The Aftermath

Extermination Order can really be addictive!

Alvin smacked his lips, feeling a little unsatisfied. It was the first time he had directly experienced the shock of the Extermination Order!

A planet was burned to ashes!

"Damn, no wonder the StarCraft players are so obsessed with burning glass." Alvin rubbed his chin and muttered to himself, "This feeling, to be honest, is really awesome!"

"You—" Winnie, standing beside him, looked at him with a complicated expression. After thinking it over, she felt it necessary to remind him, "Extermination Order is no joke. Every time it's signed, it means the destruction of billions of lives."

Your idea seems to have a touch of Khorne.

"..- You're making it sound like I'm a war criminal."

Alvin's lips twitched, and he said speechlessly, "Do I look like that kind of demon?"

"Picture."

Winnie's simple answer dealt Alvin the most devastating blow.

Alvin was rendered speechless.

I couldn't help but start reflecting on myself: Was he really that extreme?

After a long while, the farce ended.

Alvin regained his composure and coughed twice. "Tell Alfonso to take some men to the surface to confirm that the creature is extinct, and while he's at it, look for Adamantium veins."

The cleanup work naturally falls to the Dark Angels, who are best at dealing with Xenos.

Who can blame them for having experience?

From the Terra era until now, we've seen all sorts of monsters and demons. Mere collective consciousness beings are really nothing in the ancient history of the Dark Angels.

After waiting for the planet's atmospheric temperature to drop, Alfonso led his Tactical Squad, along with subsequent exploration team members, to CV-7721.

The planet's atmosphere was almost completely burned away, and the high temperatures evaporated the vast oceans, exposing the dry, cracked crust.

Following the fractured rock layers and the flowing lava, Alfonso's team quickly found the wreckage of the Mechanicus Ark had fallen deep into the ground.

"As expected of a product of the Mechanicus, it can even withstand Atmosphere Incineration Torpedo." Even Alvin was amazed to see the remaining parts of the Mechanicus Ark wreckage in the test footage.

"That's not surprising, Your Highness." Carroll gazed at the wreckage and explained, "Julius was once the most valued sage of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and this 'Forge Covenant' was also forged Forge World Mars. Moreover, the destructive power of Atmosphere Incineration Torpedo primarily acts on the atmosphere, through high-temperature incineration, making it difficult to completely destroy. But this is also a good thing for us."

"You mean, we can find the relics of the Sage Julius here?" Alvin immediately understood Carroll's meaning.

"That's right, Your His Highness Alvin."

Carroll nodded and said, "Judging from the remaining wreckage, this should be the engine room of the Furnace Covenant, which is also the most solid part. It's possible that Sage Julius hid the STC template here."

"Hehe, I hope so."

Alvin didn't have high hopes; after all, even if eight Atmosphere Incineration Torpedo weren't the most direct cause of destruction, it was still difficult to guarantee that the torpedoes would remain intact.

Soon, the exploration team brought good news: they had found a vein of Adamantium!

Moreover, the entire vein is well-preserved with almost no damage; the only issue is the collapse of the rock strata.

This significantly increased the difficulty of mining, requiring the excavation of much thicker rock layers to extract the Adamantium ore!

What pleased Alvin most was that, according to the Tech-Priest's survey, the Adamantium reserves in this vein were estimated to be around 30,000 tons.

Not much, but it's Adamantium!

Thirty thousand tons of Adamantium —what does that mean?

From now on, at least for the short term, he will be the largest supplier of "Adamantium," even surpassing the output of the Martian Mechanicus!

It's no exaggeration to say that with these 30,000 tons of Adamantium, he could even arm a private "Adeptus Custodes"!

Of course, this idea only briefly crossed Alvin's mind, mainly because he didn't have the methods for smelting Adamantium, nor the methods for manufacturing Adeptus Custodes armor and weapons.

"Wait, just because I don't—does that mean no one else does either!" Alvin suddenly thought of an "old friend," rubbed his chin, and grinned mischievously. "The Dark Adeptus Mechanicus should probably have some, right?"

He thought of Rosales, the Grand Sage had given him his first fortune in Losel.

Unfortunately, since parting ways with Alert Star, this Grand Sage has never been seen again, and we still don't know how he made that move back then.

What exactly happened?

Alfonso, who entered the wreckage of the Mechanicus Ark, also found something useful.

A small, palm-sized, pinkish, gelatinous substance was curled up and clinging to the engine core, its veins extending into the deepest part of the engine, as if drawing upon its meager energy.

Clearly, the "Cocoon of Myriad Machines" survived the terrifying Atmosphere Incineration Torpedo only thanks to the robustness of the Mechanicus Ark and the engine core compartment.

But it was merely an escape.

Most of its body was burned to ashes, and its massive collective consciousness was also lost. Now it only has the simplest biological consciousness, just like a plant.

The accompanying Tech-Priest collected a sample, analyzed it, and concluded. "It no longer possesses complete self-awareness; should it be completely destroyed?"

What do you think, Sage Carroll?

Alvin asked the authoritative person next to him.

From his personal perspective, this thing is extremely dangerous, and eliminating it completely is the best option.

"I think we should keep it, Your Highness." But Carroll disagreed, explaining her reasoning, "According to the research of the sage Julius, it allows machines to operate more efficiently, combining biological and mechanical properties to act as a kind of 'lubricant.' I believe it's necessary to investigate this further."

But this thing is dangerous.

Alvin frowned, still somewhat worried.

"Your Highness, everything new comes with its own dangers, but we cannot give up on understanding it just because it is dangerous."

"Explore it." Carroll smiled. "Like the T-Virus, it is indeed dangerous, but with each iteration, it creates even greater and entirely new value for us."

In the end, Alvin was persuaded by Carroll.

"Alright, you're right." He nodded and said, "But research on this must never be conducted on our fleet. I will find you a suitable and safe research site."

Since this thing belongs to the biological realm, it's a good opportunity for the engineers of the Xenomorph Universe to team up with Carroll to study the "Cocoon of Myriad Machines".

Who knows, there might be a surprise.

Because of the Adamantium vein, the fleet needs to rest temporarily and wait for the entire vein to be mined before setting sail again, which provides Carroll with ample time for her research.

The only pity is that the STC template was not found in the wreckage of the Mechanicus Ark. Perhaps it was destroyed by the Atmosphere Incineration Torpedo, or perhaps it was already damaged long ago. This was a bit of a disappointment for Alvin.

Fortunately, the engine of the Furnace Covenant Mechanicus Ark was preserved intact due to the sturdiness of the cabin, and Alvin took it back, intending to find the Martian Mechanicus later to exchange it for some benefits.

Sage Carroll was pleased because he had found Julius Davenport's research log, which detailed the research process of the "Cocoon of Myriad Machines," including experimental data.