Nostramo's power structure is like a pyramid.
The plutocrats, composed of ancient noble houses, were the most powerful force at the apex of the pyramid.
They controlled the trade in refined gold, managed the wealth of the entire world, and enjoyed the most resources and the best living conditions.
The second layer consisted of various factories and chambers of commerce responsible for mining and refining gold.
At the bottom were the gangs that ruled the streets. They often received support from various families and plutocrats and were essentially the "black gloves" of these powers.
The purpose of controlling the gangs was to divide and split the lower classes.
It was to prevent the bottom dwellers from uniting to overthrow the existing system.
At the same time, they also used the gangs to eliminate those who resisted.
Many leaders who organized resistance movements or uprisings were purged by the gangs.
The new safe zone that Datch had built was undoubtedly the greatest threat to this old system.
Its existence had made countless ancient noble houses and plutocrats extremely uneasy.
The people of Nostramo had lived in darkness for countless ages and had grown completely accustomed to the old social order.
When they saw true light and order, they could no longer live in hell.
At that moment, Nostramo would undoubtedly face a terrifying upheaval.
A joint meeting of powerful clans was held in an old mansion.
The mansion was located in the city center, surrounded by high walls equipped with sensors and automated turrets, and guarded by armed private security.
The main building of the mansion was a massive stone structure. Nostramo-style spires stood out sharply against the dim sky.
The windows were fitted with thick bulletproof glass, through which warm yellow light shone.
The conference hall glittered with gold. A massive crystal chandelier emitted bright light, illuminating the interior.
The long table in the hall was carved from a single piece of obsidian. Its surface was mirror-smooth, reflecting the giant crystal chandelier above.
As the chairman of the meeting, Mitsukawa Saburo sat at the head of the long table. Floating in front of him were holographic images of Datch and Ferrus.
"According to our investigation," Mitsukawa Saburo's voice echoed in the silent conference room, "the two people who established the new safe zone were both outsiders."
Everyone who could attend this meeting was an extremely influential figure on this planet.
Heads of ancient families, representatives of business magnates, and directors of industry associations — all were high-ranking and powerful individuals.
Upon hearing Mitsukawa Saburo's words, they began whispering among themselves.
Two outsiders had come to their homeworld and even established a new safe zone within their territory.
They were taking away the lower-class people whom the families had treated as disposable resources for raising families and attempting to establish an entirely new order.
This act was undoubtedly a challenge to their authority.
"Nostramo's system is perfect," Mitsukawa Saburo's voice rose with dissatisfaction and anger.
"The only reason the world was able to overcome the terrifying dark age was because we guided social development."
"Our clan rose in the eternal darkness, built wealth amid chaos, and established order. This is our world. We will not tolerate interference from outsiders."
The Mitsukawa Clan had risen to prominence during the early days of the Eternal Night Crisis.
After the Iron Man Crisis, a new storm was brewing in the Warp.
The federal government fell into panic and ultimately collapsed.
Meanwhile, the founder of the Mitsukawa Clan, who was a congressman at the time, used ruthless methods and connections to seize the federal government's assets.
Afterward, under various pretexts, they settled old scores with enemies and successfully obtained enough capital to become one of the most powerful clans on the planet.
"We cannot let this continue. The new safe zone must be destroyed."
"The new ideas and concepts they are spreading are making the lower classes restless and frequently inciting rebellions against the factories."
"Those damned peasants are actually demanding wage increases and more rest time. Those ungrateful bastards have forgotten our kindness."
When the topic shifted to workers demanding wage increases and more rest time, the representatives attending the meeting became extremely agitated and the discussion grew more heated.
"It was precisely people like them who had built the factories and created jobs, thereby giving those good-for-nothings work."
"Not only were they ungrateful, but they even dared to make demands. It was truly too much."
"We must launch a thorough attack and completely destroy the new safe zone. Only then will those damned peasants understand what they have done."
Thanks to Mitsukawa Saburo's efforts, the various factions quickly united.
They mobilized available resources and deployed armed forces, including gangs, bounty hunters, assassins, and private soldiers.
A full-scale crackdown on the new safe zone had begun, with the goal of completely eliminating the safe zone and maintaining their rule.
The gangs were the first to move. Many ruthless gang members infiltrated the newly established safe zone.
