Warhammer: Empire Reboot

People who have lived in a city their whole lives find it hard to accept having nothing above their heads immediately.

The sky above the Warning Star is just a legend to the Lower Nesters.

They are more used to pipes, steel beams, leaky ceilings, and black holes above ventilation shafts.

Occasionally, when the high-rise transport tracks crack, they can see a small patch of grayish-yellow light through the gap.

The old man would say, "That is the sky."

The textbook also mentions the agricultural world.

Gray clouds, pesticide mist, automatic spraying towers.

Slave laborers wearing gas masks harvested crops, the ground covered in chemical mud, and low-rail harvesting platforms dumped yield-enhancing agents downwards.

Agricultural laborers worked in shifts of sixteen to eighteen hours a day, their fingers were corroded, their lungs grew mold, and after they died, they were ground into phosphate fertilizer.

Rick had always thought that was how the agricultural world was.

Before they came here, the transport foundation sequence told them:

You will be assigned to safe agricultural resettlement areas where you will receive labor training, food rations, and medical screening.

Rick's first thought was that it was all over.

He even sewed a small razor blade into his clothes beforehand.

If someone were to drag Hall into working as a field servant, he would at least pounce on him and take a bite.

When they emerged from the static field, they found a row of clean dormitories.

Each family has two rooms, one for sleeping and one for cooking.

There is ventilation on the wall, and clean water flows from the tap.

The bedding was new, and the ration box contained grains, meat protein, vegetable chunks, salt, and something called jam.

Hall froze when he tasted the jam for the first time.

"Dad, this is sweet."

Rick covered the small jar of jam and put it in the highest cabinet.

That night, I secretly opened it again and tasted a little myself.

It is indeed sweet.

The same goes for the Marlowe family.

Celine used to be a temporary worker at the Vigilant Star water purification station. She was exposed to low-grade disinfectants for a long time, and the back of her hands was covered with light-colored scars.

Upon arrival, the medical staff examined her, applied repair gel, and gave her a pair of lightweight protective gloves.

Every morning, the farm bells ring.

The announcements outside the dormitory will provide information on today's weather, work assignments, drinking water standards, children's class schedules, and a list of children for medical check-ups.

Adult workers were divided into groups to learn about sowing, soil maintenance, irrigation valves, harvesting, storage, and basic machinery maintenance.

The elderly person was responsible for light work: sifting seeds, recording data, and taking care of the seedlings.

In the morning, the children learn literacy, arithmetic, basic imperial history, agricultural knowledge, and safety procedures.

I can help out in the designated area in the afternoon.

Helping others earns you points, which can be redeemed for fruits, tools, clothing, and extra study time.

This system is completely unfamiliar to me.

So unfamiliar that at first, Rick suspected they weren't being placed, but rather being fattened up.

He discussed it with Marlowe privately.

"Do you think the Lord of the Seal is going to train us to become more expensive labor?"

Marlow was repairing an irrigation sprinkler at the time and said, "We're not worth that much."

Rick thought that made sense.

Before work began in the early morning, all the newly resettled families lined up in the square to receive their tools.

The head of Cornerstone Agriculture stood on the steps.

"Today's tasks: replanting in field No. 3 in the North District, dredging the irrigation canal on the east side, and inspecting the insect-proof netting in the orchard on the south side."

"The third batch of personnel placed under the Vigilant Star program are still in training. If you are slow, you can ask. If you don't know how to use the tools, you can ask. If you feel unwell, report it immediately."

Someone in the group whispered, "Won't asking too many questions be considered laziness?"

The head of Cornerstone Agriculture stopped and looked in the direction of the sound.

"Inquiries will not be recorded for laziness. Concealing injuries or illnesses, damaging equipment, stealing seeds, polluting water sources, or engaging in fights will be recorded."

Rex stood in the queue and saw Hall and Pick crouching not far away, watching an insect crawl across the stone slab.

Hall used a branch to block the insects.

Piqué asked, "Is this an alien?"

Hall said seriously, "Small."

Ellie stood beside her, flipping through a children's agriculture manual.

"The book says this is a beneficial insect."

Pique then asked, "Do beneficial insects eat people?"

"will not."

Pique breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at the sky again.

"Even the heavens wouldn't eat people, would they?"

Rick felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

It's normal for a child from the Vigilant Star group to ask this kind of question.

In the morning, Lake and Marlowe were assigned to the east irrigation canal.

The canal is two meters wide, with clear water and fine filter stones at the bottom.

Automatic valves stand at intervals along the side.

The foundation sequence requires them to learn how to clear floating debris, check water pressure, and confirm valve opening and closing.

Rick squatted by the ditch, looking at the water: "So much water, just left exposed like this? Nobody's stealing it?"

"There's nowhere to sell them even if you steal them."

Rick thought about it and realized it made a lot of sense.

On Vigilant Star, a bucket of clean water can be exchanged for a gun, a bed, three days' protection money, or half a life.

Here, water flows through the canal.

This whole thing is absurd.

The farm canteen opens at noon.

The cafeteria is large, with a high ceiling and fans on the walls.

Each table is assigned a family number, but it is not mandatory to assign one to a specific family.

The meals are served from the window.

The meal consisted of grain rice, stew, meat, water, and a small amount of fruit.

Not everyone has fruit every day.

Children first, pregnant women first.

Hall received half a yellow fruit today.

Pique sat beside him, watching intently.

Hall looked at his fruit, then at Pike.

Just as Rick was about to say, "Eat it yourself," Hall had already broken the fruit in half.

He gave half to Piqué and looked at Ellie with the other half.

Eliza shook her head: "I won't eat it."

Hall didn't believe him: "You definitely want to eat it."

Elizabeth pursed her lips: "I have enough points, I can exchange them this afternoon."

Hall was relieved and put the remaining half into his mouth.

The next second, his eyes shone with an alarming light.

"dad!"

"This is even better than jam!"

Several people around burst out laughing, and the laughter echoed through the cafeteria.

No one stopped them.

Nobody hit the table with the butt of their gun.

There was no supervisor announcing the end of mealtime.

The timer on the cafeteria wall showed that they had thirty-seven minutes left.

Marlowe sat opposite him, holding a water glass.

He took a sip and suddenly said, "I dreamt of the Vigilant Star last night."

"I dreamt of those people in the drainage layer. On the day we were evacuated, there were still many people who didn't make it."

The laughter from the cafeteria faded into the distance.

They all know.

Not everyone can be transferred.

The foundation sequence can be dispatched quickly, but the warning star is too large, with a population of over 160 billion, it cannot be moved with a single command.