Chapter 1276: Perturabo is Realizing That Dream Step by Step

After walking out of the Word Bearers Temple, Guilliman walked home along the road.

His pace was neither hurried nor slow.

As a Primarch of the Ultramarines, Guilliman was accustomed to efficiency, but he was in no rush at this moment.

Luojia's handover was complete, and there were no new Tasks from Father for the time being.

He had time and could walk back slowly.

At the end of the corridor, two Word Bearers Space Marines saw him and stood at attention to salute.

"Lord Guilliman."

Guilliman nodded in acknowledgment and continued forward.

As he stepped out of the gate, he took a deep breath.

The air on Xiuluo Holy Star was fresher than he remembered.

That was the result of the atmospheric purification project, a project led by Perturabo that had been ongoing for three full years.

He walked down the wide boulevard.

This boulevard extended from the Imperial Palace all the way to the city center, its sides planted with flowers and trees from various planets, competing in beauty under the sunlight.

The road surface was paved with a special permeable material; it would not accumulate water on rainy days, nor would it reflect glare on sunny days.

Every fifty meters there was a street lamp with a simple and elegant design, which Fulgrim had helped to design.

The corners of Guilliman's mouth lifted slightly.

That fellow Perturabo always said he didn't like these "trivial matters," but he was more serious about them than anyone else.

In the middle section of the boulevard, on an arch bridge spanning the road, several children were playing.

They were about seven or eight years old, wearing clean school uniforms and carrying schoolbags; they had clearly just finished school.

A little boy stood by the bridge railing, holding a simple kite in his hand, trying to make it fly.

A little girl was cheering him on from the side.

"Run faster!"

"I can't run anymore!"

The little boy ran panting; the kite wobbled as it rose, then wobbled as it fell.

Guilliman stopped his steps and watched this scene.

At this moment, a middle-aged man wearing blue work clothes walked by, saw the kite fall to the ground, and walked over with a smile.

"Little one, that's not how you fly a kite."

He picked up the kite, checked the spool, and then adjusted the angle of the kite's tail.

"Come, hold the spool and run against the wind. Don't look back, run in a straight line."

The little boy took the spool, took a deep breath, and started to run.

This time, the kite rose steadily, flying higher and higher.

"It's flying! It's flying!" the little girl clapped and cheered.

The little boy turned his head in excitement, saw the kite drifting in the sky, and a brilliant smile bloomed on his face.

"Thank you, Uncle!"

The middle-aged man waved his hand and continued walking forward.

Guilliman looked at the middle-aged man's back and noticed the emblem on his work clothes.

It was the symbol of Perturabo's Iron Hands Legion, but it was not the official legion badge; rather, it was some simplified version, with the words "Municipal Engineering Department" embroidered next to it.

That was a Human, but one working in Perturabo's department.

Guilliman continued walking forward.

At the end of the boulevard was a circular plaza, in the center of which stood a tall statue of an ordinary worker holding tools and looking up at the sky.

A line was carved on the base of the statue: "Dedicated to all builders."

Around the plaza were various shops and public facilities.

A long line was forming in front of a bakery, and the scent of freshly baked bread drifted through the air.

An old man sat on a bench with a newspaper in his hand, occasionally looking up at the passing pedestrians.

Guilliman remembered that many years ago, Xiuluo Holy Star was not like this.

At that time, it was said that the situation on Xiuluo was already on the edge of a cliff.

But now, everything had changed.

This was what Father called "the way Humans should be."

Guilliman turned into a slightly narrower street, lined with neat residential buildings, each with a small garden in front.

Several old men were playing chess in a garden, with a pot of tea set to the side.

"Checkmate!" an old man placed his piece triumphantly.

"Wait, I moved wrong, let's do it over, let's do it over."

"No doing it over!"

"You old fellow, can't you let me win once?"

"Let you? Why didn't you let me win when you beat me last time?"

The two bickered, while the other old men nearby watched the fun and laughed.

As Guilliman walked past, an old man looked up, saw him, and froze for a moment.

"That is... is that Lord Guilliman?"

The other old men also looked up and stood up one after another.

"Lord Guilliman!"

"The Lord has returned!"

Guilliman stopped his steps and nodded slightly.

"Greetings, everyone."

The old men were so excited they did not know what to say.

One of them, bolder than the rest, stepped forward.

"Lord, did you... did you just come from the Imperial Palace?"

Guilliman nodded.

"Yes. I just saw Father."

"Is His Majesty the Emperor... is he in good health?"

The corners of Guilliman's mouth lifted slightly.

"Very well. He asked me to convey his greetings to you all."

The old men's eyes lit up.

"His Majesty still remembers us..."

"His Majesty is busy with ten thousand matters, yet he still thinks of us..."

Guilliman did not correct them.

Father had not specifically asked him to "convey greetings to you all," but to the old men, these words were more precious than any gift.

"Lord, you are busy, you are busy. We will not disturb you."

The old man said hurriedly.

"You toil for Xiuluo Holy Star; you should get some good rest."

Guilliman nodded and continued walking forward.

Behind him, the old men were still whispering among themselves.

"Lord Guilliman truly has no airs at all..."

"Of course, the Emperor's sons, which one of them isn't top-notch?"

"I heard Lord Perturabo is renovating the East District's sewer system again recently, planning to replace all those old pipes..."

"Lord Perturabo is the same, busy with those 'trivial matters' all day long..."

"Trivial matters? Your sewer was blocked last month; who came to fix it in the middle of the night?"

"That was... that was the people from the Municipal Engineering Department..."

"The Municipal Engineering Department is Lord Perturabo's subordinate unit! Why do you think they were working in the middle of the night?"

Listening to these conversations, the smile at the corners of Guilliman's mouth deepened.

Perturabo.

That guy who was always stone-faced, spoke sharply, and complained at every turn that "I have to go fix this junk again."

But every new road, every new bridge, every water purification plant, and every heating system on Xiuluo Holy Star contained his heart's blood.

He never claimed credit, nor did he let his subordinates claim it.

Guilliman remembered many years ago, when Perturabo was still a youth, he had once said something in front of Father.

"One day, I will make Xiuluo Holy Star the most livable planet in the entire Bode Star System. Not the most prosperous, not the most powerful, but the most livable. Every Human will be able to live here with dignity."

At the time, Father said: "Go and do it. If you succeed, it will be a blessing for Humanity."

Now, Perturabo was realizing that dream step by step.

Guilliman continued walking forward and arrived at a larger plaza.

This was the city's transportation hub, where multiple main roads converged, and there was a subway station underground.

People came and went in the plaza, yet it was not crowded.

The transportation system designed by Perturabo fully accounted for human traffic flow and transit efficiency.