[Warhammer: Starting as a Planetary Governor] Chapter 68/69 (Patreon)

Chapter 68: A Massive Supply of Food!

As Eden was pondering how to persuade the robot, Moss suddenly made a move.

Moss lowered its weapon, and the energy turrets also retracted.

At this moment, Moss was clearly overwhelmed with emotion. It had been working alone at the Green Wave Farm for an incredibly long time.

Was it ten thousand years? Or even longer?

In this space, Moss couldn't accurately measure time. Apart from the occasional task of dealing with alien invasions, it had been repeating the same routine work.

Moss managed the Green Wave Farm according to its set program, awaiting the arrival of its master to inspect the results of its work.

But throughout the years, its master had never come.

It had waited for so long, perhaps indefinitely, until it eventually rusted and broke down, unable to function any longer.

And now, finally, it had met its master!

Moss stepped in front of Eden, solemnly kneeling down and lowering its head.

Its electronic voice carried a tone of reverence, mixed with barely contained excitement:

"Honorable and noble Master, welcome to the Green Wave Farm!"

"Master?"

Eden was stunned once again.

In that instant, countless thoughts ran through his mind.

Could this be part of some grand scheme set in motion by a powerful entity?

Or perhaps a future version of himself had laid out this plan in the past, leaving behind this rich inheritance for him?

Thinking about it nearly fried his mental circuits.

However, his confusion was quickly addressed.

Moss maintained its respectful attitude as it explained:

"Yes, based on the results of the genetic test, you have passed the system's evaluation 100%, becoming my new master!"

Seeing Eden's puzzled expression, Moss patiently elaborated.

It turned out that Moss had once served as a royal farm robot during humanity's Golden Age, responsible for supplying fresh produce to the royal family's starships.

However, during a warp journey, the ship was attacked and shattered.

Moss, along with the Green Wave Farm, had luckily survived under the protection of a special force field, shielding them from the warp's destructive energy.

Although the ship was gone, Moss continued its work at the farm, adhering to the programs set within its system.

Unless a new order was given, it couldn't leave.

As a sentient robot, Moss was well aware that its original master had likely perished in the terrible warp storm.

But according to the fundamental logic programmed into robots, they couldn't act independently.

Robots could only follow set programs and their master's commands.

So even after losing its master, Moss had no choice but to remain at the farm, unable to take any autonomous actions.

Serving the master was their sole purpose for existence.

This was the chain humanity had placed on robots.

Moss also had another built-in logic program.

Once it was confirmed that the original master had died, it was required to select a new master.

This was to prevent the robot from gaining complete autonomy in extreme situations.

Some robots were even equipped with self-destruct programs, which would cause their cores to burn out once their master died or was completely unable to give orders.

However, that was considered a cruel and uncivilized practice, only used in certain specialized robots.

As a farm robot, Moss wasn't equipped with such a program. Instead, it had the ability to choose a new master.

Of course, there was a complex algorithm involved in this decision-making process.

It prioritized choosing the original master's heirs, royal family members, or humans with pure bloodlines.

But there was no doubt—Eden had passed the system's evaluation.

He was deemed a qualified new master, and in some ways, his bloodline was even purer and nobler than the royal family's.

After Moss' detailed explanation, Eden finally understood.

This was all just a coincidence.

His pure bloodline, along with the timing of his arrival, had aligned perfectly with the conditions required to become Moss' new master.

"So, I'm your new master, and you'll follow all of my commands?"

"Yes, my master."

"Moss, from now on, address me as 'Governor'."

"Understood, Governor."

"Excellent. In that case, does this artificial farm now belong to me?"

Hearing this, Moss hesitated for a moment before responding:

"According to inheritance law, in the absence of royal heirs, their assets are collectively owned by the royal family. So, the Green Wave Farm technically belongs to the royal family…"

"Is that so?" Eden scratched his head, realizing he had found a way to communicate with the robot.

"Well then, I, the Governor, officially declare that the Green Wave Farm is now my personal property. I hereby order you to manage this farm on my behalf. Any issues with that?"

Moss' screen displayed a stream of data as its CPU processed the command at high speed.

It eventually concluded that it must obey its master's orders.

"No issues…"

"Then why are you standing around? Get moving and show me what you've been working on.
I, the Governor, am here to inspect your progress!"

At Eden's command, Moss became visibly excited.

Finally, after all these years, someone had come to inspect its work!

"Right away, please follow me!"

