Gamma, what good news did you find that made you call us all over here?" Louis, who had rushed over, asked Gamma, who had a mysterious look on his face.
Gamma pointed to the sewage well in the distance and said, "There are living creatures under this sewage well!"
"Oh, that's all."
"Huh? What's with your reaction? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Gamma saw that the few people who had come were all looking at him with an expression of "that's all, that's all," and he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy, but he still wanted to struggle a bit, saying, "Look, this is a place where industrial waste and radioactive wastewater are discharged. What kind of creature can survive in a place like this?!"
Louis spread his hands and explained, "There are many. The Imperium has so many Death Worlds. They are only unsuitable for human survival, but there's no shortage of native flora and fauna."
"But… but this is a Forge World, even the atmosphere is artificial!"
Louis continued to explain, "No native creatures doesn't mean no alien creatures."
Gamma still wouldn't give up, saying, "Alien creatures? Who would release animals into a Forge World for no reason?!"
"I would," Louis said.
Gamma: Where's my cannon? I'm going to get rid of this boring Tech-Priest!
"You… why would you release animals for no reason?"
"The lab couldn't hold them all. I bought them back with great difficulty, and it would be a pity to just destroy them, so I threw them in there and let them adapt and survive."
"You…"
Louis spread his hand with a 'what's the big deal' look and said, "It's not just me; everyone does this. Don't just look at this wellhead, which is only 5 meters in diameter. Below it, a crack connects to a huge underground karst cave space. The entire factory area of Hongzhi will discharge waste into it. Someone estimated that even at this rate, it would take thousands of years to fill the karst cave."
"Then… what if the things inside escape? Isn't that quite dangerous?" Gamma asked, struggling again.
"Aren't there alarms and drone turrets outside? They're there to guard against them."
"…"
Who knows what year or month, the Holy Son of the Great Mechanical Divine Sect, Gamma, discovered the entrance to the lost sect's 'Gu Cultivation Ground' and specially invited fellow cultivators to search for treasure together. However, due to the malicious instigation of the treacherous Louis, before entering the treasure land, everyone scattered. Among them, the spoiled and arrogant daughter of an elder, Leia, even humiliated the Holy Son, saying, "Little brat, go play by yourself." The Holy Son Gamma was furious and swore in his heart: He would definitely take revenge on the two for this humiliation one day!
— "Chronicles of the Great Mechanical Divine Sect: Biography of the Holy Son"
Gamma was now gloomily shooting stones, muttering to himself as he shot: "Just wait until I really raise a Gu King someday, and you Tech-priest and Tech-priest Girls will all cry. I won't come to save you then!"
He really hadn't expected that among the Tech-priest, there was someone like Louis who made outstanding contributions to the biodiversity of the Forge World. Judging by his accustomed attitude, there were quite a few Tech-priest who did this.
He originally had a very good impression of Priests like Louis who loved biology. In a Forge World, the only breathing creatures besides humans were found in the laboratories of these biological Tech-priest. After this incident, Gamma's impression of them was greatly discounted.
However, he was still quite curious: what was the situation inside that underground karst cave now? A scene of all things thriving and vibrant? He was reluctant to send a servo-skull down to look; if it broke down inside, he wouldn't be able to retrieve it.
A flash of inspiration, Gamma clapped his hands: I don't need to go in, can't they come out?! I'm definitely going to be the first angler on the Forge World.
With his skills, crafting an alloy fishing rod was no big deal. For bait, he'd use canned food, opening a small hole to let the scent escape and attract the "fish." He'd also add an automatic reel and an alarm device, so he wouldn't have to stand by and watch, and it wouldn't interfere with his patrols.
Plan complete! Let's do it!
The fishing gear was prepared very smoothly. Through his calculations and skilled operation of the "Gamma," the bait was accurately cast into the hole 50 meters away. However, he had no luck for several days, and the canned food even started to stink.
On the other side of the world, the Temple Sages and the Archmagos were still fighting. Regardless of the outcome, the strength of the Thedan Forge World would be severely diminished. This was the downside of an evenly matched conflict; the outcome of the war was uncontrollably sliding in a direction detrimental to both sides.
Gamma asked a few people and confirmed that Tyeedan still didn't have its own Titan legion. He then knew that this time, they might have to lose all the assets the Forge World had accumulated over one or two hundred years. If an alien or heretic were to appear again, our great Forge World would be finished!
The Priests who remained had lost their initial interest in watching the spectacle and were now all worried. If there was anyone happy, it was only the workers and children; they had never experienced such a long holiday, but behind this happiness lay a deadly crisis.
Magos Lauster had already notified all the Priests to attend a meeting in the auditorium to discuss what to do next.
