Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 721

Chapter 719, Secret Project

Osena and Wu Jiarong are quite familiar with each other.

At least they used to be.

That was when they were still on the Angry Owl Star and the alliance was just starting out.

Osena has always been the chief steward in the rear, while Wu Jiarong is the general manager of production technology.

Inevitably, the two of them will have a lot of work contact and naturally become familiar with each other.

But as the decades passed, Wu Jiarong seemed to Osena more and more unfamiliar. It’s

not that their work contact has decreased

. Although they don’t meet as often as in the early years, they still often come into contact at work.

Wu Jiarong’s “strangeness” is a kind of… change that Osena finds difficult to describe.

Moreover, this change happened right before her eyes, and happened between every contact between the two.

There were changes in appearance and voice.

She still remembered Wu Jiarong. Even though her arms had been modified to resemble machines from the very beginning, her eyes had become mechanical, and tubes were inserted into the back of her head, connecting her waist and back to a flexible, swivel-mounted auxiliary manipulator with numerous levers

, the modifications were vastly superior to those of an ordinary human, yet her overall form remained human. Ossena remembered the unique beauty of Wu Jiarong’s flowing hair, her fair skin juxtaposed against the mechanical structure; she also remembered her slightly chubby face, sweet when she smiled.

It wasn’t a deliberate act on Wu Jiarong’s part; she had grown up in an environment where appearance was not a priority. That was the most natural aspect of her, what remained of her at that stage.

These features quickly faded over time, as Wu Jiarong’s skills improved and her position within the mechanical community rose.

Ossena felt that with every meeting, Wu Jiarong would lose something, gain something, or perhaps even change something.

Her body was changing, her voice was changing, her emotions were changing…

Now, all that remained of her was a face that looked exactly the same as before. That face, nourished by nutrient solution, could no longer express emotion. It wasn’t that Wu Jiarong lacked the skills to do it, but rather that she simply didn’t want to. No matter what, the same expression was best. In fact, the only reason she retained her face was to provide a biometric identifier, allowing mortals to know who they were.

And beyond that face?

Only the skull and brain remained original.

Everything else had been replaced with mechanical devices, leaving not even the appearance intact.

Wrapped in a robe, revealing only her face, Wu Jiarong’s face was emotionless, her voice mechanically synthesized, and the hormone-producing organs that could easily influence her mood swings were gone.

Of course, she was still a person.

At least according to the Empire’s definition of “human,” she was.

However, how much of her human emotions and feelings remained was uncertain.

Ossena felt a sense of regret, but she didn’t feel bad.

No one was forcing Wu Jiarong. Every part of her body was handmade and replaced by her own hands, all by her own choice.

Ossena had initially considered exchanging a few pleasantries before diving into the real conversation, but once the video came through, she opened her mouth and decided against it.

Wu Jiarong looked calm, and she didn’t seem interested in small talk.

So, she’d save time and get straight to the point.

Ossena was asking about a “secret project.”

The project was classified so tightly that even Ossena, as Prime Minister and head of government, didn’t have sufficient authority to see its full contents. This

was perfectly normal. While she held one of the highest levels of authority in the Alliance besides Gu Hang, no one else possessed complete access to all Alliance intelligence except Gu Hang.

Just as Wu Jiarong was unaware of much of the Alliance’s central government’s sensitive data, Ossena was also unaware of some confidential technologies and production projects.

She understood all of this and had always been tactful, refraining from asking questions that weren’t necessary.

But this time was different.

This secret project had already had a significant impact on the Alliance government, and she had no choice but to ask.

The first phase of the project has a budget of 60 billion. The project’s finances, personnel, production technology, and transportation… all remain shrouded in secrecy.

60 billion for a single project… is already an exorbitant sum. That amount is enough to build a full battleship.

But it’s said that this is only the first phase.

As the person in charge of the project, Wu Jiarong is already having the Alliance government prepare the budget for the second phase. It’s due next year, and the amount has increased even further, to a full 80 billion.

A total of 140 billion over two years… The Alliance’s annual Imperial tax revenue was only 300 billion in the initial phase! This project will eat up half of that in two years.   It’s not surprising! The Alliance

is already struggling under the weight of Imperial tax revenue, and now it has to take on such a massive project. It’s too much.   Of course, this project was finalized by Governor Gu before he left, and the Alliance government was ordered to cooperate as much as possible. Osena couldn’t afford to lag behind. Not only did she follow Governor Gu’s orders, but she also understood that with such high levels of secrecy and such a large investment, the project would be crucial to the Alliance’s development.   But the financial pressure was still too great. This time, she wanted to discuss with Wu Jiarong whether the plan could be changed.   The 60 billion for the first phase has been given out, you can use it first; can the 80 billion for the second phase be less? That 60 billion is a huge amount of money, use it first to make up for it, it’s not so easy and quick to use it all up, right?   Even if it really can’t be reduced in any way, can it be given later?   It won’t be too late, just a few months, until the first two-year imperial tax is paid, and then the new money will be allocated.   Wu Jiarong refused.   ”This is the Governor’s project, it concerns the life and death of the alliance.”

