What exactly had the Old Ones left within the Orks? Perhaps no one in the universe knew. The War in Heaven had ended far too long ago; maybe a few clues could still be found in the most precious historical records of the Aeldari.
After returning from the Mushroom Farm, Cheng Mingrui had set aside a section of his Mekboy factory as his own laboratory.
In this isolated laboratory, where strict sterilization procedures were enforced, a high-precision microscope lifted a corner of the veil over the secrets the Old Ones had left behind.
Before transmigrating, Cheng Mingrui had understood the Orks as a Green Plague with extraordinary reproductive abilities, a powerful race that could rival the Tyranids in sheer numbers.
He had always had a question: the birth of Wisdom was incredibly difficult, and it demanded very specific living conditions. How could a race like the Orks, devoted to war and so intensely self-destructive, grow more numerous the more they fought?
Even if they reproduced through spores, everyone knew how hostile the universe was. How did severed Ork limbs remain biologically active?
Moreover, many planets suitable for life had atmospheres. Even if severed Ork limbs remained viable, the atmosphere would burn them up as they fell. Those temperatures were far higher than the flames humans used in the 40,000 setting to purify land contaminated by Orks.
On top of that, most planets were barren and lifeless, utterly unsuitable for life.
There was a passage in the story of Gork's Chosen Bonecrusher: Ghazghkull Thraka and the Boyz following him found a space hulk, then fought Daemons constantly as they traveled through the Warp. They grew stronger with every battle, and the Boyz grew more numerous, until they eventually packed the ship's compartments.
Even without soil, spores could grow inside a space hulk made of steel and produce new Boyz. At first, Cheng Mingrui had assumed it was a Warp exploit or a mistake in the lore.
Cheng Mingrui swirled the test tube full of slime before him. Now it seemed he had been too naive and had underestimated the Old Ones.
The Orks were not merely weapons of war. They were themselves a comprehensive, complete, almost perfect ecosystem.
This was the slime used to cultivate Snotlings. Within it was an ecological microbial community composed of thousands of different bacteria, each performing its own duties in a remarkable cooperative system.
Some could break down fungal filaments, some could provide Snotlings with energy, and some could digest rock and absorb elements from the air, converting them into the various elements needed for Ork fungal mats to grow.
When exposed to high temperatures, the microbial community could even secrete a membrane to preserve the viability of the Ork spores inside!
One tiny tube of slime was actually a precision biological factory! Something like this only appeared within the fungal colonies when they were hatching Snotlings.
To verify his findings, Cheng Mingrui had even caught a Snotling and dissected its entire body for study. The results confirmed his hypothesis.
The Old Ones had planted something within the Ork race for the future. Who could have imagined that it was hidden inside the tiny Snotlings?
Snotlings were a form of life that accompanied the Orks, much like Gretchin, and the two looked very similar. But Snotlings were smaller and weaker, occupying the very bottom of Ork society because they were so stupid that they had no Wisdom at all.
Never mind other races-even the Orks themselves looked down on Snotlings, treating them as nothing more than food, toys, and objects of amusement.
Yet the hormones secreted by these very Snotlings were crucial. They enabled Ork fungi to grow and develop better, while the microbial community extracted nutrients from the surrounding environment to nourish the Mushroom Farm.
With the help of the microbial community and stimulation from the Snotlings, the Mushroom Farm could also continuously transform its surroundings. It was no exaggeration to say that even on a bare asteroid with no atmosphere and no water-
Ork fungi could keep growing inside the asteroid, sheltered from lethal cosmic rays. Given enough time, as long as the asteroid was large enough and did not lack too many trace elements, the fungi could transform its interior into a self-sustaining miniature ecosystem with the help of the microbial community.
Orks, Squigs, Gretchin, Snotlings, Ork fungi, and the microbial community-together, they formed a self-sustaining ecosystem!
In practice, the bodies of dead Ork creatures became nutrients that nourished the formation of fungal colonies. These colonies prioritized hatching Snotlings, which brought the microbial community with them. The microbes then drew elements from the surrounding matter to nourish the Mushroom Farm.
The Mushroom Farm then grew all kinds of Ork creatures, repeating the cycle over and over.
Ork spores did more than hatch the living Weapons of War known as Orks. They could also transform dead worlds, making them pleasant and habitable... though, of course, that depended on the inhabitants not minding violent monsters emerging from underground.
...Such as the powerful, mysterious Old Ones.
He remembered reading an introduction to the Ork race online. It had mentioned that, besides specialist Boyz such as Mekboys and Psyker Boys, there was another, most unusual kind, called Brainboys.
The Brainboys governed all Orks, maintaining the structure of Ork society while also developing Ork technology.
Later, however, a great plague struck the Orks. It killed every Brainboy, and no new Brainboys were ever born.
All of that was merely legend. No one knew whether it was true, or whether the existence of Brainboys was simply a rumor distorted through retelling.
Most humans, Orks, and Aeldari did not believe it.
Cheng Mingrui, who had transmigrated here, might have been the one most inclined to believe the legend. Combine that with the fact that the Orks were degenerating, and that among all the Orks in the galaxy today, there was not a single Primarch-level Ork boss...
It really feels as though some conspiracy is buried in history. No! No! If I keep thinking about this, I'll grow another brain!
There are actual gods in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. I know too much forbidden knowledge. One careless moment, and some great god of the Warp might snatch me up.
Gork, bless me. Mork, bless me. I'm a good, honest Ork... You gotta watch over me. I'll put up a huge statue for you both later, and make you a beautiful Golden Body, Cheng Mingrui prayed inwardly, still shaken.
Suddenly, an inexplicable concept entered his mind: "You said it! We heard you!"
This sudden development left Cheng Mingrui dumbfounded. He had only been using a common expression people in China said, something like asking the Bodhisattva for protection. Who could have imagined that the Bodhisattva would actually speak!
The concept was becoming hazy, like a memory fading with time. A little longer, and everything that had just happened seemed like an illusion, something that had never existed.
To catch the last thread of the memory, Cheng Mingrui forcefully used magnetism to engrave a passage into the steel of his machine tool.
"Primary task: immediately erect statues of Gork and Mork and fashion Golden Bodies for them. The bigger, the better. The prettier, the better. The more Waaagh!, the better!"
Half a minute later, Cheng Mingrui stared at the words on the steel plate, lost in thought. What just happened? Why are there Chinese characters written on my machine tool?
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