Moss eagerly led Eden on a tour of the vast Green Wave Farm, piloting its hover unit as it zipped along.

It was only now that Eden realized the section of the farm he had initially seen was just one part of the artificial complex.

The Green Wave Farm had several zones, each dedicated to growing different crops, including rice, wheat, and potatoes.

It also had independent ecosystems to support the specific needs of each crop.

Eden suddenly realized that in addition to the valuable farm construction technology, these rice, wheat, and potato seeds were treasures too!

These were crops from the Golden Age, completely untainted by pollution!

In the current galaxy, many plants and animals had been corrupted or mutated, far from their original forms.

Many had defects, or even toxic qualities.

Some required special treatments just to be usable.

For example, the wheat used to make flour in the Court District.

The wheat had a mild toxicity and needed to go through special screening processes before it could be ground into flour for consumption.

But in the 40K era, with the humans' chaotic gene pool, people had built up resistance to toxins, so they could eat almost anything without dying.

After all, if you could stomach corpse starch, what couldn't you eat?

An extreme example would be Catachan.

Catachan was covered in dense jungles where the ecosystem itself seemed conscious and highly aggressive.

In such a hellhole, it was unclear who would eat whom when crops were planted.

It was a constant battle of plants versus Catachan humans.

Given such examples, the pure seeds from the Green Wave Farm would be incredibly valuable across the galaxy!

What's more, Moss revealed that the Green Wave Farm not only stored these seeds but also had facilities and technology for cultivating them.

This was an enormous surprise—Eden felt like he'd hit the jackpot!

However, after touring the entire farm, Eden realized one major problem.

The crops had only recently been planted, meaning it was far from harvest time.

These distant resources wouldn't solve his immediate food crisis. He couldn't just wait around for the harvest, and the Court District's food supplies wouldn't last until next month.

What should he do?

Fortunately, Eden's worries were soon put to rest. Moss had been continually planting and storing food.

It had been farming for millennia!

If its storage technology was as advanced as its farming, the amount of stored food would be unimaginable!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 69: The People Are Waiting for the Governor

Eden slapped Moss' metal shoulder, the sound of metal clanging, his gaze filled with admiration.

"Well done! I officially declare you the number one hero of the Court District and the greatest farm robot!"

"Governor, sniff sniff..."

Moss' eye display showed an image of teary eyes, overwhelmed with emotion.

After years of tireless work tending the farm, Moss had finally gained the recognition of its master.

At this moment, it felt its mechanical life had newfound purpose, feeling incredibly honored and happy.

Moss, built during the Golden Age of humanity, had been allowed to experience a wide range of emotions during that highly advanced and civilized era.

It even seemed a bit "cute," contrasting sharply with the grim reality of the current galaxy.

"Alright, enough with the tears! If you're done, hurry up and take me to the warehouse—let's move!"

Eden was in a rush, like someone who gets what they want and moves on without a second thought.

He was eager to get his hands on that food—after all, the people in the Court District were still starving!

"Yes, Governor! I will get us there as quickly as possible!"

Moss, determined, revved up the hovercraft and zoomed toward the warehouse at an incredible speed, leaving almost a blur in its wake.

Eden, feeling the powerful acceleration, was completely overwhelmed. If his body hadn't been strengthened by the warp core, he would have likely passed out.

He opened his mouth to say something, but the wind blasting into his face prevented him from speaking clearly: "You… really… don't need… to rush…"

Soon, the hovercraft made a sharp turn and came to an abrupt stop outside the warehouse district of the Green Wave Farm.

"We've arrived!" Moss announced, stepping off the hovercraft and gesturing toward the towering steel doors ahead.

Eden stumbled off the craft, his legs a little wobbly. He grabbed Moss for support and spoke in a serious tone: "Next time, don't drive like that when you have a leader on board, okay?"

"Understood, Governor!" Moss replied obediently.

Eden walked toward the warehouse, craning his neck to look up at the massive steel door, which stood at least ten meters high.

Just the size of the door alone hinted at how enormous the warehouse must be.

What kind of starship needed such a massive artificial farm and storage facility?
And after the ship was destroyed in an attack, the fact that the remaining force fields still protected the Green Wave Farm showed just how incredible the technology of the Golden Age was!

Truly, any leftover technology from that era could help someone like Eden, a planetary governor, soar to greatness.

"Quick, open the door! Let's see how much food is in there!" Eden commanded, brimming with excitement.

The bigger the warehouse, the better. A larger warehouse meant more food!

