The Bizarre Adventures of Cloud Hammer

Luochen: "Because the Warp was once called the Sea of Souls, isn't it normal for there to be fish in the sea?"

Ah Wei: "Are there other subspace creatures similar to marine creatures?"

Apu: "Yes, there are, but the subspace doesn't only have marine-like creatures, there are other species as well."

"Hey, I suddenly had an idea."

Looking at the various scenes in the warp, Luochen began to have his wonderful ideas again. He began to mobilize the psychic energy in his body and let his spirit begin to perceive the warp, just like those navigators of the empire.

"What do you want to do again?"

Everyone looked at Luochen and didn't know what to do.

"Nothing, just wanted to see the Astronomican."

When everyone heard Luochen's idea, they did not try to stop him, but just watched him die quietly.

"Let me see, nothing, nothing...ah! My eyes!"

Luochen suddenly covered his eyes and rolled on the ground. Apu and Ou Ge were not surprised at all, and the others were also gloating.

Apu squatted down and looked at Luochen, whose eyes were smoking, and said:

"You really dare to look directly at Xingju. Even Brother Dun doesn't dare to look at him for a second. Luochen, you are even more awesome than Brother Dun."

Ou Ge also came over and said:

"Luochen, you are not blind, are you?"

"I'm sure he's not blind, but he's definitely going to be uncomfortable for a while."

Gloria was prepared in advance when she saw Luochen's suicidal behavior. She cut off Luochen's psychic vision in time when Luochen looked at the Astronomican. In the subspace, looking directly at the light of the Astronomican is no different from looking directly at the strongest sun in summer. The Astronomican may be even stronger.

Let Luochen suffer on his own first, and everyone can continue eating.

"I remember Gloria, you said before that we could use that pirate ship to replenish energy. What did you take from the pirate ship?" Apu asked Gloria curiously.

"Me? I absorbed the machine soul of that ship, so this quality is better than nothing."

"You can eat machine spirits?"

Machine Soul is the name given by the Empire to the automatic systems and operating mechanisms within its own technology, but this is actually a purely metaphysical thing, which can be directly understood as the soul of a mechanical creation. The Machine Soul can give mechanical creations self-awareness. The more powerful the mechanical creation, the stronger the self-awareness of the Machine Soul. These consciousnesses allow the machine to choose whether to help or resist the user, so the Empire will appease the consciousness of the Machine Soul before using various machines to prevent the Machine Soul from being unhappy.

From this perspective, machine souls and artificial intelligence are very similar, but the two are essentially different, equivalent to the difference between technology and metaphysics. Machine souls are generally inferior to artificial intelligence and do not have the same learning ability as artificial intelligence. Moreover, machine souls can be corrupted by chaos like humans. As to whether AI can be corrupted, it remains to be discussed.

"Gloria, could you possibly..." Apu had an idea.

"I know what you're thinking, but I can't do it. Machine souls are different from human souls. The best I can do is transform the body, but then I might as well absorb the entire ship."

Gloria originally wanted to convert the entire ship, the Eyeless Winged Serpent, into energy, but there were innocent people inside, so she would not do that.

"Don't worry, I'm not some evil villain hiding behind the scenes, at least I'm not that smart." Gloria hoped everyone could believe her.

No one suspected anything. If Gloria really had ulterior motives, why would she put on such a show?

"We believe you too."

Chapter 12: Hive World Atis

Lothric Sector - Lorian Sub-Sector - Hive World Aitis. Since the death of Aitis, the previous planetary governor, twenty years ago, his eldest son, Diaz, has taken over the position of planetary governor.

Compared to his mediocre father, Diaz, as the planet's governor, can be said to have worked hard to govern the country. Under his twenty years of rule, Attis has made significant progress. The economy has been steadily improving, politics has gradually improved, and people's livelihood and public security have also improved significantly. For example, the working hours of the hive workers have been reduced from sixteen hours to fifteen hours, a reduction of one hour. The civilians are all grateful to him, and his reputation has far surpassed his father's.

The reason why Diaz has achieved such results in the past twenty years is thanks to his younger brother Vincent. If it weren't for his stupid brother, it would be difficult for Diaz to integrate the resources in the hands of the nobles.

There are many nobles on the planet Attis who covet the position of planetary governor. Diaz's father spent a lot of effort to check and balance them during his lifetime. After his father's death, these guys began to think about how to seize power from Diaz, but they have no proper reason to attack Diaz. Directly launching a rebellion will affect the reputation of their family, so they need a suitable puppet, and this puppet is Vincent.

