Underhive, edge of the ruins.
Andy stood inside the overturned transport, holding a heavy metal briefcase. The case was emblazoned with the Helios Group logo and stamped with the word "CONFIDENTIAL."
Gamma-9 had just finished cutting through the door, and Andy's sensors locked onto the case immediately. According to the STC scan, it contained high-density storage media. However, Andy was far more interested in something else inside the cargo hold.
Bolted into a corner was a massive cryogenic stasis pod. Through the thick layers of reinforced armorglass, the contents were clearly visible.
It was a "Purplestone Man," completely crystallized.
His physical structure had been utterly transformed; every muscle and every bone had turned into translucent purple crystals, emitting an eerie, faint glow in the dark cabin. This was clearly no ordinary corpse, but rather the product of a "Molecular Matter Reconstructor" operating at full power. In other words, this body was a perfect specimen of an organic being subjected to a high-energy physics field.
If he could analyze the crystal structure, Andy might be able to reverse-engineer certain operational parameters of the reconstructor, gaining an intelligence advantage for his next move. More importantly... Andy's electronic eyes fixed on the corpse's chest.
Beneath the translucent crystal ribs was a heart. It had not turned to crystal; it retained its fleshy texture and was still beating—ever so slowly.
"Hiss... that's some tenacity..." Andy couldn't help but marvel.
This was undoubtedly a high-level mutant of a Genestealer. Even with its body turned to stone, its core organ managed to linger on. Such a potent biological sample would be a massive boon to the original strains if thrown into the vault's bioreactor.
"Gamma-9!" Andy shouted. "Stop daydreaming. Get this pod and the case onto our vehicle. Move fast. My radar shows several unidentified vehicles approaching at high speed."
Andy looked into the distance. The STC's long-range early warning system had already picked up several red dots.
Just as Gamma-9 and the others began moving the spoils, the radar alarm blared. Three red dots sliced into the edge of the radar range at extreme speeds. Armored assault vehicles—entirely black and devoid of reflective coating—slid silently to a position less than fifty meters from Andy, using the terrain as cover.
They were not friendly, and they were likely professionals.
The doors slid open, and twelve black figures emerged. They wore fully enclosed black Carapace Armour, their helmets devoid of any insignias or expressions. They wielded short, lethal Hellguns.
Carapace Armour was standard issue for the Astra Militarum's elite Stormtroopers, composed of multi-layered ceramic plates and high-strength plasteel composites, offering defense far superior to ordinary flak vests. The Hellgun was a high-powered variant of the lasgun, connected to a back-mounted high-energy power pack, capable of firing laser beams that could easily burn through light armor.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Without a single word or warning, three cylindrical objects were tossed precisely at the feet of Gamma-9 and the escort team.
BOOM! BOOM!
Blinding white light and massive concussive roars erupted instantly. Flashbangs.
Gamma-9 let out a cry of pain, collapsing as his overloaded electronic eye short-circuited. The other escort members were left reeling, blood trickling from their ears, completely losing their combat effectiveness.
Sizzle—! Sizzle—!
A barrage of laser beams followed immediately. High-energy bolts from the Hellguns slammed into the stone cover, causing the rock to crackle and pop as its surface melted into red-hot magma. The escort team was pinned down, unable to even lift their heads.
Andy quickly vaulted onto the armored vehicle, glancing at the Heavy Stubber in his hand. The drum held less than a hundred rounds. At the firing rate of a Heavy Stubber, he'd be out of ammo in thirty seconds. Moreover, using such large-caliber armor-piercing rounds at this range risked ricochets that could damage the precious transport wreckage.
Most importantly, Andy didn't want to damage the experimental specimen. If it got blown apart, it would be useless for research.
Click. Andy slotted the Heavy Stubber back into the vehicle mount.
He didn't need a gun. At a close range of fifty meters, a DAOT (Dark Age of Technology) engineering frame was the ultimate weapon. Andy's hydraulic leg systems began to hum. In the next second, the ground exploded into two deep pits.
The half-ton metal body, propelled by massive reactionary force, turned into a gray blur and charged out.
The lead Cleaner squad leader reacted instantly. Seeing Andy charging, he showed no panic. He abandoned his rifle and drew a Power Maul flickering with blue electrical arcs from his waist. This was a potent power weapon, utilizing a field generator to create a disruptive field upon impact, capable of shattering molecular structures.
