Personal Brain Trust, Come Inside (58K)

Virtual Network, Silverblue Space.

It was still that spectacular scene of stars and Azure Wave blending together. The clear sea at my feet reflected the countless stars, and the outlines of the Blue Star in the distance were faintly visible in the nebulae, serene and vast.

This time, however, there were two more visitors in the pavilion besides Lin Yi.

The figures of Clan Chief Liyue and Aurelia coalesced almost simultaneously.

Liyue was still dressed in the elegant attire that represented her status as clan leader, while Aurelia stood quietly half a step to her side, nodding slightly to Lin Yi.

"Commander Lin Yi," Liyue spoke first, bowing respectfully to Lin Yi, "I am deeply grateful for your invitation."

Lin Yi gestured for the two to sit down, and tea naturally appeared on the stone table.

"Chief of Liyue, please don't stand on ceremony. Ellie has surely conveyed the general situation."

"Yes."

Liyue sat down, placing her hands clasped on her knees. "A planet with ten thousand inhabitants. A gift from the Eternal Divinity. This matter is truly too shocking; please forgive me for still feeling as if I'm in a dream."

She shook her head with a wry smile; even with her experience, it was difficult to remain completely calm in the face of such a grand gesture.

Lin Yi nodded understandingly, and without much pleasantries, went straight to the point. "The situation is true. My third senior sister, the Thousand Illusions Goddess, has indeed gifted me 100,000 Life Planets. The reason I invited the clan leader here today is to discuss matters concerning the Xina Family."

"Considering the current situation of the Xina Family and our alliance, I intend to sell a portion of your inhabited planets to your family at 60% of the market value to help resettle your people and rebuild your homes. What is the clan leader's opinion?"

60% off!

Even though they already knew it was a "discounted sale," Liyue's heart still skipped a beat when she heard the news with her own ears.

This is practically equivalent to selling it for free.

Although the life-bearing planet is worth 60% of its market price, its value is still astronomical. However, for the Xina Family, who are almost in dire straits, it is undoubtedly the only and best way out.

Because life-bearing planets are a core resource, it's easier to manage if they're few in number, but if they're many, they become extremely difficult to acquire, and few powers would relinquish such a fundamental industry.

Overwhelmed with joy, Liyue was about to speak on behalf of her family to accept the offer and express her sincerest gratitude when Aurelia, sitting next to her, spoke up at the opportune moment, with a perfectly timed hint of "difficulty."

"Commander, the 40% discount truly reflects Commander great sincerity and kindness; my grandmother and I are extremely grateful. However..."

She frowned slightly, looked at Liyue, then turned to Lin Yi, "The funds and equivalent resources that our clan currently has, even with the additional resources we brought, are probably insufficient to purchase enough planets to settle the entire clan and leave room for future development."

She paused, then looked earnestly at Lin Yi: "Commander, is it possible to adopt a partial payment, partial debt repayment method? We are willing to pay the initial installment, and the remaining amount, with agreed interest and repayment period, will be gradually repaid using the family's future output and profits. This way, we might be able to purchase more planets, securing greater development space for the family."

Liyue was slightly taken aback. She glanced at Aurelia with suspicion, and after a moment of thought, a look of understanding flashed in her eyes.

Then, Liyue immediately followed up on her words, saying to Lin Yi with a slightly embarrassed attitude, "Commander Lin Yi, what Ellie said is somewhat difficult to say, but it is indeed the truth. Our clan is currently short of funds. If you allow us to repay in installments, my Xina Family is willing to draw up a contract, guaranteeing with our family's reputation, and we will never default on a single penny. We only ask to gain more foothold so that our clan can recover its strength more quickly, and in the future, we can better fulfill our responsibilities as allies and repay your kindness."

Lin Yi:

He glanced at Aurelia, then at Liyue, and finally said, "Alright. The specific purchase quantity, down payment percentage, interest rate, and repayment plan will be discussed and agreed upon by Ellie and your family later. I trust the reputation of the Xina Family."

"Thank you, Commander / Commander Lin Yi!" Liyue and Aurelia stood up at the same time and bowed solemnly.

After seeing off the profusely grateful Liyue and the seemingly calm but actually relieved Aurelia, Lin Yi did not immediately leave the Silverblue Space.

He stood alone at the edge of the pavilion, gazing at the boundless sea of stars reflected below, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

The deal with the Xina Family has been initially finalized. The next step is a more complex issue: how to deal with the portion of the planet left to the Silver Blue Civilization.

With a slight thought, he instructed, "Xuanji, notify the core high-level Blue Star Federation that an emergency virtual high-level meeting will be held in one hour to discuss the allocation of crucial resources for the future development of civilization."

"The instruction has been confirmed. The meeting notice has been issued and will be held at 17:00 standard time, 37 minutes from now."

