blogombal Chapter 37 Truth
Chapter 37 Truth
Luo Wei listened silently.
Even for a time traveler, his understanding of this universe mostly comes from fragmented information.
Upon hearing this firsthand intelligence, he keenly sensed the impending crisis.
The Mechanical Cult had been loitering around the area for three years.
This means they have a thorough understanding of the situation in the sector.
"Then you must have seen many tragedies," Lowe said in a low voice, "like what we're experiencing now."
"A tragedy? It should be called inefficiency," Magellan corrected him, his tone icy. "For example, last year, Thrace-IV, an agricultural planet less than five light-years from here."
Luo Wei's breath hitched.
Thrace-IV.
He had seen this name in the old archives of the Executive Yuan.
It is one of the largest granaries in this star sector.
The population is three times that of the Abundance II.
Six months ago, all logistical information about this planet suddenly stopped.
The official explanation is "severe communication disruption caused by a subspace storm".
"What happened to that planet?" Rowe asked curiously.
"The governor of Thrace-IV is a foolish coward," the sage remarked mercilessly. "When the first signs of plague corruption appeared, he chose to conceal it instead of purifying it."
"In order to keep his position, he tried to cover up the spread of the plague with lies."
The sage turned his head, his compound eyes staring directly at Lovi, as if issuing some kind of warning.
"As a result, by the time the Inquisition's fleet passed by, the entire planet had become a giant festering sore."
"The ground is covered with a fungal carpet, and the atmosphere is filled with deadly spore gas. There is no way to salvage the situation."
Luo Wei swallowed hard. "So... what did the court do?"
"Extermination order".
The sage uttered the most weighty words.
"The Cyclone Torpedo ignited the atmosphere. It was a magnificent purification ritual, Advisor."
"In just forty minutes, all organisms, whether heretics, demons, plagues, or three million so-called innocent civilians, were reduced to ashes."
Luo Wei fell silent.
Despite being mentally prepared, he still felt a chill run down his spine when he heard the number "three million" so casually dismissed.
Before this colossal imperial machine.
Human life is not just fuel.
It's dust, not even as good as fuel.
However, what alarmed Lovi even more was what the sage said next.
"What a huge waste, sigh."
Magellan the Sage shook his metal head, which was covered in tubes, and said regretfully.
"According to our scans, three well-preserved tractor assembly plants from the Dark Ages are buried underground in the northern hemisphere of Thrace-IV."
"Sacred relics, along with the great tractor assembly plant, were burned down because of the weakness of those flesh and blood."
Luo Wei lowered his head, using the act of adjusting his cuffs to conceal the mockery in his eyes.
In the eyes of the sage, the destruction of millions of lives is merely a "purification".
The real "tragedy" is the loss of the three tractor factories.
This is the logic of empire.
This is also why Lowe must persevere on this planet.
He could not count on the empire's reinforcements to act as saviors.
If the seventh granary falls.
If the corruption index of Planet Plenty 2 exceeds a certain threshold.
What awaits them is not a hospital ship and bread, but a whirlwind torpedo raining down from the sky!
"Please sign here, consultant."
A member of the missionary came over and handed over an electronic data board.
Handover form for requisitioned materials.
Luo Wei sighed and quickly composed himself.
He took the data panel and followed the friar to the open ramp of the transport ship.
The closer you get to that spaceship, the stronger the smell of ozone in the air becomes.
The force field of the anti-gravity engine caused the surrounding rainwater to appear to float in a strange manner.
Just as Lovimai stepped onto the metal ramp.
"Zzz."
A sharp, burning pain came from his left chest without warning.
Luo Wei's hand trembled, and he almost dropped the data tablet.
He gritted his teeth and forcibly controlled the twitching of his facial muscles so that he could not make a sound.
Fragments of the Nurgle Amulet.
The evil object was sandwiched between two layers of lead plates and hidden in his inner pocket.
When it encounters the plague forces of the filthy, it only generates a slight heat, like a gentle hand warmer.
But now, it's screaming.
It's releasing heat like crazy.
Even through the thick lead plates and uniform, the heat burned Luo Wei's skin red.
This is not just a reaction to "encountering someone like yourself".
Luo Wei signed his name on the data board.
While using his body as cover, he glanced out of the corner of his eye into the deep, dark cargo hold.
Behind the mountains of supplies.
Behind the requisitioned fuel rods and clean water tank.
A row of giant black static force field boxes were placed there.
They were secured to the bulkhead by thick, adamant gold chains.
Each box's surface is covered with marks of purity.
The parchment slips filled with prayers danced wildly in the circulating air inside the cabin, as if suppressing something.
The force field of one of the boxes seemed somewhat unstable, occasionally flashing a chilling red light.
Just took a look.
Lowe's retina began to sting.
It definitely doesn't contain any sacred STC fragments!
If it were a sacred object of the Mechanicus, they would enshrine it in a shrine, rather than locking it up like a wild beast.
Is it a captured demon host?
Is it the active remnant of some kind of chaotic titan?
Or is it a limb of some cursed alien god?
