"The game developed has excellent results, with realistic battlefield simulations suitable for multiple troop types," Che Zhen said. "We've been promoting this game within the army during this period, for new recruits and veterans alike."
Jiang Ye listened attentively. He hadn't played the game, but he had overheard officers discussing it a few months prior.
"Over the past few months, Zhijun has continuously developed the game, adding new elements, even allowing officers to create planets and adjust parameters to quickly generate entirely new combat maps," Che Zhen continued. "We've found that Zhijun's troop command capabilities are quite strong."
"There's a mode in the game where human players face off against Zhijun. The two sides are evenly matched, and victory depends purely on strategy and tactics. In hell mode, our officers can barely win against Zhijun; they lose a hundred out of a hundred matches. Even with war AI assistance, our officers' win rate is only around 10%, and Zhijun hasn't even gone all out."
"We tried combining Zhijun and the war AI. The two sides quickly matched, their thought processes intertwined, and their computing power shared. The result in the game was astonishing. They could defeat our officers' main forces with very few troops. So, Zhijun plus AI isn't 10 plus 10 equals 20, but ten to the power of ten," Che Zhen explained.
"So, you want to introduce Zhijun to improve the military command system and use it on Pingdao Star to quickly break through the giant lizards?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Yes. We've conducted sand table exercises. With the same planetary parameters, our officers need a week to resolve the battle, while Zhijun plus AI only needs two days," Che Zhen nodded. "Pingdao Star is an excellent opportunity for practical application."
"Zhijun is a life form, even a fungal civilization, you could say." Jiang Ye's expression showed concern. "Allowing Zhijun to control our army is likely extremely dangerous."
"We've considered the risks and have countermeasures. We can implement a Brain in a Vat," Che Zhen explained. Jiang Ye was slightly surprised. Brain in a Vat was an ancient concept, and he hadn't expected it to still be in use.
The so-called Brain in a Vat was originally a hypothesis about humans.
If an evil scientist were to remove a person's brain, connect it to a computer, and the computer continuously fed signals into the brain, stimulating it to produce sensations of sight, smell, touch, and so on, creating a realistic illusion so convincing that the brain could even read this passage within the illusion.
In that case, could the brain realize it was in an illusion? How could you confirm you weren't in such a predicament?
"How specifically would it be implemented?" Jiang Ye asked.
"We'll build a dedicated laboratory to house Zhijun and the AI," Che Zhen said. "Frontline battle reports will be sent directly to the lab, informing Zhijun and the AI that this is a game and they need to do their best to play it well. The operations conducted by Zhijun and the AI will be manually confirmed by us before being sent to the front lines."
"This means adding an isolation process in the middle, preventing Zhijun from issuing direct military orders, right?" Jiang Ye said.
"Exactly," Che Zhen nodded. "There's also a deception targeted at Zhijun, tricking them into believing it's a game when it's actually a real campaign. This provides a double layer of security."
"Alright," Jiang Ye nodded. "We can give it a try."
"Then shall we draft the specific plan?" Che Zhen asked.
"Draft it," Jiang Ye replied. "I'll call Zhang Qiongshi to ask. If it's possible, we'll visit her planet as soon as possible to finalize things with a face-to-face meeting. You might be interacting with the mercenaries under Zhang Qiongshi then, so be prepared."
...
Four days later.
Jiang Ye's visiting fleet arrived at the space station of Rongping Star's capital city.
While called a fleet, it actually consisted of only four ships: one Star-class capital ship and three Planet-class frigates.
Jiang Ye brought a large entourage: over a dozen high-ranking military officials, including Che Zhen, An Xiawen and some secretaries responsible for procedures and contracts, as well as several members of his think tank. This was the official delegation. Additionally, over thirty business people had shamelessly tagged along, hoping to seize some opportunities.
After landing, a waiting military band immediately struck up a thunderous melody.
Rongping Star's military band was quite large, numbering around a thousand people. The golden insignia on their caps created a vast expanse of golden light when viewed from above.
A red carpet had been laid out, and flower children carrying baskets were continuously scattering colorful petals into the air.
Despite the grand and solemn occasion, Jiang Ye couldn't help but chuckle. The flower children scattering petals gave him the illusion of a wedding ceremony.
Zhang Qiongshi, dressed in a formal red outfit, waited on the red carpet, followed by a large group of high-ranking officials.
Reporters were, of course, present, but they were kept a hundred meters away, with various cameras and camcorders clicking incessantly.
Jiang Ye descended the gangway, took a couple of quick steps, and shook hands with Zhang Qiongshi.
Zhang Qiongshi smiled warmly. "I've been waiting eagerly for you, Brother Jiang."
"This welcome ceremony is too grand; I'm overwhelmed! Honestly, such a large display wasn't necessary; it's too extravagant!" Jiang Ye shook the petals from his head. The nearby flower children were still enthusiastically tossing petals into the air, showing no sign of stopping.
"How could that be? Your arrival, Brother Jiang, is a major event for Rongping Star," Zhang Qiongshi said. "The media has been reporting for days, the entire populace has been eagerly anticipating your arrival, and the internet is flooded with news welcoming you."
"You're too kind," Jiang Ye exclaimed, surprised.
"Too kind?" Zhang Qiongshi laughed heartily.
The motorcade stopped at the end of the red carpet. The cars had sleek black bodies, and their license plates bore the golden emblem of Rongping Star. Guards in white gloves opened the car doors, waiting respectfully.
Jiang Ye and Zhang Qiongshi got into the middle car, while their respective entourages, according to their ranks, boarded other vehicles. The motorcade then slowly proceeded, passing through the space station gates in an orderly fashion and heading onto the highway.
The highway had been cleared in advance. Mounted police on motorcycles led the way from a distance. Along both sides of the road stood rows of black-clad guards, their numbers resembling an army. They were all stout middle-aged men of various complexions, uniformly wearing black peaked caps.
"It's a motorcade on the highway," Jiang Ye said, somewhat surprised. "How retro. I thought it would be hovercars."
"The capital city of Rongping Star is a no-fly zone. Our motorcade actually has flight capabilities, but it's not publicly announced. We can make an emergency ascent if attacked," Zhang Qiongshi explained. "It's also for security. If assassins don't know our motorcade can fly, they won't prepare anti-air weapons."
Jiang Ye's face twitched. "The security is truly thorough."
"It can't be helped. Rongping Star has had a very high crime rate in recent years. We don't ban firearms, and there are many addicts. Coupled with economic decline, tens of thousands die from shootings annually, so security levels have to be raised," Zhang Qiongshi said, her expression slightly embarrassed.
"Why don't you ban firearms?" Jiang Ye asked, puzzled.
"I'd like to, but it's too complicated, and it can't be implemented," Zhang Qiongshi sighed, then her expression brightened. "Let's not dwell on that. Let's talk about something happy. Have you decided which of the five planets you want?"