Xuanji responded.

Lin Yi hummed in agreement, but his thoughts were not on the upcoming meeting.

He had already made up his mind about how to allocate these life-bearing planets and did not intend to consult the Blue Star think tank.

He knew all too well that when it came to the distribution of such enormous interests, the think tanks would naturally favor the civilization as a whole, tending to allocate as many resources as possible and as cheaply as possible to the civilization—it was their duty.

From Lin Yi's personal perspective, however, he needs to balance rewards, incentives, and initiative.

Aurelia's advice enlightened him: directly handing over ownership of the planet to civilization was not the optimal solution.

"Personal interests versus the interests of civilization," Lin Yi muttered to himself.

He realized that as his strength increased and his ability to acquire resources surged, situations where personal and civilizational interests were not entirely aligned, and might even conflict, would likely become more and more frequent in the future.

He needs a dedicated advisor who can fully stand in his shoes, analyze the pros and cons, and provide objective advice.

Although Aurelia is perceptive and considerate of him, she is ultimately a core member of the Xina Family, with her own ethnic stance and demands.

Some judgments involving the Spirit Race and Human Race, or more delicate situations, may not be suitable for in-depth discussion with her.

So, who is the most suitable candidate?

Lin Yi's gaze unconsciously swept over the Silverblue Space he had constructed with his mind, his thoughts falling on the one who had always been silently assisting him.

"Xuanji."

He silently recited it in his heart.

Xuanji, as his Intelligent Life assistant, has accompanied him from the very beginning of his growth.

She is absolutely loyal, executes orders without hesitation, and has an information processing ability far exceeding that of ordinary people.

However, as he has come into contact with higher and higher levels, from the Star Domain level to the Derivation Realm, and now directly communicating with his senior brothers and sisters at the Eternal Divinity level, Xuanji's abilities do seem to be lagging behind.

She is more of an executor and information steward, and does not yet meet the standard of a "think tank" who can deeply understand high-level game theory and provide strategic advice.

"Perhaps... it's time." Lin Yi made up his mind.

The initial payment received from the Xina Family will be a huge fortune.

Aside from using the funds for personal cultivation and the development of the Mercenary Group, a portion could be allocated to upgrading Xuanji.

Upgrade it directly from its current level, equivalent to that of a star vortex, to the level of Star Domain level Intelligent Life form.

Star Domain level Intelligent Life will experience a qualitative leap in its computing power, information processing speed, logical reasoning ability, and ability to understand and assist in complex rules.

She will no longer be just an assistant, but a true strategic analysis node, a dedicated advisor who can help him process massive amounts of information, deduce situations, and find a balance between different interests.

Thinking about this, Lin Yi became even more excited about the upcoming funding.

This is not only a rebirth for the Xina Family, but also a significant upgrade for Xuanji and even his personal decision-making system.

"Principal, the meeting will begin in 5 minutes. Participants have been successively connected to the reserved virtual meeting room."

Xuanji's voice rang out again, interrupting his thoughts.

Lin Yi composed himself, his eyes regaining their clarity and calmness.

"Understood, preparing to connect to the meeting."

The virtual meeting space was designed as a dignified and simple circular conference room.

Beside the enormous curved table, the virtual projections of the core high-ranking members of the Silver Blue Civilization gradually solidified. When Lin Yi's figure appeared in the main seat, everyone's attention instantly focused on him.

"Gentlemen," Lin Yi said without further ado, "I've gathered you all here today to announce a crucial matter concerning the future of civilization."

He paused briefly, drawing everyone's attention, before slowly beginning to speak, "I have just acquired a resource. Its scale will completely alter the development trajectory and future landscape of the Silver Blue Civilization."

Lin Yi's gaze swept across the entire room as he said, word by word, "I have acquired ownership of 100,000 life-bearing planets."

"."

silence.

A deathly silence.

If the previous experience in the Xina Family meeting room was one of shock, then this experience was one of utter mental blankness.

Each and every one of you here is one of the most elite individuals on Blue Star. Your minds have processed countless complex pieces of information and deduced countless possible future scenarios.

However, the concept of "100,000 life-bearing planets" completely exceeded the limits of their cognitive system and imagination.

The electronic pen in Li Zhenguo's hand fell onto the virtual desktop, making a soft "click" sound, but he was completely unaware of it. Even Zhou Donglai, who was known for his composure, couldn't help but stare blankly.

The experts in the high-level think tank had a look of utter absurdity that said, "This is impossible."

One hundred thousand life-bearing planets?

What does that mean?

In an instant, the Silver Blue Civilization possessed a material foundation comparable to many established Star Domain level civilizations.

This is not just a leap forward; it's a direct jump from the ground to the clouds.

