With the support of civilian factories, or rather, the system, the labor recruitment speed far exceeded Odinson’s expectations.
Even his most optimistic estimate was that the entire process would take about a month.
But in reality, it took less than a week to gather 100 million laborers, even exceeding the target.
Odinson accepted all the extra laborers without hesitation.
As instructed by the Chapter Master, this project wasn’t just about expanding the starch factory; increasing the Underhivers’ trust in the Astral Claws Chapter was also a key objective.
With the Chapter Master guaranteeing ample supplies, the nearly 100 million extra people were also incorporated into the labor force by Odinson.
With almost double the manpower, Odinson initially thought his tens of thousands of Chapter serfs and some forcibly borrowed “grassroots self-governing organization” personnel would be overwhelmed.
But to his surprise, everyone, including the recruited Underhivers, displayed unprecedented efficiency.
The managers worked diligently, for the Emperor’s angels were truly watching them; the hivers were equally apprehensive, having witnessed the gang members’ unusual behavior and suspecting the angels might indeed be observing from the shadows.
Everyone did their best to impress, making the hastily constructed experimental management system surprisingly run quite smoothly.
The hivers were first divided into groups, then their names were registered; those without names were given code names.
After the lists were completed, the logistics department printed out name tags using low-grade ceramite and distributed them.
The managers, however, felt that the average quality of these hivers seemed unusually high.
Not only were there no sudden outbursts or disturbances, but there were also very few who couldn’t understand human speech.
The recruited PDF, aside from occasionally maintaining order in the queues and giving directions to lost individuals, seemed rather idle.
With this high efficiency, everyone completed registration and grouping in less than half a month.
This efficiency, besides the system’s support, was also due to Huron and Odinson’s combined use of numerous electronic devices, achieving a semi-digitalized office environment.
Although the Imperium’s fear of the Iron Men led to a deep-seated aversion and rejection of all electronic products and automated machinery among the lower classes, the nobles naturally wouldn’t abandon such convenient technology.
Take Paratos Hive City, for example.
The elite nobles not only possess highly realistic virtual pods, pocket-watch-style personal information terminals, and internet connectivity with other hive cities, but they also have extensive surveillance systems deployed in the upper hives to monitor every aspect of their lives.
The upper hives, where the nobles reside, naturally utilize a great deal of automation and information technology.
Fully intelligent furniture and weak AI-powered butlers are practically standard equipment.
Many nobles also have numerous humanoid servitor servants, and their private armies include many drones of various types.
While these nobles’ mechanical servants, due to aesthetic reasons, are all uniquely ugly in Huron’s eyes, the technology they embody is actually quite advanced.
The Astral Claws, having plundered many nobles, naturally possessed abundant resources in this area.
Consequently, frontline managers were equipped with personal terminals featuring weak artificial intelligence and connected to a database, enabling them to identify the “nonsense” of many lower hive dialects as specialized lower hive dialects, thus improving efficiency.
The collected information was directly transmitted via the network to the connected intelligent ceramite printers.
Logistics only needed to replenish materials and transport work badges to designated locations.
This also accelerated other processes, reducing numerous information exchange steps.
Although more than a month had passed without work starting, Odinson still provided the laborers with ample amounts of starch porridge daily.
This machine-made porridge, while its taste was indescribable, was still enough to fill their stomachs.
In addition, a significant amount of vitamins was added to the porridge to improve the laborers’ health.
Otherwise, simply overeating every day would be enough to kill a large number of the hivers.
Odinson ordered this to be publicly publicized, further fueling the enthusiasm of the two hundred million laborers.
The promised benefits were being fulfilled before work even started; what would happen after work began?
Many had heard that the angels seemed to select high-performing laborers as their servants; previously, they had only come for the starch and vitamins and hadn’t believed it at all.
“Do these lowly lower-hive people deserve to serve angels?
That’s the prerogative of the upper-hive lords and the elite nobles!”
But now, they too began to have doubts.
What if it were true?
Once everything was ready, two hundred million people were thrown into the dismantling and transporting of factory equipment.
Palatos Hive City, Middle Hive, Fros District, Watt Starch Factory.
Old John, having received his ceramite badge, eaten his fill for over ten days, and even taken a unit of multivitamins, was assigned to work here.
As a veteran lower-hive porter, his experience led him to be the leader of their hundred-man group.
The angels’ servants even gave him a magical pocket watch.
When Old John led his team, following the lines projected by the pocket watch, to their designated location, the place was already bustling with activity.
The precision equipment had already been dismantled and transported away by the Chapter’s Techmarines and hired Enginseers.
What remained were the large, rough, and durable ordinary machines.
The projection on Old John’s pocket watch changed, enveloping a pile of heavy parts and pointing to a large truck that had just pulled up beside him.
A servitor was driving.
She jumped out, her augmetic left eye scanning Old John and his group, and said, “Hurry up and load the goods onto the truck!
Don’t waste time!”
Everyone looked at Old John, who saw the projection envelop the servitor, while the pocket watch spoke, “Follow her instructions.”
“No problem, load this pile onto the truck.” Old John took the lead, rushing to the pile of parts, lifting a part taller than himself and weighing two hundred kilograms, carrying it onto the truck, and then running back to the pile of parts without even breaking a sweat.
After taking the vitamin pills bestowed by the angels, all his ailments had disappeared, and he felt reborn.
Two hundred kilograms was nothing to him.
Others also flocked to join in.
With the promise of “becoming a servant of the angel” and the tangible benefits they had already received, along with the influence of the system, everyone was enthusiastic and eager to be the first to act.
The servitor, who was helping to move the parts, estimated the group’s efficiency through her augmetic eye and smiled with satisfaction.
At their current pace, they could finish twenty minutes ahead of schedule.
She planned to ask them later if they would like to become servants of the Mechanicus like her, basking in the glory of the Omnissiah.
After the truck drove away, another truck arrived.
The morning passed quickly, and Old John led his team to the mess hall for lunch.