As Alex's several large-scale infrastructure projects were fully rolled out, Rostov II had transformed into a bustling, gigantic construction site.
Towering cranes, soaring into the clouds, stood like a steel forest on the horizon, anti-gravity transport vessels carved busy routes in the low sky, and tens of thousands of engineering machines played an industrial symphony in the prefabrication assembly yards.
Amidst this fervent construction scene, workers wearing safety gear could be seen everywhere, driving engineering vehicles to various construction nodes.
In stark contrast to other Imperial Worlds, a rare vitality flickered in the eyes of these laborers—standard ration packs hung from their waists, gleaming silver wrenches peeked from their workwear pockets, and occasionally they would joke and chat with each other.
Such a vibrant scene was an anomaly within the Imperium of Man's vast territories.
In most worlds ruled by the Terra Council, all you could see were zombie-like citizens: dead energy congealed in their sunken eye sockets, and the weight of the entire decaying Imperium pressed upon their hunched backs.
These worlds were like slowly decaying giant corpses; though they had not entirely ceased twitching, every festering wound oozed putrid pus.
One might ask, when people are forced to breathe air mixed with industrial toxins, drink water contaminated with radioactive isotopes, and struggle to survive surrounded by mutated pathogens…
When they swallow "nutrient blocks" made from swill, rodents, and corpse starch day after day…
When twenty standard hours of forced labor each day completely drain the last shred of life…
Can such an existence still be called "life"?
If someone could truly remain energetic and have eyes shining with hope in such a hellish environment, Alex would undoubtedly call the Inquisition without hesitation and then drop an Exterminatus order on that planet.
Because this could only be conclusive evidence of a full-scale Genestealer Cult infiltration.
As the ancient proverb says: when you find one cockroach in the kitchen, the entire swarm is already lurking in the wall cracks.
In this dark and despairing 41st Millennium, perhaps only those Genestealer cultists, deluded by psychic illusions, could maintain such an unsettling optimism and fanaticism within the Imperium's rusty meat grinder.
However, in Rostov, the situation was not so bad.
Firstly, the living environment here was relatively good; the planet's pollution level was very low, and thanks to the planet's production of precious sanctus wine, to ensure its output, both the Ecclesiarchy and the Inquisition strictly limited industrial and urban pollution on this planet.
Not only did they expend great effort to address urban pollution, but they also required the Adeptus Mechanicus to undertake environmental remediation of the entire planet to expand the cultivation area of sanctus grapes as much as possible.
Although the fundamental purpose of these measures was to ensure the supply of sanctus wine, rather than to improve the lives of ordinary citizens, they objectively did spare Rostov's residents from the hellish living conditions found on other Imperial Worlds.
Compared to Hive Worlds where even breathing could scorch the lungs and the air was filled with industrial waste and radioactive dust, Rostov's air was at least tolerable—going out without a respirator would at most result in a mouthful of sand, rather than developing rotten lung disease or radiation ulceration within hours.
Here, people could at least see some natural colors, rather than an eternal gray sky and acid-rain-corroded metal ruins, or even never having seen the sky in their entire lives.
In terms of water supply, Rostov II's situation was also far superior to most worlds in the Imperium. Although it could not guarantee that every resident would receive ample pure water, at least the tragic situation of the lower classes being forced to drink radioactive sewage, as seen on other Imperial Worlds, would not occur.
Thanks to the Ecclesiarchy's efforts to ensure the growth of sanctus grapes, pure water from ice body asteroids, after being processed by melting stations, would be prioritized for the irrigation systems of the sanctus vineyards, as well as for upper-tier institutions like the Planetary Governor's Office and Ecclesiarchy temples.
However, to prevent industrial wastewater from polluting the precious grape cultivation areas, the Adeptus Mechanicus established comprehensive wastewater treatment systems in various locations.
Although this recycled water, treated by purification procedures, was not as good as natural pure water directly from ice meteorites, its purity already far exceeded the drinking water standards available to typical Hive City residents.
Such water quality standards, in other industrial worlds, would likely only be enjoyed by mid-Hive residents.
But on Rostov II, as long as one did not live in the most remote slums or dilapidated lower-level communities, most residents could obtain basic purified drinking water.
Although it occasionally had a slight metallic taste, at least it was not, like in some Hive Worlds, industrial wastewater recycled for reuse.
Regarding food supply, even if Alex wanted everyone to eat normal food, Rostov II currently could not completely break free from the shackles of the Imperial standard rationing system.
Limited by the planet's agricultural capacity and the Imperial material allocation system, the daily diet of most commoners still primarily consisted of industrially synthesized energy bars and nutrient porridge.
However, it was fortunate that Rostov's food processing industry was fundamentally different from that of other Imperial Worlds.
At least on Rostov II, the Imperium's citizens did not need to rely on corpse starch to fill their stomachs, nor did they need to repeatedly recycle and process corpses into new food.
Although 'corpse starch' was not made from corpses, and was named so only because it was excessively unpalatable, this did not mean that corpses were not added during its production.
In fact, in many Hive Cities, there were organizations known as the corpse guild, whose job was to collect the vast number of dead bodies within the Hive City, then recycle them and process them with promethium extract into corpse starch, which was then made into energy bars to feed the Hive City's enormous population.
However, on Rostov, orbital hydroponic farms could cyclically produce various natural foods, including fresh vegetables, various fruits, grains, and even aquatic meats!
Although the quantity was not enough to feed everyone, these natural agricultural products, after standardized processing by food processing plants, could still ensure that the vast majority of people on Rostov did not go hungry after being processed into energy bars and nutrient porridge.
In fact, at least over 60% of the ingredients in the energy bars and nutrient porridge they ate were natural foods!
For those accustomed to the dark food industry of the Imperium, such a meal standard could almost be called luxurious—after all, in most Hive Worlds, commoners might never taste a single bite of un-chemically synthesized natural food in their entire lives, or rather, it was extremely rare for them to eat any food other than corpse starch bars.
It could be said that Rostov was completely different from most Imperial Worlds!
And the fundamental reason for this huge difference was actually very simple: because Alex treated people as people, and not as un-modified living Servitor.
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