"That many?!"
Even Lü Yongchang was stunned by the outrageously high figure. "Are you sure there's no mistake?"
The head of the Sociology Division nodded and answered firmly, "I'm sure."
"To account for the sample size, I specifically ran another round of statistics on applications that hadn't yet undergone eligibility screening."
"Even then, 73.16% of applicants chose the social proxy-rearing service."
Lü Yongchang nodded lightly.
Although he hadn't conducted a detailed investigation, he could still imagine the general reasons.
It all came down to the cost of having children.
The social proxy-rearing service could greatly reduce the cost of having children in their current society, so its popularity was only natural.
Still... even he hadn't expected such a radically forward-looking approach to childbearing to be so "popular."
All he could say was that they had introduced the program at exactly the right time.
"Zero, maintain strict oversight of the three Child-Rearing Centers in synchronous orbit," Lü Yongchang said solemnly. "No mistakes will be tolerated!"
"Furthermore, the social surrogacy process... must remain open and transparent from start to finish. Nothing can be concealed."
"Make sure every pair of parents can contact their child in real time."
"Parents have the right to raise objections during the child-rearing process."
"..."
Lü Yongchang issued one order after another, and Zero recorded every word in the archives.
Once the first batch of fertilized eggs entered the Artificial Wombs, the three Child-Rearing Centers in synchronous orbit would become core sites of the Human Federation.
"Phew..." After completing all the arrangements, Lü Yongchang let out a small sigh of relief.
"Next, while Dawn Star's environmental transformation is still underway, it's time we got down to some serious work."
"Launch the Light Satellite One Planetary Fortress Conversion Plan."
Ten years later, Earth Calendar year 2405.
"The latest