Catachan was one of the Imperium's most infamous Death Worlds, and the birthplace of the famous Rambo of 40K!
It was renowned for producing the toughest, most imposing men in the entire Imperium. Every Catachan warrior faced two things from almost the moment he was born.
Battle, and death.
Thanks to Catachan's beautiful scenery and pleasant climate, every Catachan was practically a Terminator—and not just any Terminator, but the Plus version.
There was a saying that summed up Catachan.
The goal of every living thing was either to kill another living thing or be killed by one!
In short, on beautiful, pleasant Catachan, the jungle ate meat!
The trees moved;
The flowers ate people;
Even food brought in from other star regions and planted on Catachan would do its best to kill a few people.
And the frogs were even worse. Those things exploded!
In Alvin's memory, their explosions were powerful enough to blast even an Astartes Dreadnought Armour to pieces!
That's right.
Even the heavy armour known as an Astartes "coffin," a mobile fortress, couldn't withstand a Catachan frog!
The frog's explosion had a one-kilometre radius, and its toxin ranked first in the physical universe.
Unless you were the Flash, once you disturbed a Catachan frog, death was your only destination—not even Dreadnought Armour could save you!
Incidentally, the second-deadliest toxin in the physical universe came from the Catachan barking toad.
It was no exaggeration to say that if Alvin had been transported to this godforsaken place, he would have slit his own throat on the spot. He didn't know if he could transmigrate again, but he definitely didn't want to be eaten by a tree!
As the saying went, the land nurtured its people.
An environment as extreme as Catachan's naturally produced a bunch of super-macho Rambos!
Now he understood. It all made sense!
Alvin finally knew how Tucker had managed to quietly wipe out an entire Crusader Gang.
It wasn't surprising at all. Anyone who could survive Catachan would be the equivalent of a Superhero Captain America in the 2K era. Killing a few hundred gangsters would be like child's play.
Alvin was sure of one more thing, too.
This guy really could kill him—and without breaking a sweat!
Even an A-class Psyker would be in trouble if he couldn't take Tucker out instantly. The most likely outcome was that he'd wake up with his head cut off and hanging outside his door.
At that moment, Alvin had only one thought in his head.
I've got to find a way to recruit Tucker. It'd be a crime not to make use of a Superhero unit like him!
"Kid, what are you spacing out for?" Tucker grumbled, reaching up to rap him on the head. "Anyway, even if I can't handle it, there are still the Nest City enforcers and the Planetary Defense Force."
"Ahem, Mr. Tucker, actually..." Alvin suppressed his excitement and pretended to be calm as he told Tucker everything that had happened in the Underhive.
When he finished, Tucker's eyes widened like saucers. He gaped and shouted, "What? A cult?"
"Mr. Tucker, could you be any louder? You'll have everyone finding out before long." Tucker's booming voice had left Alvin's ears ringing.
"Sorry. I got a little carried away."
Tucker realized he'd overreacted. After taking a few deep breaths and calming down a little, he asked sternly, "Since you found a cult, why didn't you report it to the enforcers?"
"Me? Report it to the enforcers?" Alvin stared at him, speechless. "Are you sure they'd believe me if I did? Wouldn't they just shoot me?"
Tucker had no answer. It was as if a stone had lodged itself in his throat; for a long moment, he couldn't say a word.
He knew the Nest City enforcers all too well. If an Underhive scavenger claimed there was a cult, chances were the enforcers would execute him on the spot. Their reasoning would be: What the hell would a scavenger know?
"No wonder you were so wary."
Now that he understood the whole story, Tucker looked Alvin over again. "You're more cautious than I thought, kid. You didn't want to tell me before because you were afraid I might be connected to the cult, right?"
"I hope you can understand, Mr. Tucker."
Alvin didn't think he'd done anything wrong. Without solid information, he would only be bringing death upon himself.
"No, I mean you did the right thing."
