Big! Too Big!

After getting out of the vehicle, Lin Fan looked at the colossal moving hill forged from steel before him, gaining a more direct appreciation of the Imperium's technological might.

This towering behemoth was the giant combine harvester responsible for all agricultural production across the Green Basin. The people in this area were less farmers than operators, with thousands working inside this machine. Huge iron gates sealed the intake where crops were harvested, while openings on either side held enormous detachable transport cars beneath them. Even the heavy armored transport vehicle Lin Fan had arrived in looked as laughably small beside one of those transport cars as a child trying to compare size with a fully armed Astartes warrior.

Like a perpetually starving Gorgon, the harvester endlessly devoured ripe crops, sending everything edible into the transport cars. It retained some seeds and crushed plant remains, plowing them back into the soil before spraying the land with a special nutrient solution developed by the Adeptus Mechanicus to preserve its fertility. This harvester had witnessed the rise and fall of generations, and in the hearts of the locals, it had become a symbolic shrine. After worshipping The Emperor, they would even hold ceremonies for this machine, celebrating it and praying for its favor.

The Adeptus Mechanicus people were quite pleased by this, believing it to be an important measure for pleasing the Machine Spirit. That was supposedly why this machine had always been so diligent and mild-tempered, unlike the Machine God's Titan Legion, which was irritable and constantly prone to little tantrums.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" Damian looked at the machine with great pride, his eyes full of nostalgia.

"Oh, so this is your hometown?" Seeing Damian's expression, Lin Fan felt as though the man had truly returned home. The sense of familiarity made the cumbersome armored vehicle feel like one of the country buses from Lin Fan's previous life.

Damian nodded and pointed at a figure approaching them from nearby. "See that man? He's the person in charge of Old Man Kam, and the manager of this agricultural district."

Wearing a rain hat characteristic of this world, a somewhat thin but energetic middle-aged man walked over and greeted them. "Hello, officers! I'm Famu, the chief administrator responsible for Old Man Kam."

Only then did Lin Fan realize that Old Man Kam referred to the mountain-sized machine, and he could not help feeling a little moved.

The mechanical girl beside him looked impatient and called out to Famu, "All right, all right, stop wasting time. The sooner Kam is repaired, the sooner production can resume."

Famu patted his hat and put on a bright, ingratiating smile. "Yes, yes. Please follow me, my lords."

After entering through a door in the machine's body, the group followed Delia and Famu onward. Lin Fan curiously looked around at the surroundings. The lighting inside was terrible, with only faint lamps illuminating the Gorgon's interior. Lin Fan found it strange. From the tunnels of Terra to the inside of this harvester, why was everything so dim? Were Imperium citizens all cave creatures who navigated by ear? Fortunately, according to Famu, the machine had looked like this ever since it malfunctioned, as though it lacked power. The sacred oil and devout, complete rituals that Famu's people had carefully prepared for the machine had failed to please the Machine Spirit again. With no other option, they had begged for the true servants of the Machine God to soothe it.

From Lin Fan's perspective, though, those rituals were no different from adding lubricant and tightening screws when repairing a vehicle in the past. They were simply described in a much more pretentious and religious manner.

The group took an internal freight elevator to the main console on the middle level. Looking down through the console's glass, Lin Fan felt as though he were standing on the rooftop terrace of a seventeen-story building from his childhood.

The control room was huge, filled with quite a few people rubbing their hands together in nervous unease.

Delia cleared her throat. "All right, Famu can stay. Everyone else, leave. Don't interfere with my soothing the sacred Machine Spirit."

After hearing Delia's words, the people exchanged looks, unsure what to do. Only after Famu spoke did they file out through the main door one by one. Noticing this, Lin Fan felt that something was off. He then followed them to the door and locked the mechanical lock.

Famu's gaze darkened as he watched Lin Fan's actions, but no one noticed. The big oafs from the assault squad were all examining and touching the various instruments on the console, completely lacking vigilance. Still, they could not be blamed. This world was so peaceful that not only had there never been war, there had not even been a major riot. Adequate food and clothing, along with a fine climate, had nurtured generation after generation of simple, hardworking mechanical farmhands.

Meanwhile, Delia held a data slate and studied the sacred code displayed on it. It was really just strings of binary code. Lin Fan had learned a little about it in university, but with his half-baked knowledge of binary, he certainly could not handle the maintenance and repair of such a colossal machine.