"Quiet, everyone! The situation is very clear to all of us now. Let's hear your thoughts," Magos Lauster said from the stage to the restless Priests below.
"Magos, how long will this war last?" a Priest asked.
Another Priest answered for Magos Lauster, "How long? It won't stop until one side is completely annihilated!"
"Why? This kind of depletion of the Forge World's foundation is something neither of them wants to see. If so, why can't they sit down and talk?"
"Impossible. They have no room for negotiation, or rather, the forces they represent have no intention of negotiating!"
"Represented forces? Who can make the Fabricator-General and the Temple Sages their pawns?"
"Is there really no one?!"
"Who has this… Regent… Temple! Mars! It's over! This is truly over!"
"Terra and Mars?"
"Besides Mars, who can command those fanatics?!"
"Except for Tyeedan, no Forge World has ever been actually controlled by Terra!"
"Although the Archmagos is the Regent's man, the Forge World is nominally still under Mars, isn't it?"
"If it weren't under Mars, there would be no Tyeedan, and no two hundred years of peace. Now that Mars isn't going to let it continue, do you think Terra will choose to let go?"
"It's over! Even if they shatter this planet, they won't stop!" a Priest cried out in despair.
These words scared Gamma and the other Priests present. He quickly calculated all possible consequences in his mind and concluded that the probability of him dying without a whole corpse was almost 100%, and the remaining 0.X% chance of survival would rely on various heaven-defying luck.
Gamma: I knew nothing good would come from being in warhammer!
Magos Lauster then said, "Alright, calm down everyone. Losing our composure will only make our situation worse."
Thanks to the rationality granted by the Omnissiah, the frightened Priests quickly calmed down and began to think of countermeasures in their minds.
One of them suggested, "Magos, how about we join one of the factions now?"
But another retorted, "One-third of the people who left at the beginning are already unreachable. If they're like that, what can we be now if not cannon fodder if we join?!"
"How about we unite with the others who are watching and protect ourselves?"
"That won't work either. We'll be targeted. Once we unite, they'll all treat us as a third party. It's not a question of whether we want to, but whether we can after forming an alliance."
"Maintain the status quo?"
"Our current food reserves can only last for another week. After a week, everyone will starve!"
"If the existing supplies were just for us…"
The Priest speaking didn't finish his sentence, but everyone present understood his meaning: abandon all the workers and save themselves.
However, this time no one objected, nor did anyone agree. The auditorium fell into a strange silence. It was then that Gamma, who had been silent all along, spoke up.
"I object. I think even going to the battlefield is better than doing that!"
The Priests all looked at Gamma with a mix of approval, indifference, and anger. In their eyes, Gamma was now the child who pointed out that "the emperor has no clothes," exposing everyone's hypocrisy and selfishness to the light.
"State your reasons, Magos Gamma," Magos Lauster motioned for him to continue.
"First, let's not forget the mountains of weapons piled in the warehouse. Even if we, with our limited numbers, could rally a group of people, the result would be nothing but a repeat of this war. We won't lay down our weapons, and neither will the remaining workers!"
Everyone nodded upon hearing this. Gamma continued, "Secondly, even if we successfully defend and block them outside with the Mechanical Temple, in a desperate environment without food, who knows what extreme emotions from so many desperate workers might attract? Let's not forget that Tyeedan isn't that far from the Great Rift on a galactic scale!"
The expansion of the Great Rift and the waves of Warp energy have led to a surge in the number of psykers, and demons are appearing more frequently in the real universe. Although the Imperium still controls and blocks related information, it is ultimately a case of locking the stable door after the horse has bolted. Information about demons is accessible to those of higher status, let alone these Tech-priest who always master cutting-edge technology.
The Priests broke out in a cold sweat from Gamma's words. Summoning those things would make death a mercy.
"Magos Gamma is right. Dying on the battlefield might be a good thing. We are not the only ones facing this situation; there are other regions too. Who knows what they will do, or what will happen?"
"Alas, if I had known this, I would have joined from the beginning."
"Have you thought about which side to join? If we meet on the battlefield, I won't show any mercy."
"Heh, don't worry, I'll give you a quick end!"
Hey, hey! What's with this indifferent attitude towards life and death? I haven't finished speaking yet.
"Listen to me finish!"
Seeing that Gamma still had something to say, the Priests, who had been discussing animatedly, quieted down again. They all hoped that this somewhat unconventional "little Priest" could bring them a different kind of hope.
"I propose that all minors in the factory area be gathered and protected, that the animals in Father Louis's laboratory be brought out and bled, that the workers be given a good meal, and finally, that they be told the actual situation and allowed to choose for themselves."
Louis: "Ah!?"
"This…"
"We're afraid the workers will riot!"
"So we must protect the children and protect the future."