Tucker furrowed his brow. Now that he knew the strange events in the Underhive were caused by a Khorne cult, he could understand Alvin's concerns.
"Mr. Tucker, since you used to serve in the Astra Militarum, you should be able to get in touch with the Upper-hive nobles and the Planetary Defense Force, right?" Alvin had been on edge this whole time, but now he could finally relax a little. "If we report the cult, it'll be wiped out quickly at its current size."
"You're making it sound too simple, kid."
But after hearing Alvin's suggestion, Tucker still looked troubled. He posed a few questions. "First, can you be sure the cult is only in the Underhive?
"Second, how do you know it doesn't have a presence in the Mid-hive or the Upper-hive?
"And finally, what level is the cult's Psyker?"
The three questions left Alvin speechless. He didn't know how to answer.
"No cult can be taken lightly."
Tucker gave him a long look, then said slowly, "What we see is only what's surfaced. What if we alert them and drive them into a corner?"
"But even if they panic, the Planetary Defense Force should be able to wipe them out, right?" Alvin said, not entirely convinced.
The truth was, he wasn't sure how capable the Planetary Defense Force really was.
Some Planetary Defense Forces were Astra Militarum recruitment regiments, so there was no question about their fighting strength. Others, though, were a complete disgrace. Their standards varied wildly!
"Kid, some things aren't that simple."
Tucker shook his head and looked up at the sky. Then he said meaningfully, "The waters in Losell's population-heavy Nest City run deep. At least, based on what I've figured out so far, the cult infiltrated the Upper-hive nobility a long time ago."
"How do you know?" Alvin asked.
"Obviously, because I killed a noble and got dumped in the Underhive for it." In his agitation, Tucker finally revealed the reason.
Killed a noble?
What a strange concept!
Alvin's eyelid twitched as he silently exclaimed, Holy shit.
He'd committed such a serious crime and hadn't been killed—just thrown into the Underhive. What kind of connections did Tucker have?
"Come with me to meet someone."
Without waiting for an answer, Tucker grabbed Alvin and set off.
They wound through seven or eight streets in the Mid-hive before arriving at a rather shabby building.
Without another word, Tucker kicked in the already-rickety door, then dragged the stunned Alvin inside.
"W-wait, Mr. Tucker!"
Alvin stared at the gear-shaped ornament on the wall, the symbol of the forge. He was completely dumbfounded.
This was a temple of the Adeptus Mechanicus—the Tech-priests' territory!
If they kicked the door in like this, wouldn't they get turned into Servitor Skulls?
Tucker clearly didn't care. His booming voice rang through the Mechanicus temple. "Hey, Gearhead! Get your ass out here!"
A moment later, Tucker almost instinctively yanked Alvin down into a crouch.
Then a Bolter round skimmed over their heads and blasted a huge hole in the shabby wall.
Dust and rubble flew as the thick smell of Gunpowder spread. Alvin's brain stalled for half a second.
"Tucker, you bastard! You again!"
A man rushed out through a side door of the temple. He wore the Adeptus Mechanicus' standard rust-red robes, and a mechanical arm jutted from his back.
In his hands was a clearly modified Bolter. He glared furiously and shouted, "By the Omnissiah, I'm going to purify you in the Emperor's name today, you bastard!"
Tucker dug wax out of his ear, looking completely unconcerned. "Calm down, Gearhead. I came to see you about something important."
The Tech-Priest was clearly furious. He gritted his teeth and held up the Bolter. "I swear by the Omnissiah, if you call me Gearhead again, I'll send you to meet the Emperor!"
Click!
The crisp sound of a round being chambered echoed through the shabby temple.
Looking at the bullet holes covering the walls and the ramshackle Mechanicus temple, Alvin suddenly understood.
Were Tech-priests always this temperamental?!
Please give the chapter a follow! I'm begging you, dear readers, each as handsome, dashing, and mighty as Lao Ai!
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