StarCraft: Tyranid Empire

Chapter 238
Augustus and Matt Horner walked side by side, all the way south along the bustling commercial street in New Canaan.As the location becomes more and more prosperous, the aroma of spices, dried fruits and cooked seafood comes to the nostrils.

At first, Augustus didn't say much to Matt, just admiring the street scene while walking.The sky is cloudless, and you can see the bright starry sky when you look up. The co-orbiting Tyrador Ⅷ and Ⅸ stars are each other's moons.

"Ah...Mr. Augustus, you are an interstellar merchant, you must have been to many places?" After a while, Matt, who was very curious about Augustus, couldn't help asking him.Since he was being wanted, Augustus had always presented himself as a middle-aged man, and that weather-beaten image was quite confusing.

"Yes, I have been to many places." Augustus replied: "My friends and I have been to Tarsonis Prime, and have also been to places outside the Koprulu star area."

"There are many planets with strange flora and fauna, as if they are in a dreamlike and beautiful world. Garden planets with warm climate and prosperous life, barren planets with most of the land deserted, jungle planets with dangerous aliens, and deserted planets due to the lack of oceans. A stony planet with a thin atmosphere...the world is far bigger than you can imagine," he said.

"...I wish I could be like you one day." Matt said with longing.

"Be a businessman?" Augustus looked at him.

"No." Matt shook his head: "Actually, I want to be a pilot. I hope to be able to drive my spaceship to various planets and explore undiscovered worlds."

"This dream is worth fighting for. Horner, which federal air force university are you going to take? Or get a civil aircraft flight license through self-study." Augustus said: "I suggest you go to the federal military academy, Receive formal military training."

"According to family tradition, I should go to a local university." Matt blushed even more: "There is no first-class military university on Tyrador IX, and most of the universities focus on training administrative personnel and financial industry. And management talents, and few civilian students can afford the high tuition fees of these universities. The universities for the common people are all for the developed tourism industry of Telador.”

"If I go to a university on another planet far away from Tyrador, my family will probably be unable to support the cost of studying abroad. Of course, I believe that I am fully capable of obtaining a full scholarship to Tarsonis University. From the perspective of requirements, It shouldn't be difficult." There is no doubt that Matt, who has a serious personality, is a true learning genius.

"If you want, I can write a letter of recommendation for you to the principal of the Umoyan Air Force Academy," Augustus said.

"Umoyan?" Matt didn't expect Augustus to say that at all.A stranger who had just met said he was going to recommend him to Umoyan University. Either this was a classic routine of human traffickers, or it was just a trivial matter in Augustus's eyes.

Many businessmen are willing to invest in China, and emerging industries and talents are the objects of their investment.

"My family and I don't know much about Umoyan. It's too far away." Matt said: "My parents are enlightened people, they will not object to me going to other planets to study, but Umoyan is too far away after all. Far."

"That's right, after all, you haven't even graduated from high school." Augustus said.

"Soon, sir," Matt said.

This topic stopped abruptly, and as they gradually walked out of the commercial streets of New Canaan and away from the city center, scenes of feasting and feasting in the red light district inevitably appeared.

Beautiful women stand at the door of cheap bars, the smell of barbecue comes from middle and low-end restaurants, the number of hotels and capsule hotels is surprisingly large, and hot spring baths are also one of the pillar industries of this resort.Here, Augustus could clearly see the difference between the people here and those rich people in the commercial street.

Just like all the poor people in the Tyranid Federation, the poor people in Tyrador have the common characteristics of all poor people: bones are burned due to a single diet and heavy labor, and children are stunted due to malnutrition.People who are poorer and less hopeful rely more on drugs to escape reality. From time to time, people with blank eyes or trembling eyes can be seen hiding in the depths of the street and taking drugs, like ghosts who have lost their souls.

Even at night, they are still working non-stop.In order to keep the streets and beaches clean and tidy, many cleaners are working hard in dark green uniforms, focusing on cleaning up the garbage on the ground.

In restaurants, spas, hotels, and other service industries, men and women in uniform serve rich people from all over the Federation planets, groveling like servants, doing their best to serve their guests.All the services to ensure that the guests who come to spend are comfortable enough not to have to lift every finger of their own, make them feel that they are happy with every penny they spend, and continue to spend more happily.

