The moment the barrier completely closed, in the governor's office on the top floor, the coffee cup next to Lynn shook violently.
The scalding liquid spilled onto the cold, hard metal tabletop, meandering along the grain, but he was completely unaware.
His vision suddenly went black, replaced by the usual background noise of the swarm's consciousness.
The biomass feedback, node communication, and underlying command flow were mostly cut off in an instant.
It was as if someone had reached his hand into the deep water and forcefully pulled it to the surface.
"Hmm..."
Lynn groaned and steadied himself on the edge of the desk.
He could clearly feel that the activity of the Ripper organs, which lived in symbiosis with nerve endings under his skin, was decreasing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
The empathic connection that was once like an extension of the limbs became sluggish and blurred, as if separated by a thick layer of snow, with even the most basic instruction transmission being noticeably delayed.
This is not ordinary interference.
He suddenly looked up at Isolde on the other side of the desk.
The governor's steward, who usually had a cool and aloof demeanor and handled government affairs flawlessly, was now leaning forward limply while still holding the Dataslate.
Her purple eyes had lost all their luster, her long eyelashes drooped, and she looked like a doll whose soul had been ripped out.
It slammed heavily onto the table, the Dataslate slipped to the floor, and shattered with a crisp sound.
" Rena!"
Lynn's pupils contracted sharply, and he took a step forward.
The moment his fingertips touched her neck, he breathed a sigh of relief.
His pulse was steady, and his vital signs were normal; however, he seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.
Isolde is a puppet controlled by Rena, carrying a portion of her main consciousness and power.
Her collapse can only mean one thing: Rena's main consciousness link was forcibly severed.
In the Land Without Extension three levels below Saint Garus Castle, something significant must have happened that was enough to sever the Hive Mind.
Lynn took a deep breath, suppressing the sudden surge of anxiety in her heart.
He closed his eyes, not attempting to forcibly activate the sluggish swarm nodes, but instead directly summoning the system panel deep within his mind.
The exclusive link of soul binding can never be blocked by Warp barriers or physical enchantments.
[ Rena's Status: Alive]
[Current Location: Brevis Prime Hive, Third Basement Level, Inside the Nine-Sided Spirit-Sealing Barrier ]
[Consciousness State: Primary consciousness suspended, swarm network connection interrupted]
The moment those few lines of information popped up, Lynn immediately used the system's dedicated channel to send a telepathic message to Guyu: " Rena, can you hear me?"
Almost immediately, Guyu's voice, tinged with surprise, rang in his mind, carrying a subtle tremor that was more pronounced than her usual cool tone:
" Lynn? You can still contact me?"
"The system's connection won't be blocked by the barrier." Lynn spoke extremely quickly.
"What exactly happened? What is that barrier? How are you now?"
Guyu paused for a moment, then quickly relayed the situation in the underground hall.
Nine two-faced wizards set up Nine-Sided Spirit-Sealing Barrier, seemingly specifically targeting collective Psychic Power networks and consciousness transmission.
Not only was her connection to the main swarm severed, but her own Psychic Power output was also suppressed by 10%.
Nine Chaos Knight have landed and are closing in step by step, forming an encirclement. The Decapitation Squad has suffered heavy losses, with less than eight Vanguard soldiers remaining who can still maintain combat effectiveness.
"Their goal is clear: to trap my main consciousness." Guyu's voice was calm, as if she herself was not the one trapped in the encirclement.
"This barrier can only block the transmission of consciousness; it can't kill me."
"Even if this physical body is destroyed, my main consciousness should be able to flow back through the system link, and my life shouldn't be in danger."
Her tone was casual, which instead reassured Lynn:
"Don't come any closer, it's too dangerous."
" Luna is clearly planning to besiege the stronghold and attack reinforcements. If you go in yourself, you'll just fall into her trap."
"I can handle it. At worst, I'll destroy this chosen body."
Lynn stood in the dimly lit office, her fingers unconsciously stroking her chin.
He knew, of course, that Rena's consciousness would not easily disappear.
Logically, the Hive Mind should be distributed and stored across countless nodes.
Even if Guyu's chosen body is destroyed, as long as Rena's core will remains, another one can be cultivated at any time.
Knowing is one thing, but watching helplessly as she finds herself in danger is quite another.
"Stop talking nonsense." Lynn's voice was low and unusually firm.
"Hold on, give me half an hour, I'll personally lead the team over there."
Before Guyu could refute, he severed half of the connection of consciousness, leaving only a one-way channel to monitor her status at any time.
Turning to look at the still unconscious Isolde, Lynn raised his hand and pressed the communicator behind his ear, issuing a cold command immediately:
" Butcher, report the status of all units in the Lower City."
The Butcher's slightly hurried voice came through the communicator quickly. "Sir, you've finally made contact!"
"For about thirty seconds just now, all the Plague-Cleansing Apostles, all the grassroots... brothers, were frozen in place, their movements sluggish, their reactions to the outside world slowed down!"
"Although things have recovered now, the situation is clearly not right; the screening work at many locations is lagging behind!"
Lynn frowned slightly.
Just as he predicted.
As the vanguard species of the Tyranids, the Genestealer inherently possess a certain degree of independent operational capability.
Normally, the swarm's will is the core, forming a network that covers the entire area.
Once the main link is interrupted, a secondary Hive Mind network will be automatically built, using the highest-level individual in the region as the node.
The highest point in the Lower City is the Genestealer Patriarch, " Priest ".
"The main consciousness node has been temporarily isolated," Lynn thought, without the slightest panic.
So now the Priest is in charge of all units in the Lower City...
"There shouldn't be any major problems. Is work efficiency slowly recovering?"
The Butcher paused for a moment, then quickly confirmed, "Yes, yes!"
"The report from below just now indicates that the apostles in each division have received the new instructions from His Priest and have resumed normal operations."
"Screening, isolation, incineration—all processes continued without interruption, and efficiency is gradually recovering."
"Normal," Lynn said calmly.
Secondary networks have limited 'broadband', so a decrease in efficiency is inevitable.
He walked up to the holographic star map and looked at the map of Brevis Prime Hive.
Fortunately, Rena had a contingency plan.
All Tyranids units are programmed with basic genetic information, so even if the supreme will is completely lost, they will continue to carry out their missions according to pre-set instructions.
Local officials continued to handle government affairs as usual, the Plague Cleansing Cult continued its epidemic prevention and screening as usual, and armed units continued their routine patrols and vigilance.
The entire system will not collapse due to the loss of connection of one node.
But the decline in efficiency is a fact.
Especially for high-end Psychic Power units, without the support of Rena's main consciousness, their combat power will be reduced by at least half.
However, without the Tyranids's Psychic Power units, it is absolutely impossible to break through the barrier in a short time; we must send more troops!
" The Butcher." Lynn pressed his finger heavily on the coordinates of Saint Garus Castle.
"Go to the Priest immediately and draw up combat units from him to assemble in the Uptown."
"Be discreet and don't let the people from the Ecclesiarchy see you."
"Understood!" the Butcher replied immediately.
After cutting off communications, Lynn grabbed his military cap from the back of his chair and strode out of the office.
The guards in the corridor stood at attention and saluted when they saw him.
Lynn didn't stop, heading straight for the council hall. Leo should still be there, waiting for news from the Decapitation Squad.