[Warhammer: Starting as a Planetary Governor] Chapter 101/102 (Patreon)

After finishing that damned pile of paperwork, Eden sent word to Bayev that he should stop sending files his way for the time being. Eden had more important matters to attend to.

Speaking of Bayev, the hardworking old steward seemed to have aged a lot recently.

With this thought, Eden quickly ordered someone to retrieve some high-grade nutritional potions from the treasury and personally delivered them to the old steward.

Can't have him getting too worn out.

Eden traveled by hovercar to the Department of Internal Affairs, eventually arriving at Bayev's office.

Though called an office, it was more like an expansive administrative hall.

The office was about the size of a football field, with over a hundred desks, each occupied by an administrative staff member.

They all bore dark circles under their eyes, looking exhausted, yet they continued working tirelessly, processing various affairs.

In the aisles, dozens of servitors moved non-stop, transporting stacks of documents.

These people were so focused on their work that even as Eden arrived, few looked up.

Some lifted their heads for a glance, then immediately returned to their monotonous, mechanical document processing.

The sight of their dedication nearly brought Eden to tears! Though, it could also be from sheer exhaustion.

At the far end of the office sat Bayev at his own desk.

Stacks of documents piled high on the five-meter-long metal table, almost obscuring him from view.

Wearing mechanical glasses, Bayev was focused on reviewing a file related to food ration calculations.

Currently, the food supply in the Royal District was not ample. If the rations weren't carefully calculated, a large-scale famine could erupt.

Previously, this work was simpler.

It was merely a matter of proportionally distributing the available food stock to various institutions and subsidiary factories.

Whether people outside the Royal District had food or starved to death was not a concern for the Department of Internal Affairs.

Their responsibility was solely to distribute food to those working for the Royal District.

However, under the governor's new policy, the Royal District was now obligated to sustain the lives of the people in the Upper Hive, preventing mass starvation among the population.

So, the challenge was figuring out how to prevent people from starving with insufficient food supplies.

With this policy, the rationing system became more complex, and the paperwork increased.

And that was just one policy.

With multiple policies layered together, the workload for the Royal District's Department of Internal Affairs nearly doubled.

Not only did the Department of Internal Affairs face increased tasks, but the Logistics Department and Military Department were also under greater strain.

This workload could very well exhaust them to death.

Bayev carefully reviewed the data reported by the Logistics Department. After ensuring there were no major issues, he stamped the documents.

As for minor issues, there was no choice.

When tasks are nearly all human-handled, avoiding major errors is a victory.

Moreover, none of the departments had the time or resources to reprocess each document meticulously.

After all, the flow of administrative affairs continued to build up.

This administrative system was just a tiny replica of the Empire's administrative machinery.

A small error in the Royal District's Department of Internal Affairs could lead to the deaths of hundreds, thousands, or even more civilians.

But a small mistake in the Imperial Department of Internal Affairs?

It could spell disaster across hundreds or thousands of planets, potentially affecting an entire sector or even the galaxy.

Countless human lives would be lost.

That is the Empire.

But can anyone truly blame Bayev or the high lords?

They work tirelessly, exhausting every ounce of strength on administrative duties, sometimes at the cost of their lives.

But if not them, then who?

What guilt do the billions who perish due to errors carry?

It must simply be said: survival for humanity in this hellish galaxy is unimaginably difficult.

Eden gazed at the administrative staff busy within the hall, his mind a whirl of thoughts.

He couldn't change the Empire.

But within his own domain, he wanted to make some changes, to avoid as many mistakes as possible.

Eden approached Bayev's desk, observing the hunched-over, hardworking steward. After a moment's thought, he decided not to disturb him.

Gently, he placed the nutritional potions on the desk and left.

In truth, Eden had considered bestowing a blessing upon Bayev, but decided to delay it.

A blessing would only enhance Bayev's attributes; it wasn't a miracle cure.

If the work process didn't change, even a blessed Bayev would struggle to increase efficiency fundamentally. For now, he'd have to endure.

Thankfully, the research on the interconnected network had reached preliminary success.

The network, combined with Moss's computing power, could fundamentally change the workflow in the Royal District, significantly boosting efficiency.

Once the network was fully implemented and enough new faith power was gathered, Eden would bless Bayev.

The entire administrative system of the Royal District would undergo a transformation.

Hang in there, old Bayev; freedom is coming soon!

Shortly after Eden left, Bayev, having finished his paperwork, looked up and noticed the nutritional potions on his desk.