A good ten seconds passed before the room erupted in suppressed chatter.

"One hundred thousand?!"

"This"

"Life-bearing planets? One hundred thousand?"

"When one attains enlightenment, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven?"

Lin Yi didn't stop them, but gave them some time to process it.

After the murmurs subsided, he continued, "This is a gift from an Eternal Divinity Goddess, but as the leader of the Silver Blue Civilization, I will not leave it unused. Just as I previously provided high-value items to the Civilization Treasury, I will lease the right to use these planets to the Silver Blue Civilization in exchange for merit points."

Li Zhenguo pondered for a moment and grasped the key point. After a brief pause, he said, "Commander Lin Yi is farsighted. Merit leasing can indeed prevent the mentality of reaping rewards without effort and can better motivate the entire population to strive. However, the construction of this merit system and the leasing standards for different levels of planets require an extremely complex and precise calculation model."

"This is precisely where we need everyone's collective wisdom and input."

Lin Yi tossed the ball back. "The Silver Blue Union needs to establish a special working group as soon as possible, inviting top experts in sociology, economics, and public administration to jointly design this merit-based leasing system. My requirements are: fairness, efficiency, and the ability to guide civilization in the right direction."

He skillfully steered the conversation, handing over the responsibility for the specific design to the professional team, while firmly maintaining control over the final direction and standard setting.

"Then, Commander Lin Yi," Zhou Donglai asked in a deep voice, "Which direction do you hope civilization will develop in? With such vast strategic depth, does our overall strategy need a fundamental adjustment?"

"Of course we need to adjust!" Lin Yi leaned forward slightly, his eyes piercing. "And it needs to be a radical adjustment! We can no longer be satisfied with the gradual development model of the past. With so many planets before us, what is our biggest weakness?"

He surveyed the crowd, and without waiting for an answer, declared, "It's population! With our current population, if we scattered it across 100,000 planets, we wouldn't even make a ripple! We must usher in an era of explosive growth!"

"Explosive growth?"

The head of the civil affairs department muttered to himself, seemingly realizing something.

"That's right!"

Lin Yi asserted, "I demand that the consortium immediately study and implement the most generous birth incentive policy in history!"

He set the tone directly. "My initial idea is to provide every newborn family with a subsidy sufficient to ensure they have no worries, and this subsidy should be long-term and continuous. The specific amount and form should be calculated and determined by you based on your financial capacity and incentive effect. However, I require that this policy must be sufficiently attractive, and at the same time, for the sake of fairness, appropriate retroactive compensation should also be given to existing minors."

"We want all citizens to feel our sincerity and have the most optimistic expectations for the future."

The finance department head looked distressed and was about to explain the difficulties when Lin Yi raised his hand to stop him.

"I know the financial pressure is enormous. But we need to take a long-term view. Population is the cornerstone of civilization, and this investment is worthwhile! I will find a way to provide some of the initial funding, but more importantly, you need to show the courage to design a plan that can unlock the reproductive potential of the entire society."

He had calculated that this expense would initially amount to only a few hundred thousand Star Crystal per year, which would have been a huge sum in his previous life. But for him now, it was just a drop in the ocean.

Lin Yi's words resonated like a great bell, shaking the hearts of everyone present.

They began to realize that Lin Yi was not merely allocating resources, but forcibly accelerating and expanding the entire civilization.

The meeting then entered into a heated discussion phase.

One question after another was raised, and one preliminary idea after another was discussed.

Lin Yi mostly just listened, occasionally offering guidance or setting the tone on key points.

Instead of providing all the answers, he forced the Blue Star's top think tank and administrative system to operate at high speed to adapt to this sudden "happy problem."

The meeting lasted for several hours.

--

The next day.

Blue Star, Xia Country, an ordinary residential area in a second-tier city.

As evening approached, the last rays of the setting sun shone through the window onto Chen Ming's slightly tired face.

He had just finished a day's work and was sprawled on the sofa, habitually scrolling through the news.

Li Li, the wife, was busy in the kitchen preparing dinner for the family of three, while their six-year-old son, Doudou, was playing with his starship model on the living room floor.

Everything was as usual, peaceful but with a slight hint of weariness.

Suddenly, a bold, pinned emergency news notification popped up at the very top of the screen.

[Community Supreme Announcement: Silver Blue Civilization Launches "Starsea Cradle" Project, and Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Permanent Incentive Policy for Newborns]

Chen Ming frowned, thinking it was some unscrupulous guy, and was about to cross it out when he caught sight of the words "Supreme Announcement".

He hesitated for a moment, then clicked on it.

The next moment, he suddenly sat up straight on the sofa, his eyes wide open, as if he had seen something unbelievable.

"Lily! Come quick!" His voice was trembling with excitement.

