81: Chapter 81 Sigh, I just wanted to make some changes.

"Yuri, do you still remember the days in the Adeptus Arbites prison?"

Fu Haoran asked out of the blue, catching Yuri off guard, and the expression on his face instantly became somewhat unnatural.

"I remember."

"Then do you know that most of the people inside were forced in?" Fu Haoran looked up at him.

"People in the Underhive work more than twelve hours a day and don't live past forty. Do you think they are considered human?"

Yuri's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice raspy: "I know, but that is the rule of this world."

"From the day the Hive City was built, people in the Underhive have been treated as consumables."

"You and I both crawled out of there; I know that better than anyone."

"If we want to change this rule, it's equivalent to making enemies of the ruling class of the entire system."

The office instantly fell silent.

This is the logic of this fucked-up world; the lives of civilians have never been considered lives.

"Fu, you are too young. Rogue Traders represent capital, and their rules are inherently above those of the nobility."

"If you want to be a savior, they can turn you into the public enemy of the entire system and leave you without a corpse!"

Fu Haoran certainly knew this. He admitted that every Rogue Trader dynasty was a great existence, but those ordinary Rogue Traders were just the interstellar version of the East India Company—vampires that put a price tag on human lives, planets, and power.

The hereditary nobility represented by Victor just wanted to hold onto their own little plot of land and continue to lie back and suck blood.

And the capital represented by Reck would, for the sake of profit, turn the entire system upside down and squeeze every last drop of blood from everyone.

The latter was more ruthless, more shameless, and more disgusting to him.

Fu Haoran had no intention of backing down: "Humans are not commodities, let alone consumables."

"Since I have already offended them all, then I will do it thoroughly."

Fu Haoran's ruthlessness fully emerged, and he ordered:

"First, order the shipyard to produce a complete construction plan for a system trade fleet within three months, prioritizing the construction of armed freighters."

"We will handle our own trade; we don't need to look at the faces of Rogue Traders."

"Second, accelerate the progress of cooperation with the Adeptus Mechanicus, prioritizing the independent production and research of precision equipment."

"We must have our own complete industrial chain; we cannot rely on others for everything."

Yuri was completely stunned.

This was the pace of fighting to the end.

Is he crazy?!

"Anyway, it won't burn down anytime soon... If it really comes to that point, it won't be too late for me to run."

Yuri muttered as he left, but his heart felt inexplicably more settled.

Following such a Planetary Governor, although he lived in fear every day, at least... he was a madman who treated people like people.

...

Meanwhile, at the end of the corridor in the Governors Mansion.

When Reck was "invited" out by the guards, he met an old acquaintance.

"You were kicked out too?"

Reck saw Victor leaning against the wall, his complexion no better than his own, his eyes full of gloom.

The two looked at each other and instantly understood the same dissatisfaction in each other's eyes.

Victor lifted his chin, pointing to the empty room nearby.

"Want to talk?"

The two turned into the empty room at the end of the corridor, and the heavy alloy door locked with a clang behind them.

"That madman... he wants to detain my fleet! He wants me to die here!" Reck said indignantly.

"He even wants to turn my ancestral home into a school and let a bunch of Underhive scum go in to study." Victor sneered.

Both were silent.

After a long time, Reck suddenly looked up, his eyes full of ruthlessness: "We cannot let him continue to act recklessly like this; he is just a madman who doesn't understand the rules at all!"

This was the sentence Victor had been waiting for.

The reason he hadn't left was that he was waiting for Reck's attitude.

"I know that many families and collateral branches of the rebellious nobles have fled to the second largest Hive City, Sigal."

"We can organize all these people and take revenge on Fu Haoran."

Reck's eyes instantly lit up. The Sigal Hive City was formerly a fortress Hive City, with intact Void Shields, many heavy turrets, and extremely thick walls, making it easy to defend and hard to attack.

More importantly, it held early Imperial autonomy permits and had embassies for nobles from other star systems inside.

Once attacked, other Planetary Governors could intervene directly.

The assets those fleeing nobles had in the Alpha Hive City were gone, but that didn't mean they didn't have family wealth on other planets and in other Hive Cities.

