Chapter 12: Warhammer: What Do You Mean You Conquered the Bug Race

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Protagonist:

Lin En

Lena

Lin En set down the data slate, his fingertips ice-cold.

What kind of battle is this?

This is a ritualistic "disinfection" carried out with extreme firepower.

Efficiency?

Perhaps that unrestrained pursuit of destructive power, even bordering on obsession, is even more chilling to the bone.

He seemed to hear the continuous roaring of warhammer shells and the shrill cry of heat melt rays tearing through the air.

Before these iron giants, the bug swarm's fierce and efficient hunting methods seemed somewhat "primitive."

"If we ran into them, how would we fight?"

This thought arose uncontrollably, carrying a trace of absurd chill.

He now stands on the Empire's side, at least on the surface.

But deep down he knows that his and Lena's secret, before these "Angels," can remain hidden for how long?

In short, Lin En's pressure is now somewhat exploding.

Cassius Squad's cleansing efficiency is astonishingly high.

In just a few local cycle days, the three "high-probability infection zones" they had marked were successively purified.

Some people in the upper levels of the Nest Capital seem to have breathed a sigh of relief, but Lin En, through Lena's faint perception, knows the situation is not so simple.

Some bug nodes located deeper and more hidden seem to have been startled.

Their activity patterns have undergone unpredictable changes, revealing abnormal restlessness.

Lin En and Lena both understand that this chaos partly stems from Lena's existence as an "independent node," interfering with the coordination of the local hive mind.

Most of it is because the main nest perceives the intensifying external threat and begins adjusting its strategy.

This "lack of coordination" clearly did not escape Cassius's observation.

This sergeant's logic is as cold and hard as his power armor.

Abnormality means variables, variables mean potential threats or intelligence leaks.

He begins reverse screening.

Thus, Lin En received the "invitation."

Two Medusa's Son Warriors appeared directly at his office doorway, without warning.

They did not speak, merely making the "follow" gesture.

That posture brooked no refusal.

Lin En's heart suddenly clenched.

But on his face he quickly adjusted an expression mixed with surprise, honor, and a touch of just-right alarm.

He straightened his patrol officer uniform, which now provides at least some psychological buffer.

Following behind the two iron giants, he could feel the gazes cast by all colleagues or subordinates along the way.

There was awe, curiosity, and perhaps a trace of barely perceptible pity.

The Angels' "invitation," fortune or misfortune unknown.

The temporary meeting room is located in an emptied spare supply warehouse in the Fifth District.

The warehouse is tall and spacious, with only a few high-power lighting lamps casting a pale, glaring light.

The air is filled with the smell of dust and engine oil mixed together.

In the center of the warehouse sits a solitary metal chair.

Cassius stands before the chair; the iron halo behind him slightly distorts light under the lamps, adding a layer of inhuman pressure to his already tall figure.

The other two space marines stand like door gods on either side of the warehouse's sole entrance, sealing it completely.

"Sit." Cassius's voice comes through his helmet, still calm and unchanging.

Lin En sits as told; the metal chair surface is ice-cold.

He forces himself to relax his shoulders, but his spine straightens involuntarily.

He raises his head, his gaze falling on Cassius's white helmet, but avoids direct eye contact with those dark red target lenses.

It is said they can penetrate flesh and blood, analyze micro-expressions, body temperature, and even pulse.

Cassius does not speak immediately.

He merely stands there, the faint glow from the scanner, almost invisible to the naked eye, slowly moving across Lin En's body.

From head to toe, once, again.

Time flows in silence.

Lin En can hear the sound of his blood flowing in his ears, and feel cold sweat beginning to seep from his back.

The soaked lining clings to his skin, cold and sticky.

He must control himself.

Control breathing, control heartbeat, control the slightest twitch of his face.

He sinks part of his consciousness into the faint link with the system.

Using the system's existence, which outsiders cannot perceive, to forcibly calm himself down.

Finally, Cassius spoke.

Questions came one after another, each based on Lin En's nearly forgotten, trivial bureaucratic records:

"Tax Officer Lin En Ke'er Wa Na.

