The Gene Thief

The distorted and blasphemous illusion did not last long.

It was as if a cold sun had driven away all those terrifying illusions and piercing screams.

Alvin, who suddenly regained consciousness, felt as if he had been choked. His lungs were trying their best to expand, but no air could enter. He felt suffocated, as if he were being gripped by an invisible hand.

Breathe!

Breathe!

Finally, Al broke free from those restraints.

"Huff... huff..."

He was breathing heavily.

Although he had broken free from the illusion's influence, the fear remaining within him did not diminish in the slightest; on the contrary, it became even stronger.

"What is that?!"

Alvin, struggling to calm his fear, still felt lingering unease as he recalled the scene he had just witnessed, "Twisted flesh and blood, the shadows of the Warp, and... that cold sun!"

The distorted and desecrated creation, one can sense at a glance, the surging malice flowing from it, as if echoing the will of the High Heavens.

If... it weren't for that cold sun, he might have been completely overwhelmed by the malice of the Warp!

"Could it really be the Emperor Lord manifesting?!"

Alvin shrank back, feeling inexplicably afraid.

Everyone says that the Emperor's projection in the Warp is a cold sun, but... how can he be sure that thing is really "The Emperor Lord" and not something else entirely?

Even if there's a 99% chance that the Emperor is truly protecting him, who would dare gamble on that 1% possibility? That thing... isn't it a master of sophistry?

"No, we should try to avoid using Psychic Power in the Warhammer Universe from now on... it's too dangerous!"

This sudden Warp surge made Alvin realize that Psychic Power was by no means an omnipotent power; on the contrary, every time it was drawn from the Warp, it was accompanied by enormous risks!

The essence of Psyker is to draw power from the Warp.

However, its use is accompanied by many uncontrollable risks and strong side effects.

Among them, the most typical examples are: pillar delusions, the stench of Ethereal, memory worms, breath extraction, Daemon masks, etc., and severe backlash can lead to death!

Therefore, Alvin deduced that the suffocation he had just experienced must have been a form of "breath extraction."

As for what he saw... he couldn't be sure whether it was a hallucination caused by the side effects.

His gaze returned to the Ironstone Town mine.

There were no twisted flesh and blood creatures, nor any symbols of Corruption; it continued to spew billowing black smoke, as if everything he had just seen was merely an illusion.

Was that really... a hallucination?

Alvin couldn't help but wonder if what he was seeing was just too real.

So much so that... it's hard to dismiss it as a hallucination.

The twisted Corruption flesh and blood, the overwhelming malice originating from the Warp, and that cold sun—all these signs seemed to indicate to him that the factory was extremely dangerous!

Once you step inside, you might lose your life there.

Leaving now might save my life, but can I escape the inevitable?

Alvin knew very well that running away wouldn't solve the problem.

Once the cult reaches a certain size and the entire Nest City falls, where can he hide then?

"I'll risk it! It's just one life, what's the big deal?!"

His experience in the Underhive ignited Alvin's fighting spirit. He glared fiercely at the factory and cursed, "I refuse to believe that a Daemon Prince could be hiding inside!"

With the Navigator System around, even if we can't win, we can still run away, right?

"Switch to optical camouflage stealth mode!"

Alvin adjusted the settings, Mark V's outer armor refracted the light, as if it had suddenly disappeared.

Having made thorough preparations, he no longer hesitated and flew directly towards the Ironstone Town factory, deliberately concealing the energy nozzles as he approached.

As the mine drew ever closer, Alvin slowly descended, observing the abyss beneath the bridge in front of Ironstone Town: "The gate is closed. Looks like we'll have to find another way in."

The gates leading into the mine are now completely sealed.

Flying overhead recklessly is too dangerous; even with armored stealth capabilities, you could still be detected.

"Can you scan the route in?"

He pinned his hopes on the systems built into the armor.

Although the AI was removed, the armor's capabilities were still considerable. The armor immediately began scanning the mine to create a three-dimensional model.

Soon, a miniature model of a mine appeared on the mask's information display, and Alvin had indeed found an extremely hidden path.

"Right below the abyss!"

Now that he had found the entrance, Alvin no longer hesitated.

He piloted the armored vehicle straight into the abyss beneath the bridge. As he plummeted, he discovered that the area was littered with traces of mining, indicating that this was a mineral vein mined by Ironstone Town more than fifty years ago.

Upon reaching the deepest part of the valley, Alvin confirmed his suspicions.

The exposed mineral veins in the surrounding rock strata, along with the large mining equipment that had been abandoned for a long time and was rusted in many places by wind and sand erosion, all confirmed his guess.

"According to the model... this road is here?"

Alvin glanced at the 3D model and found the route, which was the pipeline that the mine used to dump waste and slag before it was abandoned.

If you follow this pipe straight, you will be able to reach the core area inside the mine.

Alvin took out the Deflection Field pendant given to him by the Priest Aruman from his Personal Space and embedded it into the core of the armor.

"Deflection Field Generator detected!"

Automatic charging mode activated!

"We have officially taken over the defense system!"

"Detection mode activated!"

"Armor activated, full power mode!"

Looking at the pop-up notification, Alvin exclaimed again, "As expected of Stark product, it's so thoughtful!"

Who knows what kind of monsters or demons are inside?

After much deliberation, Alvin pulled out his Plasma Gun, feeling slightly relieved. He sneered, "I'd like to see how many plasma attacks Psyker can withstand!"

Loyal plasma never overheats!

And he, Alvin Vaul, the Emperor Lord's most loyal subject, would certainly not overheat!

Having made all the preparations, Alvin carefully explored deeper into the pipe. Even though it was dark inside, he could still see everything clearly in night vision mode!

The abandoned pipes were filled with all sorts of ore scraps, but that didn't pose a problem for Alvin. With the help of his armor, he could easily climb over them.

"Almost there..."

According to the 3D model, he is not far from the exit.

Alvin became extremely vigilant, preemptively disengaging the Plasma Gun's safety, slowing his pace, and cautiously exploring deeper into the area.

But, just around the corner!

Suddenly, a bizarre, extremely distorted statue appeared in the armor display interface. It was several meters tall, had four arthropod arms, and a hideous, inhuman face, yet it was in a compassionate pose, as if it were praying!

"By the Emperor, what the hell is this blasphemous thing?"

Alvin stared at the strange statue, completely stunned, for a full half minute before he came to his senses.

"A large number of suspected life-like remains have been detected!"

At that moment, the armored vehicle emitted a notification sound. Alvin looked in astonishment in the direction indicated, only to find that next to the strange statue, in a huge cavern carved out by machinery, it was filled with... corpses!

But what's frightening is...

The bodies abandoned in the cave were all burned by the flames, their bones showing signs of charring and carbonization.

"Investigate their cause of death and time of death," Alvin ordered the armored system.

"Suspected death from some kind of high-intensity fire; time of death... fifty years ago!"

The system's voice sent a jolt through Alvin:

"Could these be the residents of Ironstone Town who were massacred by the Planetary Defense Force fifty years ago?!"

Suddenly.

The armored system pieced together the images of the dead humans and presented them to Alvin: "Preliminary analysis suggests that the creature's genes do not match those of humans; it is suspected to be some kind of arthropod life form!"

Looking at the image, which depicted a simulated humanoid creature with multiple arms, its face and skull completely distorted, Alvin exclaimed in disbelief!

"Genestealer?!"