Xiu Yan tapped the office desk screen, poking at it to set various construction parameters, and the software automatically calculated the quote.
She raised her hand and made a "six" gesture.
"Six hundred million?" Jiang Ye exclaimed in surprise, "That's quite cheap!"
"How is that possible! The foundation alone for a large building would cost more than six hundred million, and an air-raid shelter that can accommodate the entire city, no matter how basic, would cost more than six hundred million!" Xiu Yan frowned.
"Six billion?" Jiang Ye's expression turned serious.
Xiu Yan nodded.
"That's passable, barely acceptable," Jiang Ye said, pulling out his phone. "I'll transfer the money to you right away."
"It's not sixty billion for the air-raid shelters of all cities, it's sixty billion for each city's air-raid shelter individually," Xiu Yan stated.
Jiang Ye's eyes widened. "What are you doing? Robbing me? This is a society governed by law!"
"Law? What law? Your place hasn't even established a constitution or built a courthouse. It's a lawless, dictatorial colony," Xiu Yan shot back. "This is already my cost price for you! Anyone else would charge at least double, and you're still not satisfied!"
Jiang Ye scratched his head frantically. "This is just too expensive!"
"Think about the development index, think about your alien girlfriend," Xiu Yan said with a sly smile. "Without investment in infrastructure, how can the city develop? With what, exactly?"
Jiang Ye gritted his teeth. "Then let's build one city's air-raid shelter first, in Shale City, so that people from the First Continent can all live there. I'll transfer the money to you now."
He tapped his phone, sending six billion.
Xiu Yan was surprised. "I thought you'd ask for credit. How have you become so wealthy recently, spending billions so casually?"
"Wealthy? Do you know about the annihilation bomb they threw at Petroleum City? A small device less than two meters tall, costing over five billion to build. A Mil Xin-class ship can carry over three thousand identical ones," Jiang Ye sighed. "The universe is too vast, there are too many rich people, and I'm not even as significant as a tiny ant."
Xiu Yan also sighed. "Indeed, it was just a Xin-class ship, and it caused unrest for the entire city."
"By the way, do you know what this Xin-class ship specifically means?" Jiang Ye suddenly remembered.
"Yes, Xin represents the class of warships, hence Xin-class ship. It's middle school textbook material."
"I don't understand, Teacher Xiu, please teach me."
"There are ten standard classes of warships: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui, classified by the amount of energy they can carry. Jia-class is the highest, Gui-class is the lowest. There's a 32-fold difference between each class, just like the Richter scale," Xiu Yan explained.
"For example, a Gui-class ship can carry 1 joule of energy, hypothetically, though it's certainly not that low. Then a Ren-class ship can carry 32 joules, and a Xin-class ship can carry 1024 joules." Xiu Yan poked at the screen, quickly calculating, "The largest Jia-class ship can carry 35,184,372,088,832 joules."
"That's outrageous!" Jiang Ye felt a sense of dread. "Do Jia-class ships really exist?"
"They do, and there are even classes higher than Jia," Xiu Yan smiled.
"If a Jia-class ship were to appear in the M78 Nebula, would we just have to die?"
"If we're lucky, we might have time to write a suicide note and bid farewell to loved ones," Xiu Yan laughed heartily. "Don't worry about what might not happen. Jia-class ships don't appear easily, and the Mils can't even build a Wu-class ship."
After chatting with Xiu Yan for a few more minutes, Jiang Ye got up to leave.
He went downstairs, got into his car, and set the destination to "Naval Port."
The car windows closed, and the air conditioning turned on. After the air was exchanged, Jiang Ye quickly took off the stuffy chemical protection suit and tossed it aside. This lizard-like suit weighed thirty pounds and was incredibly heavy.
He had already notified all senior officers to gather at the naval port's auditorium for a meeting.
Summer had arrived, and they needed to expand outwards, occupy more territory, and find more valuable mineral deposits. Therefore, Jiang Ye wanted to hold a mobilization meeting, implement some reward and punishment systems, and get the soldiers roaring for the next few months.
As the car flew out of Binhai City, his phone vibrated.
Jiang Ye's expression changed when he looked at it.
[Reservation for the second batch of refugee reception has begun]
[Are you willing to accept more alien refugees?]
More alien refugees were seeking resettlement.
Jiang Ye's mood was complex.
He felt that the place he was in was somewhat like a small town in the rear of the Anti-Japanese War. As the invaders occupied more territory and the resistance forces retreated, the refugees fleeing to the rear would increase.
Previously, he had no contact with the regular army of the Mils.
Later, Frogs and Moths were sent one after another.
Now, even the enemy's interstellar warships had appeared and launched long-range air strikes.
The enemy's footsteps were indeed getting closer, indicating that the front lines were in chaos and the war situation was not ideal.
While it was gratifying to be able to accommodate more population, Jiang Ye worried that if the situation worsened, he himself would become a refugee and be forced to leave this "Jiang Ye Star" to reside on another planet.
The experience of being displaced was not pleasant, especially for an emperor forced to leave his own land. What kind of emperor would that be?
Jiang Ye transferred the remaining money in his account to Xiu Yan.
Xiu Yan: "???"
Xiu Yan: "It's not a holiday yet, is this such a big red envelope? Daddy Jiang Ye, I'll kowtow to you!"
Jiang Ye almost spat blood. "Who said this is a red envelope for you? This is construction payment. Hurry up and expand some residential areas on the outskirts of Petroleum City. Build as much as this money can build, and design the specifications carefully."
Xiu Yan: "Are more interstellar immigrants coming?"
"Yes, many. I'll transfer more construction funds to you later," Jiang Ye closed the chat window with her and clicked "Yes."
The same option interface as last time appeared, with various refugee standards for Jiang Ye to filter.
Just like before, he clicked on each option.
Only one item did he change his answer to: [How many refugees are you willing to accept this time?]
Jiang Ye, mustering his courage, filled in 80,000 people.
[Refugee applications have been issued. Please screen them carefully. Click the green checkmark to approve, and the red cross to reject.]
This time, the number of applications was several times more than last time. If he reviewed them himself, his eyesight would probably increase several times. He definitely needed to hire someone to do it.
Jiang Ye sent a message to Isabella: "There's work, the same refugee resumes as last time. Come to my office at the naval port quickly."
Isabella: "Lazy, sleeping at home, do not disturb."
Jiang Ye: "No, good sister, please help me out."
Isabella: "Even if you call me Grandpa, it's useless. After reviewing refugee applications for you last time, my shoulders ached terribly when I got home. I wouldn't go even if the King of Heaven invited me. I won't go even if I'm beaten to death. Find someone else."
Jiang Ye: "200,000 per day, paid daily."
There was no response from the other side.
It seemed Isabella had integrity and a strong personality, not bending to the lure of a meager salary.
Jiang Ye scratched his head, pondering other reliable candidates in his mind.
Before he could figure it out, his phone vibrated again.
Isabella: "I'm in the car. I'll be there in about two hours. Leave all those applications for me, don't bother yourself."
Jiang Ye grinned. As expected, money makes the world go round.