Warhammer: The Beginning is the Crisis of Annihilation Chapter :

  Chapter 47 Reality 15

  Hawk listened to those people's complaints, and sighed slightly.

   "The Holy Emperor, we are born sinful, and we should sharpen ourselves in suffering."

   Missionaries' voices echoed over the horns of public vehicles.

  They are always so noisy, it seems that as long as they are loud, they can be convincing.

  The Emperor doesn't have that much time to deal with these psychopaths.

  A slightly heretical idea came to Hawke's mind.

  He knew it was disrespectful to think so, but he couldn't help himself.

   Those priests say that the Emperor loves everyone, but why is there such a big gap? ?

   Some people have everything, while others have nothing.

   Obviously, the Emperor couldn't see it at all.

  Those guys are just swindling and abducting in the name of the Emperor.

  Hawk turned his head and looked out the window, looking at the flickering neon lights and the messy multi-layered hive city, his eyes became more and more confused.

  He doesn't know what is the meaning of his birth? ?

  Never-stop work, closed living houses, and twelve-hour daily work.

   Apart from these, he seems to have nothing.

   And those pastors are still saying they are happy.

   Where is happiness? ?

  In Hawke's wild imagination, the public vehicle stopped on a slightly dilapidated metal platform.

  [Station No. 2 in District 36 has arrived. Passengers heading to Residential District No. 2 will get off at this station. ]

  The mechanical announcement sounded, interrupting Hawk who was in deep thought.

  He hurriedly stood up and walked towards the car door.

  The moment he stepped out of the vehicle, he heard a beep.

  Credits for riding public vehicles are directly debited into the account of the Public Transport Commission.

  Citizens living in Hawk's Hive will get a data chip when they become adults, and record their various information and financial account numbers.

   This chip is not the private property of citizens, but belongs to the Machinery Association.

  The Mechanics Association is responsible for maintaining various machines in the hive, and they are responsible for all mechanical products.

   Data chips are just something they lease to citizens.

   After the citizen dies, the Machinery Association will take out the chip from the corpse, format it, and then lease it to another person.

  Hawk suspects his data chip is at least two hundred years old, maybe longer, at least three or four generations old.

   A lot of things in Empire are like this.

  The service life is much longer than ordinary people.

   Coupled with the maintenance of the Machinery Association, these things can often be used for hundreds or even thousands of years.

  Hawk, who just got out of the car, was pushed by a passenger who got on the car.

  The other party did not apologize, but walked straight into the carriage, found a seat and sat down.

  Hawk has long been accustomed to this.

  In this cold, cruel world of repression, everyone is so numb.

  Walking in the metal corridor exuding the peculiar smell of metal, Hawke heard a buzzing sound, and he looked up at himself.

  A luxurious private suspended vehicle, engraved with the imperial double-headed eagle emblem and family emblem, passed by above, shuttling between the tall buildings of the Hive Capital.

  Hawk's eyes showed envy, and he watched the car go away helplessly until he could no longer see it.

  These private suspension vehicles are luxuries that he could not afford in his whole life.

  They only belong to those nobles with deep family heritage.

   Walk through the promenade connecting the metal platform, and a few hundred meters ahead, there is a crowded residential area.

  There are people coming and going here, and there is a lot of voices.

  Some small vendors are loudly selling things, medicine, meat, wine, etc., as well as contraband obtained through special channels.

   In some places, projections are suspended, playing advertisements of various chaebols or chambers of commerce.

  In some dark places, there are gang members with various lines painted on their faces.

  They often have good things on their hands. As long as you have enough credits, they can get you powerful plasma guns, well-maintained prosthetics, and even various contraband drugs.

   Law enforcement officers shuttled through the crowd, and from time to time they would stop in front of a certain vendor and ask for their own benefit fee.

   To do business in a residential area, you have to pay the hive capital's tax, and you have to give some to the gangsters, and then you have to give some to the law enforcement officers, and they earn the rest.

  Each settlement is large enough to house millions of people.

  When people can officially work and earn income, they will be forced to allocate a house and pay rent.

  Don't think about living with friends, save a little more money.

