The Wind-Controlling Swordsmanship from Under One Person

Chapter 266 The Terran Zerg, Gene Stealers

Nest City
Qin Ye slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The murky air was a mixture of the pungent smell of industrial waste gas, the sour stench of rotting food, the fishy odor of untreated excrement, and a few drops of some indescribable, putrid smell of decaying flesh.

This is a unique 'cocktail' from the bottom level of the Nest City; every sip feels like swallowing a thick, toxic fog.

Here, even breathing becomes a form of slow suicide.

Even Qin Ye, who had experienced countless battles, still felt his temples throbbing uncontrollably after realizing what kind of world he was in.

That damned Floating Life Record brought Warhammer, this cosmic-level cesspool, to him!
Compared to this world, the Ling Cage world, overrun by Devouring Beasts, can be described as paradise within paradise. The happiness index of humans in the Ling Cage world is either sky-high or practically nonexistent.

There is no hope, no salvation, only despair and eternal war.

And the war is no longer confined to a small planet, but to the entire galaxy!
In a world of war of this scale, the power of an individual cannot be said to be useless, but it can be said to be of little use.

Qin Ye let out a long sigh, expelling the pent-up air from his chest with each breath.

Anyway, what's done is done.

The most urgent task is to find a way to improve the world's favorability as soon as possible, and then get out of this cesspool as soon as possible.

Qin Ye slowly stood up, his bones making a faint cracking sound in the low gravity environment.

He reached out and ruffled the little boy's greasy, matted hair, the touch feeling like touching a ball of steel wool soaked in machine oil.

"I'm a scavenger too, I have nowhere else to go, can you take me to your community?"

His voice was deep, with a deliberate hoarseness.

The little boy looked up and carefully examined the man in front of him who had no clothes on. His bare upper body was covered with hideous cracks, like a dried-up riverbed or the marks left by some kind of poisonous substance.

Is it radiation, or some other toxin?
The little boy didn't understand, but he still chose to believe Qin Ye's words and nodded gently.

Although the other person's body was heavily exposed to radiation, he did not discriminate against or dislike them because of it.

In fact, there are many people in their community with much worse conditions. Some have extra limbs growing on their backs, some have a second mouth splitting open on their face, and some are even covered with scale-like keratinous layers all over their bodies.

My father said that all of this came from the blessings of the God-Emperor.

These deformed individuals are all kind people who are extremely devout to the emperor. They will use their third arm to help their neighbors carry heavy objects, and their second face will tell crude but heartwarming jokes with a smile.

However, the order of the city cannot be violated, and whenever law enforcement officers discover these deformed people, they will cremate their entire families.

Every time he witnessed such a scene, he felt incredibly angry.

To slaughter the emperor's most devout subjects—what a blasphemy!
After inquiring, Qin Ye learned the names of the two children.

The boy's name is Pao, he is twelve years old, and the girl's name is Lynn, she is eleven years old. They live in the area where the bottom nest and the lower nest meet, and the residents make a living by scavenging garbage and doing odd jobs in the lower nest.

Compared to other communities, although they are equally poor, they are full of positive spirit. Perhaps because everyone is vulnerable, they are more aware of sticking together for mutual support.

Unlike the fragmented and poor environment of other communities in Dichao, the security environment of their community is relatively good.

Without regular patrols by law enforcement officers...
Qin Ye followed the two children through several pipes that oozed foul-smelling condensate, then through several narrow and cramped wall gaps, and over roadblocks made of rotting corpses, finally arriving at a slightly wider, dark street.

When they finally arrived at the so-called community, the stench that hit them made Qin Ye frown.

That was the mixed smell of foot-binding cloths and rotting inferior synthetic protein from the dry toilet in the middle of summer. Filtered a hundred times, this smell might barely reach the level of a fart.

There are quite a few people in the community, and they come and go busily, but looking around, there is no one 'healthy' at all.

Most of them were dressed in tattered clothes, some had sores oozing pus, some were covered in tumors all over their bodies, and some were even completely deformed into all sorts of bizarre shapes, such as chicken claws growing from their abdomens, or a second shrunken head drooping from their necks, and so on.

Even those who are slightly more normal have sunken eyes and thin faces.

Due to prolonged inhalation of toxic air, their lips became dry, cracked, and purple, and their teeth became yellowed and incomplete due to lack of cleaning and nutrition.

Their hair was greasy, tangled, and covered in dirt and dust. Long-term malnutrition and overwork caused them to be hunched over, with rough and dull skin.

A violent coughing sound came from the end of the street; an old man was spitting bloody phlegm mixed with tissue fragments into a drain.

His bare calves were covered with black patches, and each piece of rotting flesh pulsated with his breathing.

