"At the same time, this also brings greater risks. Someone will realize they’ve been deceived and abandoned, and if even one person among this group harbors resentment and makes a move beyond technological limitations, it could expose our whereabouts. Those remaining in the fleet will lose trust in me after I’ve lied twice, worrying that my next command will trick them into dying. People’s loyalty will waver, and fleet citizens might abandon me. In peacetime, this control might never manifest, but if these resentful individuals find a chance to betray me and cause substantial harm, they won’t hesitate."

"Lies might bring short-term benefits, reducing the cost and difficulty of social management, seemingly simplifying complex matters, and even causing civilization managers to become addicted."

"However, lies are actually poison that leads to self-destruction. The more convenience enjoyed from lies, the more credit is exhausted, and the anger and dissatisfaction in people’s hearts accumulate like undercurrents in the deep sea, eventually erupting like a volcano, demanding a repayment from me."

"Back then, the reason I could so easily take over the rule of the nine administrators and suppress the Nine Major Groups, bringing all resources under my control, was precisely because of this. The nine administrators lied and even fabricated history. When the truth of history was exposed, throughout Source Star, except for the vested interests within the Nine Major Groups, no one was loyal to them."

"Apart from violent regime changes, there is another way to resist, which is to give up. Even with a ready-made Knowledge Ball, the Source Star civilization with its two billion population suffered from more than a century of technological stagnation due to this."

"I cannot repeat the mistake. We must trust our warriors, inform them, and encourage voluntary enlistment."

Initially, Xiao Xingyue had some doubts, but after only half an hour, she understood the difference between her and Ren Zhong.

In just half an hour, more than a million people signed up.

Now, six hours later, the total number of registrations has even risen to ten million.

This means, on average, at least one out of every three Reconnaissance Army warriors chose to volunteer.

If Ren Zhong hadn’t ordered the cessation of registration, this number would have continued to climb.

"We only need 700,000 people in total. Yet these warriors know it’s a mission with certain death, but the number of registrations is too high, creating significant difficulties for our selection process."

Standing at the workstation, Xiao Xingyue said with slight frustration, "Even after a preliminary screening with ’the net,’ eliminating soldiers who don’t meet technical standards, eligible candidates still exceed three million. I didn’t anticipate the soldiers’ enthusiasm. I should have trusted your judgment initially and modified the registration mode to first-come, first-served, stopping once full."

Ren Zhong shook his head, "That wouldn’t work either. Positions on the work fleet are extremely important; determination alone is insufficient, abilities must meet standards."

"But now I can’t finalize the selection with a random draw, can I? That would hurt morale." Xiao Xingyue turned to look at the densely packed names on the workstation’s projection screen, frowning as she spoke.

"Let me think." Ren Zhong pondered for a moment, "Provide new criteria."

"What conditions?"

"First, prohibit only children whose parents are deceased from registering. Second, prevent all siblings in the same family from registering. Similar genetic origins and parental backgrounds can produce equally capable offspring. See these three, they all bear the surname Sammy. Ahmed Sammy, Luchade Sammy, Panxim Sammy, they are clearly brothers."

"Similarly, third, prohibit parents and children from registering simultaneously. For now, let’s do this; screen them and see how many remain."

Sun Ai worked efficiently, completing the screening in the blink of an eye, leaving 1.07 million.

"For the remaining portion, filter by the recent functional assessment scores, eliminating those with lower scores from the backup series. Once completed, start requisitioning from each fleet, allowing time for them to say goodbye to families. The work fleet will commence departure in a week."

...

Ahmed, Luchade, and Panxim, the three brothers, were excitedly discussing the upcoming arrangements.

As members of a minority ethnicity on Source Star, the ancestors of the three brothers have always lived under unfavorable conditions on the planet. For thousands of years, no matter how the men and women of the Sammy family strived, they remained confined to the lowest identities of temporary outcasts and wild outcasts.