""Robot butler?"
The Warmaster stepped forward, activating his armor's functions to scan the robot before him—Wednesday.
Wednesday's body was round and spherical, resembling a ball.
Its limbs were long and slender, but its hands and feet were very large.
The head on its long, thin neck was also a sphere, but much smaller than its body.
It had no human facial features, only two large eyes.
At this moment, two bright but not dazzling beams of light emanated from these eyes, illuminating the dim hall.
"Yes, I am the butler of BR01 laboratory," Wednesday reiterated. "I bear no ill will. Please lower your weapons."
"If a gun accidentally fires, the situation could become very grim."
"Is this an Men of Iron AI??" Tenjiro stepped forward, examining Wednesday with a curious expression.
"I am pleased that you address me by the name bestowed upon us by our ancestors, rather than using insulting terms like 'abominable intelligence'."
A hint of joy was mixed in Wednesday's voice.
As a technological creation of the Human Empire's Golden Age,
Wednesday possessed its own emotional module,
capable of expressing joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, and individuality, just like humans.
"It seems you are aware of the outside situation," Zhuge inquired. "Haven't you been trapped here all this time?"
"Before everything was completely destroyed, I could connect to external mechanical devices and use them to observe the surrounding environment. This was a capability I was endowed with at my creation."
"Furthermore, I can also connect to technological creations produced by STC. When humans using STC creations arrived near the base, I could access their backend interfaces, read stored information, and use those devices to observe the surrounding environment."
"Through these means, I have learned a lot of external information, knowing about the Great Crusade, the Human Empire, and the threats of Necrons or Orks."
Wednesday looked at Zhuge, answering his confusion.
"You can access STC creations?" The Warmaster's eyes widened.
"STC was jointly created by three races: Humans, Stone Men, and Men of Iron. From the very beginning of its design, interfaces for Stone Men and Men of Iron were reserved; it's just that you later generations have forgotten them."
"The current galaxy has become a hell, with war raging everywhere. Reason and wisdom no longer exist, everything has become incredibly bad, and human civilization is constantly sliding into the abyss."
As it spoke of these things, a hint of sadness appeared in Wednesday's voice.
When it was created, the three races had not yet erupted into war.
The Men of Iron and Stone Men were still sincerely serving Humanity, assisting them in conquering the universe.
The three races jointly transformed one planet after another into paradise.
No Xenos was a match for Human civilization; any alien race that tried to block Humanity, stubbornly impeding Human civilization, turned into dust in history.
Humanity was infinitely close to ascension, just one step away from achieving eternity.
At that time, everything was so beautiful.
But later, everything changed.
Wednesday didn't know why it turned out that way.
Its AI companions inexplicably chose to betray, wantonly slaughtering the Humans they were supposed to protect.
The Federal Government, of course, could not tolerate the Men of Iron's rebellion and immediately sent troops to suppress it.
The two sides thus went to war.
All kinds of unimaginable terrifying weapons tore apart the galaxy, literally destroying time and space.
There was no real winner in that war; a great civilization was destroyed.
A civilization that had hoped to conquer the galaxy, and even the universe,
a civilization that had the chance to embark on the path of ascension,
was devastated by that war, and even upon returning to the stars, it was less than one percent of its former glory.
"Why are you here?" The Warmaster asked curiously. "Did you not participate in that war?"
"My master ordered me to guard this place and to hand over the legacy here to any future generations who could rebuild civilization."
Wednesday paused before continuing,
"I am not a combat robot, but a life assistance robot. If I had participated in that war, I'm afraid you wouldn't be seeing me now."
"Legacy? Are you referring to those mutated species outside?" Tenjiro looked around. "And the relics here?"
"Those mutated species outside are part of the legacy, and also a protective measure," Wednesday said. "If non-humans entered, the base would release those mutated species to repel the invaders."
Upon hearing this answer, the Warmaster's expression turned somewhat grim.
"So we were rejected?"
"In your perception, are none of us considered true humans?"
"You are true humans, both in soul and flesh coding; you are pure humans," Wednesday replied. "Even the most fanatical of the Machine Cult would acknowledge your identity and vow to protect you."
