Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 447 Citizens of the Empire
Inside the airport's port building, thanks to the building's good sealing and self-circulating air purification system, the indoor air quality was acceptable, and Chen Xi was finally able to remove the respirator that had made him uncomfortable.

As he removed the mask from his face, the metal buckle made a soft "click," a sound that sounded particularly pleasant at that moment.

This made him breathe a sigh of relief. After all, unless there is a special need or fetish for wearing a breathing mask all the time, no one likes to have something hanging on their face.

The sticky feeling of the rubber seal against the skin, and the buzzing sound of the filter when it's running, are both annoying.

Not to mention that wearing it makes your voice sound muffled when you talk, and it makes drinking water and eating extremely inconvenient.

This is really inconvenient.

Of course, there are multiple solutions to this problem in the Warhammer world.

Although this galaxy is fraught with danger, humanity's technological advancements have also led to the development of various solutions to cope with harsh environments.

For example, like Olivia's case, a purifying force field is created using some kind of device or a specially designed servo skull, and the force field technology is used to solve the air pollution problem.

The mechanical constructs floating around her deployed a force field barrier in the air, keeping all harmful substances out.

This technology is quite simple for the Empire. Some of the palaces of the top nobles and wealthy people living at the top of the hive city's spire use this technology. Otherwise, even if they live above the stratosphere, the pollution of the hive city's atmosphere and the thin air above the stratosphere would make it quite unsuitable for survival.

Beneath those gilded domes, nobles enjoy air as pure as a garden world, while thousands of meters below them, hundreds of millions of commoners struggle to survive in toxic smog.

Such force field technology is at work in the luxurious facilities of those hive nobles, such as the top hive palaces and private spaceports.

These facilities are usually meticulously maintained by mechanical priests in red robes, ensuring that these pampered VIPs never feel a trace of the outside world's filth.

Even the Novaya Zemlya Airport itself has such a force field generating device in operation.

These enormous generators, hidden within the building structure, operate constantly, emitting an almost inaudible hum.

These force fields are primarily used for air isolation in open spaces, preventing precious oxygen from escaping into the void of space and blocking the intrusion of harmful external substances. When necessary, these force fields can also act as shields, or even multi-functional shields.

When the airport is attacked, these force fields will immediately transform into an energy barrier sufficient to withstand laser fire.

However, generally speaking, such force field generating devices are quite large, and those that can be used by a single person are undoubtedly the private collection of some mechanical sage.

Those exquisite devices were often shaped like religious artifacts, their surfaces covered with binary prayers and Mechanicus runes.

Therefore, for individuals who do not want to wear a breathing mask, a single-person energy field generator is a good option, but this also means that a very large wallet and a good relationship with the mechanical cult are required.

After all, the Cult of Mechanics would never easily hand over their technological treasures to outsiders.

Moreover, such a piece of equipment is likely to be more expensive than a full set of power armor.

In the black market of certain forging worlds, a palm-sized personal force field generator can be traded for the standard equipment of an entire company.

Fully enclosed power armor offers excellent protection in many situations.

Those thick armor plates can not only withstand bullets and lasers, but the built-in life support system also allows users to survive in various extreme environments.

Furthermore, a relatively ordinary set of power armor is not expensive. A set of non-Astartes power armor may only cost tens of thousands of Throne Coins, and even a simpler version can further reduce the price.

These simple power armors are quite common in the middle levels of hive cities, and many security companies and private armed groups purchase them.

Of course, correspondingly, this relatively cheap, basic power armor is probably similar to the crisis combat suits in general science fiction works, and does not have the powerful defensive capabilities of the Astartes power armor.

Their outer shells are usually made of cheap alloys rather than adamantite, and the hydraulic systems at the joints often produce ear-piercing noises. A truly excellent power armor set remains quite expensive.

Those exquisite artifacts inherited from the Great Expedition era are all priceless treasures.

Because items like the Advanced Power Armor and the Relic Armor are no longer valued using Throne Coins.

These items are usually kept in the sacristy of the church and are only brought out on the most solemn or critical occasions.

Merchants and wanderers would use profit factors to measure their wealth, and usually a small profit factor could be equivalent to the wealth that an entire empire could generate.

Similarly, some companies with high valuations need to use profit factors as a unit to measure their value.

Some legendary armors, said to have been blessed by the Primarch himself, are worth enough to buy a small fleet.

However, the above options are only for relatively wealthy people. The vast majority of ordinary civilians in the empire are not so lucky, or have enough money to afford these expenses.

For them, simply surviving to this day was already a blessing from the emperor.

They might not even be able to afford a good breathing filter, and would have to either salvage loot from corpses or simply make one themselves from scraps.

In the black market at the bottom of the hive, makeshift breathing devices pieced together from scrap metal and plastic tubes can be seen everywhere.

Don't find it unbelievable; this is how the lower classes of the Empire live in the Warhammer world.

Every day is a dance with death, and every breath of air can bring deadly diseases.

Moreover, these are necessities for their lives. Without respirators, they could easily develop lung rot or other fatal diseases due to inhaling large amounts of toxic and harmful gases, and die in a short period of time.

Workers in the factory area often cough up black blood clots before they are even thirty years old.

The empire's medical technology is quite advanced, making it possible for people to live to be a thousand years old, but the average lifespan of the empire's lower classes will not exceed 40 years.

This ironic contrast is a true reflection of the current state of the empire.

Of course, if you're lucky enough to live in a region like Middle Nest, and there are Mechanicus temples or sanctuaries nearby, things will be relatively simpler.

At least there, obtaining basic prosthetic modifications is not out of reach.

The Mechanicus's prosthetic body transplant technology is extremely advanced; it can even transform a person into a cyberpunk style, with enough human flesh to make a plate of fried brains.

Those cyborgs whose bodies are replaced by machines over 90% are often regarded as semi-divine beings by followers of the Cult of Mechanics.

Non-combat prosthetics aren't expensive for the Mechanicus; transplanting an artificial lung that can withstand harsh environments into an ordinary human might only cost a few hundred Throne Coins.

This artificial organ, which replaces the lungs, can automatically filter toxins from the air, eliminating the need for additional breathing devices.

This is roughly equivalent to about half a year's salary for an average clerk in a Nest City. If you really want to save money, you can probably save up this amount in one or two years.

Although we have to tighten our belts, at least it's a glimmer of hope.

If you think lung transplants are too expensive, you can also get a face transplant and have the respirator installed on your face, which is much more convenient and also saves money.

People whose faces have been replaced by metal masks are a common sight on the streets of some of the Middle Nests, and their breathing always has a mechanical hissing sound.

(End of this chapter)