This scene is worse than a slum; even hellish living conditions couldn't be worse.

Even though Qin Ye was mentally prepared, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

Just then, a man with a hunched but still somewhat intact figure walked towards them. His left eye was covered with a grayish-white film, and his right elbow was twisted unnaturally, clearly having been broken and hastily healed.

When Pao saw him, he immediately shrank back and looked at Lynn with panicked eyes, pleading for help.

Lynn stuck her tongue out at him, then darted into the depths of the alley.

"Pao!" the man snapped, his voice seeming to squeeze out of a rusty pipe. "You're supposed to attend Mass tomorrow, didn't I tell you not to leave the community? Where have you been? What if you run into the Wild Dogs gang! They prey on kids like you!"

Pao hunched his shoulders, nervously twisting the hem of his clothes, and whispered, "I just wanted to collect more things to supplement the family income."

As he spoke, he seemed to suddenly remember something, and pulled the can of Ant Cow food from his pocket like a treasure, holding it high: "Dad, look what I found!"

Ao's father's gaze lingered for a moment on the rusty can, and his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.

But he still scolded Pao for a few words with a stern face until Pao admitted his mistake and promised not to do it again.

Then, Ao's father turned his gaze to Qin Ye, his intact right eye slightly narrowed, with the wariness characteristic of a bottom-nest insect, resembling a rat in a sewer.

"you are?"

Qin Ye casually made up the identity of a homeless scavenger for himself.

Surprisingly, Papa didn't ask any more questions, and didn't even glance at the strange cracks on his body. Just like Papa, he easily believed him.

They also warmly invited him to their home.

Pao's family also includes an older brother and a heavily pregnant sister-in-law, whose belly is clearly about to give birth.

Upon seeing the arrival of a guest, Aunt Ao shifted her body with difficulty, trying to make room for Qin Ye to sit.

This family is very welcoming, or rather, the people in this community are very welcoming.

Their mental state is not like that of someone who is busy all day and never sees the light of day; their eyes are not numb, and they are all positive and optimistic.

Perhaps this is one of the benefits of having faith.

The people here are all devout followers of the emperor, and everyone joins the church at the age of twelve to become a preacher.

The church will kindly accept every believer, regardless of whether you are deformed or dirty.

Although Pao's family was very poor, they still generously offered Qin Ye a few pieces of 'corpse starch'.

Qin Ye politely declined the offer, noting that the product was made from corpses or byproducts of industrial promethium processing.

"Mr. Qin Ye, tomorrow is the Ascension Day. Our community church will hold a Mass for residents aged twelve and above. You are welcome to attend. As long as you receive the blessing of the angels, you can officially become one of us."

Father Au warmly invited Qin Ye to participate in this festival, which is comparable to the Spring Festival in the Warhammer world.

Although Qin Ye wasn't a die-hard Warhammer fan, he had read a lot about the lore and background of the game and knew a thing or two about this festival. However, he always felt that this community was strange, and a certain sense of unease lingered in his mind, but if you asked him to explain what was wrong, he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Perhaps it was just his imagination; the Warhammer world, this crap, is inherently abnormal.
With pride in his voice, Mr. Ao continued, "My eldest daughter-in-law used to be a homeless scavenger. After coming to our community, she received the blessing of an angel, integrated into our family, and soon became pregnant with the child bestowed by the emperor. What a happy thing that is!"

Qin Ye's gaze swept over Mrs. Ao's protruding belly.

In the dim light, he could see faint blue veins emerging from under the thin clothes, crawling all over his belly like some kind of eerie totem.

The woman's fingers were gently stroking her abdomen in a steady rhythm, a loving and tender smile on her lips; she looked quite happy.

But the blessing of angels?
WTF?

As far as Qin Ye knew, the Emperor was called a god by the ignorant people of the empire, while the Space Marines who fought for him in the galaxy were called angels.

But what about those big guys who live in tin cans and only know how to kill and fight?

Even if blessings are bestowed, would they possibly reach the garbage collectors living at the very bottom of the Nest City?

Qin Ye remained silent for a moment, then nodded slightly:

"In that case, I have no reason to refuse."

He decided to go and see if this church could increase the world's favor.
Seeing that he agreed, Ao's father happily found Qin Ye a piece of old clothing that he had picked up and thoughtfully arranged a bed for him.

It's called a bed, but it's really just a frame pieced together from a discarded conveyor belt and scraps of wood, with some nylon bags laid on top to make it less uncomfortable.

The night was as dark as ink, gradually deepening.

Qin Ye naturally wouldn't sleep here; he sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and regulated his breathing.

The vital energy within the body flows slowly along the meridians, merging with the resolute energy of the soul. The cracks on the skin heal at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye under the nourishment of this energy.