Bounty hunters created chaos and panic by destroying streetlights, painting threatening slogans, planting explosives, poisoning water pipes, and setting fires in residential areas. They also prowled the perimeter of the safe zone, hunting for targets connected to the new safe zone.
For example, adventurers who left the new safe zone in search of available resources.
Refugees from other parts of Nostramo who had joined this new safe zone.
These people became targets for bounty hunters. They were kidnapped or hunted in exchange for bounties from various families, forcing people to flee the new safe zone.
Assassins hired at high prices by various factions had also infiltrated the new safe zone, attempting to assassinate Datch and Ferrus and solve all problems at the root.
…
Curze, who had been operating in the shadows, killed important figures and obtained their memories.
He immediately learned of the evil plans of the Mitsukawa Clan and other vested-interest groups.
However, Curze did not get involved in this matter.
He wanted to see how these two outsiders would respond to the attacks from local forces.
…
Datch, of course, would never tolerate such things.
As the Player, how could he let NPCs bully him?
He immediately followed the leads and began investigating the gangs that had been causing the damage.
They quickly identified the most active group — the Tiger Claw Gang.
"Clean up this trash."
Datch was decisive and immediately ordered Mordachi and the other Primaris Space Marines to launch a powerful attack.
When the Primaris Space Marines fought against street gangs, if they injured even one gang member, it was considered a bombardment.
The Tiger Claw Gang's headquarters was located inside a heavily guarded factory that had been converted into a fortress.
Many members of this gang had undergone body modifications and were all physically very strong.
Some had implanted powerful mechanical prosthetics to enhance their combat abilities.
However, the fearsome Tiger Claw Gang was annihilated in an instant by Mordachi and the other Primaris Space Marines, as if struck by lightning.
When the attack order was given, the Primaris Space Marines launched a surprise assault on the Tiger Claw headquarters.
The sound of grenades echoed through the factory fortress, and every bullet struck its target with pinpoint accuracy.
The gang members were torn apart before they could even react.
"Who sent you?" the Tiger Claw Gang leader shouted as he rushed out with his trusted subordinates, filled with shock and anger.
However, no answer came to his question — only a precisely placed bomb was dropped.
With a thud, his head exploded.
Blood and brain matter splattered across the wall behind him. His massive body was slammed to the ground, kicking up dust as he died.
Thus, the Tiger Claw Gang was completely wiped out.
From the gang leader down to the lowest-ranked lackeys, they were all annihilated overnight.
A powerful gang that had ruled for decades was destroyed in an instant without putting up any resistance.
The gang leaders who had initially aimed for a quick fortune were filled with anxiety upon seeing the fate of the Tiger Claw Gang and retreated to their own territories.
As for the bounty hunters, Datch had the prophet Orikan send in Necromancers.
These killing machines, made of living metal, wielded phase swords capable of easily cutting through any material and used phase teleportation to quickly lock onto their targets.
Those bounty hunters were very skilled. After all, they relied on being bounty hunters.
If they had no hidden cards, they would have been dead long ago.
However, these bounty hunters were no match for the Necromancer assassins and were killed effortlessly.
With flashes of green light, the Necromancers appeared behind them and easily sliced them apart with their phase swords.
The Mitsukawa Clan, which had played a major behind-the-scenes role, was also on Datch's elimination list.
In a single night, the entire clan was driven from their homes.
Their heavily guarded clan territory fell, and their elite private army was completely wiped out.
All blood-related members were eliminated.
Even the clan head, Mitsukawa Saburo, was hanged from the streetlight in front of his own mansion and executed.
When the wind blew, the corpse swayed like a teru teru bozu.
A once-powerful and influential figure had fallen.
This incident shocked many families and powerful individuals.
Nostramo had no complete state or laws. All factions determined their status and position by the size of their fists.
The fact that the Mitsukawa Clan had survived until today was proof of its resilience, yet it had been destroyed overnight.
Many factions far weaker than the Mitsukawa Clan…
Datch seized this opportunity to further expand the new safe zone.
They also nationalized factories and mines previously owned by clans like the Mitsukawa, placing regions and markets previously controlled by gangs under their own jurisdiction.
They created enough employment to accommodate the unemployed.
The boundaries of the new safe zone were expanding outward at a visible speed, like a rising tide swallowing the entire old world.
