General Jiang Ye Xing: "What's the difference between these criminals and the continental plan or the colonial governor? I feel like I was just thrown here at first, live or die as I please, but I haven't committed any crimes."
High Priest of Hal Star: "Of course there's a difference! Colonial governors go to completely uninhabited planets. If they work hard, they can become rich, they can become estate owners, and a few lucky ones with ancestral blessings can even become generals and planetary governors. The colonial governor's money is their own, and they have a great deal of freedom. But criminals don't. They go to planets where they are beholden to others. Their money and even their lives can be arbitrarily taken away, and they have almost no freedom."
High Priest of Hal Star: "Our planet also received many criminals back then, but now my population is too large, so I'm clearing out some people. Hundreds of thousands of life prisoners and death row inmates, how much money would it cost to support them every day? The feces they excrete every day could fill several swimming pools, and the MSG they eat every day could fill a truck. According to interstellar custom, such criminals can be bought and sold, but I won't charge you money; consider them a gift."
High Priest of Hal Star: "Don't worry about these people causing trouble. If they cause trouble, just round them up and kill them all. Use these people well, use them however you want. When your star station is built and you can travel interstellar, I officially invite you to visit Hal Star and see what a planet dozens of times more developed than yours looks like. Perhaps it can help you."
General Jiang Ye Xing: "Alright! Thank you very much! I also invite you to visit Jiang Ye Star!"
High Priest of Hal Star: "Good, we'll talk when we have time."
Hanging up the phone, Jiang Ye was worried.
He never expected something like this to happen, to bring in a whole hundred thousand criminals. And not petty thieves, but all with sentences of twenty to thirty years or more, up to death row.
It felt like inviting a wolf into the house.
If it were up to him, with such serious offenders, he would have them executed before sunrise the next day after they were caught. Yet Hal Star stored them as human resources and then gave them away as gifts. The fact that there was a market for buying and selling such criminals in the Milky Way truly opened Jiang Ye's eyes. Many ancient and barbaric practices reappeared in the future in another form, the same old wine in new bottles.
Jiang Ye couldn't tell if these things were ancient barbarism or ancient foresight. He just instinctively felt a bit resistant to it.
Checking the time, an hour had already passed.
Jiang Ye pressed his earphone and called Feng Zhi Shuang.
But as soon as he opened the earphone, he heard buzzing voices from the other side – the meeting was likely delayed and not yet finished.
It wasn't Feng Zhi Shuang speaking, but others in the meeting. The voices were somewhat muffled, as the earphone was in Feng Zhi Shuang's ear, but with careful listening, one could hear what was being said.
Jiang Ye originally intended to turn off the earphone; eavesdropping on a meeting was a bit impolite, but he happened to overhear a few sentences that interested him, so he shamelessly continued to listen. Feng Zhi Shuang didn't turn off the earphone, likely meaning, "It doesn't hurt to listen."
"Currently, continents 6, 7, 8, and 9 have a total land area of 255,800 square kilometers. Deducting areas unsuitable for long-term human activity like plateaus and deserts, and areas unsuitable for large-scale farming like hilly regions, there are about 100,000 square kilometers remaining."
"For one hundred thousand people, one square kilometer per person, which is an ideal interval distance of one thousand meters by one thousand meters. This distance is too great. Without transportation, it's difficult to connect them into a living network. Therefore, it should be temporarily set to groups of 10 people, with criminals living together in units of ten, equipped with basic living facilities, and having their numbers checked regularly by facial recognition to prevent mutual slaughter."
"The cost of facilities for each basic unit, including living quarters and work areas, is approximately one million. Since criminals don't need very good living conditions, it can be compressed to about 500,000. As for weapon defense, it's not needed at all. The army hasn't found any beasts that pose a threat to humans on these continents. For ten thousand basic units, the total cost is 5 billion. Before winter arrives, large-scale flood control dams need to be built, which is a very high cost, at least 15 billion. The total cost will be around 20 billion."
Jiang Ye frowned as he listened.
This was too expensive!
The few tens of billions of funds he had painstakingly saved were about to be significantly reduced, and it was hard not to feel the pinch. It felt like an office worker who had worked hard to earn 5,000 yuan, and before they could even warm it up, 2,000 had to be given to the landlord.
The meeting was still ongoing, and the criminal continental plan was likely discussed at the end of the meeting, allowing Jiang Ye to hear most of it.
"Currently, 50% of the basic units will be deployed along the coast, which will allow for the cultivation of terrestrial and aquatic plants. Specific crops should be coordinated with the seed company on Hal Star; we are a large order, so there should be a good discount."
Feng Zhi Shuang suddenly added, his voice particularly clear, "Mining and animal husbandry can also be developed in the initial stage. Adjustments will be made after the army transmits the mineral distribution map. Alright, meeting adjourned!"
A rustling sound of chairs being pushed back, and then silence.
Feng Zhi Shuang's voice sounded again, "Did you hear everything?"
"I heard," Jiang Ye replied.
"The detailed plan will be sent to you later. This is the general framework. Do you find it satisfactory?" Feng Zhi Shuang asked.
"If ten people live together, and every two groups are separated by 10 kilometers or even more, how can they develop into villages, towns, or even cities at such a distance?" Jiang Ye asked.
Feng Zhi Shuang chuckled, "You still want them to develop cities? Don't forget they are criminals! If they develop cities, they will easily become rich. Do you want criminals to live comfortably for the rest of their lives? They are here to serve their sentences! They can't even have children! When they die, they will eventually turn back into uninhabited areas. Do you want to leave behind a few ghost towns?"
Jiang Ye was stunned, "They can't even have children?"
"Yes, it's the custom on criminal continents in the Milky Way for criminals not to have children. If a pregnancy occurs, they must report it, and then we will send people to perform abortions for them. If a criminal secretly gives birth to a child and we discover it, the child will be killed, and the parents will be executed," Feng Zhi Shuang said.
"How cruel!" Jiang Ye was shocked, "After all, a child is innocent!"
"Innocent? When the child grows up, they won't be innocent. Have you ever heard the ancient saying, 'Even if the Chu state has only three households, it is Qin that will be destroyed by Chu!' These criminals live like beasts. They have committed serious crimes and have been stripped of all human rights. If they have children, these children will rebel against your rule in the future, and they must be eliminated early. As for the parents who secretly give birth to children, they have rebellious intentions, so they must also be executed," Feng Zhi Shuang said. "Don't think it's cruel. Many planets have learned from bloody experiences. When criminals voluntarily join the criminal continental plan, they are already aware of this."
"Can I change the rules on my territory?" Jiang Ye proposed. "For example, criminals can have children, but the infants must be taken away from the criminal continent at birth and placed in welfare institutions in Binhai City to receive formal education as they grow up. In this way, these children can become builders of society..."
"Have you heard of the Orphan of the Zhao family?" Feng Zhi Shuang asked with a smile.
Jiang Ye fell silent, goosebumps rising on his skin.