Warhammer: Starting with Industrial Revolution

The impact of Slaanesh himself appearing in his dream last night was too intense. Even though he felt no physical abnormalities upon waking, the tension in his heart remained. In the Warhammer 40K universe, getting involved with the Chaos Four was always a dead end, and even a dream was enough to send shivers down his spine.

When the factory workers saw him, they all stopped what they were doing and greeted him in unison. The reforms of this period had allowed these low-level workers to reap the benefits of their hard work for the first time, and their eyes were filled with genuine respect as they looked at him.

Luo Ning simply nodded slowly in acknowledgment, but did not stop walking, and went straight into the Machine Soul Shrine at the deepest part of the factory.

Chief Priest Victor was kneeling before the shrine, praying to a sophisticated servo skull. The red light of the mechanical prosthetic eye flickered faintly in the dim shrine as he recited obscure and difficult-to-understand prayers.

"Lord Ronin?" Even though their interests were already deeply intertwined, Viktor's voice remained icy.

Ronin glanced around; Viktor's assistant and servants were nowhere to be seen. He then cautiously said, "Father, I need you to examine me. Have I been contaminated?"

Viktor suddenly raised his head, and for the first time, a clear emotional fluctuation appeared on his face, which had been mechanically modified beyond recognition.

That was the mechanical priest's deep-seated wariness and coldness towards the chaotic heretics.

His mechanical prosthetic eye under his hood instantly burst forth with a blinding scarlet light, and an invisible scanning wave shot out from the prosthetic eye, scanning Luo Ning from head to toe, inside and out, three times.

The shrine fell into a deathly silence, broken only by the faint hum of the servo motor running inside Viktor's body.

After a long while, the crimson light faded, and Viktor's voice returned to its usual coldness, yet still carried a hint of barely perceptible surprise: "The scan results show that Lord Ronin's body, mental strength, and soul fluctuations show no trace of subspace contamination, nor any residual chaotic energy. Everything is normal."

Hearing Viktor's words, Ronin finally felt relieved and let out a long sigh of relief.

"What happened?" Viktor's mechanical eyes were fixed on Ronin, his tone serious and unquestionable.

Rhonin sighed. He knew he shouldn't have told anyone about being summoned by Slaanesh, but he had no choice.

After all, if he really had traces of having been freed from chaos, the State Religion and the Inquisition would not show him any mercy.

Viktor is the only person on the entire planet he can trust, and the only one capable of helping him.

He briefly and accurately recounted last night's dream, from the garden illusion to Slaanesh's appearance, and then to the other's question about the unreachable depths of the soul, telling Viktor every single word.

"Slaven...is this the one?"

His voice was filled with disbelief and shock. Even in the entire galaxy, the mere presence of one of the four Chaos Gods in person with a mortal was a momentous event, enough to alarm the Inquisition and trigger a sector-wide purification operation. Not to mention, this mortal, after coming into contact with the Dark Queen herself, remained completely unharmed and uncontaminated.

He pondered for a long time before finally saying slowly, "The void detection device and the soul spectrum scan show no abnormalities."

Only then did Ronin relax. Since Viktor said there was nothing wrong with his body, he could rest assured for the time being. "What does Your Excellency think of my dream?"

"That was just a dream," Victor replied decisively. "The corruption of Chaos is irreversible; once you're infected, it only intensifies. In this universe, apart from the soulless space necromancers and the Tyranids, no mortal can escape unscathed under the watchful eyes of the four cosmic entities. No one."

His voice was incredibly serious, as if he were advising Ronin, "Since it's just a dream and hasn't left any trace of contamination, Lord Ronin, there's no need to panic excessively for now. But you must remember, even the slightest curiosity or indulgence towards chaos deep within your heart could become the source of warp erosion. I will arrange for a technical priest to go to your residence to conduct a full-dimensional sanctification ritual and in-depth investigation to eliminate any potential dangers."

"Thank you for your trouble, Father." Ronin bowed respectfully.

Only after Victor personally confirmed that there was no contamination did he truly feel relieved. As for Slaanesh's claim that the soul could not be touched, he could vaguely sense that perhaps it was because he did not belong to this universe, but was an outsider who had traveled from another world.

After leaving the Machine Soul Shrine, Luo Ning headed straight for the Governor's office.

The moment the door was pushed open, Governor Karl came to greet him.

"Hey! Brother Luo Ning, not bad! I thought you'd look like a space ghost even if you didn't take the day off, but you're so radiant. I didn't realize you were so capable."

With his signature faint smile, he kept nudging Luo Ning with his shoulder.

Luo Ning gave an awkward smile. "Governor, please stop teasing me. It's all because of you that I almost got into trouble."

He wasn't talking nonsense; in fact, he had a suspicion that it was his long-lost indulgence that had attracted Slaanesh's attention.

Governor Karl's wicked grin deepened. "I originally intended to bring you all the beauties I could find so you could choose the one you liked. Who would have thought you'd be so greedy?"

