Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

"One hundred percent: This is the conclusion we have drawn after observation and summary, mother."

"If we want to follow your plan and use gentle means to change the current situation in [Perfect City], then we must invest 100% of the power of the entire Dawnbreaker Legion and even the entire Far Eastern Frontier: But even so, the possibility of success is still very small."

A branch of the Far Eastern Frontier Internal Affairs Intelligence Department under the rule of Avalon, to which Morgan belongs, directly responsible to the Primarch, enjoying the highest priority of action and information privileges: shouldering so many identities, powers and privileges, Ezio, the former Shadow Champion, now the Deputy Director of the Investigation Bureau of the Avalon Ministry of Internal Affairs and a senior administrator, has developed the habit of standing straight with his chest and shoulders open when standing.

This uncomfortable and tense posture has two effects at the same time, both to boost his inner confidence and to remind him of the heavy burden on his shoulders: As the Lord of Avalon, looking at the right eye among the stars, Ezio knows that he must always maintain his own caution and prudence, and must not live up to the expectations given to him by the Primarch.

Similarly, he must be completely realistic. If something is beyond his ability, even if it is humiliating to admit his own inability, he must be honest in front of the Primarch to avoid causing more losses to the entire Far Eastern Frontier: even worse, it will bring shame to the Primarch.

But this fearless mentality in the face of failure is based on a big premise, that is, the open-mindedness and enlightenment of the Lord of Avalon: Morgan's eyes are sharp enough to judge whether her heirs are capable, and her mind is broad enough to accommodate the regrets after giving her all.

Therefore, in the face of such failures, the Primarch often only has one answer.

[Then forget it. ]

Morgan flipped through the more than 100-page summary document in front of her line by line. Before she read half of it, the Primarch had already given the answer to his confidant, but after that, Morgan still calmed down and read the last page of the document carefully.

After all, these words, which have lost most of their functions, are the results of the work that the entire Avalon Investigation Bureau has been working hard for several years, running back and forth between the east and west ends of the galaxy for more than a dozen times, and finally presented to the Primarch.

For the hard work of such subordinates, we must give them enough respect no matter what: even if their work results may not be as useful as imagined, but even for their hard work and the motivation of hard work, necessary respect is still indispensable.

Morgan has always adhered to this management philosophy.

Then she laughed.

[However, speaking of this, it is the first time that my Ministry of Internal Affairs has no way to deal with a distant feudal world, and even has no feasible means to initiate peaceful evolution or even violent changes within them: Don’t tell me, what difficulties have you encountered? ]

"Your words are not accurate, mother."

Ezio lowered his head.

"First of all, it's not the entire Ministry of Internal Affairs that participated in the operation against Perfect City. Only the Investigation Bureau to which I belong participated, because we are the only one responsible for intelligence affairs outside the domain: the Security Bureau, the Border Defense Bureau, and the Internal Affairs Bureau did not participate in this Perfect City operation."

"Especially the Border Defense Bureau: If we can transfer a few teams from the Border Defense Bureau, even if it is on the other side of the galaxy, we have the confidence to launch a successful decapitation operation and stir up waves in Perfect City."

[Ah, yes: This is my fault. ]

The Primarch waved his hand.

[There have been a lot of things recently, and I forgot the tasks I assigned to you. ]

[The Internal Affairs Bureau should have just completed the special operation on the Triple Far System. The main force of the Security Bureau should still be working with the Night Lords to clear the signs of corruption in the worlds in northern Avalon and conduct regular assessments of the management departments of each world. ]

The Primarch picked at his fingers and counted them like the back of his hand.

[As for the Border Defense Bureau, well, their mission is too important. It is better not to use these people unless it is necessary: ​​especially the two departments responsible for the Great Whirlpool and the Ghoul Stars, the missions they have to shoulder are difficult enough. ]

"Indeed, mother."

Ezio is very frugal with words. Even in front of his own Primarch, the former Shadow Champion has no intention of showing off his excellent abilities. He suppresses the Astartes' fanaticism towards the Primarch very deeply: this indifferent and mature mentality is also one of the reasons why the Spider Queen promoted him exceptionally.

