Has the Hive City Fallen?

Ron finally knew what point in time he was in.

The end of the 41st Millennium of the Imperium!

The Great Rift!

This was the greatest crisis the Imperium had faced since the Horus Heresy.

Raging Warp Storms had torn a massive rift through reality.

The immense, chaotic energies had caused the Astronomican maintained by the Great God-Emperor to go dark one beacon after another, leaving it unable to offer any protection.

The instant the Astronomican went out, disaster struck!

Countless ships were torn apart in the Void, while innumerable worlds were exposed, cut off and swallowed by darkness.

Chaos ran rampant, and planets fell!

The cries for help of the afflicted, their desperate screams, and their final distress calls flooded into the Astropaths' minds in an instant, drowning them.

The overwhelming and horrifying torrent of information drove the Astropaths mad, even killing some of them.

The Imperium of Man had been crippled. Doomsday was spreading!

Enemies lurking in the darkness launched their attacks upon the Imperium.

From the remote fringes of Segmentum Pacificus to the Warp Storm-ravaged Charadon Sector, planets were being destroyed, and tens of billions of Imperial citizens died in despair!

When the Astronomican lit up again, the Great Rift, like a curtain of darkness, had fully formed and split the Imperium's territory in two.

Half the Imperium was shrouded in darkness!

Those worlds trapped in the darkness came to be known as Imperium Nihilus.

They could not contact Holy Terra or request aid from the Imperium. They could only struggle on alone or perish in the darkness.

Of course, those worlds were not entirely without hope.

As long as they endured until the Indomitus Crusade led by the Imperium's Lord Regent, Roboute Guilliman, arrived, they had a chance to return to the light.

If Ron had guessed correctly, Earth Planet was located in Imperium Nihilus.

Without the protection of the God-Emperor and the Imperial military, Earth Planet was practically running naked and stood in extreme danger.

The Planetary Defense Force on the planet was utterly ineffective in combat.

They might have been able to suppress internal rebellions, but facing Xenos or Chaos? That would be sending them to their deaths, cannon fodder among cannon fodder!

If Xenos or Chaos invaded even casually, Earth Planet would be doomed!

Yet being cut off from the Imperium actually made Ron breathe a sigh of relief.

It meant Earth Planet no longer had to bear the extraordinarily brutal Imperial Tithe and could prolong its life a little longer.

And as the supreme ruler, he could act as he pleased without being constrained by the Imperium.

Ron possessed the Little Sun. Given enough time and the right strategy, he was confident he could protect this planet!

Of course, that was assuming he was not too unlucky and did not attract the attention of a large Xenos or Chaos force.

If that happened, he would be finished.

"What Great Rift?" Bayev looked utterly confused.

"Nothing." Ron shook his head.

He did not want to tell anyone about it. It would be difficult to explain, and it was too terrifying. It would only make people more afraid.

Ron felt considerably better and casually tossed the document aside.

No more reading. They were not even paying taxes anymore, so why bother?

"Make the arrangements. I want to inspect the Lower Hive."

Ron planned to place the Little Sun's Psionic Core in the Lower Hive of the Hive City, linking it to the real world and drawing in the Power of Hope.

This required an explanation of the Hive City's structure. A Hive City was a vast complex of metal buildings covering an entire continent, home to billions or even tens of billions of residents.

Hive Cities were generally divided into four levels: the Underhive, Lower Hive, Upper Hive, and Spire.

The Underhive was at the very bottom, filled with pollution, reactors, and crumbling ruins. Mutants ran rampant there, making it almost impossible to inhabit.

It was home to the poor and destitute. Scum, criminals, The Lost, and Mutants also treated it as a refuge.

No normal person was willing to enter the Underhive. It lay far beyond the rule of the planetary government, where there were no rules, only Slaughter and death.

The Lower Hive lay above the Underhive and served as the industrial district.

Every kind of industrial department was established there, housing billions of workers who made up the overwhelming majority of the Hive City's population.

The workers of the Lower Hive labored day and night, providing the Hive City with food, electricity, daily necessities, and more, barely managing to make a living.

The Upper Hive was where nobles and officials lived. They enjoyed free electricity and all kinds of resources supplied by the Lower Hive.

As for the Spire, it belonged to the Governor, who possessed everything on this planet.

All things considered, placing the Psionic Core in the Lower Hive offered the best value!

Workers were the most likely to generate the Power of Hope. Raising their standard of living even slightly would allow him to absorb a massive amount of the Power of Hope.

Ron was brimming with confidence. He had started with an incredible hand, and he would use the Little Sun to carry Earth Planet to greatness!

Unfortunately, reality was cruel.

Bayev shook his head. "You cannot go. The Lower Hive has fallen..."

Ron: ???

After Bayev explained, Ron learned that many things had happened after Old Grant's death.

He had inherited the position of Governor, but the negative effects caused by the Warp Storms persisted, allowing Chaos Mutants to continuously pour out of the Underhive.

Large numbers of Planetary Defense Force troops had been sent into the Underhive to purge the Mutants, leaving the Palatine District in an extremely weakened state.

Before long, nobles joined forces with Heresy worshippers from the Lower Hive and launched a rebellion, seizing control of the Lower Hive.

They later organized an army and stormed the Upper Hive District, nearly capturing even the Palatine District.

Countless people died or were wounded in the Upper Hive District, while large numbers of nobles and officials were killed.

After paying an agonizing price, Ron Grant finally drove the rebels out of the Upper Hive, then completely sealed the gates and elevator shafts of the Upper Hive District, cutting it off entirely from the Lower Hive and Underhive.

The Palatine District had suffered grievous losses and no longer had the strength to reclaim the lost territory. Ron Grant had also lost his fighting spirit and drowned himself in wine and women.

Then he was dragged into the Palace of Slaanesh and died, allowing Ron's soul to take his place.

The current situation was that Ron, as Governor, could only cower in the Upper Hive District. He could not even fully control the Upper Hive District itself.

He was numb.

His incredible opening hand was gone!

How was he supposed to play this? Ron could have brought warmth to the workers of the Lower Hive and improved their lives, gaining massive amounts of positive emotion and absorbing the Power of Hope.

He could also have gained the workers' Loyalty!

Now, the only places from which he could absorb hope were the Upper Hive District and the Palatine District in the Spire.

This place was filled with noble lords and officials. How was he supposed to bring warmth to them?

They already enjoyed privileged lives, making them extremely difficult for Ron to win over.

Even if he gave them more, he could not earn their gratitude or Loyalty.

It would already be good enough if they did not lead their private soldiers to seize the Palatine District and replace Ron.

Intrigue and even mutual murder had always been a tradition among Upper Hive nobles.

This stemmed from one rule: the Imperium would not interfere with changes in a planet's internal government.

Anyone could become the planetary Governor. As long as he paid the Imperial Tithe, that was the greatest Loyalty.

This meant that whoever killed Ron and secured his position could obtain the supreme authority over this planet!

With Ron so weak now, those noble houses had to be plotting every day over how to kill him and take his place, right?

He had only just escaped death, and fate was already turning up the pressure again?

Ron felt exhausted and collapsed back into his chair.

"What is wrong?"

Ron asked weakly, "How much territory do we still control, and how many troops and people do we have?"