"A glimmer of hope is better than none."
"They aren't as rational as us."
"Perhaps we can provide 'euthanasia'."
"This… a quick death without pain might also be a kind of fortune; we might need to prepare one for ourselves too."
The Priests in the auditorium began to discuss Gamma's proposal animatedly. He, the initiator of the proposal, remained expressionless, appearing so upright and righteous, in stark contrast to Father Louis, who stood beside him, hesitant, timid, and with a strange look in his eyes.
Gamma: I'm not trying to get revenge.
"Drip, drip."
A sudden alert sounded from the "Gamma," which was very jarring in the noisy auditorium, drawing everyone's attention back to Gamma.
Hmm! The "fish" has taken the bait. I've waited for several days and finally, it's here. This can be considered making up for a regret before going into battle. Let me see what you are!
Gamma paid no attention to the others and directly put his mech's helmet on his head, connecting it to the camera he had set up near his "fishing spot." He didn't know until he looked, and when he did, he was shocked.
Oh my goodness! As soon as there's no human activity, the "small animals" in the city just come out on their own! What did they eat to grow so big! Scorpions over 5 meters long, and two of them! What good is a autocannon besides polishing their shells? But from the way Louis and the others talked, they didn't know about these big guys underground. Did they really breed a Gu King?
"Gamma, what happened?" Father Louis asked from the side.
"Are there scorpions that can grow over 5 meters long?"
Caught off guard by Gamma's abrupt question, Father Louis was momentarily stunned but still replied, "Yes, there are. The Fire Scorpion of Baal. They are extremely adaptable and can thrive in almost any environment. I heard they taste great too. I wonder if we'll ever get a chance to try them again."
Gamma, still wearing his helmet, asked again, "What was the last thing you said?"
"Uh, 'I wonder if we'll ever get a chance to try them again'."
"The sentence before that?"
"Extremely adaptable, capable of adapting to almost any environment."
"The sentence after that?"
"I heard they taste great. What are you trying to do, anyway? Stop doing such inexplicable things. Why do you want to kill the animals I raise? They don't have much meat, and most of them are poisonous and inedible!"
Gamma ripped off his helmet and, operating his mechanical arm, grabbed the still-chattering Father Louis and spun him around.
"Hey! Gamma, you…"
"You biological Tech-Priest, you've rendered meritorious service!"
"What kind of ridiculous name is that! Put me down! Now!" Father Louis shouted in mid-air.
Gamma casually put Father Louis down. Amidst the Priests' gazes of "he's still too young to handle the pressure, or he's gone mad," he raised the cannon in his mech's hand with a roguish look and shouted:
"Brothers, grab your weapons and follow me! Don't let those two Fire Scorpions get away! Whether we eat meat or starch sticks depends on this!"
With that, Gamma smoothly put on his helmet and activated his mobility wheels, speeding off towards the sewage well, leaving the Priests utterly bewildered.
"What the heck? Fire Scorpions?"
"I heard Fire Scorpions too."
"Father Louis said they're edible and delicious."
At this moment, Father Louis jumped up and roared, "Don't just stand there, hurry up! The average length of a nest of those things is over 3 meters! Didn't you hear Gamma just say there's one over 5 meters? His small frame isn't even enough to get stuck in their teeth! Let's go!"
Everyone in the auditorium, including Magos Lauster, began to follow the traces left by Gamma. When they arrived at the entrance of the sewage well plant, they found Gamma clinging to the wall, stealthily peeking inside.
Hearing movement behind him, Gamma turned and gestured for them to be quiet. The Priests tiptoed to the entrance and began to use their various methods to observe the situation inside.
"Hiss!"
"My Omnissiah, it's so big!"
"Why didn't we discover it before?"
Gamma leaned down and poked Father Louis, who was observing on the ground, asking, "Louis, is it a Fire Scorpion?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Will radiation make them inedible?"
"Baal also has radiation."
"Then will chemical toxins make them inedible?"
"Baal also has chemical toxins."
"Hmm?!"
Gamma: What kind of hellish environment is this? How did you survive on the surface and still manage to produce hundreds of thousands of Space Marine! If that's the case, there must be quite a few of these scorpions underground!
The Priests who had some knowledge of "Baal" began to educate everyone present about Baal.
Name: Baal
Star Sector: Ultima Segmentum / Galactic Rim
Star System: Baal System
Allegiance: Imperium of Man / Blood Angels
Type: Baal: Death World
Baal Prime: Feral World
Baal Secundus: Feral World
Space Marine Chapter Homeworld
Environment: Deserts and Radioactive Wastelands; extremely arid climate, average temperature 12 degrees Celsius; high radiation and toxic contamination;
The past history of these three planets is untraceable, but in a very distant past, possibly during the Dark Age of Technology or the Age of Strife, a catastrophic large-scale war erupted on Baal Prime and its two moons. The war, accompanied by the widespread use of nuclear and viral weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, completely destroyed the planets' ecosystems. Baal Prime and its two moons were severely contaminated as a result, their surfaces filled with high levels of intense radioactive dust, chemical toxins, and deadly biological viruses. The people of Baal have since been forced to struggle for survival on the heavily polluted land, facing a hostile environment and attacks from terrifying mutants.