If nothing unexpected happens, this Deputy Director Ezio will remove the word "Deputy" in front of him within 20 years and become one of the four giants of the Avalon Ministry of Internal Affairs: but this is also the end of his official career.

After all, the position of Minister of the Avalon Ministry of Internal Affairs has always been held by the Lord of Avalon himself, and the four bureaus are directly responsible to the Primarch himself: in addition, the Primarch also governs a special response force, which is the essence of the shadow of the former Second Legion.

Ezio didn't know much about these things. In fact, since the Primarch reorganized the shadow forces of the entire Dawnbreaker Legion forty years ago, the four bureaus have lacked private contact with each other. There is only comradeship at work.

An obvious example is: as a veteran and absolute senior leader of the Investigation Bureau, Ezio can't even be completely sure of the specific names of the other three directors of the bureau, and he only nods to them.

Ezio only knew that his best friend, Edward, had been in the General Bureau of Border Defense. It was the one with the heaviest tasks and the most elite personnel among the four general bureaus, but it also had the fastest turnover rate.

As its name suggests, the General Administration of Border Protection is responsible for intelligence and infiltration work in various areas around Avalon: from the Five Hundred Worlds to the Maelstrom to the Ghoul Stars, they are active in the most chaotic and dangerous corners of the galaxy, ensuring that Protecting the security of Morgan's border areas.

In his brief encounter with Ezio, Edward always mentioned the safest tasks among the tasks he was involved in: including but not limited to infiltrating the Imperial world outside the Avalon Frontier, non-Imperial world, and the Three-Way Zone. , and space pirate clusters, and while hiding themselves in these different worlds, they develop intelligence networks and are always alert to the potential threats to Avalon in these areas.

In Edward's words, these jobs are always accompanied by danger: even in those imperial worlds, firefights are necessary, not to mention guarding against agents from the 20th Legion and the Terran government. Although they He won't kill him, but he never stops using insidious tricks or stumbling blocks behind his back.

Ezio was not sure how much of his best friend's words were just smoke and mirrors thrown out for insurance purposes, but he was convinced of the high sacrifice rate of the General Administration of Border Protection: although the General Bureau of Investigation where he worked was the Ministry of Internal Affairs The actual [External Department] in China.

[Actually, if you think back to that year, when I was reorganizing the Ministry of Internal Affairs, I had already considered this issue: If only your General Bureau of Investigation is responsible for the work of the external department, will it cause too much pressure on your work? 】

Putting the last page of the document in her hand on the table, the original body relaxed her center of gravity and leaned back. She made a gesture, and the Virgo seat next to her moved a chair for Ezio, but the Deputy Director of the General Investigation Bureau The posture of sitting on it is still full of restraint.

"Please rest assured, mother, that the General Bureau of Investigation is capable of our work. We have fulfilled the promise of this Bureau for forty years and have never tarnished it: it's just that your temporary mission this time is really a bit..."

【Irregular. 】

The primarch smiled.

【I understand. 】

[After all, your General Bureau of Investigation is the real external department: the General Bureau of Security only needs to be responsible for the internal affairs of Avalon, and their main work is anti-infiltration and anti-corruption; although the work of the General Bureau of Border Protection is high, they will not be too far away from Avalon. Far away, the scope of activities is basically limited to the Far Eastern Star Territory east of the Maelstrom. 】

[As for the General Administration of Internal Affairs, although I occasionally let them go on business trips, their main job is to complete the various exclusive tasks I have assigned to them: for example, in this case of the Sanzhong Farr incident, they were responsible for contacting the Sanzhong Thule's loyal power, and to collect the numerous incriminating evidence of Triple Farr. 】

[Only your General Investigation Bureau has been wandering outside since the day it was established. It has the least resources, but the scope of activities is the largest: including the Sun, Storm, Hazy and Peace outside the Far Eastern Star Territory, the entire four Star Territory, these places are all far away from Avalon's sphere of influence, and there are not many benefits for us. 】

