The gang members ready to answer were all baffled. Only a soot-blackened man raised his prosthetic hands high.
"Boss, I know of a foundry in the Lower Hive. It used to be personally managed by Tech-Priests who served Mars."
"There's a deadly organic barbed-wire fence around the outside. It's unbelievably tough—even knives can't cut through it. Even if you throw a grenade beside it, it can regenerate after the explosion."
"The thorns it grows can pierce armor and leave wounds deep enough to expose bone. It can also secrete acidic fluid that corrodes anyone trapped within into a skeleton in minutes."
He nervously clutched the spoon and bowl in his hands. "Boss, that's all I know."
"Your information is useful. You can have two ladles of soup. Go help yourself."
Upon hearing Nimrod's words, the soot-blackened man hurried to the large pot. After scooping out two ladles, he tightly gripped his yellow-green aluminum bowl. Just as he was about to step aside and enjoy it, he heard the boss's voice again.
"You seem to know that factory well. Can you give me more information about it?"
"Boss, my name is Rawlslev. I used to work at the D-46 weapons Foundry as the foreman of a furnace crew."
"Before the Tech-Priests abandoned the factory and moved to the Upper Hive, life was hard, but we could still get by."
"Ever since Vulture of the Scavenger Gang took control of the factory, he's squeezed everyone to the limit, just like his nickname..."
After asking Rawlslev about D-46, Nimrod decided to seize the weapons Foundry.
Lower Hive, Foundry D-46. The lights blazed brightly.
Vulture lounged in his chair, watching the foreman before him plead with a mocking expression.
"Lord Vulture, they're all children. If this continues, they'll die."
"I'm willing to work three extra hours every day. I'm much faster than they are."
"Is that so? Then you can work four extra hours every day," Vulture said sarcastically. "As for them, they'll keep working too."
Vulture failed to notice an image flash across one of the video screens behind him—a figure sprinting forward at incredible speed.
A rubber tire two meters in diameter slammed into the barbed wire covered in countless thorns.
Nimrod crawled through the hollowed-out center of the rubber tire. At the same time, he flicked his right hand, and a silver-gray fragment precisely sliced through the midpoint between two thorns.
"Someone's here!"
Two Scavenger Gang members armed with Lasguns were patrolling nearby. Hearing the noise, they rushed over.
Nimrod tucked the fragment back into his belt. His gloved hands simultaneously grasped both ends of the Wire Grass, and the seeping acidic fluid immediately ate a hole through his gloves.
The Gene Primarch immediately sensed the tiny holes in his palms. He bent his hands slightly, angling his palms so that the hollow spaces in his grips aligned perfectly with the holes.
He dashed forward, then whipped the Wire Grass at the two men running toward him.
The thorns precisely pierced the backs of the two men's hands as they raised their guns to fire. They let out agonized screams, and in an instant, their hands had been corroded down to bone.
Nimrod picked up one of the dropped Lasguns and searched the two corpses, finding twelve power packs.
He fired a shot into the air, a signal for his men, then charged toward the control room.
On the screens, Vulture watched as his useless men were slaughtered by the boy.
"Trash! You're all trash!"
Vulture abruptly rose to his feet and grabbed his Chainsword. Amid its roar, the words "kill, kill, kill" once again echoed in his ears.
Vulture strode out of the control room, vaulted over the railing, and hacked down at the boy.
His eyes were blood-red. It was as if he had returned to that day, when he had killed the gang leader and seven guards, and the same bloody hue had risen in his eyes.
Afterward, he had discovered that he had grown taller and stronger.
He didn't know what had happened. He only knew that killing made him stronger.
Nimrod had just raised his gun and shot a gang member when he sensed an enemy charging at him from above.
As he rolled backward, he pulled the trigger, striking Vulture squarely in the chest.
A fist-sized bloody hole was blasted through Vulture's chest, but he felt nothing. The voice in his head drove him onward.
Nimrod remained calm and rapidly pulled the trigger. Beams nearly shot through Vulture's eyes, heart, hands, and ankles, blooming into scarlet flowers.
Vulture's corpse crashed heavily onto the metal walkway, his blood staining the trembling Chainsword red.
Nimrod slung the Lasgun over his shoulder and picked up the Chainsword. He sensed that this weapon was somewhat unusual.
When Rawlslev, who had been appointed foreman, rushed into the Foundry, he happened to witness his boss fire several shots and kill Vulture. He was deeply shaken.
The Scavenger Gang was not a major force in the Lower Hive, but Vulture was famous for his strength and brutality. Yet he had been killed before he could even get close.
The boss is already this formidable at such a young age. He'll definitely become a major figure in Hive City someday. There's a future in following him!
With that thought, Rawlslev immediately shouted at his men.
"What are you standing around for? Do you want to drink nothing but soup dregs? Move! Secure the workers, capture the Scavenger Gang prisoners, and kill anyone who dares resist!"
Two hours later, Nimrod sat in the control room. The Foundry had resumed operations, and aside from the workers, he now had a total of five hundred and thirteen subordinates.
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Nimrod had changed into a clean work uniform, with a Lasgun taller than himself and a Chainsword slung across his back.
The factory cooks had prepared a hard, brick-like loaf of bread and borscht made with a few vegetable leaves. This was already the best food the Foundry had to offer.
Nimrod ate ten slices of bread. His superhuman body felt no discomfort at all. Only after drinking a large bowl of soup did he finally feel full.
He looked toward the door, then heard a knock.
"Come in."
"Boss, the Foundry has resumed normal production."
Rawlslev pushed open the door and entered. Worry was written across his face, though he reported the good news first.
"Boss, the Khanty-Mansi Dome that Foundry D-46 belongs to is under the Jurisdiction of Arbites Dimitrov. He wants you to go see him."
Nimrod knew that the Lower Hive was made up of Domes, structures built by the original settlers.
As Hive City developed, the Domes were gradually abandoned.
In the eyes of Hive citizens, Lower Hive residents ranked only slightly above pests such as the giant rats living there. They used the Domes formed from clusters of buildings as settlements, surviving in a hive-like underground city formed by Domes, tunnels, and ruins.
"Arbites?"
What came to Nimrod's mind was Arbiter, Sequence 9 of the pathway adjacent to Lawyer, but Vostonia's Arbites clearly did not mean the same thing.
After asking around, Nimrod learned that Arbites were similar to Enforcers who supervised Domes under the governors of future Hive Cities.
Arbites in the Lower Hive independently governed their Domes and judged all sorts of matters within their Jurisdiction.
Those who had fled the Foundry had reported to Dimitrov that Nimrod had crushed the Scavenger Gang and seized the factory.
"Boss, Vulture had an awful reputation. I think Dimitrov is probably curious about you, especially since you're so young."
"Mm. Based on how Arbites usually operate, he'll also give you a warning. I heard he likes using his big dog to frighten people."
"Chem-Dog?"
Nimrod's interest was immediately piqued.
"Yes, Boss. You know that vicious dog too?"
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