His gaze was deep, as though it pierced the star map and saw a more distant future. He knew the time was not yet ripe. Their current strength was still nowhere near enough to challenge the vast structure of the Ork Empire, rooted in the galaxy for tens of thousands of years. Though their fleet had undergone radical modifications, its numbers were limited, and conventional Warp travel was fraught with uncertainty. A single mistaken jump could leave a precious fleet lost in the endless void.
He needed a... crowbar. A fulcrum that would let him tip the balance of power across the Milky Way Galaxy at the smallest possible cost.
Just as he was about to speak, to reassure his most loyal general with his customary composure, the doors of the command center burst open.
"It worked! I did it!!"
A Gretchin covered in grease came scrambling inside, clutching a sizzling wrench in one hand and holding aloft a metal heart that looked as though countless wires and pipes had been forcibly lashed together. It was none other than the Gretchin civilization's chief scientist, chief engineer, chief mechanic, and chief scrap reclamation officer-"All-purpose" Ghazghk.
"Compose yourself, Ghazghk." Sharpfang frowned, trying to preserve his dignity as a general. "What worked? Did that gene modifier of yours that turns slugs into combat Squigs blow up again?"
"Not that! This!" Ghazghk's face flushed with excitement. He thrust the metal heart, still humming ominously, before Liu Zhipeng, spraying spittle everywhere. "Big Boss! The Boing-class Dimensional Engine! I built it!"
Liu Zhipeng's eyes changed instantly. He sat upright, every trace of languor vanishing.
"Explain."
Overawed by the Big Boss's presence, Ghazghk swallowed and struggled to explain this epoch-making invention in terms a Gretchin could understand. "Big Boss, this thing... it, it doesn't take that dark,