on in middle school, whom she likely hadn't forgotten over the years but had lost contact with," Tian Rao said with a smile.
"Our spies found the former crush, bribed him, and then orchestrated an accidental meeting between him and the female manager. We even arranged for a matchmaking team to meticulously teach the crush how to pursue the female manager by catering to her interests. For example, if the female manager watched a certain movie, we would immediately have the crush watch it and post a review. If the female manager anonymously expressed her opinion on a certain issue on a website, we would immediately send it to the crush, so they would feel like they had found a kindred spirit when they chatted. Subsequently, things went smoothly, and the two quickly fell into a passionate romance, with intelligence continuously appearing in our company's backend," Tian Rao paused. "The funniest part is that after the intelligence mission ended, the crush didn't break up with the female manager. They actually got married later. Who knows how long it will last."
"Good heavens," Jiang Ye said, feeling a chill.
"In summary, investigating specific individuals involves two methods: coercion and temptation. Find the target's weaknesses, find their preferences, and then attack or bribe them," Tian Rao said. "Even people who appear to be impregnable and unassailable on the surface cannot withstand this. If you find the key point, you can almost always succeed."
"It sounds like your intelligence activities are indeed very expensive," Jiang Ye nodded.
"If commercial warfare is compared to Go, normally the black and white stones are evenly matched. However, if we can turn one of the opponent's stones into our pawn through espionage, we can instantly break through a large area," Tian Rao said. "It costs a lot, but the returns are also huge. The monthly profit of over eight hundred billion yuan proves that this approach is feasible at the current stage."
"I've learned a lot from your talk tonight," Jiang Ye said, looking her directly in the eye with seriousness. "Tian Rao, I have a question for you. You need to consider it carefully."
"What?" Tian Rao was stunned.
"Are you willing to become a military merchant?" Jiang Ye asked.
"I am already a military merchant. I supply the military's dress uniforms every year," Tian Rao smiled.
"I'm not talking about that kind of military merchant," Jiang Ye shook his head, his expression becoming unprecedentedly serious.