April 14, 2004.
Pacific Time in the Prime Universe: 04:23.
In the imperial palace atop the ruins, every public area was filled with people. Local residents of the Prime Universe, humans from different universes, as well as dwarves, elves, elites, and a few grul people gathered patiently, waiting for the ceremony to begin in just over two hours.
Of course, the visitors weren't just standing around idly.
The imperial palace, spanning over 20,000 square kilometers, was a massive metropolis built with tremendous effort and resources from Atlas over the course of several years.
Only areas involving classified matters were closed off, while most spaces were open to the public.
Besides the dominant Chinese architectural style, there were also "sites" representing ancient Greek and Egyptian civilizations.
The palace had well-developed commercial and entertainment streets and even theme hotels based on Chinese, Greek, and Egyptian motifs of various star ratings.
Most importantly, the palace did not exploit its unique status to charge visitors exorbitant prices.
Nor did it hide price lists, forcing tourists to pay ten or even a hundred times the market price after purchasing or dining.
As a vast enterprise, Atlas prioritized winning the trust of its clients with quality service and products over mere profit.
Thus, the human empire, built on Atlas' foundation, would never resort to petty tricks to exploit its residents' loyalty and enthusiasm.
Prices on the commercial streets of the imperial palace were nearly identical to those in New Akra City, maintaining reasonable levels for visitors.
Hotel prices were also within an affordable range.
Rates wouldn't suddenly spike threefold or fivefold on days of imperial ceremonies or public holidays to discourage visitors.
This was in stark contrast to previous days when, in various universes, nations would inflate the prices of cheap, poorly maintained hotels to match or exceed four- or five-star hotels on holidays.
If "you" hesitated, the website or app would display "sold out."
No one could afford to travel on a whim, hoping a local hotel might still have vacancies.
Atlas' approach was far more considerate, refusing to engage in such manipulative practices to boost revenue.
Moreover, Atlas' AI, intentionally "simple-minded," could detect scalpers trying to resell reservations at inflated prices.
Currently, residents had to register with an account linked to their magnetic ID cards.
Each ID could only create one account.
Items like suites, seats, and concert tickets required the account holder to be present for use, preventing resale.
If the AI noticed any anomalies, it would immediately issue a refund and ban the account for seven days.
If substantial evidence of resale was detected, the account would be permanently deleted, and the owner would be prohibited from registering for six months and fined between 20,000 and 60,000 credits.
This severe penalty, combined with Atlas' strict identification process, quickly discouraged scalpers from attempting to exploit the system.
Atlas may not be able to ensure absolute fairness and justice, but it strives to provide the best living environment within its capabilities.
Because its owner never placed profit as the top priority.
Most corporate executives and owners are focused on squeezing every penny, even calculating the janitor's salary with a mindset of "even small savings add up."
This is human nature.
Once someone tastes the allure of power and wealth, they are often driven to excess, becoming increasingly greedy and corrupt.
Only a few can hold on to their integrity.
Therefore, in this scenario, absolute strength is the only means to ensure fairness and justice, preventing parasites from thriving unchecked.
At this moment.
The order in the imperial palace was being maintained by a force of 200,000 elite "Emergency Countermeasure Units (AECS)" with a new color scheme, along with over 5,000 adolescent and adult fire lizards.
Interestingly, these 200,000 AECS troops had markings similar to the fire lizard corps' uniforms.
The AECS units, equipped with MacP suit power armor for special divisions and full-body exoskeletons for the regular elites, had fire lizard insignias on their shoulder plates.
In fact, these 200,000 AECS troops had transitioned at the start of the year to serve as auxiliary forces for the fire lizard corps, becoming imperial elite forces rather than "emergency countermeasure" units.
Apart from the Astartes and auxiliary troops, there were also 60,000 clone soldiers and 60,000 T-800 terminators, all equipped and dressed in fire lizard colors, helping to maintain order in and around the palace.
New Akra City even dispatched nearly 30,000 officers to ensure the ceremony proceeded smoothly.
Some residents of the Prime and Terminator universes felt a bit unnerved by the T-800's skeletal, metallic appearance.
However, residents from other universes had grown accustomed to them.
The T-800s were increasingly integrated into Atlas' police and military, taking on dangerous assignments in place of human officers.
—
At this moment.
Wearing a custom black suit accented with gold at the collar and cuffs, Samuel Young stood in the top-floor hall of the imperial palace's central building, overlooking the vast expanse below.
He rested his hands on the hardwood railing, closed his eyes, and reached out with his heightened senses to feel the emotions of those gathered.
There was joy, excitement, and pride, as if people felt a deep pride in humanity's growing strength.
But he also sensed conflict, discomfort, and worry.
The conflicts were likely minor disputes between tourists, but the worry...
That was likely about him, the emperor, and whether the empire he built would follow the "old path" of history.