The squad leader dodged to the side, his maul trailing a blue afterimage as he swung it violently toward Andy's knee joint. He intended to cripple Andy's mobility.
CLANG—!!!
A massive boom echoed. The Power Maul struck the side of Andy's knee squarely. The blue field erupted, sending sparks flying everywhere. The squad leader expected the strike to snap the hydraulic rod or at least bend it into a lock.
But Andy's leg didn't even wobble. The engineering alloys of the Golden Age possessed a hardness that would make any modern materials scientist question reality.
"?" The squad leader froze for a split second, instinctively wondering if his weapon was a cheap knock-off.
Before he could react, Andy's massive mechanical hand swept down, seizing the squad leader's helmet. The speed was terrifying, far exceeding the limits of human neural response. The squad leader tried to struggle, but Andy's fingers were like five hydraulic clamps, crushing his head.
Crunch. Andy exerted a bit of force.
The high-strength tactical helmet, claimed to withstand bolter fragments, let out an agonizing groan. Ceramic plates shattered, and the plasteel shell deformed. Then—Splurch!!!
Red and white matter squeezed out from the gaps of the mangled helmet. The squad leader's body went limp instantly.
Andy tossed the corpse aside as casually as a crushed soda can. The surrounding Cleaners saw this and immediately swiveled their guns.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
High-energy laser beams struck Andy's chest plate. The metal armor turned red instantly, the anti-corrosive coating burning away to leave charred spots. But that was it. A Hellgun meant for light infantry would need at least thirty seconds of sustained fire to burn through engineering armor of this thickness.
Andy wasn't going to give them thirty seconds. He stepped forward, closing the distance to the soldier currently firing. Without any fancy maneuvers, he delivered a simple straight punch.
THOOM!!!
The punch carried tons of kinetic energy, slamming into the soldier's chest. The carapace breastplate—the pride of the Astra Militarum—shattered upon impact. The massive shockwave conducted directly into the chest cavity, pulverizing the soldier's sternum and ribs while rupturing his lungs and heart instantly.
The soldier was sent flying backward, slamming into the side armor of the assault vehicle behind him. Bang! His body was flattened against the armor plate like a meat patty before sliding down slowly, leaving a horrific trail of blood.
The remaining Cleaners finally felt fear. They tried to retreat and open the distance. But in this narrow ruin-choked terrain, how could two-legged humans outrun an all-hydraulic-driven Iron Man?
Andy dove into the crowd, initiating a highly efficient purge.
He seized a man's arm and yanked; the entire limb, along with the shoulder ligaments, was torn out by brute force. He kicked a man in the thigh; the leg snapped backward, broken bone piercing through flesh. Finally, only the driver of one armored vehicle remained alive. He tried to start the engine to flee, the wheels kicking up dust.
Andy caught up in a few strides and grabbed the armored door handle of the cockpit.
Groan—
Andy planted his feet and the hydraulic pistons in his waist surged. The sound of tearing metal rang through the area as the heavy, welded armored door was ripped clean off its frame. The driver inside stared at Andy in terror, his submachine gun not yet raised.
Andy reached in, grabbed his tactical vest, hauled him out, and slammed him heavily into the ground.
Snap. The sound of a broken cervical spine.
The battle was over. Three minutes. Twelve fully armed elite Cleaners—annihilated.
The scene was strewn with twisted carapace shards and mangled corpses. Andy stood among the bodies, shaking the blood and brain matter from his hands.
"All done. Gamma-9, you useless sack of bolts," Andy shouted with a hint of exasperation. This generation of Cogboys was really hard to carry.
At this moment, Gamma-9 poked half his head out from behind cover. His electronic eye was still flickering and sparking, clearly damaged by the flashbang, but he could still see the carnage on the battlefield.
"Omnissiah be praised..." Gamma-9 crawled up, performing an exaggerated gesture of worship toward Andy. "Is... is this the legendary close-quarters combat of a Magos? Crushing the flesh of heretics with a body of steel, purifying filthy souls with pure strength! Your fists are the wrathful hammers of the Machine God!"
On the other side, Andy leaned halfway into the wrecked armored vehicle and pulled out a black hard drive. He plugged a data probe from his finger into the drive's interface. A massive stream of data flooded into his logic core; the encryption was high-level.
It took ten seconds to crack. When the contents were displayed before Andy's eyes, he froze for a moment.