"What's this?"

"Father, the governor left these for you,"

Bayev's son, young but already balding from the stress, suddenly appeared with a hoarse voice.

"Why didn't you tell me? How disrespectful!"

"The governor insisted…"

Bayev stared at the stack of nutritional potions, somewhat taken aback.

He grabbed a few vials and handed them to his son.

"What are you standing there for? Get back to work! Don't waste the governor's goodwill!"

As a steward family that had served the Grant family for nearly two thousand years, handling Royal District affairs for the governor was the best way to repay their debt of gratitude.

Leaving the Department of Internal Affairs, Eden, accompanied by Carter and others, headed to a secret underground lab.

Mechanical Sage Moss was conducting experiments there to establish the interconnected network.

"Is it ready?"

Eden eagerly asked as soon as he stepped off the elevator.

"My lord governor,"

Seeing Eden enter, Moss quickly set down his cup of oil-fuel drink and rose to greet him.

This fellow was turning more and more machine-like lately.

He accepted a data pad handed to him by a servitor skull, his numerous mechanical arms operating deftly.

"The interconnected network has reached its initial completion.

Although 01010101110 has a few flaws, along with 1010110001…"

…

Eden paused, pointing to the array of mechanical devices at the center of the lab.

"So, is it ready for use?"

"According to experimental data, the network is capable of meeting your requirements…"

"Quickly, let me see it!"

Eden's excitement was palpable; it was finally ready.

Moss led Eden to an iron table, where a pixelated mechanical screen was set up.

A series of cables connected the screen to the central device in the lab.

This was the Warhammer version of a computer.

Moss powered it on, and under the eager gazes of Eden, Carter, and the others, the screen lit up.

It worked!

A pixelated Imperial Aquila symbol appeared, followed by stirring music, and an animation showed Eden clad in golden power armor, radiating light, and holding a sword as he pointed forward.

The imagery bore a striking resemblance to the God Emperor.

Eden had this boot-up animation custom-designed.

In the future, every device in the Royal District would display his noble image upon startup.

The screen then transitioned to an image of the golden statue of the God Emperor.

Zzzz~

Suddenly, the image froze.

Did it… freeze?

Just as Eden and the others were puzzled, a pixelated demon hound inexplicably appeared on the screen.

It was about as high as the statue's knee in the image.

Yes, it was male.

Under their astonished gazes, the demon hound swaggered over to the statue.

Then, it pulled out… and began acting like a little dog marking its territory on the statue's leg.

What?!

(End of Chapter)

Before anyone could react, the screen underwent another disturbing transformation.

A pixelated Slaaneshi daemonette, seductively twisting and posing, approached the statue of the God Emperor, rubbing against it and dancing provocatively under the gaze of several terrifying eyes.

Blasphemy! Complete blasphemy!

Watching this scene, Carter and the others were utterly stunned.

They turned away, not daring to make a sound.

They couldn't bear to look—it was truly unbearable!

Eden felt a sharp pain in his jaw and cursed, "Who the hell made this heretical animation? Are they trying to get me in trouble?"

Moss, however, remained unfazed, merely puzzled.

"The circuits and data are fine. How could it malfunction like this? It's impossible…"

Bang, bang!

He resorted to his usual repair method, having a mechanical arm bang against the pixelated screen.

But it was no use; the screen continued to play the depraved scene.

"Quick, turn this cursed thing off!" Eden shouted, realizing what was happening and urging Moss to shut it down immediately.

It seemed the pixelated screen was likely corrupted by some form of Chaos energy.

Chaos glitch? Or maybe a prank by a Chaos god?

Could it possibly be the work of that mysterious daemon engineer, Vashtorr?

The name "Vashtorr" echoed in whispers through the communicator, scrawled messily in the most maddening of glitch-riddled corners.

Legend has it that Vashtorr is known for tampering with twisted machinery, relishing in mad "innovations."

The idea that Vashtorr might mess with something Eden had created wasn't entirely impossible.

Whatever it was, it wasn't good. Best to shut it down before it attracted the attention of these fiends in the flesh.

"I've cut the power, but the screen still won't shut off."

Moss stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"This is extremely rare… there must be some mysterious energy sustaining it. If you give me enough time, I can work on a coded response to address this malfunction…"

Eden was at a loss for words. Time was the one thing they didn't have.

At the current rate of corruption, any delay would risk these abominations crawling out of the network.

The animation's sound became increasingly chaotic.

