"Some minor figure? Of course not."
Lilith frowned.
She thought for a moment, then pulled the Holographic Map projector from her tactical vest.
She switched it on.
Blue light spread through the dusty air.
A huge topographical map appeared.
"Advisor Rovi, in your past reports, you've consistently referred to yourself as the 'Supervisor of Granary Seven.'"
"For the sake of administrative convenience, the Governor's Mansion tolerated this slightly presumptuous title."
"Yet it seems to have given you and your subordinates a false impression—a blind confidence born of seeing only a tiny part of the bigger picture."
"How long have you been in charge here? Three weeks? Not even a month, right? Your vision is limited to the concrete bunker beneath your feet, to these so-called defensive lines and accounts."
"Your understanding of this vast machine's full structure is still superficial, full of the assumptions of a novice."
Lilith tapped the center of the map hard.
A sprawling agricultural complex stretched across thousands of kilometers.
"Look closely, Rovi. This is Fertility II, the Seventh Agricultural War Zone."
"It isn't, as you imagine, just a few warehouses used to store grain. It's a production monster spanning an entire continental plate."
"After the Fourth and Ninth War Zones fell to the plague, this monster has been carrying seventy percent of Fertility II's Imperial Tithe quota all on its own."
"Every breath it takes concerns the survival of this entire planet, and it's far more complex than you think."
With a few taps of her finger, the map split into four differently colored sections.
"For ease of management, the Seventh Agricultural War Zone is further divided into four independently operated fortress cities: the eastern, southern, western, and northern granaries."
Lilith pointed to a green area at the edge of the map.
"You manage only