In this era, cleaning robots have already been able to replace human labor with all their strength, and are more efficient, and many things can also be done using machines instead of human beings.And although the cleaning companies and store owners in New Canaan are fully capable and channeled to replace them with cleaning robots, a cruel fact is that in Telador, people are cheaper than machines.

The Tyrador service industry and other private industry workers are "contract workers" from other planets who are forced to work with the Tyranids for a variety of reasons, including usury, bankruptcy, and debts. Lending financial institutions in the federation sign extremely unequal contracts that are almost equivalent to prostitution contracts.In the economic turmoil brought about by the four-year Kailian War, a large number of extremely cheap laborers were forced to come to Telador to create profits for their bosses to repay their own debts.

Many federal planets were greatly damaged by the Kailian war, and their economies collapsed, but Tyrador IX became gradually prosperous because of this.In the years when the war was most intense, Tarsonis and the wealthy class of several other main star worlds still transferred their wealth and children to Tyrador to deal with the worst outcome that the Federation might lose in the war.

Today, such contract workers have become the cornerstone of maintaining the operation of various industries, and their number has exceeded 40% of the total population of Tyrador.Behind the prosperity and development of Telador IX Resort is the sweat and blood of those contract workers and cheap laborers who toil day and night.

UNN never reported the plight of the people at the bottom of Tyrador IX, nor did it mention that they were actually servants of the nobles of Tyrador and the blood-sucking companies of the Federation.These people are not protected by federal laws, and even the trade unions of the Tyrann Federation turn a deaf ear to these people. After all, they only complain for the rich and redress their grievances.

Compared with these people, Matt is undoubtedly lucky. His family has finally gained a foothold in Telador after several generations of struggle through an honest and trustworthy small business.The Horner family is not considered middle class, but at least they have real estate and jobs to survive as citizens rather than homeless people. They cannot hire servants or use robots like the middle class and upper class, but they will not be forced to engage in heavy physical labor labor.

"Did you see those people?" Augustus said to Matt: "Many of them are burdened with debts that cannot be repaid, and their children must accept this fate from birth. Growing up in an environment of extreme scarcity, it's hard to achieve more than their parents."

"I'm much luckier than them." As a native of Tyrador, Matt certainly understood the situation of these people, but he couldn't do anything about it.

"If it were me, I would say that I must rescue these unfortunate people." Augustus put his hands behind his back.

"The prosperity of Tyrador is based on an unfair system, and the federal government here is as corrupt as any other planet in the federal territory. The government officials of Tyrador are doing their best to profit and use it to curry favor with Tarsonis The nobles of the creation family, faced with the stubborn disease that has penetrated deep into Tyrador, they turned a deaf ear and did nothing." As he spoke, he uttered something that sounded quite extraordinary to Matt.

"The Planetary Defense Force is just a fake military organization, and the total number of soldiers is less than two companies. The Tyrador Knights, as the most elite armed forces in the galaxy, are essentially only for the rich and powerful. Serving the powerful, they are no nobler than the corrupt and corrupt officers of the Tarsonis Police Department."

"This is Tyrador IX, Mr. Augustus, all Tyrador people know that this is the back garden of the Tarsonis founding family, and the vast majority of Tyrador nobles actually come from The nobles of Tarsonis." Matt wasn't surprised by Augustus' anti-Federation tendencies.If his hometown is turned into a dead world full of nuclear wasteland and radiation dust by nuclear bombs, then he will also become a demon.

"Do you want to bring any change to all this?" Augustus stared into Matt's eyes: "You can, and have the ability, to bring about great changes to this stagnant pool of Tyrannian Federation."

At this moment, the topic suddenly became serious. Just like before, Matt did not expect Augustus to say such things.The true identity of Augustus has been revealed. Even if he is not a traitor and traitor hated by the federal government, he must be a person who deeply hates and hates the federal government.

Generally speaking, sociological scholars will refer to this group of people as the traumatized group.These people have their homes burned down, have nothing left, and have endless resentment and anger to vent.

