Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 361 In-depth Investigation
Upon receiving the prophetic intelligence, 32 and Guterres immediately launched a cleanup operation. 32 used a control chip to command the modified Bloodfinger gang members, coordinating with the Ministry of Justice squad to raid the cult's stronghold.

The gang members, transformed into cyborgs with reddish eyes, silently surged toward their first target—a cult stronghold located beneath an abandoned water treatment plant, armed with welding torches and cutting saws.

The Ministry of Justice's bailiff squad followed closely behind.

When the vanguard broke down the rusted metal door, they were met with a barrage of laser gun fire—five cultists with bloody handprints branded on their chests were hiding behind piles of pipes, putting up a last-ditch resistance.

"Purification protocol activated." The mechanical voice of 32 rang out coldly in the communication channel.

The modified warriors immediately raised their left arms, and flamethrowers mounted on their wrists spewed out scorching promethium flames.

Amid screams, two cult members engulfed in flames staggered out of their cover, only to be precisely blown to the head by a bailiff's explosive rounds.

The air was immediately filled with the smell of burnt meat and the pungent odor of burning promethium.

Suddenly, an unnatural tremor came from the ground.

Almost at the same moment, the sewage pool in the center of the water purification plant exploded, and a three-meter-tall, red-skinned mutated giant roared and leaped out.

Its deformed right arm ends not with a hand, but with a giant axe that grows from bone.

"It's a mutant!" the bailiff captain roared, ordering a retreat.

But it was too late. The monster charged and sent three modified warriors flying. Their metal bodies twisted and deformed from the impact, and sparks and hydraulic fluid gushed out from their broken joints.

Just as the mutant raised his bone axe to chop down, the ceiling suddenly exploded.

Guterres's Astartes squad descended like divine punishment. The forged axe in his hand gleamed with a cold metallic luster in the dim light, and the blade crackled with electricity as he slammed it down on the mutant.

Ten bomb guns fired simultaneously, and dense explosions bloomed into countless blood flowers on the monster's body.

The mutant let out a painful howl and turned to swing his axe at the nearest warrior.

Guterres lowered his waist and exerted force, causing the power armor's servo system to emit a low hum.

He gripped the forging axe tightly with both hands and delivered a powerful horizontal slash towards the mutant's waist.

The moment the axe blade collided with the monster's exoskeleton, dazzling sparks erupted, and the heavy axe body forcefully cleaved the mutant backward.

"For the Emperor!" Guterres neither dodged nor avoided, his arm muscles bulging with veins thanks to his power armor.

The forging axe drew a deadly arc from bottom to top, colliding with the bone axe in mid-air.

With a deafening explosion, the mutant's weapon was cleaved in two.

Guterres seized the opportunity, took a step forward, and swung his great axe down with tremendous force, cleaving the abominable creature in two from shoulder to waist.

Foul black blood gushed from the wound, turning the stagnant water a strange purplish-black.

Guterres flicked the blood off the forging axe, a flash of electricity crossing its blade.

32 assessed the battle situation using images transmitted back by the reconnaissance aircraft, her mechanical eye flashing as she analyzed the data. "Continue the advance!" she ordered all units. "According to intelligence, the main altar is on the lower level."

Following her command, the cleanup force regrouped and marched over the corpses of cultists and mutants into the darker depths of the Underhive.
-
Meanwhile, guided by the prophecy, MaiMai and Twilight begin to investigate the forces behind the "Hand of Redemption." The two men sit facing each other in an archive room filled with data panels, their solemn faces illuminated by the blue light of a holographic projection.

“These files have been tampered with.” Dusk tapped the table with his knuckles, his metal prosthetic eye gleaming. “The key information has been cleverly scattered across different files.”

Mai Mai looked up from a pile of holographic recorders and projected several documents side by side: "But the clues all point in the same direction—the von Kleist family of Shangchao."

Investigations revealed that this long-established aristocratic family, ostensibly operating in the medical industry, had actually been funding the Blood Oath Order's "mutation reversal" research for a long time. The twilight hues revealed the flow of funds, a complex network weaving in the air.

As dusk settles, the financial database unfolds a holographic projection of the von Kleist family's cash flows over the past five years. A complex network of companies shimmers in the air, like an intricately woven spiderweb.

“Look here,” Twilight zoomed in on one of the nodes, “'New Dawn Biotechnology'—ostensibly a company developing new types of medical prosthetics, but in reality, its funds ultimately flowed into the Blood Oath Order’s 'gene reconstruction' project.”

MaiMai frowned: "But three months ago, the funding suddenly stopped?"

"No, it's not broken, it's been redirected." Twilight quickly operated the interface, pulling out a new data chain: "The funds have been reshuffled and injected into the account of 'Hand of Redemption' through another shell company, 'Holy Mark Medical'."

Mai Mai squinted: "'Holy Mark Medical'...that name sounds familiar."

He pulled up recent news: "Wait, this company was just exposed last month for an 'experimental accident' that killed three researchers, but the investigation report was vague."

"Coincidence? I don't believe it." Dusk sneered.

MaiMai retrieved all the "accidental deaths" related to "The Hand of Redemption" and began cross-referencing them.

“All the deceased had one thing in common—they had all received ‘special treatment’ from the von Kleist Medical Group.” He pointed to the holographic files: “Some had ‘genetic optimization treatments,’ some had ‘neural enhancement surgery,’ and a few even had ‘psychological evaluations.’”

As dusk settled in, he perused one of the autopsy reports: "The causes of death varied—cardiac arrest, cerebral hemorrhage, organ failure… but the autopsies all mentioned one detail: trace amounts of unknown compounds remained in the bodies of the deceased."

"Like some kind of biomarker?" MaiMai speculated.

“Or it could be some kind of ‘trigger’.” Dusk pointed to the surveillance interference records: “Before each death, the surveillance footage would show snow-like noise, as if some kind of energy field was interfering with the electronic equipment.”

“These clues are not difficult to find, so why did the court take no action?” Mai Mai questioned.

Dusk sneered: "Two possibilities—either they were misled, or someone inside deliberately suppressed the investigation."

“If it’s the latter, then contacting the court directly would be like walking into a trap.” MaiMai pondered for a moment: “Let’s not alert them. Let’s investigate ourselves. The von Kleist family must be a breakthrough point.”

Dusk nodded: "Start with their medical center?"

“No, that’s too conspicuous.” MaiMai pulled up a file: “Check this first—the surviving researcher of ‘Holy Mark Medical’. It’s said that he went insane after leaving the company and has been staying at a sanatorium in the Lower Nest.”

Dusk grinned: "Looks like we'll have to go 'visit' this insider."

(End of this chapter)