Where There Is Brilliant Progress, Shadows Are Bound to Follow (1)
But apparently, when a teaser about the strongest-tier characters that vague got casually brushed aside with that quintessential veteran move of "I'll spare you the detailed explanation," it handed countless users the perfect excuse to spawn all manner of wild speculation.
Thanks to that, players started running all kinds of bizarre lore-building games among themselves, dreaming up every strange headcanon imaginable. And on top of that, at some point it became clear among the non-veteran users that these kinds of overpowering superhumans weren't found only within the so-called "Four Heavenly Kings" factions.
The Four Heavenly Kings factions splitting the galaxy into quarters — that's what it's called, but it's not like they actually carved it up into four neat, exact quarters, right?
So wouldn't the pirates, the space monsters, and the minor nations count as a faction too?
So there I was, slyly cooking up a grotesque piece of vocabulary, brandishing the so-called "Seven Heavenly Kings" meme and giving the veterans' brains a very vigorous stirring. The ones who'd carelessly leaned on the "I'll spare you the detailed explanation" meta right up until that point got to taste the consequences in the most excruciating fashion. All in all, the gallery's atmosphere was drifting along in a thoroughly orthodox and peaceful direction‧‧‧‧‧‧.
But when I turned my gaze away from that gallery vibe and toward the actual, real-world state of the planetary system's development—
"Back off! Back off! BACK OFF!"
"Uuurgh."
"Protesters on both sides, please remain within the designated assembly zone."
"Ha. Now what is it this time."
On the TV screen in my office, the mood inside the planetary system was, for some reason, decidedly not good. Naturally, that made no sense — as of just yesterday, every report had said things were running so smoothly the words automatic development were practically applicable.
Determined to find out immediately why things had turned into this mess, and conveniently also wanting somewhere to store my newly brewed triple-sensitivity drug, I summoned Ilena and set about assessing the situation.
And in response to my summons, Ilena arrived carrying the ultra-cold insulated case for drug storage and transport herself, and had this to say:
"It's a simple matter. Recently, our planetary system has been pushing through rapid stabilization alongside a whole slate of business ventures — even independent of the coup — haven't we?"
"Yeah, we have."
"As a result, quite a few workers have been coming in from neighboring planetary systems, and even more 'refugees' have been flooding in — people fleeing war-ravaged regions, or at least claiming to be."
Since this was classic Ilena, complete with her signature opener of "It's a simple matter," I tilted my head and let my confusion show the moment I heard it.
And honestly, how could I not? Ilena herself had practically boasted that our counterintelligence apparatus was close to flawless, so this sudden turn was far too strange.
At my reaction, Ilena continued the briefing, explaining that this situation was a little different from the usual—
"Things get slightly complicated here, but the workers who've come from other planetary systems are not refugees. They're perfectly legitimate citizens, which makes them rather difficult to deal with heavy-handedly."
"Ah. Yeah, that does complicate things."
"What's more, up until just yesterday, the flow of alien-system citizens and assorted refugees through immigration was more or less even, so thanks to cooperation between myself and the Milano government, we were managing to cope."
"But?"
"Moments ago, one massive refugee fleet and three immigrant fleets from other planetary systems all surged in at once, and the border control system went into overload."
"Huh? Wait, how many are we talking, that it broke down?"
"Two of the immigrant fleets carry ten million each, one carries eight million. The refugee fleet numbers thirty million at the minimum estimate."
"‧‧‧‧‧‧So you're telling me that a population of over fifty million minimum just got airdropped in out of nowhere, and all of this happened just now?"
"That is correct, Doctor. In fact, I myself only received word of it moments before you summoned me."
"Wow."
Unbelievable. So it turned out that a population bomb of fifty million — no, wait. To be precise, it was fifty million at the absolute minimum, meaning the real figure was likely higher — had come pouring into a settlement whose total population had only just barely crept past 1.65 billion.
I found myself genuinely struck by the absurdity: so this is the scale at which a galactic-level neighborhood operates, huh.
And of course, the moment I heard all this — even though I commanded the Black Scourge Legion and exerted influence over the regional governors through negotiation — even a total novice like me could tell this was not a volume our planetary system could digest in one go. So I suggested we simply refuse them and turn the fleets away.
"There are too many of them. The spaceports installed at the system's outermost reaches have effectively been seized instead."
"What."
"The refugees in particular refused all crowd control and went on a rampage, so the spaceports' immigration departments and security forces are currently surrounded and isolated."
"Heh?"
"Furthermore, true to the name 'fleet,' each immigrant fleet numbers a hundred ships, and while the refugee fleet's composition of sizes and classes is pure chaos, it numbers no fewer than five hundred vessels. This will not be easy."
"Heeeeoh."
This was a situation so dire that even the almighty Ilena-mon herself was saying it would be too much to handle.
Concluding that things were decidedly not easy, I let out one sigh after another.
And then, right before those sighing eyes of mine — as if to emphasize just how critical the situation was—
Once in a great while, a glitch in the long-range warp gate control system causes a colossal influx of population to come pouring into a planetary system all at once. This does happen across the galaxy from time to time.
But for the current Milano System, this is literally the first such event in its entire history — and everyone is in complete disarray!
And the most serious problem is this: if the current situation is left unaddressed—
The refugees swarming the spaceport will absorb the personnel of the immigrant fleets that arrived alongside them, swelling their own numbers; and worse still, there is a high probability they will seize the spaceports outright and dark-evolve into full-blown space pirates!
Accordingly, every person in the planetary system fervently wishes for this crisis to be resolved in as short a time as possible.
The problems caused by the "Massive Population Bomb" event must be resolved — by any means necessary.
On Success: Planetary Development +10%, slightly increased success rate for pioneering ventures, slightly increased chance of discovering talent
On Failure: Planetary Development −20%, drastic drop in system stability, slightly increased rate of space pirate outbreaks
*TIP: You do not necessarily have to accept every single person.
*Careful — if you take in an enormous population all at once, the system's public order and stability could plummet fast. Watch it. — by Translator
"Auwaughwaughwaugh."
Not only had a full-blown quest popped up, it had been conjured right in front of my eyes, packed to the brim with the determination that I resolve this by whatever means necessary.
Faced with the sight, I felt some nonsense syllable escape my mouth entirely of its own accord — because apparently, the moment I tried to catch a breather, an incident or accident was simply destined to occur.