Loudspeakers blared across the entire planet, and people from various settlements, in a state of panic, were forced to walk down the streets in family units, heading to the newly built giant People's Square to listen to the Emperor's speech.
However, it was clear that even though these humans weren't living too badly under the T'au Empire, their lives weren't great either.
After all, even by the T'au Empire's standards, they couldn't provide a good life for many people.
The T'au themselves had limited resources, and their population was also limited, so what they could do was very limited. Many humans were emaciated and sallow from hunger.
"Haven't eaten? Take this. Look at how pale your lips are. Don't starve to death on the street and spoil the Emperor's mood."
A Custodian, responsible for discipline, supervision, and governance in the Empire or this settlement, forcibly handed a bento box to a gaunt man with pale lips, and also slipped him a bottle of water.
This action startled the skinny man.
They didn't know what Custodians were, or what Space Marines were; they only knew these were the armies of the Imperium.
No, in their eyes, it seemed to be the Terran Dominion. Of course, they didn't know the difference between a Dominion and an empire; in their eyes, they were one and the same.
In his eyes, the imperial soldier, upon reaching him, not only didn't hit him or try to kill him to atone for the Emperor, but instead directly handed him a meal and water.
This gesture left him stunned for a long time, and he unconsciously continued to move forward in a daze.
It wasn't until he had walked for a while longer that he finally came back to his senses, looking at the bento box and water in his hand, dumbfounded for a long time. He had never seen a meal made with real rice, meat, and vegetables.
Turning his head, he noticed that his family also seemed to have received a meal and water from that Custodian.
The rich aroma and fragrance of the food wafted into his nose, and he could no longer resist.
He reached out, pulled his family out of the line, and quickly went to a nearby chair. Then, kneeling on the ground, he placed the food on the chair and carefully opened the bento box.
The fragrant aroma wafted out, and a bento box with two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes came into view.
Gulp. He couldn't help but swallow, looking at the bento box in front of him, he could no longer bear it and immediately began to feast.
Although he didn't know what kind of rice and vegetables these were, he knew it was absolutely delicious food.
Not only him, but his family was also the same. They continuously put food into their mouths, and that sense of complete happiness permeated their entire being after each bite.
However, just as he was about to bring the second bite of food to his mouth, a mechanical servant came to his side and grabbed his hand.
Suddenly having his hand grabbed, the gaunt man still tried to open his mouth to eat the food.
It was too delicious, too delicious. How could they have eaten such delicious food under the Empire's rule?
Even under the T'au's rule, they had never eaten such delicious food.
This gave him a feeling that he would rather die than eat another bite of this food, but the strength of the mechanical hand was immense, and he couldn't break free at all.
After trying in vain, he could only stare blankly at what had grabbed him.
In his vision, he saw not a machine, but a person.
To avoid scaring these Imperial humans, Zeke had ordered that the exterior of all Imperial machines be changed to resemble humans.
The robot held his hand with one hand, preventing him from continuing to eat the meal, while its other hand held a basin of water.
"Guilty Dominion citizen, please wash your hands before eating. Pay attention to your hygiene and health."
For a moment, the gaunt man couldn't understand what he had seen or heard. Wash hands?
Looking at the basin of clean, clear water, he didn't know what to say.
This water was better than what his filter produced, right? How could it be used for washing hands? It was too extravagant.
However, since he was a guilty person, and they had told him he was a guilty citizen, it was better to be obedient.
So, he tremblingly reached out his hand, tentatively placing it into the water basin.
If the person opposite him showed any indication, he would immediately withdraw his hand to avoid being hit, as in his perception, such clean water shouldn't be wasted.
But the subsequent result was beyond his expectation. When he put his hand in and let it soak there, ready to take it out at any moment, the robot opposite him spoke again.
"Wash your hands thoroughly to remove bacteria and contamination. Only then can you continue to eat your meal. Although the Dominion will provide you with free basic medical care, you should not waste public resources. Wasting public resources is a punishable offense."
"Washing hands before meals is a habit every Dominion citizen must develop. Perhaps it has little use in the interstellar age, but it must still be done. This is a fine tradition from the Terran Dominion's past."
The gaunt man truly couldn't understand what the robot opposite him was saying. He only understood one thing: he could eat after washing his hands.
Since the other party wasn't stopping him, he quickly and thoroughly washed his hands in the basin according to the robot's instructions and steps.
His family did the same. After they finished washing their hands, the robot left, and he immediately began to devour his meal.
Such scenes were constantly unfolding across various parts of the planet.
Within 30 days, the Terran Dominion had managed to produce a batch of low-intelligence robots to serve these Dominion citizens, telling them what they could and couldn't do.
At the same time, they also possessed a certain level of combat power. If these new citizens wanted to rebel, they could suppress them immediately.
Of course, since these robots were made from leftover T'au materials, their combat power wasn't strong; at least, they wouldn't be a match for human assault troops.
Such mechanical servants were to be fully recalled and reforged once the planet's development was on track. They were merely created as an emergency measure. This was the productivity of the Terran Dominion.
The battleship-class cruisers were specially modified. These warships could not only fight but also possessed considerable production capabilities.
These production capabilities could provide Zeke with some productivity for colony construction, all of which Weiss had considered.
After washing his hands, the man could no longer resist and quickly knelt back down, reaching out to grab a handful of food and stuffing it back into his mouth.
Delicious, too delicious! He had never eaten such delicious food in his life. Even if this was his last meal, it was worth it!
Forget about what would happen next; even if he were told to charge forward now, to fight for the Emperor and dedicate his loyalty to the Emperor, he would be willing.
He stuffed the food into his mouth, crying tears of excitement.
Such a scene, in the eyes of the Custodians responsible for maintaining the settlements, became a sign of their terror-induced tears.
"How pitiful, how pitiful. When I think about the expressions they'll have when they learn the Emperor's orders—that they'll need to sleep 8 hours, work 8 hours, and study/entertain themselves for 8 hours every day, year-round, with no holidays, losing their freedom—I almost feel sorry for them."
One Custodian said to another next to him, with a hint of compassion.
The Custodian next to him chimed in.
"Yes, it's too cruel. I can't imagine how enraged they'll be when they find out they can only eat three meals a day, with no supper, second breakfast, elevenses and afternoon tea..."
"Exactly. They'll only be left with the five social insurances and one housing fund. The Wednesday drink subsidy, Friday fitness subsidy, and daily evening travel allowance will all be gone. And they still have to work 8 hours. I can't imagine how cruel that treatment is."
"Most importantly, they've lost their freedom. They'll have to work 24 hours a day: 8 hours for work, 8 hours for leisure, entertainment, and study, and 8 hours for sleep."
"It's terrifying, simply terrifying. The Emperor's punishment for them is truly dreadful."
"No choice. Our Emperor is poor right now. Every resource must be carefully calculated. I remember the hydroponic farm on the other side should have been built by now, right?"
"Yes, but the labor force is a bit small. It all relies on robots, and it seems they can only produce 10 units of food per month."
"There's no choice. For now, there's only one hydroponic farm on this planet. 10 units of food can only sustain 10 billion people. Their current living standards will probably continue for a long time."
The two Custodians sighed, sympathizing with these humans.
They were all humans; they recognized that.
It was precisely because of this that they felt these humans were living such a bitter life. What kind of life was this? They were only left with the five social insurances and one housing fund, and even no weekends.
24 hours a day were so fully scheduled, and they had lost their most important freedom. How pitiful, how pitiful.