Would it eventually decay, leaving people struggling to survive?
Sensing this worry, Samuel opened his eyes and resumed gazing at the palace below.
He had a personal distaste for the "old path," and with his advanced age, his resilience was far beyond that of the average person.
Temptations of power and wealth no longer held any appeal.
By the time he was in his sixties, Samuel controlled Seattle's underworld and upper society, with countless beautiful women vying for his attention.
At that stage, he was still a "mortal," with common worldly desires.
However, after reinventing himself under the guise of his "grandson," Samuel found a genuine purpose, a sincere desire to build a better world for humanity.
Samuel still had "desires," but his aims no longer lay in the "mundane."
And after he had children, his outlook shifted again. Before, he had little concern for life and death, but with the arrival of Guilliman and Sanguinius, things changed.
Especially after he began raising the two fast-growing little ones, Samuel finally found a "tether," no longer adrift.
Although he pursued humanity's strength, prosperity, and happiness, he still harbored some personal motives, hoping to provide his sons with better opportunities.
As Guilliman, Sanguinius, Lion, and Horus began managing different branches across universes, Samuel sometimes felt a pang of loneliness.
Hence, he kept Magnus close.
However, as his sons grew, they lost some of the carefree, playful qualities they had as children.
With their extraordinary physique, their childhoods were inherently brief.
Therefore, whenever his sons submitted formal requests to the company, Samuel usually agreed to help.
At that moment, a familiar sound of footsteps interrupted Samuel's thoughts.
The footsteps came to a stop beside him.
Without glancing sideways, Samuel knew it was Alexia Ashford, the eccentric woman who enjoyed experimenting on herself with viruses and serums.
Wearing a deep blue V-neck gown, Alexia crossed her arms and, upon seeing Samuel lost in thought as he leaned on the three-meter-high railing overlooking the palace, said,
"What's wrong, Your Majesty? You seem a bit melancholy."
"Just thinking," Samuel replied.
He glanced down at Alexia, noting her recent changes in height and build, and asked, "Have you been experimenting on yourself again?"
The reason Samuel asked was that Alexia now stood over six feet tall, with noticeably altered proportions.
He hadn't seen her face-to-face for some time.
Alexia had been busy performing customized surgeries on the final batch of Gray Knights and perfecting the imperial guard project.
Samuel had been preoccupied with preparing for the imperial ceremony.
To his surprise, Alexia had grown even taller.
Her figure remained proportionate, as if she had been "enlarged" overall.
"Yep."
Seeing Samuel's unconcealed surprise, Alexia raised her hands with a hint of pride.
"I've been working on a special strain of Veronica virus for myself and, with the help of nanobots, it's almost like I've been reborn."
Alexia stepped closer to Samuel, who, at eight feet tall, still towered over her, and said with a smirk,
"Relax, it's all self-funded. I didn't spend a cent of the company's money."
Samuel shrugged, then teased, "Aren't you worried you'll go too far?"
"If I didn't change, I wouldn't be able to keep up with you," she replied mischievously.
"Now isn't the time for that."
Samuel quickly changed the subject, a bit self-conscious given his sons were just downstairs.
Alexia seemed to enjoy his discomfort.
Since Samuel had grown to over three meters, she rarely tried to "catch up" with him.
After all, her physical capacity was nowhere near his.
Samuel could even alter his height at will.
But Alexia was increasingly frustrated by the presence of Queen Tinas, whose ethereal, unworldly demeanor annoyed her to no end.
The elven queen had offered herself with phrases about "destiny" and "prophecy," further adding to Alexia's irritation.
Elves' muscle and bone density far surpassed that of humans, allowing them to endure far greater force and trauma.
Elves also lived
long lives, which prompted Alexia to "rise to the challenge."
She was only human, after all.
To avoid eventually growing old, dying, and turning to dust like others who had accompanied Samuel on his journey, Alexia used her own funds to create a clone and conduct extensive trials with the Veronica virus.
Eventually, she developed a custom strain of the virus just for herself.
After confirming its low risk with the clone, she injected herself, followed by a dose of nanobots to aid her transformation.
Having completed her transformation, she even tested her newfound strength in a simulated battle with a T-800 and a heavily armored tyrant.
The results showed her combat ability surpassed that of ordinary Astartes.
Her exclusive virus couldn't be mass-produced.
During trials, she discovered her unique compatibility with the Veronica virus.
Even without customization or nanobot assistance, she could achieve optimal results simply by lowering her body temperature.
The best way to do this would have been cryostasis for ten years, but given her workload, she had to take a shortcut.
"Haha!"
Seeing Samuel's serious expression, Alexia laughed and said,
"No rush; we'll have plenty of time to discuss it later.
Oh," she continued, as if remembering something, "Athena hopes you might help her with some resources to better fight supernatural creatures."
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