The Crashed Mechanicus Ark!

No wonder Carroll believed that the planet's strange phenomena were related to "Warp".

Should we continue exploring?

Carroll hesitated for a few seconds, then asked.

The captain is in charge of the fleet's navigation and is also responsible for the entire fleet. The current situation clearly indicates that this planet is very dangerous.

"First, send the exploration team below the atmosphere."

After a moment's thought, Alvin said, "Maintain constant contact with the explorers and see if there are any resources we need on this planet."

Exploring the Black Zone is an extremely long voyage, ranging from several months to decades. Therefore, every planet discovered by the fleet along the way needs to be explored one by one to collect as many resources as possible.

"That's good too." Carroll nodded in agreement. Even if the exploration team encountered danger on this planet, it wouldn't affect the entire fleet.

Soon, the first exploration team, aboard Valkyrie, plunged into the atmosphere.

They carried real-time imaging equipment, allowing everyone on board to clearly see everything that happened during their exploration of the planet.

The Valkyrie, trailing intense heat, streaked across the planet's sky like a shooting star.

Rumble!

Amidst a deafening roar, the Valkyrie's wings tore through the clouds, revealing an endless pink, gelatinous ocean to Alvin.

The surging sea level almost connects with the sky, and the towering "mountains" in the distance are actually a huge tsunami caused by the gravitational pull of the binary star system, which has lifted the entire planet by tidal forces. The tsunami is tens of thousands of meters high and is a spectacular sight!

The Valkyrie did not land directly, but hovered above the sea surface, trying her best not to touch the eerie pink ocean.

Suddenly, at that moment...

The Valkyrie's sensors suddenly received a strange pulse signal that repeated at an odd frequency.

"This is the Mechanicus's unique binary pulse?!" The Tech-Priest was shocked. How could the Mechanicus exist on such an ancient and bizarre planet?

"It's the Void's Cry for Help!" Carroll frowned, immediately realizing, "There are Mechanicus here calling for our help. They probably saw the trajectory of the spacecraft's descent. Should we go?"

He looked at Alvin. The rescue mission wasn't mandatory; it was purely a matter of conscience. But clearly, for Rogue Trader who dared to explore the Black Zone, conscience was somewhat superfluous.

"Pfft, what an obvious trap!"

Alvin let out a soft spit.

Generally speaking, in this scenario, if it were a movie plot, following the distress signal would not lead to encountering people in distress, but rather some terrifying alien life form.

Isn't this the standard formula in horror movies?

Just kidding, who would fall for that?!

"Tell the exploration team to ignore this distress signal." Alvin waved his hand, indicating that they should continue their mission and extract a sample of the ocean for testing.

The most important task at present is to unravel the secrets of the biological ocean on this planet as soon as possible!

The pulse signal continued for a long time, and when no response was received, it stopped.

But after only a few seconds, they saw a beam of pulse light shooting straight into the sky from a distance of about 800 kilometers!

The pulse signal pierced the clouds, refracting into eerie bronze spots that formed a giant mechanical gear—the very symbol of the Mechanicus, though a third of it was missing.

Below the incomplete Mechanicus icon is a symbol resembling "Omega".

"What does this icon mean?" Alvin turned to Carroll and asked.

"The incomplete Mechanicus icon signifies that the Mechanicus has encountered danger here,"

"The damaged Mechanicus icon is a sign that the Mechanicus fleet is in distress, and the number below it indicates the danger level." Carroll stared intently at the icon, her voice unusually heavy. "Omega means 'absolutely necessary' and 'at any cost!'"

He used two words in a row to express the weight contained in "Omega".

"Going to the rescue at all costs?" Alvin raised an eyebrow. "The Mechanicus being far too domineering."

"Your Highness, you may not understand." Carroll's brow remained furrowed, as if something was weighing on her mind.

He said bitterly, "This isn't a simple rescue. This Mechanicus fleet has discovered something here, something that compels us to destroy, seize, and control it at all costs. The implications are complex, but one thing is certain: this planet holds a tremendous secret!"

Alvin pondered for a moment, then looked at the projection of the Mechanicus in the ionized cloud and said in a deep voice, "Exploration team, move closer to the signal source."

He didn't know what the Mechanicus had encountered here, but judging from Carroll's words, there was clearly something "good" hidden on this planet!

Since he was already there, he decided to send the exploration team over to take a look.

Not long after.

After the Valkyrie soared over the towering, 10,000-meter-high "tsunami," a massive "land" came into view.

No, that's not land!

Alvin's eyes widened as he realized that it was a giant warship that had sunk in the ocean, with only half of it visible, covered in various algae and plants, and shrouded in green!

"Mechanicus Ark! A Mechanicus Ark has crashed here! They're part of the exploration fleet!" Carroll exclaimed.

But soon, something even more shocking happened.

As the Valkyrie approached, the long-crashed Mechanicus Ark automatically received her signal, and an audio file was transmitted from within.

"This is the Furnace Covenant Exploration Mechanicus Ark. I am Julius Davenport, the Grand Sage from the Martian Forge World."

"In the name of the Machine God, and the Forge World Mars..." - Request... Coordinates 41-78-09, a living database exists - required. - The Cocoon of Myriad Machines - Gate Awakens.

Then came a chilling, hoarse, mechanical prayer that sounded like thousands of voices overlapping, rising and falling like a tsunami. As the audio progressed, it gradually transformed into a sharp, unsettling sound, like fingernails scratching a blackboard.

The audio stopped abruptly, lasting only about ten seconds.

The other party seems to be having difficulty maintaining communication; something is blocking the signal.

"This, this is impossible!!!"

Carroll's pupils suddenly contracted sharply, and a look of horror appeared on her face, utterly terrified.

"Do you know this person?" Alvin sensed something ominous from his expression.

"I, I—of course I know him!"

Carroll's pupils were bloodshot, her usually calm and collected demeanor almost burned out, and she stared in horror at the Mechanicus Ark: "Julius Davenport, the youngest Grand Sage in the Martian Forge World 150 years ago, he's been missing for a hundred years, and now—he's here?!"

Are you kidding me?!

The Grand Sage of the Mechanicus from a hundred years ago has mysteriously disappeared on this planet!