Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 355 The Spread of Corruption
According to Gross's interrogation records, the unusual decrease in the number of corpses in the lower hive area was directly related to the rapid rise of the "Hand of Redemption" gang in the lower hive.

The rise of this mysterious organization is quite legendary—they initially had some kind of secret connection with the infamous Blood Oath Order, and Blood Oath nuns could often be seen in the slums under their control.

These nuns not only provide medical services to the underprivileged, but more shockingly, they have demonstrated an extraordinary ability to reverse mutations.

According to eyewitness testimonies, many mutants exposed to radiation contamination experienced their mutated tissues gradually returning to normal after receiving treatment.

This near-miraculous healing ability has led to the "Hand of Redemption" gaining almost fanatical followers among the mutant population.

A large number of mutant warriors volunteered to join the organization and quickly became its core armed force.

With the covert support of the Blood Oath Order and the fighting prowess of mutants, the Hand of Redemption's influence spread like wildfire from the bottom nest upwards, eventually encroaching on the power structure of the lower nest.

However, something strange happened.

All the gangs that clashed with him would eventually become friends inexplicably and join the gang alliance he established.

This bizarre peaceful spread led to a sharp decrease in gang warfare, and the Blood Oath Order's medical intervention resulted in a precipitous drop in combat casualties.

This is the key reason for the gap in the Pale Guild's corpse supply chain—while the number of natural deaths remained stable, the mortality rate of gang members, the main "source" of the corpses, decreased significantly.

Following the outbreak of the Blood Oath Rebellion, the Inquisition's thunderous strikes indeed severely damaged the Hand of Redemption's network in Lower Nest.

However, the organization has maintained its complete structure in the labyrinthine base—where the intricate tunnel system and harsh environment make the Ministry of Justice's crackdown operation extremely difficult.

Ironically, when the judges finally had the time to investigate the Underworld, they discovered that this dark zone, marked as "out of jurisdiction" on official maps, had already developed a disturbing new order.

Their investigation into the underworld was merely a belated attempt to remedy the situation after receiving a warning from Arbitrator No. 32 regarding irregularities in the black market for corpses.

“Things seem to be clear now, so is this gang our next target?” Guterres didn’t interfere with 32’s interrogation. After she reached her conclusion, Guterres then asked her about the next steps.

“No, you handle the investigation. I’ll stay and investigate this gang.” 32 quickly divided the tasks with Guterres. She was very interested in the Bloodfinger Gang: “The Bloodfinger Gang has also been influenced by that gang associated with the Blood Oath Order. I want to see exactly what kind of influence they have been affected by.”

Moreover, controlling this gang would at least give us a base to use for our operations in the underworld. Although these people are just gang members, they are still a fighting force to some extent.

Upon hearing what 32 said, Guterres simply nodded silently without asking any further questions.

He knew all too well the abilities of 32 as a mechanical sage.

If 32 really gets serious, the entire Bloodfinger Gang could probably be transformed into fighter servants, whose combat power could even rival that of a defense force.

Now that 32 had taken over the investigation, there was no need for him to interfere any further, so he left the scene with his killing squad.

A special operations officer from the Ministry of Justice stood to the side, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.

On the one hand, he felt deeply humiliated.

A gang that should have been firmly under the control of the Ministry of Justice had quietly slipped out of supervision, which was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the authority of law enforcement agencies. On the other hand, he was also puzzled: why did these gangs suddenly become so abnormal?

“According to intelligence from the Ministry of Justice, while Lower Nest has been somewhat affected by the Blood Oath Order’s rebellion, overall order has not collapsed.” The special operations officer tried to make his tone sound professional and calm, but his gaze couldn’t help but drift towards Gross, who was undergoing autopsy at 32: “The fighting between gangs continues, and the casualty figures haven’t fluctuated abnormally. We haven’t found any obvious anomalies…”

However, 32 ignored his explanation. Her mechanical prosthetic eye gleamed coldly as her scalpel precisely sliced ​​open Gross's chest. She replied casually, "The corruption of chaos is never ostentatious. It silently erodes people's hearts, especially these faithless scum who live in the bottom nest."

They weren't even aware that they had been contaminated; they simply mistook the abnormalities for ordinary mutation symptoms.

As the dissection progressed, 32 quickly discovered traces of chaotic contamination within Gross's body.

As she examined his internal organs and bones, she murmured to herself, "Corruption begins in the blood..."

Despite living in a radiation- and pollution-prone environment for a long time, Gross's body was already covered with mutated tissues, but 32 still keenly discerned the erosive features of Chaos.

After confirming Gross's corrupted state, 32 skillfully stitched him back together and then stuffed him into a specially made black stone prison.

These boxes are typically used to imprison dangerous psionicists and contain a static field that is strong enough to suppress any abnormal activity.

However, before completely sealing Gross, 32 still extracted some blood samples for research.

Even after leaving the host's body, this blood still retains a strange activity, slowly wriggling and coalescing like some kind of independent life form.

32 stared at the wriggling blood vessels in the test tube with great interest. This was clearly not an ordinary mutation, but a corruption from chaos.

However, she couldn't determine which family was corrupt.

If it were a cunning and treacherous person, then bird feathers should grow on their body.

However, it's hard to say whether the Tzeentch faction might deliberately set up a trap to sabotage other factions in order to make a big move.

If it were Negrito, it would be rotten by now.

Although the Father is the God of life, the plague of Nurgle will only corrupt everyone equally into a pile of rotten flesh and excrement.

The remaining two are both possibilities, but Slaanesh probably wouldn't look down on the trash of the bottom hive, while the Dark Prince prefers the pleasure-seeking nobles of the top hive.

Because the extreme emotions experienced by nobles are far greater than those of ordinary people like the underdogs.

As for Khorne, everyone thinks he's all about brute force, but for seasoned players, Khorne simply doesn't like intrigue and chaos magic, not that the Khorne faction doesn't use them.

To reiterate, if you personally behead someone and offer their head as a sacrifice to Khorne, Khorne will certainly be pleased; but if you use deception to offer blood as a sacrifice to the Blood God, the kobolds will not refuse.

"So, is Khorne behind all this? Based on the clues Chen Xi provided and Ahriman's investigation, everything points to Khorne." 32 fell into thought, unsure if this was the answer.

(End of this chapter)