Start with a core cabin

Chapter 1812: Groping in the Dark (The Temperature Starts to Drop Again)

For Mary, conducting an investigation was not a difficult task. She first came to the Unified God Realm and asked the Night Guard who was responsible for guarding the portal for information. Then she went to that world and met with the governor there. Perhaps it was Mary's decent behavior and words that made the governor put down his worries and vigilance, or perhaps he felt that there was really nothing to hide, so he quickly explained Duanmu Huai's actions to Mary.

After summarizing all the clues and intelligence, Mary immediately called everyone else together and held a quick meeting.

"Right now, it seems like there aren't any big problems on this planet, at least nothing that's happened yet."

Mary tapped her notebook, but Lorena next to her frowned.

"But we know that just because there are no problems now doesn't mean there won't be any in the future. You've all seen the situation in the lower hives... At least Miss Satori doesn't think so, right?"

"right."

Hearing Lorena's question, Menmu Sanatori, who was looking up at the sky as if admiring the scenery, nodded nonchalantly.

"Those aren't human, so it doesn't matter if you chop them up."

In fact, Mary and the others had originally planned to follow Duanmu Huai's patrol route again, but as soon as they entered the production area, Mianmu Satori's eyes lit up and she wanted to draw her sword to kill someone. Fortunately, Lorena and Alicia were quick to catch her and take her away from there... Otherwise, who knows what would have happened.

Although the logic of Menmu Satori's behavior is very confusing, at least the girls are very clear that she also follows her own rules - humans are not killed, but non-humans can be killed at will. Of course, this logic itself is very Inquisition, and perhaps this is why Duanmu Huai is willing to bring Menmu Satori to join the Inquisition.

But the most important thing is that Nemu-Satori can tell who is human and who is not at a glance. For her, "you just need to look at it to know it." Of course, other people can't understand it, and can only attribute it to some kind of "speciality" of Nemu-Satori.

But no matter what, since Nemu-Satori said that those workers are not human, then there is a high possibility that they are not human.

"Mr. Duanmu can't fail to see it. To be honest, I think given his personality, his first reaction would be to blow up the city without saying anything."

Mary obviously knew Duanmu Huai very well, and Lorena nodded.

"Yes, I heard from the Night Guard that he also brought a lot of hot melt bombs."

Having said that, the two looked at each other and exchanged helpless looks.

After all, Duanmu Huai really likes to use this thing, and this is not the first or second time they have run away in fear because of it.

“But according to the Governor, he said the teachers praised his governance and said such an orderly and vibrant community was very worthy of appreciation….”

Naruse Mio's expression was somewhat speechless.

"I think the teacher is mocking him."

"If Ms. Satori is right, the entire production area is filled with aliens, then it is indeed ironic."

Mary also found this ironic. As the supreme ruler of this city, the governor knew nothing about what was happening under his command. It was simply like...

"A house with rats all over its floorboards, but the people standing on the floorboards are totally unaware of it."

"Ugh..."

Hearing Naruse Mio's analogy, the expressions of the others changed slightly.

"This metaphor is really apt, and really scary."

"Well first, we need to figure out what species these aliens are. Actually, from the Inquisition manual, I can only think of one."

"Me too."

The girls looked at each other and said in unison.

"Genestealer."

"This thing really looks like a monster that would appear in a horror movie."

"According to the Inquisition Manual, only the first two generations of Genestealers will retain alien features. By the third generation, they are almost indistinguishable from humans, except for their bald heads and fangs..."

"It seems that those workers we just saw all have bald heads."

Lorena gave a silent reminder.

"Your Excellency the Inquisitor is also bald, so this doesn't count."

Alicia raised her objection.

“But what if the other person is a woman?”

“That would be terrifying indeed.”

Alicia touched her long pink hair and decisively changed her position.

"Hair is a girl's life."

"But the manual says that the Genestealers will send out signals to attract the Hive Mind to devour the planet. If that's the case, then what Sir Knight is doing is a bit strange."

Lorena said in confusion.

"I remember that when the Knights encountered the Hive Fleet before, they treated it as a formidable enemy and would directly blow up the entire galaxy."

Everyone still remembers this clearly, after all, when Duanmu Huai encountered other aliens, he would at most blow up a planet. But when he encountered the Zerg Hive Fleet, he would directly blow up the star and destroy the entire galaxy without saying a word, leaving no chance for the other party to survive.

"Maybe it's because there's not enough biomass on this planet? According to the Governor, the city's permanent population seems to be only tens of millions, which may not even be as many as a hive fleet. If I were a hive fleet, I would have a sumptuous meal to eat, so why would I bother looking for food that won't fill my stomach?"

"Ah, speaking of this, I went to a restaurant in the Star Alliance before. I saw on the advertisement that it was a nutritious food. As a result, I spent a lot of effort and took a battleship for several days to get there. In the end, all I got was a small plate of pudding, and it was artificial... Can I complain? Is this considered interstellar fraud?"

“Internet celebrity food is like this…”

"That's off topic, you two."