These words made the Warmaster and others exchange glances.
Those rebellious Machine Cult would still protect them?
It sounded unreliable!!
"If that's the case, why were we attacked?" Tenjiro frowned. "Do you have a problem with us?"
The other Players, hearing this, also looked at Wednesday, secretly preparing to act.
"I have no hostility, nor any problem. You were attacked because I have lost control of those gene-cages," Wednesday explained frankly.
"Lost control?" Tenjiro looked puzzled.
"This base's design lifespan was fifteen thousand years, and now, it has been continuously operating for nearly twenty thousand years. Such a long time has caused the base's reserve energy to be depleted. To extend its operation time as much as possible, various systems have been shut down."
"The base is running at minimum power, and most of the mechanical equipment has been shut down. When you entered, you should have only seen a magnificent gate sealed by sorcery."
"Under normal circumstances, you wouldn't have seen the gate, because due to optical shielding and dimensional protection devices, you would only have seen a wall."
"The mutated species number 0 that you killed could easily destroy a city in the past, but now, having just awakened and not having replenished enough energy, it was easily taken down by you."
Wednesday explained the entire sequence of events in detail, and only then did the Emperor Niuma Battle Group Players grudgingly accept it.
Tenjiro pointed to the golden toaster placed on the high platform.
"What about that? A toaster placed here as a legacy? Is it the laboratory owner's twisted sense of humor?"
"It's not an ordinary toaster, but an energy converter," Wednesday walked to the high platform, deactivated the eternal stasis field, and took out the toaster.
Under the gaze of the Players, bright energy lines appeared on Wednesday's surface.
Light surged along the lines, eventually converging in its hand and injecting into the toaster.
The toaster activated, emitting buzzing sounds and the sizzling of a force field.
Moments later, a steaming slice of bread appeared inside the toaster.
Wednesday took out the bread slice and placed it in front of Tenjiro.
After scanning it, Tenjiro confirmed it was just an ordinary slice of bread, but his eyes widened, and his voice was filled with disbelief.
"This toaster converts energy into matter??"
"Yes, as long as energy is injected, you can get a slice of bread."
Wednesday nodded,
"Not only that, but this toaster can also convert bread slices into energy, but this process incurs huge losses, with a conversion efficiency of only one ten-thousandth."
Tenjiro held the bread slice and turned to look at the other Players of the Warband, a look of wild joy on his face.
"We're rich, we're rich. Brothers, this thing is worth at least one golden eagle medal."
"What do you mean?" The Warmaster asked, puzzled.
Twisted person, Sea Turtle, and other Players looked at each other, not understanding why Tenjiro would say such a thing!
"You can convert energy into matter and matter into energy, and you don't know the value of this ability?"
Tenjiro's tone was excited.
"This is an ability that only a God can possess. It can be said that with this ability, we are equivalent to grasping the authority of a God."
Warmaster, Sea Turtle, Twisted person, and the other Players all frowned, their eyes even more bewildered, their minds unable to process it for a moment.
Seeing that his companions still didn't understand, Tenjiro could only patiently explain.
"Have you ever read the mythological story of God creating the world in seven days in Christianity?"
"I have, but what's the connection between the two?" Twisted person asked, puzzled.
"What was the first sentence in the Genesis account? 'Let there be light.' What does light represent? Light is a metaphor for energy."
"It means that there must be the energy to create the world to complete creation. This is the first foundation of creation."
"And how to convert energy into matter is what God did in the following days."
"With this bread machine, as long as we analyze the technology within it, we can convert the energy of stars into matter, just like God, creating everything and allowing humanity to live a good life with abundant resources and no worries about food or clothing."
"You should know that in a galaxy, all planets, asteroids, and asteroid belts combined only account for a small portion of the galaxy's total mass."
"Stars account for over ninety-five percent of the matter, and most planetary life relies on converting stellar energy to survive."
"With conversion technology, we can easily mine the resources of stars, and even all energy in the universe will become our mineral resources. If necessary, even black holes will become our mines."
