The three of them sprinted towards the frigate, heavy footsteps and the roar of collapsing buildings hot on their heels. The Hive Tyrant followed closely, and along the way, the close-in weapon system turrets inside the fortress swiveled their muzzles, spitting a deadly rain of bullets at the colossal creature.
But it only needed to slightly adjust its posture, presenting its thickest carapace to the attack, and the bullets that could easily tear through reinforced concrete would only deflect powerlessly, sending up a shower of sparks.
Hundreds of thousands of bullets sprayed, merely slowing its charge slightly through pure kinetic force. The result of this trivial interference was that the Hive Tyrant, in its pursuit, tore these annoying obstacles apart into twisted components.
It was hard to say if its actions were accidental or deliberate, but at least the outcome was a noticeable gap in the previously somewhat tight anti-air firepower network. The Gargoyles, which had been circling in the sky for a long time, finally found an opportunity and swooped down in large numbers like a black rain of death.
And the tunnels previously drilled by the Digger Serpent began to gush forth a tide of Tyranid Swarms. At this moment, the war finally lost the concept of a front line, entering a meat grinder phase where every inch of space was a battleground.
On the other side, the fleeing trio finally reached the frigate's boarding ramp. Wick watched Dimitry open the heavy hatch with a complex biometric and password verification, and couldn't help but ask, "Are we going to detonate the nuclear reactor on your frigate?"
"Temperature control of nuclear reactors during long-distance space travel has always been an issue for us," Dimitry replied, not looking back and not directly answering the question. "While there are many solutions, none can be replicated within our star system. This frigate's power system originally required extensive experimentation, but due to the emergency of the tyranid invasion, we had no choice but to opt for the most convenient method to control the temperature and ensure its smooth operation, even though it's a complete technological black box to us."
The Tech-Priest's innate curiosity for unknown knowledge overwhelmed everything else, and Wick couldn't help but press, "What is that method?"
"To put it in terms you can understand," the heavy hatch slid open with a hiss of compressed air. Dimitry quickly slipped inside, the other two following close behind him, walking briskly through the frigate's cold metal corridors under his lead, "It is a Holy Relic."
The three quickly reached the end of the corridor, and Dimitry opened the final hatch. Wick gazed at what was about to be revealed behind the opening door; he saw a... sink?
"name: Sink"
"Quality: Legendary"
"Type: Kitchen Utensil"
"Effect: Connecting a pumping device to any side of the sink can draw out water, with an output limit of 2147483674 cubic meters / 0.05 seconds."
"Usage Condition: None"
"Remarks: 'I remember that afternoon, I excitedly opened 'Minecraft' as usual, intending to build a nuclear reactor... After three hours of busy work, I decided to download a lazy kitchen mod and crafted a sink with five terracotta, three iron ingots, and a bucket, successfully solving the reactor damage caused by lack of water.'"
"This is the core that maintains the entire frigate's power and energy system," Dimitry stepped forward, touching the seemingly plain, square sink with an almost reverent posture.
"When the water level in the sink changes, it automatically returns to its current level. The generation rate is completely immeasurable; at least for now, it's sufficient to supply the entire frigate. Water quality tests show high-purity H2O, free of any impurities or microorganisms, with a stable pH of 7.0 ± 0.1."
"Theoretically speaking, if transportation issues are ignored, it's enough to provide clean water to every Imperial citizen in the Imperium."
Wick was in unprecedented shock, his optical lenses rapidly contracting and expanding: "An incredible creation... This is simply a miracle of the Omnissiah!"
"Yes," Dimitry turned around, gazing at him, and said word for word, "Now it is yours, Tallen."
These words were like the most powerful logic bomb, instantly crashing Tallen Wick's core thought processes. His logic circuits buzzed with overload, countless conflicting data streams surged through his mind, leaving him incoherent for a moment: "No... I... This... the Holy Relic..."
Finally, he gathered all his strength to form a complete sentence: "No! I cannot accept this Holy Relic! I cannot bear it, it will crush me!"
"It's not important to us, Tallen. It's too advanced, so advanced that we completely fail to understand it, making it almost worthless for research," Dimitry's voice was calm and firm. "And, Tallen, don't you understand? You must take it with you... because this item absolutely cannot fall into the hands of the Tyranid Swarms! That would mean infinite biomass... That would create a disaster more terrifying than all past crises combined!"
Of course, Dimitry was lying here. Even if Wick didn't take the Sink, they had ways to safely retrieve it. Saying this was merely to add leverage to get Wick to leave as quickly as possible.
"Then why don't you take it?!" Wick shouted excitedly. "Or we all go together!"
"Our duty is to gather as much intelligence on the tyranids as possible here!" Dimitry's voice suddenly rose. "To reduce casualties and better secure victory in the upcoming war against the xenos! This is duty, Tallen, and duty cannot be shirked!"
"But you are different; you only came here for geological exploration and were inexplicably caught up in this. Fighting the tyranids is not your duty, Tallen!"
"But..."
Just as Wick was about to retort, a harsh metallic tearing sound came from the direction they had come, interrupting him.
Boni, who had been vigilantly scanning his surroundings, immediately yelled, "They're here! That Hive Tyrant is approaching!"
"Go! Tallen! It'll be too late if you don't leave now!" Dimitry urged. "Take it with you! In our hands, it cannot fully realize its potential. You must deliver it into the hands of someone who can use it to benefit everyone!"
Before he finished speaking, with a loud crash, the metal wall of the compartment was forcibly torn open by an immense force. The Hive Tyrant's broken and grotesque half-body squeezed in, letting out a terrifying shriek at them.
Boni frantically sprayed the Tyrant's head with the bolter rounds from his body, trying to buy his companions the last bit of time. However, the Tyrant merely opened its gaping maw casually and swallowed him whole, along with the weapon in his hand.
Seizing this brief moment, Dimitry lifted the Sink and pushed it, along with Wick, into a small emergency escape pod nearby, then slammed down the close button.
The hatch closed heavily. Wick, clutching the cold Sink, saw the last scene through the narrow observation window — the nuclear reactor core, deprived of its infinite water cooling, emitted a destructive glow. A violent nuclear inferno instantly erupted, engulfing Dimitry's figure, engulfing the Hive Tyrant, engulfing everything.