[So, the orders I give you from the General Bureau of Investigation have always been to take root in the local area, develop a network of informants, and only collect the simplest information, or to determine the authenticity of certain major events: in general, it is to set up roots in the western part of the galaxy for me. An eye of my own will not blind me to the rest of the empire. 】

[Looking at it from this perspective: the General Administration of Internal Affairs is my special detachment, the General Security Administration is my discipline department, and the tasks of the General Administration of Border Defense are always too bloody. On the contrary, the General Administration of Investigation is the only real intelligence agency. 】

"But from beginning to end, we never brought you real confidential information."

Ezio was a little ashamed.

As the original body just said, the soldiers of their Investigation Bureau are like rootless duckweeds far away from home in the western part of the galaxy. They can only collect basic information or determine the real situation on the ground.

Most of the time, what the General Bureau of Investigation does is rush to specific worlds: major events that interest the Lord of Avalon often occur in these worlds, and they rush there to confirm the truth of these major events.

When they do not have these special tasks, Ezio and his men will patrol their respective mission areas, regularly contact the informant network in various worlds, and record those mundane data.

Compared with the General Administration of Internal Affairs, which is always doing big things, and the General Administration of Border Defense, which lives in the shadow of swords and blood all day long, such a life will inevitably lead to self-doubt: as for the General Administration of Security? No one can compete with the newcomers who are following the Night Lords.

[What do you think intelligence work is? my child? 】

Morgan burst out laughing.

【sneak into? Assassination? camouflage? fingerprint? Poison or a pistol with a silencer? Just like those in mortal movies: it's all a lie, Ezio, an artistic exaggeration that makes people laugh. 】

[In intelligence work, there are always only two most important things: latency and data. These are enough. 】

The primarch's fingers crossed the table, encouraging the heir she favored.

[You people from the General Investigation Bureau, go to the other side of the galaxy and record the situation there in as much detail as possible: the social stability of the local world, major rumors, fleet movements, and even the price fluctuations of long-term stored food in the local market. . 】

[When this insignificant information in your eyes flows back to Avalon, my big data will be processed later, and finally a complete chain of events will be found, and the truth of the facts will be constructed based on various clues: this is considered The true meaning of intelligence work, my son. 】

[Not by agents: but by humble spies and countless calculations. 】

[This is intelligence work, my deputy director: it's not that exciting. 】

[What it really needs is privacy, safety, and leaving no trace, rather than walking a tightrope in various infrared rays or installing false pupils in your eyes. 】

[This time, your General Bureau of Investigation has done a very good job: considering that I have never cared about the problem of Perfect City before, you can submit such detailed information in just a few years. In fact, It has exceeded my expectations. 】

[As for peaceful evolution there? 】

The original body shook his head bitterly.

[Just think of this as one of my countless whims. 】

[I myself know that it is impossible to transform the perfect city. 】

"……Mother……"

[Compared with these things, I am more interested in another thing. 】

The Lord of Avalon waved his hand, interrupting his son's words, and then accurately pulled out a page from the mess of documents.

[You successfully wooed a street vendor selling hot dogs and quick lunches in Perfect City? And rely on him to complete those most crucial parts of the map painting: the years he recommended his food truck to every corner of the city? 】

"Yes, mother."

Ezio nodded.

"Because there are countless anti-detection mechanisms installed in certain core areas above Perfection, which may be the work of the Word Bearers, we cannot guarantee 100% safe infiltration: when we observe that this vendor will give these core areas When the guards delivered lunch, we decided to reverse it, and it was an easy process."

【Easy? 】

"That's right."

Ezio raised the corners of his mouth, as if he was amused by what he said next.

"Because this vendor's life in the Perfect City is not good, and he is also a loyal customer of the Empire Radio Station, and he has always been yearning for Avalon: when we promised him permanent residence in Avalon, he He joined us without hesitation and worked harder than we originally imagined.”

