With the support of the Civilian Factory—or rather, the system—the recruitment of laborers proceeded far faster than Odinson had imagined.
Even by his most optimistic estimate, the entire process should have taken around a month.
Yet in reality, less than a week had passed before one hundred million laborers had been gathered, even exceeding the target.
Odinson did not turn away the excess laborers either, accepting every one of them.
According to the Chapter Master's instructions, this project was not merely meant to expand the Starch Factory; improving the Underhivers' trust in the Astral Claws Chapter was also one of its goals.
With the Chapter Master guaranteeing an ample supply of materials, Odinson arranged the nearly one hundred million extra people into the labor force as well.
With nearly twice as many people as expected, Odinson had assumed that the tens of thousands of Chapter Serfs he had brought, along with the forcibly seconded personnel from certain "grassroots self-governance organizations," would be run off their feet.
Yet to his surprise, everyone—including the recruited Underhivers—displayed unprecedented efficiency.
The managers worked diligently because the Emperor's angels were truly watching them; the Underhivers were equally nervous, because they had all witnessed the gangs' abnormal behavior and believed the angels might really be observing them from the shadows.
Everyone did their utmost to prove themselves, and the hastily established experimental management system actually ran quite smoothly.
The Underhivers were first divided into groups, then registered by name. Those without names were given code names. Once the lists were complete, logistics used low-grade Plasteel to print work badges and distribute them.
Meanwhile, the managers felt that the average quality of these Underhivers seemed suspiciously high. Not only were there hardly any who suddenly went mad and caused trouble, there were also very few who could not understand basic instructions.
The recruited PDF personnel, aside from occasionally maintaining order in the lines and directing lost people, found themselves surprisingly idle.
At this pace, everyone had completed registration and grouping in less than half a month.
Aside from the system's support, another reason for this efficiency was that Huron and Odinson had acquired a large quantity of electronic equipment, achieving a half-digitized workplace.
Although the Empire's fear of the Iron Men had made those at the bottom deeply loathe and reject all electronic products and automated machinery, the nobles naturally had no intention of giving up such convenient technology.
Take Palatos Hive, for example. The Spire nobles possessed not only highly realistic virtual pods, pocket-watch-style Personal Terminals, and an internet connected to other Hive Cities, but had also installed extensive surveillance facilities throughout the Upper Hive to monitor every aspect of the Upper Hivers' lives.
The Spire where the nobles lived naturally employed extensive automation and information technology as well. Fully intelligent furniture and Weak Artificial Intelligence butlers were practically standard, while many nobles also kept large numbers of humanoid robotic servants and equipped their private armies with various types of Drones.
Although, due to aesthetic concerns, Huron thought each of these nobles' mechanical servants was ugly in its own distinctive way, the technology they contained was in fact quite advanced.
And since the Astral Claws Chapter had looted quite a few nobles, it naturally possessed no shortage of such resources. Therefore, frontline managers were all issued Personal Terminals equipped with Weak Artificial Intelligence and connected to an information database. This allowed much of the Underhivers' "nonsense" to be recognized as specialized Underhive dialects, improving efficiency.
The collected information was also transmitted directly through the network to connected smart-controlled Plasteel printers. Logistics only needed to replenish materials and transport the work badges to designated locations.
The other stages were accelerated as well, eliminating a great many information exchange procedures.
Although more than a month had passed without construction beginning, Odinson still chose to provide the laborers with sufficient starch porridge every day. The machine-made porridge had an indescribable taste, but it could still fill their stomachs.
Besides that, considerable amounts of vitamins were mixed into the starch porridge to improve the laborers' health.
Otherwise, merely eating until they were full every day would have been enough to kill large numbers of Underhivers.
Odinson ordered this matter to be publicly announced, making the two hundred million laborers even more enthusiastic.
The benefits promised before they came had been delivered before work even began. What would they receive once work started?
Many had heard that the angels seemed to select well-performing laborers as their servants. Previously, they had come only for the starch and vitamins and had not believed it at all.
Lowly Underhivers like them were worthy of serving angels? That was the privilege of Upper Hive lords and Spire nobles!
But now, they began to half-believe it. What if it was true?
Once everything was ready, the two hundred million people were put to work dismantling and transporting factory equipment.
Mid-hive, Palatos Hive, Flos District, Watt Starch Factory.
Old John, who had received a Plasteel work badge, eaten his fill for more than ten days, and consumed over one unit of vitamins, was assigned to work here.
As an experienced Underhive porter, he was selected as the leader of their hundred-man group. The angels' servants had even given him a miraculous pocket watch.
When Old John led his team along the route projected by the pocket watch to their assigned location, the place was already bustling with activity.
The precision equipment had already been dismantled and transported away by technical personnel among the Chapter Serfs and hired Adeptus Mechanicus artificers. What remained was ordinary equipment—large, crude, and sturdy enough not to fear bumps or knocks.
The projection from Old John's pocket watch changed, encircling a pile of heavy parts that had been set aside and pointing toward a large truck that had just pulled up beside him.
The driver was an Adeptus Mechanicus servant. She opened the door and jumped down, her left eye, now an augmetic eye, sweeping over Old John and his group as she said, "Hurry up and move the cargo onto the truck! Do not waste time!"
Everyone looked toward Old John. He saw the projection envelop the Adeptus Mechanicus servant, while the pocket watch spoke: "Follow her instructions."
"No problem. Get this pile onto the truck." Old John took the lead, rushing to the pile of parts. He lifted a component taller than himself and weighing two hundred kilograms, carried it steadily onto the truck, then ran back toward the pile without even panting.
After taking the Vitamin Pills bestowed by the angels, all his ailments had vanished. He felt reborn. A mere two hundred kilograms was nothing.
The others swarmed forward as well. With the prospect of "becoming Lord Angel's servants" hanging before them, combined with the tangible benefits they had already received and the system's influence, everyone was fired up and scrambling to outdo one another.
The Adeptus Mechanicus servant helping move the parts estimated the group's efficiency through her augmetic eye, then revealed a satisfied smile.
At this rate, the scheduled completion time could be brought forward by twenty minutes.
Afterward, she planned to ask whether these people were willing to become servants of the Adeptus Mechanicus like her and bathe in the glory of the Omnissiah.
After the truck drove away, another large truck arrived.
The morning passed quickly, and Old John led his team to the cafeteria to prepare for lunch.
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