The daemonette panted, performing even more obscene gestures toward the revered statue of the God Emperor.

More and more demons appeared, and the scene grew increasingly rowdy.

There were daemons leering; others cheered for the daemonette, carrying human heads in twisted encouragement; some were hacking away, splattering blood across the screen.

It was a veritable dance of madness.

As the tension in the animation reached a fever pitch, the daemons turned their gazes toward those watching, as if they had become aware of them.

Could these fiends really possess sentience?

The scene was thoroughly unnerving.

Bang!

The pixelated screen suddenly exploded, half of it shattering, and the display went dark.

"Phew, it's finally over…"

Eden holstered his smoking bolt pistol and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

That was terrifying.

To broadcast a heretical spectacle of the God Emperor was an unforgivable sin.

If the Emperor knew he'd caused such a scene, Eden would be psychic-slapped into oblivion.

This had to remain a secret!

But before Eden could relax, the screen abruptly flickered back to life.

Was it not over yet?

Bang, bang, bang!

Eden, now enraged, fired repeatedly until the explosive bolts reduced the pixel screen to ruins.

But even this wasn't the end.

Zzz— The lab's voltage fluctuated, the lights dimming ominously.

Sparks flickered across the multitude of cables, tendrils of purple-black smoke snaking along the wiring, spreading quickly.

Tracing the cables back to their source, the lab's central mechanical unit was already enveloped in a thick shroud of Chaos energy.

It was running out of control, continuously emitting corrupted information.

Fortunately, this main unit wasn't yet connected to the network, confining the influence to the lab.

Had it been operational and linked to various institutions and industrial sectors in the Royal District, it could have output Chaos data across the entire district in mere moments.

That would have resulted in a catastrophic disaster.

"Destroy the main unit immediately!"

Without hesitation, Eden ordered Carter and the guards to destroy the machine.

Following his command, Carter and the guards quickly approached the main unit and raised their bolters.

Bang—

Multiple bolters fired simultaneously, flashes erupting from the barrels as bullets poured into the main unit.

When the firing ceased, the main unit was reduced to scrap, its operations halted.

Even so, Eden wasn't reassured.

"Abandon the network experiment. Everyone evacuate, and initiate high-temperature purification of this lab!"

Eden and his group withdrew, and the high-temperature purification team was dispatched to incinerate the lab thoroughly.

The team meticulously examined the ashes, ensuring no traces of Chaos remained, before sprinkling holy water, pouring concrete, and sealing the lab completely.

They hammered a warning sign on the door reading "No Daemons Allowed."

The sign included the date of purification and scheduled inspections—a testament to their caution.

The purification team had been recently established by Eden, equipped not only with cleansing personnel but also accompanied by priests.

Their job was to handle incidents of contamination and carry out purification, exorcism, and a full suite of purification services.

Currently, the team's skills were somewhat rough, but as they honed their expertise, they were expected to grow more professional in time.

After reporting the completion of their work, the purification team departed.

Eden looked at the sealed lab before him, feeling a pang of disappointment.

His interconnected network project had failed.

It seemed that humanity's technology from the 30th millennium simply couldn't withstand the corruption of Chaos.

No wonder the Tech-Priests of the Mechanicus were so cautious about new technology.

They restricted knowledge, enforcing strict policies on any independent scientific experiments outside the Mechanicus.

Allowing widespread production of any defective technology vulnerable to Chaos corruption would undoubtedly harm the Empire.

They often spent centuries studying, translating, and debating a single piece of technology before finally creating a usable product.

Some even performed elaborate rituals on the machines as part of the manufacturing process.

All of this was in pursuit of stability.

Eden sighed deeply; trying to invent anything in Warhammer 40K was an incredibly arduous task.

Boom!

An unknown explosion shook the ground of the Royal District, with shockwaves shattering glass along its path.

Simultaneously, Eden's psychic senses picked up a surge of Warp energy dispersing.

What in the Emperor's name?!

Did he somehow mess up so badly that it exposed Urth's location, drawing the attention of Chaos daemons for an invasion?

For a moment, Eden felt uneasy.

He glanced in the direction of the explosion; it came from the newly built Mechanicus workshop.

The workshop's owner was none other than the newly appointed tech-priest of the Royal District—Salii Kaul.

Considering the Salii family's illustrious traditions, a sense of foreboding welled up in Eden.

Could Kaul possibly be making an even bigger mess than I am?

(End of Chapter)

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