[This is indeed something I didn’t expect. 】

The original body leaned on the chair and covered her face, not knowing whether to cry or laugh.

[Not to mention the issue about my Avalon’s reputation: You said before that in the holy city of Perfect City, the vendor feels that his current life is not good? This is somewhat different from my inherent impression. 】

"We were surprised at first."

Ezio coughed.

"But the reality is, Mother: Perfect City was never perfect."

"In the final analysis, it is just a city built by the Word Bearers on Monazia, the capital world of the Kur system: not to mention that this world itself is just a feudal world, and there are sixteen different towns on it. This perfect city itself is a masterpiece built on a deformed system.”

"The Perfect City itself occupies almost a quarter of the continental shelf, but there are at least 6 billion permanent residents inside it, and most of the area in the city has been used to build uninhabitable adhans. Towers and Houses of Worship: The planetary governor there proudly claims that the Perfect City has ten thousand towers, and this is not a lie."

"In addition, the city itself produces almost no agricultural and industrial products, so prices within it have always remained high, and the overall living standard is not good. But because most of its residents are extremely religious and have a strong sense of belonging, So it’s pretty stable.”

"But the street vendor we mentioned before is not an aboriginal of Perfect City, but he moved to this city later, originally for the purpose of making money: so he does not have a strong sense of belonging to Perfect City. ”

[So: For a better life? 】

"No, to get out of trouble."

Ezio shook his head.

"The vendor lives in an area called the Giro Apartment Building, which is the area with the lowest housing prices in the entire Perfect City. Although his daily income is very good, it is because he has to bear the high income from the priests and businessmen. He had to take out a loan, so the capital turnover was extremely tight: I observed his life for a month with my own eyes. Mom, although he was considered pious, he was not pious enough to ignore his own financial difficulties in real life like other residents of Perfect City. ”

[Well, house prices, loans, and apartment buildings? 】

The primarch considered this carefully.

[These terms are not consistent with the Holy City in my impression. 】

"The Holy City is just a city."

Ezio's voice was deep.

"And according to our observation, this perfect city is not as important and pure as the Word Bearers advertised: if the emperor really wants to destroy the perfect city, then the upper class in the city, that is, the merchants and those who The high-ranking clergy will most likely leave with their belongings, but the lower-level civilians may refuse to leave due to practical reasons or devout beliefs. "

[What about the Word Bearers? How powerful are they in this city? 】

"Absolutely not."

Ezio shook his head.

"The Word Bearers have been away from the Perfect City for at least thirty years. They will only occasionally go back to give sermons. In fact, the new generation of residents who grew up in the Perfect City have never seen the appearance of the Word Bearers at all, because The Seventeenth Legion did not leave any garrison force, not even an honorary guard: this was also the main reason why I had previously speculated that this place was not so crucial to the Word Bearers."

[But even so, if we really want to destroy it according to the emperor's order, it will be enough to unite with the 17th Army to have a blood feud: Do you think it is feasible to destroy this city? 】

"Not low."

A cold light flashed in Dawnbreaker's eyes.

"Although there are a large number of automatic defense systems in the core of this city, its ruling class is weak-willed and cannot stay and be destroyed together: in up to three days, any legion can completely raze the entire perfect city to the ground. It would be easy to use military force to massacre this place.”

[Well...that is to say...]

The original body fell into deep thought again. She huddled in her seat, thinking carefully in Ezio's silence, and took the papers from time to time, as if she was looking for necessary data for her own ideas.

[Using force is more than enough, but the consequences are endless. 】

[But if they want to resolve it gently, they are too stubborn. 】

【Um...so...】

【Ezio. 】

"I'm here, mother."

[Do you think, if we join forces with the Ultramarines Legion to completely evacuate the entire population of Perfect City: How long will it take? 】

"This...first of all, we need to get the people of this city to cooperate."

【That's simple. 】

The primarch laughed.

[I will "persuade" my father. 】

[And he, the old man, will be present "in person". 】