Luo Wei dared not look any longer, quickly averted his gaze, and handed the signed data board back to the missionary.
Just minutes before, Magellan was righteously scrutinizing the "Wall of Gluttony," using the strictest standards to determine whether Loew had been tainted by the defilement of the warp.
He is high above, representing the purity and truth of Mars.
However, it was inside his own vehicle, deep within the cargo hold of this so-called "pure one".
Yet it contains a taboo ten thousand times more evil than everything in the Seventh Granary combined.
Only they are qualified to break the taboo.
Because they believe they possess the truth.
For any mortal to even glance at the abyss is to be an unforgivable heretic.
"What are you looking at, Advisor?" the sage suddenly asked from behind.
Several servo skulls flew over instantly, their red scanning lasers sweeping across Luo Wei's body.
Luo Wei turned around and replied respectfully:
"I'm examining the riveting structure of this ship, Your Excellency."
Luo Wei pointed to a row of rivets along the edge of the hatch and said with fascination:
"This triangular stress distribution structure is truly ingenious. I have never seen such craftsmanship in a rural place like Fengrao No. 2."
The red light in the sage's eyes flickered a few times.
The core of the logic seems to accept this explanation.
After all, it's logical for a country bumpkin to be attracted by the shipbuilding technology on Mars.
"The standard craftsmanship of the Martian Seventeenth Foundry," the sage said calmly. "If you live long enough, you may have the opportunity to make a pilgrimage."
"That would be my honor."
Lowe lowered his head and then took out the parchment-bound picture book from his pocket.
"Sage, here is what you requested. Prototype blueprints for the 'Agrippina-VII Adaptive Bio-Harvester'."
Lo Wei held the picture book in both hands and handed it to the sage.
Magellan the Sage had already taken a cursory look at it, and now they were going to take it away.
Every drawing inside was done with great seriousness.
He used precise hydraulic transmission formulas to explain the contraction of those demonic muscles;
The cross-sectional view of the heat exchange system was used to conceal the radiation of subspace thermal energy;
The logic of adaptive armor mounting replaced the rampant growth of the biological cuticle.
From a mechanical point of view, these designs are all valid.
Even the most discerning mechanical priest couldn't find any logical flaws in it.
But it only makes sense "logically".
If subspace crystallization were not available to provide energy...
Without demonic flesh and blood as a driving force...
The thing built according to this blueprint is just a pile of unresponsive scrap metal.
It simply cannot move.
But that's exactly the effect Lo Wei wanted.
Magellan the Sage extended his precise mechanical clamps and carefully picked up the booklet.
His gaze was much gentler than when he was talking about the deaths of millions of people.
The optical sensor rapidly scans the lines on the drawing.
A pleasant humming sound came from the sage's voice transmitter.
"Ingenious design, utilizing fluid dynamics to guide the biological acid solution, truly embodies the style left over from the golden age."
The sage placed the album into a vacuum-sealed file box, as if he believed it to be some priceless treasure.
"Your understanding of machine spirits is rather superficial, advisor, but it is full of piety." The sage gave Luo Wei a rare positive evaluation.
"This blueprint will be taken back to Mars and enshrined in the temple of the god of machines as a sacred data fragment."
Luo Wei bowed deeply.
May truth guide your course.
He sneered inwardly.
Take it with you.
Take away this false hope.
Let's study this pile of scrap metal that can't be built in the first place for two centuries.
Two centuries from now, when these priests are scratching their heads at this machine that will never start, they will probably only lament that they were not devout enough.
There is no doubt that the blueprints themselves are a scam that transcends dimensions.
Even if there are doubts.
By then, either Lo Wei was already dead.
Either he has already climbed to a very high position, and even the Cult of Mechanics wouldn't dare to touch him easily.
"Takeoff procedure initiated."
The wise man said no more and turned to walk through the cabin door.
With a hiss of the hydraulic system, the heavy hatch slowly closed.
The engines of the Axe-class transport ship spewed out blinding blue flames.
A strong gust of air whipped up the mud on the ground, causing Lo Wei's clothes to flutter wildly.
The spaceship slowly rose into the air and soon disappeared into the leaden-gray clouds, becoming an inconspicuous little black dot.
Only then did Luo Wei reach out and press his hand to his chest.
The hype surrounding the amulet fragments is finally starting to die down.
But that burning sensation must have left an unsightly blister on my skin.
"They're gone."
Father Alpha walked over at some point.
He gazed up at the direction where the spaceship had disappeared, and in his red electronic eyes, an undisguised envy was evident.
"They took the truth with them," the priest murmured. "That ship must have been carrying countless sacred pieces of knowledge."
Rowe said to his half-human, half-machine companion, "You're wrong, Alpha."
Lo Wei took a pain relief ointment out of his pocket.
They didn't shy away from it.
Pull open the collar and apply it directly to the reddened skin on your chest.
The cool touch of the ointment made him much more awake.
"They took the trouble away and left us with a chance to live."
He straightened his collar, re-buttoned his top button, and resumed his meticulous clerk persona.
"Listen, so-called truth can't save us now. We can't even fill our stomachs, nor can it keep out the monsters outside..."