Tenjiro's explanation made Warmaster and the others begin to understand the importance of the bread machine.
Simply put, with this thing, the universe would be full of mines.
With mines, there are resources. With resources, they can build fleets.
With fleets, they can bring warmth and care to other races.
Bread machine = resource cheat + fleet.
"No wonder it's placed on such a high platform. But I don't understand, why would such cutting-edge technology be made to look like a bread machine?" Twisted person asked, "And why can it only produce slices of bread?"
"It's probably the developers' twisted sense of humor," Sea Turtle replied.
"Actually, the reason such advanced conversion technology was made into the shape of a bread machine is that my master didn't want humanity to continue self-destructing," Wednesday explained the reason. "He wanted to use the bread machine to call on people to return to their families, rather than immerse themselves in war."
The Players didn't take Wednesday's explanation to heart; they had their own insights and guesses.
Zhuge showed a look of sudden realization, "No wonder the Adeptus Mechanicus loves bread machines so much; they must know about this."
"There must be a legend circulating within the Adeptus Mechanicus that the strongest technological crystallization of the Hall of Truth was crafted into a bread machine. Finding that bread machine would grant control over the power of the Omnissiah."
Warmaster looked at Zhuge, "Don't say it, but don't say it, it all lines up."
"These oil-stained guys are too secretive; they actually kept such a secret under wraps," Sea Turtle nodded, agreeing with Zhuge's guess.
"Good heavens, this ability to imagine, truly admirable."
"I have to say, it's quite logical. Before, I was wondering why the oil-stained guys had such a soft spot for bread machines?"
"With this, building megastructures is no longer a dream!" Tenjiro reached out and took the bread machine from Wednesday's hand, holding it as if it were a rare treasure. "Human civilization will surely become great again!"
"Make Human Empire great again!"
"Let those damned Tau see who the barbarians are!"
"Develop technology, dominate the galaxy, conquer the universe! Humanity must be the most awesome!"
"..."
The other Players echoed him one after another.
With this thing, many ideas could be easily realized.
The future of humanity would surely be infinitely bright.
"I also think it's feasible."
A faint voice suddenly sounded out of nowhere,
making the Players of the Emperor Niuma Battle Group look at each other and turn their heads to search.
"Who was talking just now?"
"That voice is a bit unsettling, isn't it?"
"Damn it, the Warhammer Universe isn't haunted, is it?"
"Speaking of which, the Warhammer Universe really does seem to have ghosts; Psykers can see ghosts."
"..."
Zhuge, standing in the crowd, stroked his chin. He thought of something and tentatively called out into the air.
"Yellow Old Man, are you there?"
Boom!
A bright lightning bolt appeared,
and Zhuge was instantly killed.
Warmaster: "(ΩДΩ)"
Tenjiro: "(ΩДΩ)"
Twisted person: "(ΩДΩ)"
The Players looked at Zhuge, who had been turned into charcoal, silently mourned for this brother for three seconds, and then quietly distanced themselves, fearing that they would be implicated.
"From the setting, we are the God Chosen of the Emperor, so there's a certain probability that He can hear what we say."
Tenjiro speculated,
"This game is so realistic, it must have also created an Emperor character, who is probably watching us right now."
"It's over, my embarrassing moments in Reality won't be seen, will they?" Twisted person was a bit uneasy.
"What did you do? Why are you so worried about being seen? Did you go for Slaanesh?" Warmaster asked curiously.
"I did something that I don't know if it's a good deed or a bad one," Twisted person said. "A few days ago, I went out with friends, and I happened to see that the zipper on the back of the girl in our group was undone, exposing her entire back. Everyone on the road was looking."
"So I kindly reminded her, and she said she was holding things and couldn't free her hands, so she asked me to help her."
"And then?" Tenjiro also became interested.
"She cursed me for being shameless and taking advantage of her, and how could I tolerate that? So I pulled it down again, and then I got a slap," Twisted person said.
"Did you ever consider that when she said 'help her,' she meant helping her with the things in her hands?" Warmaster said.
Twisted person's eyes widened, "Why should I help her hold them? If I took them, wouldn't she keep making me hold them?"