"Me? I can't do anything, I just watch those spaceships rising and falling, and calculate the time from when they take off to disappear." Matt said: "But I also think that the federal government is implementing His own brutal rule, whether it is those founding families or the government, has begun to corrupt."

Matt has his own perspective on the revolution unfolding on the far side of the Koprulu Sector.It is true that he does not think that the innocent casualties caused by the revolution are the necessary price, but Matt still has a strong sense of justice in his heart.The important thing is that Matt longs for a change in this unchanging life, and the revolution, which sounds like a sense of mission, is not less attractive to him.

"No, you are fully capable of doing more. Your ability and the contribution you can actually make to humans in the Koprulu sector are far beyond your own imagination." Augustus said seriously to Matt : "In the past, I was just as you imagined, thinking that the federal government has become too corrupt, but what can one person do?"

"Once upon a time?" Matt looked at Augustus, who was no longer so shy, forgetting that he was among a group of potentially dangerous strangers: "What happened? Something must have caused you to change today."

"Korhal IV is destroyed," Augustus said. "The Federation destroyed a beautiful planet and changed many people. The founding family of Tarsonis changed many people. They turned good people into bad people and turned Bad guys become devils."

"Although I have many shortcomings, there is one thing that many people like about me, that is, I am a true activist."

"So you've achieved your original ideal, you're a revolutionary!" Matt's voice trailed off, thinking he'd be scared, but he wasn't.

"Are you from the Keha Revolutionary Army or the Sons of Keha?" he said excitedly.

"Or is it that the sons of Keha are the revolutionary army? Last time it was Mar Sara, and now it is Tyrador. You will bring salvation to Tyrador." Matt said.

"Will Telador become the base of operations of the Revolutionary Army? Very well, this will be the birthplace of a revolution. Many people are dissatisfied with the federal government. As long as you show up here, all the aspiring people in Telador Soldiers will come in droves."

"Do you know that Augustus Mengsk? He actually has the same name as you. Augustus Mengsk led so many successful uprisings, he is a well-deserved hero!"

Good family education and the example set by his parents made Matt Horner understand at a very early age what a man of integrity should be. If the revolution needs a leader, then he should be Augustus. people.Firm and unwavering, only those who believe in what they are doing will have no hesitation in following him.

In the eyes of the young, inexperienced Matt Horner, the image of Augustus has been associated with a freedom fighter, and he is undoubtedly a giant of thought.

"." Augustus didn't think that Matt was actually his fan.

Then, things are much simpler.

Just as he was speaking, the headquarters of the Tyrador Knights was approaching.It was a castle of granite cubes, with rounded walls and dead square towers.The pure white walls are hung with gorgeous colored lights, and the interior of the castle is brightly lit.

"Here we are." Augustus looked at the castle and said with a smile, "I like you very much, Matt."

"I hope we can talk again." He pointed to a high-end restaurant opposite the Knight's Castle and said, "Let's go, I will pay the bill."

"This..." Matt was about to refuse, when the pink-haired girl behind Augustus pulled him towards the restaurant.

"What's the matter? Are you going to decline Augustus' invitation?" Another tall girl with red hair said.

"No, of course not," Matt said quickly.

Matt has rarely walked into a luxuriously decorated high-end restaurant in his life, and he was still a little dazed when he sat firmly on the gilt seat.He was sitting between two burly men, and the pressure was doubled, while the girl with pink hair was opposite him.

After Augustus went to order food, he didn't come back more than ten minutes later.Matt found that he had nothing to say with these people who followed Augustus, and the atmosphere at the scene was a little awkward for a while.For Matt, every minute and every second of this time is a torment.

"Playing cards?" Suddenly, the pink-haired girl who was bored asked Matt.

"." Matt was stunned: "What?"

"Poker." The playful pink-haired girl was clearly not on the same channel as Matt.

"I can't believe there are boys who can't play poker? How?" she said.

"I will." Matt answered every question. He was always serious, and his good tutor let him know that ignoring a person would put both parties in a rather embarrassing situation. ——Although he couldn't understand why the opponent suddenly asked him to play cards.

"What's the bet?"

"But I haven't promised you yet," Matt said.

"People in Port of the Dead always have to bet on something when they play cards," Mira said.

"What do you have to offer?"

(End of this chapter)