According to records, on Imperial Calendar M41.998.11.03, you applied to access old pipeline maintenance files for Seventh District Lower Level sections B-7 to B-12.

Reason for application: to verify suspected corporate tax evasion."

Cassius paused for half a second:

"Access records show that section had no trace of any registered corporate activity in the past fifteen years."

"Explain."

Lin En's mind raced at high speed.

That date was shortly after he had bound Lena, an investigation he conducted to understand the sewer structure.

He drew a breath, keeping his voice steady, even tinged with thoughtful recollection:

"Angel Adult sees clearly.

At the time I received an anonymous tip that a gang was using abandoned pipeline networks to smuggle and temporarily process undeclared rare metal waste, thereby evading mining tax and processing tax.

Accessing the files was to confirm the pipeline structure and assess its possibility as a smuggling route.

Although the tip was ultimately found partly false, with no large-scale processing point discovered,

traces of recent human activity were indeed found, and have been handed over per procedure to the Legal Department Patrol Team for attention."

Half true, half false.

He had indeed investigated smuggling, and indeed handed over some inconsequential "traces."

The red light in Cassius's target lens flickered slightly, as if conducting data comparison.

He gave no response to this explanation, continuing to throw out the next question:

"Three standard days after you accessed that file, at an abandoned water purification plant outside your jurisdiction area,

a large-scale brawl occurred, accompanied by violent explosions.

Post-incident investigation found mutant creature remains and battle traces.

You investigated that water purification plant's file information the day before the incident.

And in your subsequent work report, you did not mention any suspicious personnel or signs of biological activity related to your investigation.

Reason."

It came.

Lin En's heart sank; indeed it was the time he brought Lena to assault the Shark Tooth Gang.

"Replying to Adult," Lin En's voice carried a touch of just-right shame and fear.

"When the explosion occurred, I was not in that area; I learned of it afterward and once felt puzzled.

But the Legal Department quickly intervened and classified it as 'an accident caused by infighting within a mutant creature nest.'

Considering my investigation mainly targeted tax violations, and I did not directly discover conclusive evidence related to the explosion,

to avoid interfering with the Legal Department's special investigation, I did not repeat mention of it in routine tax reports.

This matter was indeed negligence, failing to timely conduct cross-departmental reporting of the abnormal situation."

He lightly shifted responsibility onto "procedural negligence" and "respecting other departments' authority."

This was the most common buck-passing trick in the bureaucratic system.

At the same time, it also proved Cassius did not possess sufficient relevant evidence.

Lin En had to be glad that back then he had fed all those "living cargo" to Lena.

That was why no word leaked.

"Your personal consumption records, for the past six standard months," Cassius's question suddenly turned to the private sphere.

"Showing you purchased medical supplies, anti-radiation agents, and high-specification military energy batteries exceeding the regular level of your salary grade."

"Purpose."

Lin En felt his throat somewhat dry.

These expenses were mostly used to maintain Lena's injuries and energy needs, the remainder to arm himself and his subordinate members.

"Angel Adult, the Nest Capital Lower Level environment is harsh; long-term patrol work causes chronic respiratory infection and skin ulceration, requiring large amounts of medicine."

He first explained the medical part, which was not unreasonable.

"As for the energy batteries, public order in the Lower Level is poor; patrol officers often need to enter dangerous areas alone.

To improve survival rate, I at my own expense upgraded the standard weapon pack and purchased some high-performance spare batteries.

In addition, part of the expenses was used to subsidize subordinate team members, to maintain team combat power."

Reasonable and understandable, even making Lin En sound like a very qualified official.

To survive and work better, paying out of pocket to upgrade equipment was not rare in the Nest Capital bottom level.

Cassius fell silent again.

The scanner's beam focused on Lin En's chest, where the heart was located.

Lin En could feel his heartbeat under the other's invisible gaze, as if placed under a magnifying glass for observation.

Just three seconds.

Yet he felt time seemed stretched ten thousand times, so agonizing.

Just as Lin En felt he could barely hold on, Cassius finally spoke again.

But this question almost instantly froze Lin En's blood.