Andy followed the Chief Surgeon into the black spire.
Though called a laboratory, it was actually a repurposed chemical cooling tower with thick iron plating welded onto the exterior to seal out the swamp's toxic gases. As soon as he stepped inside, Andy's senses were hit with a massive shock. If the acid swamp outside was chemically foul, this place was biologically putrid. The humidity was incredibly high, and condensation clung to the walls in heavy droplets—each one potentially harboring thousands of lethal pathogens.
"This... this is our Sanctuary."
The Chief Surgeon clutched his chest, his speech slightly whistling through the gaps where Andy had slapped out several of his teeth. He pointed toward the massive glass vats in the center of the hall, his tone still carrying a lingering, remnant pride.
Those two-meter-high glass vats were filled with a murky, yellowish liquid. Suspended in the center were massive, slightly twitching lumps of meat. Upon closer inspection, these weren't naturally grown tissues but "stitched horrors" made from various biological organs—livers, lungs, and intestines—sewn together with coarse surgical thread. Growing on the surface of these meat masses was a thick layer of mold, so dark green it appeared black.
This was the core pharmaceutical technology of the "Beak Doctors."
Andy was somewhat disappointed; he had hoped to finally see some decent technology. However, in the Underhive of the Warhammer universe, science had long been dead. All that remained were experience, dogma, and endless superstition. These doctors didn't understand molecular biology or genetic engineering. They were merely a group of butchers who had stumbled upon ancient fragments of knowledge.
They didn't know that antibiotics were secreted by fungi; they only knew that if they sewed a mutant's liver and a rat's intestine together, soaked them in acid water at a specific temperature, and scraped off the resulting green fuzz, they could cure gunshot wounds and infections.
To Andy, this was a classic case of a cargo cult. Primitive people see a plane drop supplies, taste the sweetness, and then build a straw model of a plane to worship every day, hoping more food will fall from the sky. These doctors imitated illustrations from ancient medical texts, donned hazmat suits and beak masks, and performed complex cutting rituals, but in reality, they possessed no systematic technology.
Andy walked up to one of the vats. His STC analysis activated, and a red laser beam scanned the layer of green mold.
[Sample Confirmed: Penicillin Variant (Strain ID: P-772)][Origin: Dark Age of Technology "Gaia Project" Environmental Remediation Strain (Severely Degraded/Mutated)][Active Ingredients: Penicillin G, Streptomycin Residue][Impurities: Cadaverine, Putrescine, Multiple Unknown Biological Toxins]
Andy looked at the analysis report and felt reassured. Though crude, the substance was indeed effective. This mutated strain was highly antimicrobial, capable of killing even the super-bacteria unique to the Underhive. However, its toxicity was also staggering. A normal person drinking this medicine might be cured of their infection, but their liver and kidney functions would essentially be destroyed.
"You give this to patients?" Andy pointed to a bottle of freshly extracted, murky green liquid on a nearby workbench.
The Chief Surgeon nodded. "This is the Water of Life. One bottle can be traded for a hundred slaves."
"But it's full of corpse toxins," Andy pointed out bluntly.
"Those are the side effects of the medicine's potency," the Chief Surgeon argued. "Only by enduring the trial of pain can the flesh be purified."
Andy was beyond arguing with his fanatical theories. He directly plugged a data probe into a nearby vintage server. The machine looked at least five hundred years old—clearly scavenged—with a circular screen flickering with green characters. Andy began downloading the data.
Even though these doctors didn't understand the underlying principles, the experimental logs they had accumulated over the years were invaluable. Which organ-cultured strains were the most active? At what temperature did the mold grow fastest? This data had been tested using countless live subjects.
Now, Andy didn't need to perform those cruel experiments. He only needed to take the data and correct it using the proper formulas from the STC database. By replacing the disgusting organ culture medium with clean starch and amino acid solutions, and purifying it through a centrifuge, he could obtain industrial-grade antibiotics with a purity of over 98%. The cost would be less than one percent of the current price, and the effectiveness would be a hundred times better.
Andy pulled out the probe as the data transfer completed. He turned to face the trembling Chief Surgeon.
"From today on, this production process is obsolete," Andy's voice left no room for doubt. "I will provide you with new equipment blueprints and new biochemical formulas. You won't need to go out and harvest organs anymore; it's too inefficient and disgusting. Using starch, sugar, and yeast, we can make something far more decent. You will only be responsible for providing me with the raw materials."
The Chief Surgeon was stunned. Using starch and sugar? Could those things grow the sacred green fuzz? This completely overturned decades of his medical understanding. But he didn't dare object, as Andy's gun was still resting nearby.
Andy pointed to the primitive strains in the vats. "Also, pack me a sample of the original culture. I'm taking it with me."
This mutated strain, selected through thousands of years in a high-radiation environment, had incredible vitality—it was a rare biological asset. Once taken back to the shelter and modified slightly, it might become a key component for the hydroponic farms.
The Chief Surgeon hurried to direct his subordinates, carefully scraping a bottle of the culture from the most active-looking vat and handing it to Andy in a specialized lead box. Andy took the box and tucked it into his pouch.
Not bad. The objectives of this operation were basically achieved. Not only had he secured chemical raw materials, but he had also seized control over the medical lifeblood of the Underhive.
Just as Andy was preparing to leave, he discovered an encrypted folder in the database he had just downloaded. The folder name was simple: [Special Clients]. Andy cracked it easily. The list wasn't long, but every name was followed by massive transaction amounts. One name caught Andy's attention:
[Helios Pharmaceutical Group]
It was them again. Back in the Rust Brotherhood's fungal farm, the military-grade herbicide that caused the farm's destruction was manufactured by this group. And now, this group turned out to be a major client of the Beak Doctors. The transaction logs showed that the Helios Group regularly purchased large quantities of "primitive toxic strains" and "mutated organ specimens" from here.
This was very interesting. Why would a giant corporation that monopolized the high-end medical market in the upper hive levels secretly buy virus-laden, radiation-soaked rotten meat from a garbage dump like the Underhive?
Usually, there was only one explanation: they were conducting biochemical weapons research or performing heretical experiments strictly forbidden by Imperial law. To them, the Underhive was a natural, unregulated, massive petri dish. They released viruses here, observed the mutations, and then collected samples. The destruction of the Rust Brotherhood's farm might have just been a minor episode in their "clearing" of an experimental site. Even the Skinner gang's mad expansion might have been fueled by them behind the scenes to create more corpses and casualties for drug testing.
From the pharmaceutical giants above to the black market doctors below, and the gangs roaming the streets... a hidden chain of interests emerged in Andy's mind.
But he showed no outward sign of suspicion. He shut down the data slate and tucked it into the inner pocket of his hazmat suit.
"Alright, that's it. Take me to see your leader," Andy patted the Chief Surgeon on the shoulder, making the man flinch. "Remember, in a few days, I'll send people over with new equipment. From now on, I'm taking your entire output of medicine. I set the price, I set the rules, and I get all the materials. If anyone tries to ship goods privately..."
Andy pointed toward the corpses of the Flesh Golems outside. "You know what the consequences will be."