Canoptek Spider

The last time Ovilia had entered this place was when she had first discovered the ruins, nearly five years ago.

At the time, she had only just been assigned here to oversee blackstone mining when she stumbled upon these ruins by accident.

Five years was neither long nor short. In that time, it was hardly strange for something to have destroyed the Canoptek Scarabs responsible for maintaining the tomb.

Especially given Chen Xi's suspicion that Flayed Ones might be present within this tomb.

But judging from the current situation, things might be worse than expected.

Beyond this stone chamber lay the mine shaft. If Flayed Ones had truly destroyed the Canoptek Scarabs here, there was a very high chance they had left the tomb.

Chen Xi did not dare let his guard down. He picked up a destroyed Canoptek Scarab from the ground, then attempted to channel his psychic power and cast the psychic spell, "Yesterday Reborn."

This spell could recreate scenes experienced by an object or person. The stronger the psychic power, the more one could see; it might reveal events from decades ago, or even thousands of years ago.

However, this piece's psychic power was not particularly strong. Moreover, he was currently within a Necron tomb, and the surrounding blackstone greatly suppressed his psychic abilities, severely limiting what the spell could reveal.

Fortunately, Chen Xi was not looking into the distant past, but events from the past few years. He successfully saw what he wanted to see.

Just as he had guessed, these Canoptek Scarabs had been destroyed by Flayed Ones. And it was not only these few Canoptek Scarabs that had been destroyed—outside the stone chamber, there was also a destroyed Canoptek Spider.

A Canoptek Spider was a higher-order construct than a Canoptek Scarab. Its main task was repairing and maintaining Necron tombs.

Canoptek Scarabs consumed garbage and damaged portions of the tomb, converting them back into energy, while Canoptek Spiders used that energy to repair damaged areas. When necessary, they could also manufacture new Canoptek Scarabs.

It was through such a system that Necron tombs could continue functioning normally for tens of millions of years, and their Stasis Fields could endure for just as long.

If not for the matter of the Flayed Ones, a Canoptek Spider and several Canoptek Scarabs would already have been an excellent haul for Chen Xi.

He only needed to sell them to the Adeptus Mechanicus through Ovilia. He did not dare claim it would be enough for much more, but they could certainly be traded for several dozen sets of Sisters of Battle equipment.

But now, the several figures he saw leaving the tomb through the breach made his expression turn grim.

"What did you find?" Ovilia noticed Chen Xi using a psychic spell and asked curiously.

"Bad news." Chen Xi did not explain much. He directly used psychic power to transmit the scene he had just witnessed to Ovilia.

After receiving the information, Ovilia's expression changed as well. "How did they get out? There are no signs that the automated turrets at the entrance were ever activated."

"I don't know, but clearly, those things that left this place had some means of avoiding the automated turrets you set up at the entrance." Chen Xi rose to his feet and took out his communication bead to contact Rachel.

Although those Flayed Ones had already escaped, it was not too late to mend the fold. Timely action could prevent an even worse situation.

"Governor!" Rachel's voice came through the communication bead.

"Rachel, have there been any mysterious murder cases on Rostov II in recent years? The victims would have had all the skin stripped from their bodies." Rather than issue an order immediately, Chen Xi first asked Rachel about the situation.

Hearing Chen Xi's question, Rachel did not dare delay. After thinking carefully, she said, "Such a murder case matching your description occurred not long ago in District A7-012 of the outer city. The former governor sent people to investigate, but they found no clues.

The conclusion at the time was that it had been the work of some cult. The former governor organized a purge of the Cultists in that district, but it did not achieve much. Similar murders continued to occur there from time to time.

The former governor had intended to handle the matter more seriously, but his unexpected death caused it to be shelved.

Is there some problem behind this matter, now that you have mentioned it? If you need it, I can send people to District A7-012 at any time to carry out the relevant task."

"I understand. Then send people to investigate District A7-012. Those are not Cultists, but xenos—and extremely dangerous xenos." Chen Xi did not explain much to Rachel, merely ordering her to send people to find the Flayed Ones. "Warn the soldiers that these xenos are highly aggressive and formidable in combat. While searching for them, they must not become separated or act alone.

If anyone can kill one of these xenos creatures, I will offer a generous reward. But remember to warn them that ordinary civilians have no ability to fight back against such monsters. Do not throw away lives needlessly.

This matter is not urgent, but it must be handled quickly! Once any xenos are discovered, eliminate them on the spot!"

"Yes, Governor." Rachel hurriedly acknowledged the order, then ended the communication and went to carry out Chen Xi's commands.

Chen Xi then said to Ovilia, "Now that this has happened, what do you intend to do? Continue exploring, or find a way to deal with those Flayed Ones that escaped first?

By the way, there should be a xenos construct outside the stone chamber that was destroyed by the Flayed Ones. That thing is very valuable."

Although Flayed Ones had escaped, neither Chen Xi nor Ovilia needed to rush outside to deal with them immediately.

Since they were already here, Chen Xi felt they should not return empty-handed. At the very least, they should take that Canoptek Spider back with them.

A Canoptek Spider was a large Necron construct. It flew using anti-gravity engines, and its abdomen housed a production system capable of manufacturing Canoptek Scarabs. As long as it had sufficient energy, it could produce vast numbers of Canoptek Scarabs.

For the Necrons, who had already solved the problem of converting between energy and matter, sufficient energy meant they could build and repair anything.

Even if sixty million years had eroded mountains and rivers and extinguished suns, moons, and stars, that was not something the Necrons could not withstand.

"By the way, there should be a stasis chamber nearby. I imagine you would be very interested in Stasis Field equipment that has remained operational for sixty million years." Chen Xi looked at Ovilia and offered her an irresistible lure.

"Please lead the way." Ovilia ignited her Forged Great-Axe, her face filled with the sacred determination to rescue the poor xenos construct and return it to the proper path of the Omnissiah.