Warhammer: Empire Reboot

The private doctor who delivered the baby fainted on the spot.

The baby had four arms, a deformed skull, tiny sharp teeth in its mouth, and a wet, shiny grayish-purple skin.

According to imperial law, this thing should be burned.

According to common sense among the nobility, such a scandal would have been enough to ruin Augustus's life.

But when Augustus saw the child, he felt as if something was gripping his heart.

So beautiful.

The child was curled up in the swaddling clothes, emitting faint cries.

He stretched out his finger, and the baby grabbed him with all four of its tiny hands at the same time.

At that moment, Augustus burst into tears.

That was love that had been struck.

He couldn't explain it.

He didn't need to explain.

All he knew was that this was the first child the gods had given him, proof of a higher bloodline, and the starting point for the Castor family to shed their rotten human bodies.

He killed the midwife.

All the servants present were executed.

He placed his mistress in a secret underground chamber and used family funds to build the first "Star Chamber".

From that day on, the Castor family began to change.

At first, there was only Augustus.

Later, his mother was "kissed".

She transformed from a ruthless old woman who suspected everyone into the most steadfast guardian of the family secrets. She would hold that deformed baby, gently humming a noble lullaby, and calling him "Grandson of the Stars."

Later, his cousin was "kissed".

The man who had once tried to poison Augustus suddenly grasped his hand at a family banquet and tearfully begged for forgiveness.

They are connected to each other in spirit.

No more suspicion, no more betrayal.

There is no longer a need for servants to test the poison every night.

This warmth is enough to make any nobleman addicted.

Decades later, Augustus became governor.

The surface of Castor-VII remains a world loyal to the Empire.

The rail defense network is maintained on schedule.

Tithes were paid on time.

State church services continued as usual.

The Ministry of Justice is receiving fewer and fewer cases each year.

The struggles among the nobles became "mild".

The Xiachao gang was integrated.

The Water Purifiers' Union, the Grain Bureau, the Corpse Union, and the Star Harbor Administration were gradually taken over by those "family members".

Few people noticed the problem.

Those who noticed were also dealt with very cleanly.

Castor-7 has become stable.

Stability is the best disguise.

In the observatory, Augustus turned to look at his daughter.

Elena Castor sat by the window, flipping through the list of almshouses.

She looks like the finest creation of the Castor noble bloodline.

She had regular features and a gentle demeanor, and always listened to the other person's suffering before speaking. She enjoyed a very high reputation in the middle and lower echelons of society. Many orphanages, soup kitchens, and relief hospitals operated under her name.

The residents of Chaodu call her "Mother of Chaodu".

The chief priest of the state church called her Castor's Mercy.

The council of nobles called her the best face of the governor’s mansion.

Only a few people know that the blood flowing through her veins is closer to that of the gods.

High-generation mixed-race individuals can already be indistinguishable from ordinary humans.

Even more beautiful, smarter, and better at manipulating people's hearts.

Elena looked up.

“Father, Agrippina’s announcement has spread throughout the lower nest.”

Augustus walked up to her.

"The part about the one who holds the seal?"

“Yes.” Elena placed a record on the table. “Not only that full-band broadcast. There are also clips from the follow-up trial of Albitl-III. The Bi’an Warband deliberately cut the evidence of the Governor, the Food Bureau, the Water Purifiers, and the Corpse Guild into short messages and spread them through refugee ships and old relay stations.”

Augustus did not respond immediately.

He had read those passages.

Albitel-Third Governor Melchior was a clever enough man to even present himself as a temporary autonomous ruler after the Great Rift.

But the Bi'an Warband dug up all of his ledgers, records of the Corpse Guild's incineration, Red Pirate trade documents, and lists of nobles.

A rebellious hive planet was dismantled into a trial sample.

Lawson was telling the entire Agrippina Sector that surrender, fence-sitting, rebellion, and autonomy would all be subject to audit.

This is more troublesome than orbital bombardment.

The shells will only shatter the walls.

An audit will uncover how many bones were hidden in the walls.

Augustus picked up the record and read a few lines.

"What was the reaction of the Council of Nobles?"

Elena said, "On the surface, things are calm. Several old noble families that have not yet joined the ring are beginning to worry that the Bi'an Warband will come. The blessed families are more determined, believing that this is a test given to us by the Four-Armed Emperor."

What about those who haven't had an IUD inserted?

“They think they are the cleanest and are the most afraid of scrutiny. Castor’s advantage is that our accounts are indeed clean.”

Elena said this with great confidence.

Because that's the truth.

The most terrifying aspect of the Genestealers cult is not a single conspiracy, but its long-term operation.

They didn't need to forge ledgers on the spot like ordinary traitors.

The water ticket records from the water purifier union are authentic.

The grain bureau's rationing records are authentic.

The cremation batches of the Corpse Union are real.

The cargo manifest for Singapore is authentic.

The Ministry of Justice has seen a decrease in cases, which is also true.

The infected families and officials genuinely trusted each other, genuinely reduced infighting, genuinely improved administrative efficiency, and genuinely integrated many of the gangs that had fled to the front lines into a controllable organization.

Those who went missing were also included in the legal process.

Mine disaster.

Gang conflict.

Disease isolation.

Death due to overwork.

They leave their nests and migrate.

Every document is signed, every signature corresponds to a specific person, and every line can be traced back to a seemingly reasonable cause.

Imperial bureaucrats love looking at paper.

The paper from Castor-7 is very beautiful.

Augustus said slowly, "If Bi'an comes, it will not just look at the paper."

“So we need to prepare a second layer,” Elena said. “Open up some administrative nodes and proactively submit the accounts for food, clean water, and the corpse union. Let them see that we are cooperative enough.”

Augustus understood what she meant.

"Using transparency to conceal the core issue."

“Yes.” Elena nodded. “We can’t resist censorship like Albitel did. That would only hasten the landing of Lawson’s army. We need to present ourselves as the most worthy planet to be preserved.”

She presented another plan to her father.

"First, send a telegram of loyalty to Agrippina, acknowledging the Sealholder's wartime right to rebuild the Agrippina sector."

"Second, we publicly invited the cornerstone sequence to enter Starport, the Food Bureau, and the Clean Water Workers' Union, but only opened up the three data chains we had prepared."

"Third, the Council of Nobles took the initiative to clean up several corrupt old families and handed them over as a result of internal rectification."

"Fourth, the Ministry of Justice archives will re-file and destroy old private trial records, retaining only compliant judgments."

"Fifth, the relief homes expanded food distribution to keep the lower nest residents quiet before the seal bearers arrived."

Augustus looked at the plan with admiration in his eyes.

Do you think Lawson would believe that?