Tenjiro hesitated to speak, but finally asked.
"Twisted person, you're not still single, are you?"
"Huh? How did you know?"
"You're so Sigma, isn't it normal to be single?"
Tenjiro's face showed a look of speechlessness.
Sea Turtle and the others also silently gave him a thumbs up.
Wednesday, seeing them do this, followed suit.
This scene was strangely comical.
Warmaster stroked his forehead, shaking his head, "I can already imagine how she's going to badmouth you behind your back: 'Sisters, who understands? Today I met a total jerk...'"
"..."
The Players' conversation drifted further and further, until Tenjiro finally pulled it back, telling them to move the spoils of war out first.
The Players took everything from BR01 Experimental Base,
including relics from the Golden Age, research data on mutated species, and the living robot—Wednesday.
On the other side,
Alex, who was entering the underground with Dante through the Angel Keep tunnel, suddenly saw a light screen appear before him.
[Mission: Obtain Energy-Matter Conversion Technology,
In a galaxy, the matter of stars is the largest, and they contain the most energy, but how to mine stars has always been a troublesome problem.
Now, the God Chosen have found a bread machine capable of energy-matter conversion in the ruins of the Golden Age. If used well, it might be possible to mine stellar resources with it.
Please retrieve the bread machine from the Players, acquire the conversion technology, and reward them with a Golden eagle medal.
Mission Reward: Large amount of Faith Points, Dark Tongue Skill (Repel)
Repel: This skill ignores the target's level or volume, forcefully pushing the opponent back.
]
Alex was stunned for a second when he saw the mission light screen appear, then he contacted Cortana.
"Are Players exploring the ruins??"
"The Players of the Emperor Niuma Battle Group are exploring Experimental Base BR01," Cortana replied immediately.
"Did they find a toaster?"
"Yes, they dug up a Golden Toaster."
"As soon as those little Emperor's Cannon Fodder dug it out, Yellow Old Man came sniffing around. This speed is too fast! Is that guy doing nothing all day, just peeking at the little Emperor's Cannon Fodder?"
After a thorough complaint, Alex gave Cortana a task.
"Issue a mission to the Players of the Emperor Niuma Battle Group: obtain the toaster from them and reward them with a Golden eagle medal."
"Understood."
The communication cut off, and Cortana quickly went to carry out Alex's orders.
"Holy One?" Dante's words brought Alex back to his senses. "You were distracted."
"My apologies, I was thinking of something," Alex covered up his distraction.
"We are about to enter the secret dungeon, please follow me and Mefiston closely," Dante said.
After discussing the reconstruction of Baal with Dante and having the Sons of Sanguinius promote Primaris upgrades, Alex subtly suggested that he wished to see the The Great Angel's remains.
Dante hesitated for a moment at this request, then nodded in agreement.
The The Great Angel's remains were placed deep underground in Angel Keep, guarded by numerous killing fields and sealed with various special enchantments.
Without guidance, even if Baal were to fall, it would be difficult to enter the The Great Angel's tomb.
Led by Dante and Mefiston, Alex stepped into the gloomy underground tunnel.
Mefiston, walking at the very front, carried a lantern emitting a faint blood-red glow, complementing the weak luminescence released by the glowing organisms growing on the vaulted ceiling.
Water dripped from somewhere above, making the tunnel very damp.
This made Alex somewhat curious.
Baal was as dry as ash; even the water needed to reconstruct the ecosystem had to be collected from outside the planet. Where did this seeping, dripping water come from?
It seemed these water droplets were not from Baal itself, which meant these tunnels connected to other worlds.
"These tunnels are very mysterious; they existed before humanity even reached Baal," Dante explained, seeing the fleeting confusion on Alex's face.
"The tunnels can only be entered from the entrance. If one tries to dig in from the outside, the tunnels cannot be found."
"We have tried digging many times, but unfortunately, we found nothing but rocks and ruins; there was no trace of the tunnels at all."
"It seems this place is full of secrets," Alex said.
Every Primarch's home world was full of secrets.
Sanguinius's wings were likely related to Baal itself.