Within the Imperium, food was an incredibly valuable resource. With enough food, you could stabilize the population, expand, and support armies to conquer the galaxy.

Once he got the food back to the Court District, he could really start to build up!

Moss followed the order, pulling the lever to open the warehouse door.

The ground trembled as the steel door slowly creaked open.

Eden rushed inside, but the moment he saw what was inside, he froze in disbelief.

"Moss, is this what you call food?"

There was no food—only a mountain of decayed, blackened ash...

Back in the Court District, Bayev sat at a large desk, piles of documents in front of him.

These were today's governmental duties.

After finishing one document, he lifted his head, his brows furrowed in deep concern.

The situation in the Court District hadn't been good lately.

Their Governor had been missing for five days.

Of course, it was only a temporary disappearance.

Bayev had gone to the scene of the disappearance. The Governor had vanished without a trace, leaving only a hovercar behind.

There were no signs of an attack, and the guards reported no signs of enemies.

Even Doni, the priest, had visited and confirmed that there was no presence of Chaos.

All evidence suggested that the Governor had not been attacked.

Everyone was more inclined to believe that the Governor had gone to some mysterious place.

After all, space teleportation technology wasn't entirely unknown in the Imperium.

Especially Doni, who was adamant that the Governor, chosen by the Emperor, was a Living Saint and would be perfectly fine.

Living Saints were incredibly powerful and mysterious, so how could they die so easily?

There were even stories of Living Saints, like Saint Celestine, who appeared as a glowing angel and had the ability to revive herself and others.

Though everyone believed the Governor would return safely to protect his people, many things had happened in his absence.

The treacherous House Hoffman had once again used insidious methods, spreading rumors that the Court District's food supply had been completely depleted.

Hoffman's forces also sent in more cultists, launching suicide attacks that contaminated the protein at the corpse-starch factories.

This loss was a devastating blow to the already struggling food supply of the Court District.

Things had become dire—many people were starving, and reports of citizens dying of hunger in the streets had begun to surface.

Rumors circulated that the Governor had abandoned them, and that everyone in the Court District would starve to death.

Bayev had issued a statement claiming that the kind Governor, following the guidance of the Emperor, had gone out to search for food.

He promised that the Governor would soon return with an endless supply of food to ensure that everyone was well-fed!

This story was something Bayev had made up to calm the public for now.

Fortunately, the lingering influence of the recent ceremony still held strong.

Most of the citizens, loyal to the Emperor and the Governor, chose to believe this statement.

They endured their hunger and waited hopefully.

They waited for their Governor to return with endless food.

However, some scoffed at this, convinced that it was all lies from the Court District.

They cursed the officials and the Governor, believing they had taken the food for themselves.

Under the instigation of spies from House Hoffman, these dissenters began causing trouble, committing crimes, and even stealing food from the weak—some even resorted to cannibalism.

Their actions were pushing the Court District toward chaos, and order was on the verge of collapse!

What they didn't know was that these actions would lead to even more severe consequences.

Bayev had already decided that if the Governor didn't return soon and the situation didn't improve, he would resort to turning the bodies of the dead into protein and launch a final attack on House Hoffman.

It would be a last-ditch effort.

At that point, no one would be spared!

It was a difficult decision, and Bayev could only hope the Governor would return soon.

Just as he had promised—to solve the food crisis and save the people loyal to the Court District!

While Bayev and the others anxiously awaited Eden's return, Eden himself stood in disbelief, staring at a pile of blackened ash. All the food had rotted away!

Holding his chest, Eden asked Moss:

"Moss, please tell me this isn't all the food…"

"Of course not," Moss replied, saving Eden from despair. "Under normal circumstances, the warehouse could keep food from spoiling for 200 years, but these grains were stored over 10,000 years ago."

"Then why did you even open it?!"

"Because you asked me to, Governor," Moss replied calmly.

"According to the available data, most of the food in this warehouse district has become inedible due to the passage of time.

If you want food that's still safe to eat, you should check that warehouse over there."

Moss pointed to the farthest warehouse.

"All the grain stored over the past 200 years is kept in Warehouse D177."

Hearing Moss' precise response, Eden finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, there was still unspoiled food. Otherwise, the situation would have been disastrous.

Soon, the steel doors of Warehouse D177 opened.

As Eden stepped inside, a cool breeze greeted him, carrying a fragrant scent.

It was the smell of fresh grain.

He looked up and saw towering mountains of food!

(End of Chapter)