As long as he could bring these people together, he would not only be able to get back his ships and goods but also secure exclusive trading rights for the entire system, with only more clients to come.

"Can you mobilize these people?"

Victor nodded and added: "As long as we operate a little bit and portray Fu Haoran as a rebel who overthrew Imperial order and slaughtered nobles, the nobles of the entire Small Mantin system will be willing to send troops to support us."

Reck immediately felt that this matter was a sure thing; after all, the Sigal Hive City had strong troops and advanced weapons, and except for the slightly low production capacity and lack of resources, it was almost impeccable.

"Okay. But after it is done, I want the corresponding benefits." Reck returned to the shrewdness of a merchant.

"After it is done, I want the exclusive trading rights for Planet Scylla IV."

"I will have priority in mining all minerals, and I will handle all imports and exports."

Victor frowned slightly. Exclusive trading rights meant that the entire planet's imports and exports would be subject to others, and even if he took back the Hive City in the future, he would still have to look at Reck's face.

But when he thought of Fu Haoran's face, he gritted his teeth: "Fine. As long as you can help me retake Alpha, all of this is yours."

In Victor's view, what was being ceded was just the land of the planet, and what was being exploited was just the scum of the Underhive. As long as he could regain the rule of the Alpha Hive City and preserve his noble privileges, paying these prices was simply not worth mentioning.

Reck reached out his hand with satisfaction.

"However, before that, you need to help me do one thing," Victor said.

"I know that many nobles are still trapped in this Hive City, and we need to send them out."

Reck thought for a moment and said: "I happen to have a way to keep Fu Haoran busy for a while."

"What do you plan to do? Be careful, don't let him find out," Victor warned.

"Hehe, don't worry. A cult hiding in the Underhive has recently been targeted by the Adeptus Arbites; it's perfect to let them go and kill the Arbiter, killing two birds with one stone. With Fu Haoran busy investigating the case, how could he have time to care about you leaving the city?"

Victor didn't ask much: "Okay, send the people out first, and we will talk about the rest later."

As a conspiring ally, Victor didn't care about the specific operation; after all, how much trouble could a cult cause?

...

On the other side, Fu Haoran looked at the Hive City that was getting on the right track and felt that he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, the office door was slammed open.

Wade said in a panic: "My Lord, something big has happened!"

"Adeptus Arbites Arbiter Horn Chronos is dead in his home."

"...There are rumors that it was you who ordered the assassination, saying that you wanted to control the Adeptus Arbites."

The smile on Fu Haoran's face vanished instantly. What would he want with the Adeptus Arbites?

To give himself more drudgery?

But Fu Haoran knew the weight of an Arbiter all too well.

That was an imperial envoy sent directly to the local area by the Empire, the walking Imperial Law, equivalent to the imperial secret police + Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Killing him was equivalent to directly slapping the Empire in the face.

More importantly, someone was actually splashing dirty water on him!

If it wasn't handled well, the Astra Militarum's suppression fleet, or even an Inquisitor, would come directly, and the entire planet would be finished.

Of course, there was one more thing that worried Fu Haoran the most.

That was, according to convention, to see if a planet was in chaos, one just had to see if the Adeptus Arbites was finished.

As the first line of insurance for a planet, once the Adeptus Arbites was destroyed, it basically indicated that big trouble was coming.

Just as Fu Haoran was about to get up, a system prompt appeared:

【Triggered series quest: Haze】

【Quest difficulty: S】

【Quest introduction: The Arbiter was killed; whether it was an accident or intentional, it must be investigated clearly, otherwise there will be huge trouble】

【Quest requirement: Investigate the truth of the Arbiter's murder within 96 hours.】

【Quest rewards: Free attribute points +3, gain command of the Adeptus Arbites, Adeptus Mechanicus precision equipment technical support ×1】

When he saw "series quest," Fu Haoran understood that this was another big trouble.

"Sigh, the Warhammer World really won't let anyone have peace."

Fu Haoran sighed, stood up, and took the Bolter and plasma pistol from the wall.

"Wade, take your men and come with me to the Adeptus Arbites."

"I want to see who wants to make me take the blame for this."