Li Li, wearing an apron and wiping her hands, came out of the kitchen and asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Did the stocks you bought crash again?"

"No, no! It's about giving birth!" Chen Ming stammered as he handed over his phone.

Li Li took the phone and glanced at the news article.

The news content itself wasn't complicated, but the core information was like a bombshell:

"To address this historic opportunity for the development of civilization, and with the approval of the highest council of the Silver Blue Community and the support of Commander-in-Chief Lin Yi, the ' Starsea Cradle ' project is officially launched today."

"All newborns of the Silver Blue Civilization are entitled to a maternity subsidy of 300,000 Star Coins annually from the date of birth registration until they reach the age of 28, which will be reviewed and disbursed monthly."

"The policy is fully retroactive. For citizens under 18 years of age, a one-time retroactive payment of the full amount of subsidies from the date of birth to the policy's effective date will be made. For those aged 18 to under 28, subsidies for the remaining years will be retroactively paid."

"The subsidy funds are allocated specifically from the Civilization Development Fund, are strictly protected by law, and are unrelated to family income."

Chen Ming and Li Li looked at each other, both seeing extreme shock and bewilderment in each other's eyes.

300,000 Star Coins per year!

For 28 consecutive years, that adds up to 8.4 million Star Coins!

Moreover, their son Doudou is 6 years old this year, which means that their family will receive a one-time retroactive subsidy totaling 1.8 million Star Coins from the past 6 years!

Star coins are the most basic unit of currency for Human Race; 10,000 star coins = 1 star yuan. The purchasing power of 1 star coin is roughly equivalent to 1 Xia Country coin.

For this ordinary family that carefully budgets their money, this was undoubtedly a windfall.

Is this real?

Li Li's voice trembled as she repeatedly confirmed the news source and the dizzying numbers.

"The official announcement, coupled with His Excellency Lin Yi's support, cannot be faked."

Chen Ming murmured, overwhelmed by a tremendous surprise that left him momentarily speechless.

Just then, his portable device started vibrating wildly, and almost all his social media accounts—family groups, friend groups, colleague groups—went into an uproar.

"See that? They pay you to have a baby! Until you're 28!"

"This is insane. Utterly insane! This is encouraging everyone to have as many children as possible!"

"Haha! My daughter just turned one month old! I've hit the jackpot!"

"Let me do the math. My son is 12 years old. He could get 3.6 million yuan in back pay?! Am I dreaming?"

"Who's getting married? I'm going on a blind date right now! Immediately! Right now!"

"Hey upstairs, stop fighting! Let's go get our marriage certificates as a group!"

Online, the topic exploded to the top of the trending search lists on all platforms, each marked with a bright red "Explosive" sign.

Social media is filled with excited discussions, calculations, and all sorts of jokes and memes.

The offline reaction, however, was more direct and intense.

The official websites and apps of major dating agencies crashed within half an hour of the announcement, with registrations and inquiries skyrocketing.

The marriage registration office, which was previously rather quiet, was suddenly filled with long queues early the next morning. Many young people, their faces showing excitement and eagerness, discussed their future plans and the tempting "start-up capital."

The phone lines of maternity and baby product stores, postpartum care centers, and early childhood education institutions were overwhelmed with calls, and appointments were booked months in advance.

Real estate agents have keenly sensed the trend, and phrases like "designated livable communities under the Starry Sky Cradle Plan" have begun to quietly appear.

On the streets and in alleys, in teahouses and restaurants, almost everyone is talking about the same topic.

"Old Zhang, I heard your daughter-in-law is pregnant? Congratulations! You've come at the perfect time!"

"Yeah, I was worried about the pressure, but now the community is raising our child for us, so what's there to hesitate about?"

"I heard that Old Wang's twins next door got over three million yuan in compensation in one go! Old Wang's family has really struck it rich this time!"

"Commander Lin Yi, what a grand plan! He's taking our entire civilization on a charge into the starry sea!"

Ordinary people may not fully understand the vast cosmic landscape behind the "100,000 Life-Bearing Planets" initiative, but they have genuinely felt the enormous benefits and unprecedented hope brought about by this policy.

Childbirth, a choice that was increasingly seen as a heavy burden in the past, was given a completely new meaning overnight.

It has become a glorious path to participate in the expansion of civilization and share the dividends of development.

Chen Ming and Li Li watched their son, Doudou, excitedly simulating a starship battle on the floor. They exchanged a glance, and a thought they had never seriously considered before quietly sprouted in their hearts.

"Wife," Chen Ming's voice was a little hoarse, "Perhaps... we can consider giving Doudou a younger brother or sister?"

Li Li didn't answer immediately, but she smiled slightly and nudged Chen Ming with her elbow.

"Come inside with me."