After locking the door, Lin Fan wandered aimlessly through the chamber, looking here and touching there, until he spotted an exquisite little wooden statue.

"Say, what is this?" Lin Fan's voice drew everyone's attention except Delia's. In his hand was a wooden statue shaped like some unknown bird.

Lin Fan's voice trembled slightly. He truly hoped this was not a symbol of those damned things.

Damian stepped closer and examined it carefully. "People around here carve wood and stone and things like that. Most of them are local little animals, used as decorations or for good luck. But I've never seen a bird like this before."

Famu became a little nervous and walked over, trying to take the statue back. "Ah, yes, yes. It's a species of bird we discovered recently. I thought it was very beautiful, so I carved it from memory."

Lin Fan grabbed Famu's hand and demanded loudly, "You're lying! What exactly are you trying to do?"

Damian was confused by Lin Fan's agitation. "Hey! Director Famu is an old friend I've known for years. I'll stake my life on him being an honest and decent man."

"No, you don't understand. This has nothing to do with being decent anymore." The more Lin Fan looked at the statue, the more wrong it seemed. He pulled out the laser pistol at his waist and aimed it at Famu.

"Listen! Either tell me what conspiracy you have, or I'll put a big hole through your arm!"

Seeing Lin Fan acting like a madman, Damian grew angry as well. Forgetting all about the matter of temporary command, he stepped forward and shielded Famu with his body. "Hey! You've gone too far!"

Looking at the furious Damian and the other assault squad members, whose faces were filled with suspicion and displeasure, Lin Fan felt even colder inside. Do I really have to do this? He knew he had no choice. Gritting his teeth, he fired at Famu's exposed hand.

The high-energy laser beam instantly vaporized Famu's palm, leaving behind only a charred wrist. Famu collapsed to the floor in agony, groaning loudly. Delia, who had been focused on repairs, was startled by the scream. She turned around and stared at the chaotic crowd with her beautiful wide eyes.

"You bastard!" Seeing the injured Famu on the ground, Damian lunged at Lin Fan like an enraged beast. Facing the one-hundred-eighty-centimeter burly man, Lin Fan raised a foot and kicked Damian away, then immediately pounced on Famu and began tearing at his clothes.

Delia covered her mouth as she watched Lin Fan tear at Famu's clothes. Her cheeks reddened, and no one knew what she was thinking.

At last! Lin Fan's instincts and suspicions had not failed him. Between Famu's shoulder blades, he found a black tattoo of an Eight-Pointed Star. Lin Fan's heart turned cold. No one present understood better than he did what these things were.

Seeing Lin Fan stop, Damian followed his gaze in confusion. "This... what kind of tattoo is that?"

"They betrayed us, but why?" Lin Fan muttered in a low voice that only he could hear.

At that moment, Famu's expression became even more twisted and pained. His head shook violently from side to side, as though he were trying to tear it away from his body. His mouth opened wide, releasing a hoarse, broken sound.

A pained howl mixed with the blasphemous power of the Warp echoed through the control room and knocked everyone down. The burly men of the assault squad collapsed into their own fears, sprawled on the ground with chattering teeth. Delia was in no better condition, curled up on the floor with her hands clutching her head.

Because of his constitution, Lin Fan was completely unaffected. Famu, half-undressed beneath him, had also breathed his last after that howl. Furious curses and pounding came from beyond the locked door, along with intermittent sizzling cutting sounds. By the God-Emperor, did those people even have thermal cutting equipment?

Looking at everyone collapsed on the ground, Lin Fan had no idea what to do. He could only grab Damian and fiercely slap him across the face. The Emperor be praised—the effect was remarkable. That one slap immediately woke Damian, who had been drooling and babbling nonsense.

"What happened to me?"

Without paying much attention to the confused Damian, Lin Fan went from one teammate to another, slapping each of them awake. But when he reached Delia, he hesitated. Looking at her fair face, he could not bring himself to hit her. Instead, he gently patted her cheek.

Delia shuddered all over, then gradually relaxed. She looked at Lin Fan with bewildered eyes. It had to be said, this little tech-priestess was rather alluring like this, but unfortunately, this was not the time for romance. Lin Fan could hear the cutting outside the door growing ever clearer.