Time went back two weeks, not long after the Abyssal Spawning Pool incident.
At the time, Lynn was still considering how to leave Necromunda.
But Rena's warning had already reached Lynn's mind through the system.
[Resonance intensity of Tyranid signals across the district has exceeded the threshold. Irregular agitation detected in Warp turbulence. A large Hive Fleet cluster is presumed to be emerging from warp transit. Estimated time to Necromunda's orbit: fewer than fifteen standard days.]
Lynn's nerves, which had relaxed a little, immediately tightened again.
He had been certain that Cassius's squad clearing out several Tyranid strongholds would buy him at least one or two months.
Enough time to contact smugglers and prepare supplies and a ship for his escape.
But Rena's sudden warning disrupted his plans.
The Hive Fleet had skipped the usual infiltration stage and was about to launch an all-out assault on Necromunda.
"Did the Genestealers make a major breakthrough in their infiltration, or did the Hive Mind lock onto this planet ahead of schedule and decide it couldn't wait to dig in?"
Lynn muttered to himself. Whatever the answer, the situation did not look good.
But one thing was certain: he had to flee immediately.
Once the Hive Fleet arrived, the entire planet's gravitational field would be distorted, and Warp passages would be sealed off by the swarm's shadow in the Warp.
By then, even wings would not get him out.
Now, Rena was the only one he could rely on.
After the battle at the Abyssal Spawning Pool, Rena had devoured the remains of ten Space Marines, including Cassius, along with a large quantity of Tyranid biomass.
Both Space Marine flesh and the flesh of higher-tier Tyranids ranked among the most "delicious" kinds of biomass.
This also sent the affection number on the system panel, which had been progressing slowly lately, climbing rapidly.
The number kept changing until it stopped at 50.
The instant affection passed 50, Lynn could clearly sense the change in Rena.
After her last evolution along the Individual Path, Rena was no longer that cold Tyranid warrior who knew only slaughter.
She had gained a trace of "spirit."
And this change kept magnifying that trace.
She began watching Lynn's movements curiously with her compound eyes, and when handling affairs left his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat,
she would carefully brush aside the loose hair on his forehead with her sharp Rending Claws to help him cool down.
When Lynn rested, she would gently nuzzle him with her enormous, fearsome head.
It carried the slight chill unique to Tyranids, yet could strangely soothe Lynn's fatigue.
And at those moments, Lynn could never resist stroking Rena's head.
"How come you're like a little puppy now?" A smile lifted the corners of Lynn's mouth.
Rena did not know why she had become like this either, but she simply felt that being stroked by the human before her was very comfortable.
Of course, the greatest surprise from affection passing 50 was still the new skill points unlocked by the nurturing system.
After some consideration, Lynn put both new skill points into the [Development Path].
When the third skill point went into the [Development Path], a notification appeared on the system panel.
Special skill unlocked: [Broodmother (I)].
Essentially, Rena had now unlocked basic reproductive capabilities and could consume biomass to breed certain Tyranid units.
Almost as soon as the skill unlocked, Rena let out a roar deep within District Seven.
She began repeatedly summoning the Hormagaunts she had just "snatched" from the Hive Mind,
then opened her mouthparts and began steadily devouring this "reserve biomass."
One, two, three...
All twenty Hormagaunts were devoured within just ten minutes.
Rena's body began swelling violently. Muscles writhed wildly beneath her carapace, and her bones gave off teeth-grating creaks.
After some time, her body stopped swelling, and a huge slit slowly opened in her abdomen.
A pale purple glow spilled from the slit. Then a bloated creature slowly crawled out of her abdomen.
Once the creature emerged, it resembled a puddle of sludge, almost impossible to identify.
It immediately began devouring the surrounding Hormagaunts, displaying an astonishing appetite.
Only after devouring over a hundred Hormagaunts did it stop feeding, while the carapace covering its body began to harden.
Lynn recognized its name: Tyranids Broodmother.
It stood about fifteen meters tall, far larger than Rena.
Its entire body was covered in thick chitinous armor that rose and fell like mountain ranges, and it held a half-crouching posture.
Its abdomen was extremely swollen. Through the thin carapace, densely packed white embryos could clearly be seen wriggling inside.
It had neither Rena's sharp bone blades nor her fearsome mouthparts, only enormous organs for continuous reproduction.
Lynn could sense that it was not a "piece" controlled by Rena, but her "avatar," a part of her body.
"I'll call you Rena Number Two."
Lynn smiled as he spoke, sensing this special broodmother.
He could not help imagining what would happen if he raised the [Tactical Path] to level three as well.
Could she split off a Hive Tyrant too?
After all, Rena's main body now counted as a super individual, while Rena Number Two was a broodmother.
It would make sense for the Tactical Path to produce a Hive Tyrant as well.
After a period of experimentation, Lynn discovered that the low-tier Tyranid units Rena Number Two bred by consuming biomass
were essentially cannon fodder such as Hormagaunts, Termagants, and Rippers.
But!
Rena could also analyze the genetic codes of devoured Tyranids and breed the corresponding units.
Although she could not produce high-tier units such as Hierophants and Haruspexes, this still offered quite a few more options.
Most importantly of all, Rena Number Two could produce Genestealers!
Lynn nearly jumped when he learned this.
Genestealers were the Tyranids' most insidious infiltration units.
They could disguise themselves as humans, lurk among every social stratum, and silently spread their genes, paving the way for the Hive Fleet's arrival.
And now, Rena Number Two could produce his own Genestealers, ones that obeyed his and Rena's commands completely.
This was help when he needed it most. Lynn had been worrying about finding a way to obtain a ship.
Using his influence in the Underhive, he quickly assembled an "infiltration squad" made up of Genestealers.
Disguised as merchants, sailors, and even Adeptus Arbites officials, these Genestealers silently infiltrated Necromunda's spaceport.
Quite a few ships were docked at the spaceport, including Imperial transports and merchants' freighters.
There were also some dilapidated, abandoned Vagabond-class merchant ships.
Lynn's target was a Vagabond-class merchant ship called the Eight Hands.
The ship was a wreck, its engines aging and its armor rusted. It looked as though it might fall apart at any moment, but it had one advantage.
It was big enough to accommodate over ten thousand people, and its hull structure was sturdy enough to support the next stage of Lynn's plan.
Through Genestealer infiltration and bribing the spaceport's administrators, Lynn acquired the ship "legally."
Next came modifying the ship.