  The Grouse family doesn't like people who don't support their real estate. Law enforcement agencies will come to the door to check, and if caught, they will be sentenced.

  If you get married and have children, you must also improve your living environment, otherwise you will be punished with the crime of child abuse.

  If you don't have children, you will also be sentenced.

   What should I do if I have no job and no economic income? ?

It was just like the guy in front of Hawk at this time, lying in a slightly dark place, putting all his wealth, sleeping wrapped in an old blanket, becoming a homeless person who was disgusted by the higher-ups and wished to be destroyed humanely .

   "Hey, Hawke." The homeless man smiled when he saw Hawke.

   "Hey, Madara."

   Hawke greeted, groped from his body, and threw an energy bar to the other party.

   "Thank you, may the Holy Emperor bless you." The wanderer Ban took apart the energy bar, bit off half of it, and thanked vaguely.

   "How's your leg?" Hawke asked beside the homeless man.

"It's not flexible anymore, it's hard to use. The Machinery Association said that it will take 20,000 yuan to fix it. If I am willing to sell it, they can also recycle it. The price is very good. I have already made plans and will sell it when the time comes." Get rid of this mechanical leg and get a crutch to use, then I can treat you to a good meal, Hawke."

   Madara showed off her mechanical leg, patted it, and made a crisp sound.

   Madara is not from this planet. He was originally a soldier stationed in another star area. He was transferred here because of the war. After the war ended, he stayed here.

  Originally he could still live on the soldier's pension.

  Later, the Gross family took over the position of governor of the Natal galaxy, saying that the government of the galaxy was in financial difficulties and unsustainable, so that the retired veterans could continue to display their loyalty to the emperor, and canceled their pensions.

   Madara who lost her source of income can only live on the streets.

   "It's already difficult for you. Wouldn't it be more difficult to get a crutch then?" Hawke asked, "Maybe you can go to the black market merchants and ask. Their prices are much cheaper, but the goods may not be very good."

"Don't persuade me, Hawke. I have lived for forty years and participated in more than 20 wars. I have seen green-skinned orcs and Zerg. I am enough. I don't want to live without dignity like this again." Come down, I was a warrior once, but now I'm begging around like a wandering beggar."

   Madara's words made Hawk stunned for a moment, and he thought of some bad things.

   "Are you going to kill yourself, Madara."

"Yes, I've had enough. I joined the army when I was seventeen. I've fought for the Emperor all my life. I've got enough medals to hang all over me. But now I'm a wandering beggar, and I The honor can't even get me a bite of food."

"After I sell this mechanical leg, we'll go eat something good, and then you help me collect the body. Put my medal and my body together, this is the only thing I have, and the rest will be I'll give you the money, if there's anything left after spending it."

  Hawk listened to Madara's words, opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

  Suicide is nothing new, people commit suicide every day.

   Those who are desperate, those who provoke gangsters, and those who offend nobles.

   There are various reasons.

   Living in such a depressing world, suicide is a relief.

   "Going back." Hawke left like fleeing, he didn't want to discuss such a heavy topic with Madara again.

   Dragging his exhausted body, Hawk returned to his narrow, thirty-square-meter residence.

  The room is dilapidated and cold, the wooden floor is severely worn, and the walls can no longer see traces of the past, only greasy white spots can be seen.

  Crackling ventilators swayed oil-stained fans, pushing stagnant air out and sucking in equally bad air outside.

  Hawk turned on his dilapidated holographic projector.

  Before the official broadcast of the program, an advertisement was played first.

  [Brave citizens of the Empire, be passionate again, and believe in the happy life brought to you by the Grouse family. The holy and great emperor said that a worker should die on his post, not on his hospital bed. The Grouse family has recently launched a brand-new potion, Vitality No. 1 potion, which can stimulate the nerves of the human body and make people full of vitality again. ]

  [What should I do if I don't have the energy to work after staying up late? Drink Vitality No. 1 Potion. What to do if the wife is not satisfied, drink Vitality No. 1 potion. What to do if you are sick and weak, drink vitality potion. ]

  [Look for Gross Vitality No. 1 Potion to ensure full vitality. ]

  (end of this chapter)