While lamenting, the Priests began to strategize on how to kill these two Fire Scorpions. The battle process needs no further explanation; a group of highly intelligent Priests had plenty of ways to kill them.
At this moment, Gamma voiced his conjecture: he guessed that there were still quite a few scorpions underground.
Hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up, and the dark cloud of the food crisis immediately dissipated. They suddenly felt that life was full of hope again. Even the usually calm Magos Lauster laughed out loud, patting the Fire Scorpion's shell.
With the prey in hand, transporting it back was even less of a challenge for these skilled individuals. They improvised two large flat carts from local materials, with the "Gamma" acting as the draft animal to pull the carts. Gamma objected to this decision but was unanimously overruled.
On the way back, many workers came to watch. Besides fear, there was also a sense of relief on their faces. The workers were not entirely unaware of the food crisis; after all, the Priests could not personally count the supplies one by one. These tasks still had to be done by the workers, and the news would inevitably spread throughout the district. Coupled with the large-scale gathering of all the Priests, the workers could guess the topic the Priests would discuss. Now, with an additional food source, even though it looked terrifying, it was much better than having nothing.
The butchering work was left to professionals like Father Louis, who took charge. He didn't mind the hard work; instead, he was enthusiastic. He had never seen a real "Fire Scorpion" before; he had only known about them through data.
Meanwhile, the children of the district gathered around to watch Father Louis butcher the Fire Scorpion, and a series of exclamations rang out. Father Louis would occasionally explain to them where to cut for easier dissection, creating an atmosphere that belonged in a Feral World—like a primitive tribe celebrating after a successful hunt—in this war-torn Forge World. Incidentally, Gamma was also present.
Leia took a portion of the samples. Although Father Louis said there were no issues, it was still necessary to test them to be sure. The results showed that not only were there no problems and it was edible, but the protein content was also 6 times that of Grox meat. One piece was worth more than six.
The useless organs were taken by Gamma to continue "nesting" in the sewage well.
The Fire Scorpion's venom glands and venom were kept by Father Louis. He heard these things were quite useful, but Gamma wasn't interested in asking; he was more interested in the sewage well now.
"To get fish to shore, you have to trade bait."
The fishing and baiting techniques of the 2K era were still applicable in 42K. Gamma obtained a pile of poisonous "scorpion scraps," bloody and pungent, clearly top-grade bait.
Now that they knew there were scorpions, and possibly other things, in the well, they couldn't be as casual as before.
Gamma and several like-minded Priests began to carefully plan the layout of the "hunting ground." They decided to modify the surrounding buildings of the sewage well, creating traps to make the prey walk right into the pot.
The renovation plan went smoothly. With the help of the district's huge idle workforce, it was completed in less than half a day. To maximize the value of the bait, Gamma specially built a high-power blower. Through hoses found from other factories, the scent of the bait was transported to the deeper levels of the sewage well. Several alarms and cameras were also added, monitored in shifts by him, Father Louis, and a few others.
Furthermore, to help the underground creatures overcome the large height difference between the underground fissures and the sewage well opening, and to climb out more easily and conveniently, Gamma and several others worked together to build a huge metal climbing ladder. Using engineering machinery from the warehouse to transport vehicles, the ladder was inserted directly from the wellhead into the underground fissures.
The roads around the sewage well plant were also sealed off, and workers capable of using weapons were assigned to stand guard 24 hours a day. They also discussed with Magos Lauster to issue a "noise reduction directive" for the entire district to reduce vibrations and noise generated by human activities, allowing the "small animals" underground to come out boldly and forage.
All preparations were complete, and it was only the evening of the day the Fire Scorpions were hunted. At the call of Magos Lauster, they held a simple banquet. The food was the Fire Scorpions, cooked by a Priest who loved good food. Everyone who tasted it applauded.
"This morning, we were planning how to die, and tonight, we're planning how to live in the future. Reality is truly strange," a Priest said.
The Priest next to him replied, "You're quite optimistic. I'm more pessimistic. I don't think much of the plan to supplement food through hunting. Even if there are creatures underground, how long can a few tens of thousands of us eat them?"
Another Priest who overheard their conversation said, "Heh heh, I think you're worrying for nothing. I'm telling you, the situation underground might be beyond all our imaginations."