He also supported ordinary people like Ozborne, allowing them to serve as congressmen and hold gatherings to speak out about their tragic experiences and the exploitation that had trampled on their dignity.
"We are not livestock!" Ozborne shouted in a hoarse but powerful speech.
"We are human beings and should live with dignity, not like livestock…"
At every one of these events, the audience erupted in thunderous applause and cheers, inspiring people to resist unfair and unjust power.
The expansion of the new safe zone was reflected not only in the growth of controlled territory but also in the spread of ideas.
People were beginning to awaken, and rebellions occurred frequently.
Workers could no longer endure slave-like conditions and smashed their supervisors' heads.
Poor people who had been oppressed on the streets overturned gang strongholds.
Suffering people rose up against the old privileged class and swore to reclaim everything they had lost with their own hands.
This enraged those who benefited from the old system, but there was nothing they could do.
The people's resistance was like a flood that had broken through a dam — unstoppable — and plunged the entire city of Nostramo into chaos.
Those once-arrogant families and wealthy magnates were now hated by everyone, like rats in the streets.
Old mansions were invaded and their vast treasures confiscated.
Those who had once held high positions were hanged from streetlights, thrown into mines, or stuffed into factory blast furnaces.
The world was changing shape at an incredible speed, as if a crumpled piece of paper were slowly being smoothed out by an invisible hand.
…
Curze, hidden in the shadows, witnessed the expansion and growth of the new safe zone and decided to make contact with the two outsiders.
...
Curze suddenly entered through the window while Datch and Ferrus were discussing the next phase of policy.
Ferrus was using a Primarch's wisdom to analyze the nameless ones' current economic situation and plan the next steps for industrial development.
Datch sat at the table, pondering how to promote technological development, improve people's living standards, and truly awaken the people's consciousness.
When Curze suddenly appeared carrying a skinned corpse, Datch and Ferrus stared at him in stunned silence.
They all knew that Curze's upbringing had been unusual, which had led to his eccentric personality.
However, they still felt resistant to accepting a visit or a gift from the other party.
Curze's gestation pod had been caught in a Warp storm. After landing on Nostramo, he had fallen through a crack in the surface into the depths of the planet.
To survive, the infant Curze had to climb out from underground alone in the darkness.
Exhausted and starving, he finally reached the surface and killed the first living creature he encountered — a passing Nostramo native — and ate it.
Curze could obtain a creature's memories by consuming its brain cells.
And even though it was his first meal in life, it was clear he had wasted nothing edible.
He devoured the dead and absorbed their memories, witnessing a dark and hopeless world.
Greed, cruelty, betrayal, deception, and the inherent evil in human nature — these were Curze's first impressions of humanity.
Curze's upbringing was different from that of the other Primarchs. Even the enslaved Angron had an adoptive father in his childhood.
In the despair-filled world of Nostramo, no one wanted to raise a child.
Curze was forced to grow up alone, scavenging for food in garbage dumps and living in ruined buildings.
When he could find food, he ate animals or garbage. When he could not, he ate humans.
The more people he consumed, the more evil memories he absorbed.
Those memories seeped into his soul like poison, planting dark seeds in his heart.
Furthermore, Curze himself was a powerful psyker. His talent manifested mainly as visions of the future.
Those visions were astonishingly accurate and detailed, but their content was almost always extremely terrifying and hopeless.
These precognitive abilities allowed Curze to foresee his enemies' plans and survive in the darkness, but they also greatly influenced his personality.
He became paranoid and cold, coming to believe that only fear could rule humanity and only death could end evil.
His unconventional personality had been shaped in this environment.
"Why did you kill them?"
Ferrus asked, looking at his brother.
At this point, it could be said that Curze still had room for rehabilitation.
Curze extended his hand and pointed at one of the skinned corpses.
"This man was in charge of identity verification for people entering the safe zone. But he used that authority to extort money from people and force women into sexual relationships."
"This man was a gang member who committed numerous violent crimes. He killed refugees, impersonated them to infiltrate the newly established safe zone, and even impersonated a police officer."
After listing the crimes of the deceased one by one, Curze finally turned his gaze to Datch and Ferrus.
"They were all guilty. That is why they deserved the death penalty."
"I'm only helping to remove the rotten meat."