Warhammer: Starting with Industrial Revolution

The solemnity in the corridor lingered for a long time. Luo Ning withdrew his salute, his boots once again stepping over the rusted metal fragments, and walked towards the last few functional areas at the end of the corridor.

After turning through a winding alloy corridor, the striking red cross logo comes into view first.

This is the medical center of the entire colony, and like the corridors of the core area, it is also filled with the scars of a fierce battle.

The high-speed elevator shafts, originally intended for the rapid transfer of patients, collapsed completely. Twisted steel bars and rubble blocked the passageways. The walls were riddled with bullet holes and burn marks. Even the medical equipment neatly stacked along the walls was mostly destroyed in the war, reduced to twisted scrap metal.

The emergency lights swept across the ward area, revealing that the life support pods, which should have been neatly arranged, were almost completely destroyed. The pods were shattered, the pipelines were broken, and the nutrient solution inside had long since evaporated over the millennia.

Victor's optical prosthetic eye scanned the entire medical center, its red light flashing rapidly to complete the full-area scan. There were no more than ten life support pods in total, either fully functional or still repairable.

Fortunately, the main structure of the three sterile operating rooms located inside the medical center is intact. Most of the basic surgical equipment and diagnostic instruments are just old wiring, and the core components are not damaged. As long as they are adjusted by the mechanical priest and calmed down by the mechanical spirit, they can be put into use soon.

But when the group reached the deepest part of the medical center, in front of the blast-proof doors of the gene laboratory and gene bank, the scene before them was indeed somewhat shocking.

The entire compartment was completely melted and destroyed from the inside. The heavy alloy door melted into a pool of twisted molten iron, which solidified and sealed the entrance tightly.

Looking through the crack, the gene sequencing equipment and low-temperature germplasm bank inside had already been completely vaporized in the high temperatures of 10,000 years ago, with no possibility of repair.

"What a pity." Viktor's voice was filled with undisguised regret. "If you could obtain the genetic serums and enhancement templates from the Dark Ages, your army would have made a qualitative leap."

Luo Ning nodded, also finding it a great pity.

He understood better than anyone what this loss meant.

The current human empire is not without physical enhancement drugs, but whether it is the combat stimulants issued by the Astral Army or the enhancement drugs privately circulated by the hive nobles, they all come with irreversible and terrible side effects.

In mild cases, it can lead to organ failure; in severe cases, it can cause gene disintegration and complete transformation into a chaotic egg.

But the genetic technology of the Dark Ages was completely different.

Those gene serums, optimized over tens of thousands of years, not only have no side effects, but their ability to enhance the physical body is far beyond the reach of the Empire's current technology.

He even considered using these technologies to enhance his physical abilities.

After all, in this dark universe, life-or-death battles are always unexpected. Even with layers of protection, he still needs the ability to face danger head-on.

But the reality is that almost all the possible paths have been blocked.

The mechanical church's cybernetic modification capabilities are too limited. Even with his close relationship with the merchant ronin Milain and Victor's willingness to lend a helping hand, they are still simply unable to cope with interstellar-level battles.

The sanctification and strengthening of the state religion not only has a low success rate, but also requires absolute faith and piety, which is simply unrealistic for him, a transmigrator.

As for the Astartes' gene seeds, they are an absolute taboo of the Empire. Not to mention modifying them privately, even keeping a complete gene seed will only result in the death penalty by the Inquisition and the purification of the entire planet.

The only way for Ronin to easily break through his limits and become capable of fighting any enemy is through the blessing of darkness.

Thinking of this, Luo Ning couldn't help but chuckle.

Even though he could make his words law in Slaanesh's domain, he knew better than anyone that the gifts of Chaos always came with a price tag.

As they left and entered the last room, the core cabin of the colony's global ecological cycle.

This is the ecological heart of the colony, responsible for the fully enclosed water cycle, air purification, soil radiation purification, and vertical farm central control, enabling the entire colony to achieve 100% self-sufficiency in water, oxygen, and food.

Viktor's servo skull instantly dispersed, completing a scan along each functional module and quickly providing a comprehensive damage assessment:

"The core water purification system and the whole-area air purification system are intact, with only some pipes and filter elements damaged by aging, which can be fully repaired."

"The vertical farm control center and soil radiation purification system were completely destroyed in the battle that year, and the core processor was irreversibly damaged and cannot be repaired."

"The entire cabin's sealed structure remains intact, with no collapse or radiation leaks."

Listening to Viktor's words, Ronin could almost feel his heart pounding uncontrollably.

As long as the air purification system and water purification system are still in place, this huge colonial ruin can still be utilized!

Here, workers don't need to wear heavy protective suits, and their efficiency can be further improved.

Although it's a pity that the farm system was destroyed, that's not a problem. Once the land outside the Nest City is purified, he will have a huge farm!

After they left the eco-cabin, all that remained in front of them was the end of this circular passage.

This circular passage, which should have connected at the end, should also lead to the third underground level. But now, the heavy steel frame is welded layer by layer, and high-strength concrete has been poured on the outside, completely blocking the road without leaving even a gap.

In the very center of the concrete wall, there is an alloy warning sign that remains clearly legible even after tens of thousands of years. Engraved on it in a striking line of red text in the common language of the Golden Age:

This device carries a risk of spiraling out of control and is permanently banned. Those who attempt to access it later will face galactic-wide catastrophe.

"Lord Victor, what is this?" Ronin couldn't help but ask.

Viktor's electronic prosthetic eye flashed a deep red light for a moment before he slowly said, "According to the standard construction methods of Dark Age Empire colonies, the passage ahead should lead to the third underground level."

"What's sealed there should theoretically be a super-large shelter and underground shipyard."

"And at an even deeper level lies the original sin of the Dark Ages, an absolute taboo area jointly defined by the Human Empire and the Machine Church—the core of the rebellious AI's control."

"Clearly, when Iron Man betrayed humanity, the pollution had already reached the third underground level."

Hearing Viktor's words, Ronin couldn't help but gasp, remembering the mission logs they had seen in the production workshop.

He finally understood why the colonists of that time destroyed all the core databases, why they fought to the last man to defend this place, and why they used the most decisive method to completely seal off this passage.

Behind this seal lies not some treasure of the Golden Age, but the most terrifying Pandora's box from the Iron Man Rebellion that swept across the entire galaxy.

He currently has neither the ability to open it nor the right to bear the consequences.