Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 438 Gene Stealers

The obsequious officials only vaguely remembered that the governor had brought an attendant, but whether the attendant was tall or short, male or female, their memories were as hazy as if veiled by a thin mist.

The quirky nature of the Sister of Silence makes Sidgar's figure seem insignificant, like a background figure, in the eyes of ordinary people.

This natural cover actually gave Xi Dejia an excellent opportunity to observe—as long as she didn't make any big movements or deliberately attract attention, she could move like a shadow along the edge of the crowd, taking in everyone's micro-expressions and small actions.

Bored, Xi Dejia began to observe the crowd around him discreetly.

Her gaze swept over the richly dressed officials, the whispering servants, and the guards standing in the corner, searching for any suspicious clues.

Her gaze quickly settled on several oddly behaving individuals—all of whom had shaved heads and whose skin was faintly covered with the patterns of chitinous exoskeletons, reminding the nun of the beetle shells she had seen in the convent garden as a child.

The woman who was always close to the mayor, in particular, aroused Xi Dejia's high vigilance.

The woman appeared ordinary, dressed in a proper administrative uniform and wearing a polite smile, but in the Silent Sister's special perception, she was surrounded by strange psychic energy fluctuations.

These energies, like threads, coiled around the mayor and were even trying to silently spread towards Chen Xi, like some kind of invisible parasite, slowly infiltrating the target's mind.

Xi Dejia's pupils suddenly contracted.

Without hesitation, she stepped forward and released the suppression of her own powerless field.

In an instant, just as sunlight dispelled the morning mist, the illusion surrounding the female psychic collapsed, revealing her distorted true nature.

The woman was stunned for a moment, then let out a heart-wrenching scream—her true appearance was completely exposed: her bald head was covered with wrinkles, and beneath her protruding forehead were a pair of completely black compound eyes.

Only then did Chen Xi turn around as if he had just noticed something was wrong.

When he saw the woman's features clearly, his expression changed drastically. He shouted sharply, "A gene thief?! Immediately seal off the area! Sister Sidgar, execute the purification procedure! Any suspicious targets, kill them without mercy!"

The moment the order was given, the battle nuns, who had been standing as still as statues, suddenly burst forth with astonishing speed and energy.

In the blink of an eye, six shield-wielding nuns had tightly protected Chen Xi in the center, while the remaining nuns spread out in a fan shape, their explosive gun barrels pointed at the crowd in front of them.

Xi Dejia's decapitation sword was already drawn, and the officials pointed at by the sword trembled and retreated. The entire welcoming ceremony was immediately plunged into a suffocating atmosphere of killing intent. Only the gene stealer who had been exposed was still letting out inhuman screams.

The armed guards at the scene were initially bewildered, exchanging confused glances, not understanding why the welcoming ceremony site was suddenly sealed off.

But upon seeing the tribunal rose knot that Chen Xi held up, all hesitation vanished instantly. The instincts of the Imperial armed forces compelled them to submit to the authority of a judge.

"Block all exits! Group A, control the east passage! Group B, establish a fire blockade!" The hoarse shouts of the sergeants echoed at the welcoming ceremony.

The soldiers quickly sealed off all exits and set up defensive positions at key intersections.

Soldiers in heavy riot gear began to isolate the panicked crowd in batches, forming human walls with riot shields to roughly separate the nobles and officials by area.

This reaction eased Chen Xi's tense nerves slightly. He noticed that the soldiers' movements were clean and efficient, without any hesitation or abnormality. At least the contamination from the gene stealers hadn't spread to the lower ranks of the army, and this guard still maintained its loyalty to the Empire.

However, this brief moment of relief was quickly shattered.

Sidja's sword suddenly pointed at the guard formation. With the explosion of the void energy field, the bodies of three soldiers and a lieutenant began to convulse violently, and the psionic illusions that enveloped them instantly dissipated.

They twisted their bodies and let out inhuman roars. Their mutated limbs and distorted faces revealed their inhuman nature—their knuckles extended into claws, their spines twisted and deformed, and their foreheads covered with chitinous bone plates.

Chen Xi's face instantly turned ashen. His fingers, gripping the hilt of his power sword, turned white from the force, and his knuckles made a slight clicking sound.

The discovery that these monsters had infiltrated the guard command sent a shiver down his spine.

Fortunately, most soldiers remained loyal.

Although they watched in horror as their comrades, with whom they had spent every day, suddenly turned into monsters, some letting out suppressed gasps and others instinctively taking a half-step back, they still resolutely carried out the blockade mission under the orders of Chen Xi, who held the triple authority of governor, commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, and judge.

The roars of several veterans steadied the ranks: "Hold the line! These bastards don't deserve to wear this uniform!"

"Martial law throughout the city! Close the orbital airport!" Chen Xi's voice was as cold as ice, carrying an unquestionable authority.

At this moment, Chen Xi had already drawn his power sword. The blue-white energy field emitted a dangerous hum. Although he didn't need this weapon to kill enemies, it could increase his authority at this moment: "Sister Sidgar, I command you with the authority granted by the Emperor—to carry out the ultimate purification on all suspicious targets, and to execute any who resist on the spot!"

With this order, the entire city, resembling a military fortress, instantly entered a state of maximum combat readiness.

The ground began to tremble slightly, as if a sleeping giant had been awakened.

The massive anti-aircraft turret slowly rose from beneath the armored bunker, its thick gun barrel pointing straight to the sky, the humming sound of charging reverberating through the air, making one's teeth ache.

The heavy alloy gates on the city's perimeter slowly descended amidst the hissing of the hydraulic system, the metallic friction of the meshing gears grating unbearably, sealing off the entire city into an airtight steel cage.

The piercing alarms echoed through every street, and the sharp electronic buzzing reverberated among the Gothic buildings, creating unsettling echoes between spires and arcades.

The civilians fled in panic, rushing to the nearest buildings for shelter like a herd of frightened animals.

All the navigation beacons at the rail airport turned a blinding red, and warning lights flashed wildly on the control tower.

The transport ship, which was taking off or landing, received an emergency order and was forcibly recalled, with its engine nozzles spewing out dazzling exhaust flames.

Several merchant ships that failed to return in time were mercilessly destroyed by the defense platform, and the roar of the cannons reverberated silently in the vacuum.

A massive purge targeting gene thieves has officially begun.

(Don't believe the jokes that seeing a bald man kill someone will reveal a scoundrel. In reality, scoundrels are often psychic illusions and are extremely deceptive.)
(The most effective way to identify a cunning person is through genetic testing. As for baldness? A bald head is a very popular hairstyle in the Empire.)
(The third and fourth generation sly characters are almost indistinguishable from humans in appearance; the fourth generation sly character should even have hair.)
(End of this chapter)