Ouyang Chen's question was somewhat abrupt, but it did not stump Ronan.
He quickly took stock. "Right now, around 194 million people, counting the Satellite Cities."
Ouyang Chen did not bother asking how Ronan had arrived at that number and continued, "We can make a rough calculation. To advance the Spirit Wave Network project, we established five companies in succession as vehicles for technical development, engineering construction, and routine maintenance. Even excluding Ability Users, they employ more than two thousand people. That means one out of every ten thousand people in Xia City works for us.
"Not counting the investment companies that share the risks, the project's ongoing construction, maintenance, and upgrades require a large number of equipment suppliers... Altogether, there are forty or fifty such industrial companies, most of them local. Estimating ten or twenty thousand employees is hardly an exaggeration. In other words, at least in part, one out of every thousand people in Xia City makes a living off our project.
"The Spirit Wave Network has more than a hundred thousand nodes in Xia City. Every node must pay certain fees—not just for energy consumption, but also compensation for the uncertainty caused by the nodes. Its reach is even broader. One percent? Ten percent? No one can say."
Ronan reminded him, "And the transfers through the Mental Ocean..."
Ouyang Chen gave an "Mm." "Yes, everyone is involved in that—this is the kind of project the Spirit Wave Network is. Though it remains outside most people's awareness, it is connected to nearly everyone in Xia City. That is why I can understand the pressure and difficulties it feeds back to me, just as I understand the convenience and influence it has brought me."
Celestial Master Gao gave two "heh heh"s, stuffing Dried Peach into his mouth as he