Luo Ning smiled, didn't reply, and went straight to his desk to sit down and spread out a map of the Nest City.

There is less than a month and a half left before the imperial tax collector arrives.

The reforms at the factories and mines are on track, with production capacity and yield rates stabilizing at their peak, making up for the shortfall in the tithe tax is no longer a problem.

But he had to resolve this mess in Xiachao as soon as possible.

Yesterday at the entrance to the passage, he promised reform to thousands of refugees, and they chose to believe him and lay down their weapons. If he cannot give them an explanation, if he cannot provide a way out for the millions of people struggling for survival in the lower realms, it won't be long before another rebellion breaks out here, and it might even breed a chaotic cult, becoming the biggest threat to the planet.

He quickly devised a rough plan in his mind.

Soon, a complete reform plan for the lower nest took shape in his mind.

The first step was to purge and incorporate them.

A comprehensive screening of deeply entrenched gangs was conducted. Any gangs that were involved with chaotic cults, had innocent civilian blood on their hands, or resolutely opposed reforms were directly targeted for armed suppression by garrison troops.

The remaining gangs that were willing to obey the Governor's Office and had no history of heresy or misconduct were officially incorporated and reorganized into regular guilds. This not only solved the security risks in Xiachao, but also greatly reduced the subsequent management costs.

The second step is to establish a waste recycling and reuse system.

In the past, industrial waste, abandoned equipment, and scrapped parts from the upper and middle layers of the factory were all dumped directly into the lower nest, which not only seriously polluted the living environment of the lower nest, but also wasted a large amount of reusable metal resources and industrial parts.

Luo Ning plans to hand over several abandoned factories in Xiachao that have long been buried and collapsed by garbage to the guilds that have been incorporated to clean up and repair them. After the Mechanical Church approves the work, it will be built into the first standardized industrial waste treatment center in Chaodu.

From sorting, remelting, repair to reuse, a complete closed loop is formed, which not only solves the pollution problem of the downstream process, but also provides low-cost raw materials and spare parts to the mid-level factories, further reducing production costs.

The third step is to set up a low-tech supporting production line.

The core weapons and military technology of the Empire are almost entirely monopolized by the Mechanicus, but the demand for low-tech products such as military uniforms, boots, canvas backpacks, ration packs, prefabricated fortification components, digging tools, ammunition belts, marching tents, and basic medical supplies is astronomical.

He plans to build dozens of new workshops and standardized production lines in Xiachao, specifically to produce these kinds of supporting products. Xiachao has no shortage of labor, and these low-barrier jobs are enough to settle hundreds of thousands of refugees, allowing them to earn a stable food ration with their own hands, instead of surviving by robbery and fighting in the dark.

The fourth step was to establish official labor camps and promotion channels.

An official labor camp was set up in the core area of ​​Xiachao, where any resident could voluntarily sign up. The mining gaps, infrastructure maintenance in Xiachao, and labor needs of the waste treatment center were all allocated from the labor camp.

Workers who sign up earn food, clean water, and housing rations based on their working hours and completion rate; those with outstanding work ability and high loyalty are given the opportunity to become apprentices in mid-level factories, completely escaping the darkness of the lower nest.

Luo Ning knew all too well the effect of making empty promises; only by giving hope to the people of the Lower Nest area would they stop their rebellion and become loyal to him.

Once the plan was finalized, Luo Ning didn't delay at all.

He led his guards and personally went to the lower nest area.

To push forward with reforms, the first step is to take down the major gang leaders here.

He did not intend to delegate the assessment of these gangs' strength, background, and loyalty to any of his subordinates; he had to personally oversee the process.

The government office in Xiachao District, which had been abandoned for over a hundred years, had been cleaned up the day before and became Luo Ning's temporary office.

Dozens of the most powerful gang leaders from Xiachao have already been summoned here in advance.

When Luo Ning walked into the office, stood in the main seat, and slowly explained his reform plan, the entire room instantly erupted in chaos.

These gang leaders displayed completely different emotions on their faces.

Some were delighted, some hesitated, some were angry, and some were full of disdain.

Just then, something unexpected happened to Luo Ning.

His gaze swept over the crowd, and he could clearly see that a circular point of light was floating above the head of each person.

Some people have green spots of light above their heads, some have bright red spots, and most have yellow spots.

One of the gang leaders, a burly man with a fierce face, slammed his fist on the table and stood up, roaring angrily that he would never easily hand over his business, which he had built up over decades, to the governor's mansion. Several other gang leaders around him echoed his sentiments, their faces full of arrogance and resistance.

Luo Ning's gaze remained fixed on the glaring red dot above his head.

In an instant, he understood completely.

Green represents complete acceptance of one's proposal; yellow represents hesitation and observation; and red represents outright opposition and hostility.

He couldn't help but take a deep breath and silently recite in his mind:

"I'm afraid I've been blessed by Slut."