"You mean it'll just blur anything that comes close, and it's just a built-in phone function, not someone or some program monitoring me in the background?" Jiang Ye asked.
"That's exactly what I mean," Li Nannan said. "Phone camera surveillance is a very serious crime nowadays. All legitimate brands of phones display a small camera icon when the camera is on. You should see one now."
Jiang Ye looked at the top of his phone and indeed, there was a very inconspicuous camera icon.
"But..." Jiang Ye scratched his forehead. "If the phone camera isn't on, how does it know something is coming close? It must be watching me all the time, and it only reacts when there's a change on my side!"
"Oh, you pig," Li Nannan frowned, took two deep breaths, and came up with an explanation. "Imagine your phone is a living thing with its own thoughts and actions."
"And then?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Normally, your dull phone accompanies you. It'll react to your instructions, just like a puppy. You throw a bone, and the puppy instinctively brings it back to you," Li Nannan said. "That's the normal state."
"As for your worry about being monitored or eavesdropped on, it's equivalent to the phone being possessed, with another soul entering the phone and becoming a little ghost dog, understand?"
"I think I understand," Jiang Ye nodded obediently. "Thank you for your explanation!"
"Honestly, the pig is dead, disturbing my sleep. I only sleep an hour a day, and you ruined it for me." Li Nannan hung up the phone impatiently.
Jiang Ye was still uneasy.
He conducted a test with Cen Yemeng.
First, he normally viewed classified information.
Then, Cen Yemeng extended various strange objects towards him.
Her hand, a pillow, a slipper, shampoo...
Indeed, as Li Nannan had said, no matter what suddenly appeared, the text on the screen would automatically be blurred.
Jiang Ye was relieved. He didn't have any secrets to hide from the Galactic Empire, but he was afraid of his personal privacy being exposed. For instance, during intimate moments with his wife, being secretly filmed or overheard would be infuriating.
The stellar disease continued to spread outwards.
More than forty stars had already shown varying degrees of energy decay.
Many wealthy individuals in these star systems had quietly fled.
Dragging their families along, they headed to star systems with normal suns, either for temporary refuge or permanent immigration.
Jiang Ye Star also began to see an influx of fleeing dignitaries.
These individuals arrived in high-class private spacecraft, often accompanied by substantial escorts. Before entering Jiang Ye Star's orbit, they would submit landing requests to Jiang Ye for approval.
On the first day, two people arrived.
On the second day, sixty people arrived.
On the third day, 187 people, on the fourth day, 488 people, on the fifth day, 1872 people...
Soon, the number of wealthy merchants immigrating daily stabilized at three thousand.
Jiang Ye was overjoyed.
Firstly, he needed population.
Secondly, these were all wealthy individuals. They would spend money to start companies and rebuild their lives on Jiang Ye Star, and they would also buy houses, cars, and engage in various forms of consumption.
The wealthy merchants who immigrated were first gathered at a military base.
Every day at noon, Jiang Ye would personally address the merchants, emphasizing the rules.
His speech was always identical:
"First, I welcome everyone for choosing Jiang Ye Star. This will become your new home for a peaceful and prosperous life."
"Jiang Ye Star will soon introduce a series of policies to encourage local entrepreneurs to start businesses. Your assets from other planets can be transferred here without any tax."
"However, given that you are all wealthy individuals from other planets, we must establish some ground rules here."
"First, you must abide by the law and order. Any form of criminal behavior is strictly prohibited. Jiang Ye Star's laws will not show leniency to the wealthy. Oligarchs and plutocrats will face a dead end, a literal dead end."
"Second, it is strictly forbidden to reveal any information about the stellar disease to the original inhabitants of Jiang Ye Star, not even hints. When asked why you came, your answers should be positive and upbeat, such as this planet being a new paradise, or that good friends recommended this planet, and so on."
"Third, espionage is strictly forbidden and will also lead to a dead end."
"Thank you all!"
After each speech, the assembled merchants would applaud vigorously with pale faces.
Many even regretted coming to this planet.
The Commander was too fierce, even incorporating death threats into his welcome speech.
However, they were already on the ship and dared not disembark easily.
Jiang Ye lived in a state of both joy and trepidation.
Although the large influx of wealthy merchants was a good thing, if their own star's sun had problems, all their efforts would be in vain.
But, what they feared, came to pass.
Early Monday morning, Jiang Ye's phone popped up a red warning message.
【Suspected energy decay observed】
Below it was a graph showing the hourly energy changes over the past few days.
It had always been a fluctuating curve, a normal oscillation like waves.
But three hours ago, the curve, which should have rebounded, did not, and instead continued to fall!
Jiang Ye broke out in a cold sweat.
He first called Che Zhen, "How is the status of my stellar ship?"
"It's very good, ready to fly at any time," Che Zhen replied, sounding surprised, and asked in a low voice, "Commander, has something happened to the sun?"
"There's a slight problem, not yet confirmed," Jiang Ye said. "Don't tell the captains yet."
"Understood," Che Zhen replied.
Jiang Ye had long prepared an escape plan.
He had spent a fortune to buy a stellar-class spaceship, which was kept in a newly built star station, guarded by two squadrons of soldiers, and maintained by over a hundred engineers 24 hours a day.
The spaceship had a complete life support system and powerful propulsion, capable of carrying his family through the universe for several hundred years.
It also had a warp drive, allowing them to easily reach major planets.
Although Jiang Ye was the Commander, the de facto ruler of this planet, if the sun were to explode, he couldn't afford to worry about that. It was more important to take his wife and children and flee.
However, it was not yet time to flee; there was still a chance to salvage the situation.
Jiang Ye rushed by car to the stellar observation base on the equator.
The base was bustling with activity, with many engineering vehicles transporting detector parts. The detectors were large cylinders about three meters high, painted different colors according to their different modules. These detectors were spare parts, and their current deployment clearly indicated they were being prepared for launch towards the sun.
Jiang Ye headed straight for the main command center.
The on-duty personnel, wearing white lab coats, lined up and saluted him.
These individuals were talents trained by the Galactic Empire's military and, strictly speaking, belonged to the military system.
Leading them was the person in charge, You Guang, a tall, emaciated man of 1.9 meters, with wrinkled skin around his neck, giving one an involuntary impression of a turtle.
"What's the situation?" Jiang Ye got straight to the point.
"Not very good, the energy values are still dropping," You Guang said. "We are looking for the specific location of the decline."