Chapter 76

Understood, now I understand everything!

After seeing the alien-like, twisted non-human remains, the mystery that had long plagued Alvin was finally solved.

Fifty years ago, the Iron Rock Mine was infected by the Tyranid swarm, giving rise to Gene Thieves; though the exact generation was unknown, it was certain that the Governor of Galen Planet, upon discovery, immediately ordered the planetary defense forces to eliminate the Gene Thieves at Iron Rock Mine.

And to prevent further infections, the Iron Rock Mine was permanently abandoned!

“No wonder the Governor of Galen Planet slaughtered every resident of the mine.”

Alvin’s expression grew complex; he had previously suspected the Governor of Galen Planet, but now it was clear he had wronged him entirely.

If it were him, he would have made the same decision.

Gene Thieves are the vanguard units deployed by the Tyranid swarm to conquer a planet.

Typically, seeds containing Tyranid genes are inserted into a host’s body, silently twisting and altering the host’s consciousness and cognition.

Thus, many Gene Thieves loudly proclaim their devotion to the “God-Emperor,” staging mass infection rituals.

But these Gene Thieves do not realize their very cognition has been twisted and corrupted by the Tyranid genes within them.

In the eyes of the infected, the glorious “God-Emperor” is in truth a blasphemous statue with four arms!

Yet the infected Gene Thieves perceive no anomaly—they feel nothing amiss, behaving like model citizens, even becoming more “devout.”

The Tyranid swarm’s infiltration spreads at an astonishing rate; without control, it will quickly spread like a virus throughout the hive cities.

Until the hive city is entirely replaced—or at the right moment—the Tyranid Hive Mind, upon receiving the signal, descends upon the planet and consumes all biological matter, including the Gene Thieves themselves!

So, the Iron Rock Mine was once the nest of Gene Thieves—no wonder it later fell into the hands of a cult.

“Good, good, good—I’m even more curious now. What other secrets does this mine hide?”

Alvin suddenly felt a growing anticipation for the truth concealed within the Iron Rock Mine.

Then he turned and advanced deeper into the pipe, but as he passed the blasphemous four-armed statue, he stared at it for several seconds, feeling genuine revulsion.

He raised his armored arm and fired a crimson laser, instantly shattering the statue.

What blasphemous trash? Die, you piece of filth!

“That’s much better.”

Looking at the scattered fragments, Alvin nodded in satisfaction and silently performed the Eagle Salute: “May the Emperor protect me—I am your most loyal subject!”

After the salute, he walked deeper into the pipe.

But the closer he got to the pipe’s exit, the higher the air temperature became, as waves of scorching heat rolled toward him!

Moreover, his armor’s filtration system detected high concentrations of toxic substances—likely exhaust from smelting operations!

“What could possibly be inside?”

With intense curiosity, Alvin quickened his pace.

When he emerged from the abandoned pipe, he was stunned by what lay before him.

Inside the Iron Rock Mine was a completely hollowed-out mountain; he stood at its very center.

Looking upward, the abandoned factory facilities above formed the ceiling of the hollowed-out mountain.

The entire interior of the mountain had been entirely transformed by the cult into a foundry, with grotesquely oversized pipes extending into unknown depths.

Dense networks of pipes, girders, and mechanical constructs loomed like predators ensnared in a spider’s web.

“What is the cult trying to build here?”

Alvin frowned, then his gaze fell upon strange constructs suspended in midair by thick chains—each resembling a prison cage.

“Are the people brought here all locked inside these?”

Upon closer inspection, he confirmed they were indeed people specifically transported here.

They were imprisoned in welded iron cages, suspended by massive chains from the very center of the hollowed-out mountain.

And it wasn’t just those from Tot’s region—people from other regions were here too.

He roughly counted: twelve cages total, holding at least a thousand people.

Each cage was packed to bursting, as crowded as Tokyo’s subway at eight in the morning.

“Tch, this just raises the difficulty.”

The sight made Alvin, hidden in the shadows, feel a sharp headache.

Finding the Inquisitor among so many heads was impossibly hard.

He temporarily suppressed the urge to find the Inquisitor and followed the source of heat—directly beneath the suspended cages loomed a massive, boiling “boiler!”

The “boiler” combined mechanical and flesh-like features, its surface covered in blasphemous brass engravings, inscribed with complex twisted runes.

Merely gazing at it, Alvin felt endless malice flooding his mind.

This colossal “boiler,” forged from flesh and steel, seemed to have acquired certain biological traits.

Inside, it overflowed with molten steel, while mechanical constructs moved along overhead tracks, continuously dumping metal into the boiling cauldron.

The molten gold liquid then flowed along a specific path toward the deeper core of the foundry.

“The cult dragged people here not for sacrifice?”

This scene confused Alvin.

The people delivered by the Iron Hammer Gang weren’t being sacrificed—they were locked in iron cages. What exactly was the cult planning?

But the next second—

The cult gave Alvin the answer through action.

With a deafening clang, one of the suspended cages suddenly plummeted toward the boiling “boiler” before his horrified eyes.

“Help!”

“No, please! Someone save me!”

“Aaaahhh!”

The people inside the cage screamed in chaos.

But soon, the entire cage plunged into the “boiler”; molten steel at thousands of degrees splashed, emitting a horrifying sizzling sound!

Flesh and bone melted under the heat; agonized screams echoed one after another, yet within seconds, they were utterly drowned by the boiling steel.

At that moment, the boiling steel within the “boiler,” now infused with the lives of a hundred people, emitted an even more piercing wail!

It was the wail of souls!

Thick black smoke rose from the “boiler,” filled with countless twisted faces, writhing and screaming as they surged upward.

Perhaps due to his psyker nature, Alvin could clearly sense it.

The dense black smoke contained the hatred, pain, and venomous resentment of ordinary humans—sending a chill through his entire body, as if plunged into an ice vault!

“Could it be...?”

Alvin’s pupils shrank sharply—he had just realized something horrifying.

He didn’t even pause to consider whether the Inquisitor had been thrown in; he raced along the path of the flowing molten steel.

His armor’s built-in stealth mode worked perfectly, avoiding all mechanical sentries along the way.

Soon, Alvin reached the end of the track and stared at the vast assembly line factory—suddenly, he felt as if his throat had been crushed, gasping for air.

The blasphemous factory, fused with flesh and machinery, was covered in twisted symbols radiating endless, supreme cosmic malice.

Tens of thousands of beings, nearly devoid of human form, with grotesque, blasphemous appearances blending flesh and metal, moved like tireless worker ants within a nest, endlessly repeating the assembly line’s tasks.

But Alvin had no attention left for the chaos-corrupted creations.

For at the end of the assembly line, he saw a colossal construct.

Resembling an ancient scorpion, its body fused with flesh and machinery, vein-like tubes coiled around its blood-red metallic shell.

Two massive scorpion claws bristled with razor-sharp serrations—no one could doubt their power to shred through dozens of inches of steel armor.

At its tail, a curved scorpion stinger formed a monstrously oversized cannon.

Merely gazing at this blasphemous, twisted construct, Alvin deeply understood what it meant to fall into an abyss.

“Demon Engine—Brass Scorpion?!”

Including the two chapters posted at dawn, I’ve posted six today~ Please consider subscribing—I checked the subscription count earlier, it’s under two hundred, while my collection count is six thousand, down by more than half—I’m heartbroken... crying...