Wu Jiarong emphasized this point first.

Using the Governor to pressure me?

Ossena felt a little uncomfortable.

But she wasn’t about to react.

Perhaps all mechanics were like this; after removing so many organs and dealing with machinery all the time, you couldn’t expect them to maintain a particularly high emotional intelligence.

“This isn’t a request,” Ossena explained patiently. “It’s a plea. I’m trying to discuss this with you. The pressure from the government is enormous, and I hope you can understand.”

“I understand you, Prime Minister Ossena,” Wu Jiarong responded, maintaining a firm attitude. “But this matter is non-negotiable.”

However, she wasn’t so arrogant as to use the Governor’s request to pressure Ossena.

She offered a brief explanation. “The current costs have been meticulously calculated, resulting in the optimal solution under extreme conditions. The number of workers, senior engineers, raw materials, and energy required for this entire secret project…it’s simply too much. Furthermore, we need to place orders with various high-tech factories across the Alliance, even from Aramita and Jindi Star. Some orders even require the personal leadership of the sages themselves for manufacturing.”

“The costs are enormous. The current situation is truly within our calculations, the most extreme conditions. Our R&D and production are already operating on a precarious path. Even the slightest deviation could cause the entire bridge to collapse.”

Wu Jiarong was trying her best to speak politely, even using adjectives!

Ossena could sense it.

She sighed, accepting the reality. “Okay, I’ll find a way.”

A brief silence followed.

Ossena, grappling with her disappointment at not achieving her goal, brought up another matter.

The most important thing she wanted to discuss with Wu Jiarong this time was, of course, the secret project. The second issue concerns the Alliance’s technical support for restoring and strengthening production in various regions.

This isn’t particularly relevant to the newly occupied territories in the Spider Web Universe.

While there’s certainly some production capacity and industrial expertise, the primary task in those regions remains restoring production. If these planets already possess a certain level of production capacity and industrial expertise, they can find ways to retrieve equipment and workers from their original planets. If this isn’t possible, or if the planets themselves lack production capacity, the Alliance will have to rely on technology spillover from its core regions.

Relocating some of the core regions’ “low-end industries” to these regions would be sufficient.

But relocating low-end industries doesn’t mean the core workers won’t have to work anymore, does it?

That’s definitely not the case.

Higher-value industries are needed to accommodate these experienced workers and engineers.

This will require the assistance of Wu Jiarong.

On this matter, Wu Jiarong did give Ossena some good news.

There are indeed some very promising industries that can be transferred.

The Wrathful Owl Star has now become the Alliance’s core technological base. Many more powerful industries have been added to the relocated industries in Qimadi.

Advanced heavy engineering machinery, star fortress construction plants, more shipyards, more Titan factories, more advanced energy compression plants, more stellar energy stations…

all require more people.

These aren’t things that can be handled by low-level workers alone; they require those with extensive experience and accumulated technical skills. Those freed from lower-level industries are perfectly suited to these tasks. This is

also beneficial for these workers and engineers. More advanced and more important industries clearly offer them better opportunities for advancement.

Satisfied, Ossena returned from the call and immediately sent the clerks’ notes and summary of the conversation to Director Zhao Jiuzheng of the Production Department.

He was also excited and immediately began arranging personnel to connect with Angry Owl Star for these technologies, equipment, and technical guidance personnel. He also began planning the construction locations for these new factories.

Ossena herself then began her next task.

…

In Snow Fox, the capital city of Fox Moon, a region far removed from core areas like Seven Horses and the Dragon Eagle Star Region, a Jason Morgan was holding a crucial meeting.

The situation in Fox Moon differed from many other regions within the Spider Web Universe. This region lay east of the Princess Star Region and northeast of the Alfonzo Star Region. Further east, Fox Moon left Imperial territory and entered the Dark Outer Realm.

In previous wars, the northern, western, and southern fronts had little to do with Fox Moon.

This meant that this region had been largely unaffected by the war, at least not as a primary battlefield.

Of course, while the impact was minor, insect infestations were inevitable. However, they were not severe and relatively easy to address.

Because of this, the Alliance naturally refrained from deploying a significant military presence to control the situation.

There were too many areas requiring military suppression and takeover, so it was best to conserve as much manpower as possible.

However, the Fox Moon Star Region was not severely damaged by the war. The good thing about this was that its productivity remained relatively intact. However, there was also a bad thing. The local forces were not completely wiped out by the war, and many remained.

They all had close ties with Iron Armor and the Alfonzo Sect.

Political work was not easy to do.

At least not like those places that were turned into vacant lands and then taken over and rebuilt by the Alliance, where it was so easy to control.

Against this backdrop, Jason Morgan and his wife came to the Fox Moon Star Region.

He himself was the highest administrative officer of the Fox Moon Star Region.

(End of this chapter)