Inside the governor's office, Lynn leaned back in his large, high-backed chair, his fingers unconsciously stroking a small creature lying on his lap.
It was a purple creature, only the size of a palm.
Covered in a fine, smooth chitinous shell, its body is streamlined, with six slender limbs curled up on its abdomen, and its two eyes comfortably squinting on its head.
This is a mini Ripper.
To be precise, it is the unit where Rena's main consciousness is currently residing.
As for Lynn, he clearly preferred Rena's Tyranids form to the human body of " Isolde ".
After all, what Lynn wanted was the Tyranids.
A soft, warm, and vibrant touch travels from my fingertips.
Lynn looked down at the little thing on her lap, her expression complicated.
The system interface displays a status bar related to Rena.
[Favorability:54.2]
The progress is far too slow.
A pang of guilt welled up in Lynn's heart.
After all, he doesn't have the ability to provide Rena with more or better resources right now.
He reached out and gently tapped the head of the miniature Ripper.
The little creature raised its head, blinked its compound eyes, and then affectionately rubbed its head against his fingers.
The movements were gentle, with a sense of dependence.
Rena can vaguely sense Lynn's emotions through a soul link.
She could sense his apology, helplessness, and pressure.
So she responded in this way.
"It's okay~"
Lynn felt even worse.
In Necromunda, he could collect biomass without restraint and feed it all to Rena.
Watching her grow, evolve, and become stronger so quickly.
But in Brevis, the situation is completely different.
Food is the most precious resource in this Hive World, the cornerstone of power and the lifeline of survival.
The nobles of the Uptown controlled the food production lines, thereby controlling the Midtown and Lower City and maintaining their rule.
If Lynn wants to gain a foothold here, he needs to secure enough food.
He could no longer feed all the resources to Rena as he had before.
He needs to use this food to win people's hearts, exchange resources, and build his own power.
This is undoubtedly a sacrifice for Rena's growth.
But Rena didn't complain.
She simply stayed quietly by his side, expressing her support in her own way.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Lynn said softly.
The Ripper rubbed against his fingers again, then crawled up his arm and found a comfortable spot to lie down.
Lynn's restless heart was also calmed down a bit.
He took a deep breath and suppressed his distracting thoughts.
Now is not the time for sentimentality.
When Lynn came to Brevis this time, he only brought Rena herself, Rena Number Two, and some elite units.
They are currently being temporarily housed in an iceberg cave about 100 kilometers from their main nest.
The environment there is harsh, but the seclusion is excellent.
It's just too far away, making it inconvenient to provide biomass.
He needed a convenient, and preferably "legal," channel to provide Rena with biomass.
His plan was to establish a "large-scale alien biological research institute" in the Uptown.
Officially, it's about "developing biological weapons targeting the Orks."
Behind the scenes, they brought Rena and the Genestealer over to collect biomass on a large scale and conduct research along the way.
This way, he could legitimately allocate resources to provide Rena with more biomass.
However, this plan is predicated on him first gaining Brevis a certain amount of power and resources to ensure the smooth establishment and operation of this "institute".
Lynn's eyes sharpened.
He gently touched the Ripper on his shoulder.
"Wait a little longer."
I'll make sure you're well-fed.
Knock knock.
There was a knock on the office door.
"Enter."
The door opened, Butcher walked in.
He changed into a proper steward's uniform, but his scarred face still carried an inescapable air of hostility.
"My lord," the Butcher bowed.
"Explain."
"A preliminary intelligence network has been established," the Butcher reported in a low voice.
"As you instructed, I have placed the more than one thousand 'comrades' we brought into various areas of the main nest."
"Eight hundred of them went to the Lower City, where it was easiest to hide and develop their power."
"Two hundred people went to Midtown, focusing on infiltrating lower and middle-level positions within the Industrial Alliance."
"One hundred people have infiltrated the service industry in the Uptown, working as servants, cleaners, and low-level clerks."
Lynn nodded.
These Genestealer will become Lynn's "eyes" and "ears" in Brevis.
"In addition," the Butcher continued.
"As per your previous orders, I have instructed my 'comrades' to develop their own downlines within their respective areas of operation."
"The target group is primarily low-income residents who are struggling to survive and workers dissatisfied with the status quo."
"The process went smoothly." A sinister smile appeared on the Butcher's face.
"Faced with hunger and despair, many people are willing to pay any price for a bite to eat."
"Currently, we have developed approximately ten thousand peripheral members, scattered Lower City."
"They didn't know the truth; they just thought they had joined a 'mutual aid society'."
By the time they realized it, they had become our new 'compatriots'.
Lynn nodded in satisfaction.
Ten thousand people doesn't sound like much.
However, within intelligence networks, this is already a considerable number.
And this is just the beginning.
Over time, this network will "spread" like a virus.
"Have you gathered any valuable intelligence?" Lynn asked.
The Butcher's expression turned serious.
"Have."
"And the situation is worse than we thought."
He walked to his desk, pulled up a 3D map, and began his report:
"First, let's look at the situation at the Frostbound Wall."
"Based on information our people obtained from the PDF."
" The Brontë Longknives Astra Militarum, numbering 50,000, has been fighting for two months, and now only a little over 10,000 remain."
"Ammunition supplies are severely insufficient, and medical resources are nearly exhausted."
"And Brevis's homeland support," the Butcher sneered, "Is almost nonexistent."
"Those damned noble lords, not many of them sent troops to the front lines to provide support."
"Their private soldiers were mostly stationed at their own estates and production lines, or suppressing uprisings by starving people."
"The defense of the entire Frostbound Wall was basically carried out by the group of outsiders led by Brontë Longknives."
Lynn's face darkened.
"Those bastards in the Noble Council are fighting amongst themselves because of food shortages."
"The twelve families vied for control of the production line, while the lesser nobles attached themselves to different families and fought amongst themselves."
"They'd fight tooth and nail to get an extra production line or control an extra warehouse."
"In reality, these noble lords were among the people in the entire Hive City had the least shortage of food!"
Lynn's gaze gradually turned cold.
"What about the Industrial Alliance and the ' Wasteland Walkers ' of the Lower City?"
"A little better," the Butcher said.
" The Industrial Alliance provided a considerable amount of weapons and ammunition to the front lines."
The Wasteland Walkers dispatched tens of thousands of hunters skilled in icefield warfare to assist Brontë Longknives in reconnaissance and guerrilla warfare.
"But..." he paused.
"Since the food problem worsened, the nobles in the Uptown have tightened their control over food."
"This resulted in the factory in Midtown still operating, but the workers weren't even getting enough to eat, leading to a significant drop in production efficiency."
"A severe famine broke out in the Lower City."
"According to our rough estimates, the Lower City has lost at least 30 percent of its population in the past three months."
"Thousands upon thousands of corpses turned into starch, but it never returned to the hands of the people of the Lower City."
Lynn closed his eyes and began to ponder.