Contrary to many people's impressions, the Adeptus Mechanicus, before being a massive political entity and academic organization, is first and foremost a religious sect.
The vast majority of its members genuinely believe in the existence of the Omnissiah, the god of machines, and their piety is no less than that of the Ecclesiarchy's priests; in terms of fanaticism, it could even be said to be neck and neck.
Given this, it's not hard to imagine how provocative Adam's claim of being the Omnissiah's representative would be to a devout follower of the god of machines.
Not to mention, Adam also stepped on another massive landmine.
The Adeptus Mechanicus' emphasis on knowledge and secrecy is unimaginable to outsiders; they believe knowledge is utterly priceless and should not even be shared.
If you want a normal Tech-Priest to willingly share knowledge, it's genuinely easier to kill him and retrieve it from his corpse, which has a certain feasibility.
Therefore, it's not hard to imagine the actions of this Oiler next.
"Binary Cussing!!"
"Binary Screeching!!"
The Tech-Priest let out a violent burst of static as he brandished his Omnissiah Axe and numerous octopus-like mechanical appendages, various weapon parts manifesting. Without a word, he swung them at Adam.
Calm?
How could he be calm?
Even if the other party's identity was clearly extraordinary, with an Inquisitor and even a Living Saint of the Ecclesiarchy by his side, so what?
What did any of that have to do with the Adeptus Mechanicus?
The Imperial Aquila's two heads represent the Imperium and the Mechanicus respectively; they appear as one, but are completely different systems.
Even if his chances of winning were slim, he had to make this human who insulted the Omnissiah's glory pay the price!
However, for some reason, all of the Tech-Priest's attacks froze in mid-air.
What an eerie situation this was!
The attacks simply couldn't land.
The machine spirits in all his mechanical appendages were rejoicing... expressing their will to obey this 'human' before him, and smoothly betraying their original master, angrily voicing their dissatisfaction with their former owner.
Mechanical appendages, bionic eyes, bionic organs, and the internal circulatory system—all mechanical structures protested, complaining and questioning him:
As a follower of the god of machines, why betray your faith?
'What's going on?'
The Tech-Priest was completely bewildered.
This was a situation he utterly failed to comprehend.
Why would the machine spirits so easily obey someone else's commands?
Was it Chaos corruption? Or a method of the Dark Mechanicum?
No, every component of his mechanical prosthetics had passed through incredibly devout binary prayers during its manufacturing process, possessing a certain resistance to the Warp; it shouldn't be like this.
So, why then?
His thoughts became fragmented.
Because even the thought-enhancement components installed in the Tech-Priest's brain were resisting his control.
This became the final straw that broke his consciousness.
In a daze, he vaguely saw a vision.
Everything in the surrounding world spun and rolled like silver gears, brass components, and constantly shifting data streams, vaguely forming a whole that gradually took shape in his perception.
These components of various shapes were intricately linked to each other in a way that maintained a beautiful rhythm like musical notes, smoothly joining with surrounding copper-colored structures. Though their own forms remained unchanged, they perfectly adapted to every subtle vibration and operation.
Undoubtedly, this must be the great power of the Omnissiah!
As the Tech-Priest's consciousness almost completely sank into the flawless essence of the myriad machines, layered prayers from billions of people echoed in his ears:
"The God is broken, the God shall be whole."
"The servant of God shall, with his hands, restore the body of God."
"Forged according to God's design, we are filled with faith."
...
So that's how it is.
Ever since the Omnissiah's representative sat upon the Golden Throne ten millennia ago, He had been broken. And now, ten millennia later, the second representative has been fully born, having truly returned.
I understand, I have comprehended everything.
The outcome was now clear.
The Tech-Priest put away his weapons, bowed his head deeply, and all his red mechanical appendages smoothly fell to the ground, kneeling down, pressing his forehead against the floor.
"Praise the Omnissiah."
At this moment, he deeply regretted being merely a Fabricator-Acolyte, and not a Mechanicus Magos, lacking sufficient strength, not even having the qualifications to publicly declare His true name.
If he had walked further on the Path of the Machine God, perhaps he could have assisted Him better.
"Praise the Omnissiah."
He repeated it again, praying devoutly, hoping to atone for his previous transgressions.
"Your brilliance and power are still so astonishing."
Lucia witnessed the Tech-Priest's reaction and couldn't help but exclaim.
Sibylla's focus was different; she looked at the scene and asked Adam, "What did you do? His reaction is very unusual."
Adam shook his head, avoiding the question: "I didn't do anything, I merely allowed the image of the god of machines in my heart to reappear in his mind."
Then, he directly said to the Tech-Priest: "I now need blueprints for super-heavy tanks. Do you have any information on the stormsword and stormlord? I need to examine your memories to obtain the blueprints and design schematics."
"My apologies..."
The Tech-Priest's head was buried even lower, his voice full of deep shame, "I am merely an ordinary Fabricator-Acolyte, and the knowledge I possess is very limited. I only know the internal structural diagrams of those super-heavy tanks; as for how to manufacture them, I know nothing."
"That is enough."
Adam said, reaching out his hand towards his head.
"I presumptuously underestimated your power. Please forgive my offense."
The Tech-Priest felt that gaze move within his mind, and his anticipation grew even stronger.
Finally, Adam withdrew his hand and nodded:
"It is done."
He then glanced at the Tech-Priest kneeling on the ground, pondering slightly.
This was also a new plan Adam had conceived for the grand issue of how to save humanity.
A major reason for the Imperium's low industrial output was that most of its industrial production capacity relied on the Adeptus Mechanicus.
And the Adeptus Mechanicus itself was even more unreliable, its disorganization even more severe than that of the Imperium.
If the Imperium could be considered a bloated corpse, then the Adeptus Mechanicus was like a collection of dismembered parts haphazardly stitched together, not even forming a complete shape.
The various Forge Worlds were outwardly united but inwardly divided, naturally resulting in the current Imperium being weaker in construction and production than even some nascent factions.
Now, Adam had confirmed the impact his abilities had on the Adeptus Mechanicus, and an idea naturally formed in his mind.
Should he use this opportunity to try and reform the Adeptus Mechanicus, integrating it into a single entity so that it could better serve humanity?
However, this matter still required long-term planning.
Turning an ordinary Fabricator-Acolyte into his follower was not even the first step of a grand plan; at most, it was just a beginning.
Adam had to find a pivotal figure within the Adeptus Mechanicus to advance this grand plan.
And that person was actually easy to identify.
Wouldn't you agree, Belisarius Cawl!