Warhammer: Empire Reboot

The heart of the empire was so fragile that it needed countless transport ships to pump blood into it every day.

Terra's true core, the Imperial Palace, was originally a super fortress built in the ancient Himalayan region, large enough to cover almost a small continent.

The entire Throne World has long been regarded as one of the most heavily defended planets in the Empire's million worlds.

Such a place should have been the most powerful central hub of the empire.

In the past, however, it was shrouded in layers of endless population, bureaucracy, pilgrimage industry, and ancient urban ruins.

The first thing Lawson did was to relocate the surplus population.

This step was originally considered the most difficult by many Terran officials.

Who would want to leave Terra?

Even if this place is the worst, it is still Holy Terra.

Even if they live in the deepest lower nesting zone, they are still considered residents of the Throne World.

However, after the Seal Keeper's Office first announced the relocation conditions, the application system was almost overwhelmed.

Because Lawson offered extremely favorable terms.

Ordinary families who wish to leave the crowded city can choose to travel to the rebuilt Empire world.

Housing is provided free of charge, along with job placement, medical care, children's education, and basic rations.

People with technical skills are assigned to corresponding positions based on their abilities.

The conditions are even better if you are willing to go to the newly developed world.

They may even have the opportunity to become some of the first official residents of the new city.

In Terra, a family of more than ten people are crammed into a small, tin-roofed room of a few dozen square meters on the lower level.

Upon arriving in the new world, they were allocated a whole apartment, with real sunlight streaming through the windows.

Many people didn't hesitate for long at all.

Those old nobles who initially proclaimed that "the inhabitants of Terra will never leave their sacred homeland" soon discovered that those who actually lived on the lower levels were not so reluctant to leave.

After reading the relocation notice, a worker living in an underground residential area asked the registration coordinator, and upon receiving confirmation, signed the papers that same day.

Similar things happened throughout Terra.

Only after Terra's population pressure had truly subsided did Lawson begin to work on the planet itself.

Billions are being spent on building drones to enter Terra.

From orbit, the entire planet looks like it has suddenly come to life.

Buildings from the old era that had lost their value for maintenance were demolished in large swathes.

Abandoned pipelines, collapsed passages, and illegally expanded areas that had accumulated underground over thousands of years were re-scanned.

Reinforce what can be preserved, demolish what needs to be demolished, and seal off and protect historical sites.

The buildings that are truly related to the history of the empire are actually protected more strictly than in the past.

From the very beginning, Lawson never intended to build Terra into an ordinary modern city planet.

This is the capital of the human empire, the place where the emperor resides, and the world where the Great Expedition begins.

It should allow anyone arriving here for the first time to immediately know where they are.

Therefore, the imperial palace was not demolished and rebuilt.

On the contrary, the entire palace and the core area of ​​the Himalayas have been designated as the highest historical and military protection zone.

The original city walls, the Gate of Eternity, the Imperial Grand Procession, the Sanctuary District, and important fortresses have all been preserved.

The Imperial Palace was already so large that it was almost a continental-sized complex, so Lawson didn't need to add anything more to it.

What he needs to do is to peel away the messy city that used to surround the palace.

The government offices, administrative headquarters, highest judicial body, and military headquarters were reorganized into a complete set of capital administrative districts.

Each of the five star regions has its own central administrative area.

Beyond the administrative district lies the military district.

This location connects Lionsgate Airport, the Solar Star Fleet Command, the Strategic Reserve Depot, and the headquarters of various Imperial military branches.

An independent military transport network was established underground.

Once Terra enters a state of war, civilian systems can be immediately separated from military systems.

Further outwards lies the residential area.

Lawson has broken up the previously unplanned, ever-growing mega-city into numerous independent urban clusters.

Each city has a defined population cap, and cities are connected by high-speed rail and air routes.

If anyone dares to write "add another 300 floors when the population grows" on the design drawings, Aoyama will send the report back immediately.

Terra has learned this lesson the hard way too many times.

Lawson also specifically left a large buffer zone.

Environmental remediation was actually the part of the entire Terra reconstruction that was completed the fastest.

The dark side of the empire has polluted too much of the world.

Terra's situation, even compared to other worlds, isn't even the most troublesome.

What really needs to be addressed is the high-altitude dust left behind by millennia of urbanization, as well as the already unbalanced water cycle and ecological environment.

The black hole projection rises into the sky above Terra.

Two weeks later, the orbital monitoring data plummeted to levels never seen in thousands of years.

Then comes the surface.

The Empire's dark side planetary terraforming team took over.

Atmospheric conditioning equipment was deployed, and the groundwater circulation system was re-established.

Comet ice and stored water resources brought from outside the solar system began to replenish Terra's water bodies.

A large number of designed microorganisms, plants, and soil-improving organisms are introduced onto the surface.

Areas that were previously covered by cities can be demolished and naturally restored without even waiting for decades.

The soil structure was directly rebuilt, the water system was replanned, and vegetation was spread out in patches according to climate zones.

When Lawson was governing an ordinary world, he could turn these things into standard engineering projects.

Once you arrive in Terra, you'll only use the best equipment, the most mature solutions, and the most abundant resources.

Years later, Terra looked completely different from what it used to look like from orbit.

The imperial palace still stands at the heart of the Himalayas.

Surrounding the palace are the redesigned capital city cluster, military district, administrative district, and pilgrimage zone.

Between the cities, large areas of lakes, forests, grasslands and waterways have truly emerged.

These are not intended to turn Terra into a resort world.

They are part of the capital's ecosystem.

It can also form a natural firebreak and strategic buffer zone during wartime.

What many long-time Terra residents find hardest to adapt to is actually the sky.

It turns out that the sky in the Throne World was originally a place where you could see stars.

Even pilgrims are being re-planned.

The empire was so vast that the imperial faith could not be erased by a single administrative order.

Therefore, the new Terra specifically built a giant pilgrimage port and pilgrimage city.

Once people arrive, they will first register, find accommodation, receive medical treatment, and be directed to other areas.

The pilgrimage routes are standardized, the opening hours are uniform, and the fees are transparent. After the pilgrimage, most people leave Terra as planned.

Simply thinking "since I'm here, I won't leave" won't work.

Terra residency has once again become a qualification.

But this time, it no longer relies on its ancestors.

Anyone from any world within the Empire is eligible to apply.

Anyone who is truly valuable to the empire can be included in the candidate list.

Terra began recruiting talent from millions of worlds.

In the past, countless people desperately tried to squeeze in, just to get a little bit of the benefits of being the capital city.

Now the empire is actively selecting the best people to enter this place.

Some former Terra residents who moved out regained their Terra residency status after achieving military merit or work success elsewhere.

When they return, they might even doubt that they've gone to the wrong place.

The population eventually stabilized again.

Lawson did not pursue the goal of having as little as possible.

Terra, after all, is the central part of the empire and requires a large administrative, military, research, and service workforce.

Based on the city planning of the Golden Age, the existing resource carrying capacity, the new industrial system, and future expansion needs, he redefined the population range most suitable for Terra's long-term operation.

This is when the real population return migration begins.

Talented individuals from the five star systems have been arriving in Terra.

Passenger ships arrived one after another, and a huge urban axis stretched out from the perimeter of the palace.

Military flags are unfurled between towers, aerial corridors run in layers, and rail trains pass beneath the city.

In the distance is the fleet headquarters, and further away, ships are constantly taking off and landing at Lionsgate Airport.

Church bells still ring in the city.

The fighting nun can still be seen.