Mary coughed silently and pulled back Aliza and Naruse Mio, who had already changed the subject to something far away.

"Anyway, we know that the aliens on this planet are Genestealers... There shouldn't be any greenskins, right?"

"No, the Governor also said that there are no green-skinned orcs on this planet."

"Then what does Mr. Duanmu want the orc crown for?"

Facing the question raised by Mary, the other girls also fell silent, only Mianme Satori was still humming a song out of boredom as usual. It seemed that she didn't pay any attention to their discussion at all, or maybe she really didn't care.

"…I remember the Inquisition manual said that orcs' equipment is driven by orcs' psychic energy and can only be used by orcs?"

"I'm sure."

Alicia shook the crown in her hand. "We have tried to activate it with various energies such as Honkai energy, magic power, and electricity, but all failed."

"Perhaps the Lord Knight can use it."

Lorena made a rare complaint, and she was responded with a chuckle.

"After all, his temperament is quite similar to those orcs."

“They look similar?”

"If I dye my skin green maybe it will look exactly the same?"

The girls started joking around, making the serious meeting more relaxed. Then, Naruse Mio asked curiously.

"Which one is harder to fight, the orcs or the zerg?"

"I think it's the swarm of insects. After all, Mr. Duanmu always issues extermination orders."

"We haven't encountered orcs many times, but Mr. Duanmu said that these orcs are not living creatures, but mushrooms..."

"mushroom?"

"Yes, Mr. Duanmu said that these orcs are like mushrooms. They emit spores, and then the spores grow out of the ground and become orcs... The Tribunal Manual also says so. It says that as long as one orc appears, there is a possibility that a large number of them will appear."

"It really feels like a mushroom... There is actually such a strange shape..."

"Aliens are all weird. Have we ever seen an alien that isn't weird?"

"That's true... huh?"

Just as Mary nodded in agreement with Naruse Mio's complaint, a flash of inspiration suddenly occurred to her mind, and then the girl stopped there.

"What's the matter, Miss Mary?"

Seeing Mary standing there in a daze, Alicia asked curiously, and Mary frowned.

"Orcs...are very fertile, right?"

"Ah."

"The swarm will be attracted by the large amount of biomass and attack the planet, right?"

"That's what it says in the manual."

"So, do orcs count as biomass in the eyes of the Zerg?"

“……………………”

Faced with Mary's question, everyone fell silent.

"The insect swarm didn't attack here because there was too little biomass to eat. What if a large group of orcs suddenly appeared here?"

"…………………"

The girls looked at each other, and at the same time they understood what Mary meant.

"But, in this case, wouldn't it be enough for the Inquisitor to just ask us to capture a few orcs?"

Alicia frowned.

"Why did he ask us to bring this crown?"

"Or, what exactly does Mr. Duanmu want to do?"

At this point, the girls have already vaguely sensed what Duanmu Huai wants to do. After all, from the characteristics of the greenskins and the Zerg, it can be seen that the two sides are completely complementary from a certain perspective. There are no greenskins in this world, but there are gene stealers. And Duanmu Huai went to the country of the greenskin orcs for these gene stealers...

And at this moment, suddenly, an emergency call appeared, interrupting everyone's communication.

Aikotte's voice suddenly sounded, with a hint of uneasiness.

"I have some very bad news to report to you all. Those aliens have formed a fleet and are leaving their star region under the leadership of...uncle."

"Where are they going?"

"There are many inferred heading coordinates that I'm not sure about. Fortunately, my uncle didn't let them use the webway."

This made the girls feel relieved, as they were originally worried about whether Duanmu Huai was really together with the green-skinned guy.

"But here are the speeches we intercepted from my uncle."

If there was any benefit, it was that Duanmu Huai's communication terminal was always turned on, so everyone could still hear his voice and talk. Of course, most of the time these words were incoherent, or it was completely incomprehensible what he was saying.

But it's different now.

"Listen to me, you damned, corrupt, ugly green bastards!"

Duanmu Huai's voice was as loud as ever, but it was mixed with a strange accent.

"I came here to bring you a war, a destruction! That's right, war! A very WAAAAAGH war! I know why you live and why you die! So I came! I will lead you to launch a WAAAAAGH great expedition! It will take us to the end of the galaxy and let you understand what true WAAAAAGH is! We will take back what we have lost!"

"………………………"

"What did we lose? You idiot big front tooth! Are you stupid? The crown of course! The greenskin crown, the thing that is WAAAAAGH, and can make us even more WAAAAAGH! Now, we will take it back, and then wear it, and then we will make this universe even more WAAAAAGH! We all know where that thing is! Now, just take it back, let's go!"

Following Duanmu Huai's roar, the communication was terminated again, and the girls remained silent. Then they looked at the orc crown in Alicia's hand.

"…So, what should we do now? Wait here for the Knight to come?"

"Although this is not impossible..."

Before Mary finished her words, Alicia's ears twitched slightly. She walked to the window, looked down, and then frowned slightly.

"It seems that we have more important things to do than welcoming the Inquisitor."

"what happened?"

"The rats that were hiding under the floorboards—they're coming out."