This world is dangerous; he needs to get back to his peak condition as soon as possible.

In the darkness, a constant stream of soft sounds filled the air: the rustling of rodents, the rustling of insects rubbing their limbs, and the subtle trembling of some plant growing at night.

These sounds intertwine to form the unique lullaby of the bottom nest.

Suddenly, a burst of noise broke the melody.

Qin Ye suddenly opened his eyes and saw his father stumbling out of the inner room, his shadow stretched long in the dim light.

His face was filled with anxiety, but a joyful smile bloomed the moment he saw Qin Ye:
"My daughter-in-law is about to give birth! She's about to give birth!"

Before they could finish speaking, the person had vanished.

With a few loud shouts, the windows of the surrounding low shacks gradually lit up with dim yellow light.

When Ao's father returned, he was followed by a large group of people, including midwives and women with childbirth experience.

Qin Ye hesitated for a moment, then silently followed behind the crowd.

Inside the inner room was another small room, the door of which was now tightly closed, from which faint, suppressed cries of pain from a woman could be heard.

Mr. Ao and his eldest son clasped their hands together, their knuckles turning white, pacing back and forth in the room.

Just then, a rustling sound came from the darkness and stopped on the eaves, as if something was lying there.

Qin Ye turned his head and, with his superhuman vision, clearly saw in the darkness pairs of sharp claws that gleamed with an eerie light, and bodies and heads with insect-like features.

How to describe its appearance? It looks somewhat like an alien with multiple claws.

Pao seemed to sense his gaze, and cautiously leaned closer, explaining in a low voice:
“They are angels; they have come to protect my sister-in-law.”

The boy looked up, the dim light illuminating his devout expression, his tone filled with undisguised pride.

Qin Ye nodded slightly and subtly withdrew his gaze.

His face was calm and composed, showing no emotion whatsoever, but in reality, he was already plotting the killings of tomorrow.

Angels? What a load of rubbish!

He should have realized it long ago. How could there be any so-called angels in this dark and filthy nest? Those insect-like creatures crawling on the eaves are clearly cunning bastards!

Chicken Thief, officially known as 'Gene Stealer', is a vanguard officer of the Tyranids, capable of acting independently without the command of the Hive's will.

Gene stealers can use the 'ovipositor' on their tongue to perform a ritual called 'angel's kiss' on creatures of their target race.

Eggs containing insect biomass and genetic information can be injected into a host.

Once infected, the host will be controlled by the nervous system, and their spouse will also be cross-infected during close contact.

The offspring of infected individuals will exhibit mixed genetic characteristics. Throughout the reproductive cycle, the offspring will gradually resemble the target race, with the characteristics of the gene stealer gradually shifting towards those of the target race.

They infiltrate and stealthily, genetically contaminate, and exert mind control over humans. Infected human groups will form gene-stealer cults, worshiping the Xenomorphs as gods and willingly becoming accomplices in the Zerg's devouring of the world.

The appearance of such a cunning individual makes it obvious what kind of church this community is.

Definitely heretical!
Qin Ye didn't know if slaughtering these things would increase the world's favorability, but it was worth a try.

"Wow~~"

A slightly hoarse cry came from the delivery room.

The cry was not as clear and crisp as that of a normal baby; instead, it carried a strange tremor, like a mixture of insect flapping wings and human screams.

Before Ao's father and son could rush into the delivery room, the 'angels' had already rushed in first.

Qin Ye had excellent eyesight and could see the entire room through the half-open door.

Under the dim light of a kerosene lamp, a woman with a dirty and pale face lay weakly on a simple wooden bed, her hair soaked with sweat.

What she was holding in her arms was a small, cunning chicken.

On its mucus-covered head, compound eyes were still covered by a membrane, and its sharp mouthparts opened and closed unconsciously.

The woman's fingers gently stroked the baby's smooth shell, her eyes revealing an almost pathological tenderness.

The women who helped with the delivery also looked at the mother and child with loving expressions.

'This woman actually gave birth to a purebred sly fox.' Qin Ye's lips twitched uncontrollably. The blessing this woman received must have been filled with slyness.

"An angel! It's an angel! My daughter-in-law has given birth to a noble and holy angel!" Father Ao was so excited that he was incoherent, gesturing wildly, and almost knelt down to his daughter-in-law and 'grandson'.

The neighbors flocked to offer their congratulations, their faces filled with sincere envy.

Qin Ye silently withdrew from the crowd, pushed open the creaking wooden door, and stepped into the night.

The cold wind ruffled the stray hairs on his forehead, but it couldn't dispel the madness that permeated the air.

In this distorted world, perhaps being a sly thief is indeed a kind of alternative 'happiness' for these fallen souls.

(End of this chapter)