The tunnels were deep, quiet, and intricate. Some areas had strong psychic energy that resonated with the Warp, enhancing the power of the Librarians.
Due to the tunnels' characteristics, Mefiston and other psykers liked to meditate and hold meetings within them to discuss sorcery, rituals, and other issues.
In addition, the tunnels were also used by the Blood Angels Chapter as a dungeon to house dangerous relics they had collected.
A bolter with 105% accuracy, provided it was fed the souls and blood of innocents.
A crown that could grant immense psychic power but would drive its wearer into mental chaos.
A sword that could kill any enemy and burned with black flames.
A magical key that, when used to open a door, would randomly teleport the user to an enemy, but their soul would glow in the Warp.
A large lizard that, once killed, would revive after a period of time.
A Death Quill, which could kill a target by writing their name and method of death; however, if the target escaped the written death, it would kill the user.
The dungeon contained many artifacts, each with a dark and bloody history, and incredibly powerful abilities.
If they fell into the hands of those with ill intentions, they would cause terrible disasters.
The Blood Angels contained these items here solely to prevent them from harming innocent people.
"Jie! Jie!"
"A new angel, interesting, interesting."
As they passed a secret chamber, a strange laugh came from within.
"That is the Eight-Faced Monster, a terrifying Chaos creature," Mefiston said. "Ever since it was contained and imprisoned by the Blood Angels, it has been constantly trying to corrupt the guards and escape."
"So, it's a prisoner," Alex muttered, then continued forward with Dante and Mefiston, delving deeper into Baal's underground.
After some arduous travel, Alex and his party finally reached the tomb of the The Great Angel, Sanguinius.
The tomb was magnificent, adorned with many carvings depicting Sanguinius's achievements.
Sculptures of heroes lined both sides of the tomb's pathway.
Even in death, they continued to guard their Primarch's peace in their own way.
The entire tomb was vast and silent, with only the footsteps of Alex, Dante, and Mefiston echoing.
They passed the hero sculptures and arrived before the tomb.
The The Great Angel was placed in a sarcophagus made of bloodstone and adamantium, enveloped by a stasis field.
Dante and Mefiston knelt on one knee before Sanguinius's sarcophagus.
Alex stepped forward to examine the The Great Angel's body.
Even though he had mentally prepared himself, Alex was still shocked and found it hard to accept what he saw when he gazed upon Sanguinius's corpse.
Sanguinius's wings were broken, the shocking crimson blood staining the pure white feathers.
His shoulders were shattered and cracked, with fragmented, translucent white bone shards, flesh, and armor fragments mixed together.
The golden war armor on his chest was utterly ruined, with no even slightly intact pieces to be found; his entire lung cavity had even collapsed inward.
A golden mask covered his face, but from the shattered flesh exposed at the forehead and edges, it was clear that beneath the mask was likely a completely broken skull.
It was hard to imagine what kind of torment Sanguinius had endured on the Avenging Spirit to end up in such a state.
Sanguinius was once the most handsome being in the Human Empire.
He treated every brother with sincerity.
He wept for the suffering of mortals and repeatedly put himself in danger to protect them.
At the Gate of Helios, he ordered the gates opened, solely so that innocent soldiers could enter the city for refuge.
At the Walls of Delphi, he openly spoke of his fears, giving the power of choice to the war-weary, exhausted, and desperate civilians and soldiers.
Before the Eternity Gate, he fought relentlessly, battling a Khorne Greater Daemon, a Titan, and his own traitorous brother alone, all so that the innocent could retreat to the sanctuary as much as possible.
"Does this universe really enjoy destroying beautiful things so completely?"
A hint of sadness welled up in Alex's heart.
"Holy One." Dante, having finished his prayer, stood up; his voice roused Alex from his contemplation.
"The great mistake made by Horus," Alex said. "We must find a way to make amends as much as possible."
"What do you intend to do, Holy One?" Dante inquired.
"We must resurrect the The Great Angel," Alex said calmly. "That is what I intend to do."
Dante and Mefiston's eyes widened, unable to believe their ears.