It is quite common for brothers to seize power in history. They instigated a powerful but incompetent second son of a governor to launch a rebellion in his name. After the rebellion succeeded, they kicked the puppet out on the grounds that the brother had gained the power illegitimately. Then, Aitis would be in the pockets of these nobles.

However, these nobles never expected that Diaz's ability was beyond their imagination. Relying on the spy who had been planted among the nobles, Diaz knew the nobles' plan from the beginning, and even helped them to entangle his own brother, just waiting for them to take the bait.

Relying on his brother's 'voluntary' sacrifice, Diaz cleared out a considerable number of hive nobles and integrated the resources of these nobles as capital for the development of Atis. As for his brother Vincent, considering that he had helped him, Diaz allowed Vincent to board the spaceship and escape from Atis. It is said that he later became a pirate and may have died at the hands of the Imperial Navy.

Looking at his own achievements, Diaz felt extremely happy in his heart. In the past twenty years, he had established good relations with the State Religion, the Ministry of Justice and other imperial departments. Although the Planetary Defense Force was not as good as the Astra Militarum after its reorganization and expansion, it could still be regarded as an excellent army. With the help of these forces, it could be said that Diaz's rule in Attis was as stable as a rock.

Diaz's dream is to first build Atis into the economic and political center of the Lorian sub-sector, and then the entire Lothric sector. Now he is moving towards his dream, but twenty years of busyness have made him physically and mentally exhausted. Perhaps it is time to take a break and enjoy some time.

----

At Mandeville Point in the galaxy where Esti was located, a strike cruiser with blue and silver as its main colors and extremely gorgeous appearance jumped out of the subspace, but the appearance of the strike cruiser did not attract the attention of the ships in the galaxy, as if they could not see the ship.

This strike cruiser is the Blue Silver Sword. After discussion, everyone decided to use the strike cruiser as the appearance of the Blue Silver Sword. Gloria also put on a layer of camouflage for herself. As long as she does not show up actively, ordinary ships cannot detect her presence.

"The physical universe is so beautiful. Oh, isn't that the Hive World? Let's look at the sun in the distance."

Apu and the others stood on the bridge and marveled at the beauty of the universe. The continuous days of sailing in the subspace made everyone feel bored, just like sitting on the train for several days without Internet access. There was not even much scenery to see in the subspace.

During these few days in the warp, everyone was first getting familiar with their bodies. Glory used the most advanced templates among the Astartes to create them, but if they didn't master it, they wouldn't be able to exert even half of their combat power.

If we compare the body to an organism, their consciousness is the driver. How can we talk about performance if they can’t even drive!

For this purpose, Gloria prepared a simulated training room where they could practice sparring to their heart's content without worrying about getting hurt. The result of the six-person practice was that none of them could match Eryu in terms of personal combat power and swordsmanship. Eryu, using dual swords, even suppressed Xianyu, who had both Black Fury and Bloodthirst. However, combat power is not the standard for evaluating a Space Marine. They all have their own strengths despite having different genes.

Both Apu and Ou Ge are all-rounders. Apu has better panels in all aspects, while Ou Ge is better at precise calculations.

Xianyu and Eryu are responsible for combat power. Xianyu is suitable for battlefield annihilation, while Eryu prefers surprise attacks and decapitations.

There is no need to say much about Luochen as a psychic think tank. The fortifications built by Awei are indestructible, and he also has good attainments in mechanics.

After mastering their own abilities and characteristics, everyone started to get bored. Although Gloria prepared books and computers for everyone, now that they were in the Warhammer 40k universe, who could still sit down and read books and play games?

"This system contains three empire worlds centered around Esti, and for nearly a hundred years, they haven't encountered any other crises besides pirates," Gloria explained. This information was obtained from the pirate ship. She also omitted some irrelevant information, such as the fact that the pirate ship's captain was once the son of a planetary governor.

"Our goal is to obtain a star map of the Milky Way. Most merchants and ships don't possess such a large map, so we're targeting the Imperial Navy and Rogue Traders," Gloria explained their purpose for coming to this star region. "But the Imperial Navy's patrol area is quite large, so we don't know how long it will take them to reach this system."

Gloria actually also hoped that the Imperial Navy would come back. According to the information she learned, Aitis was a hive world that had been prosperous and developed for nearly twenty years, and many Rogue Traders would come here to rest and resupply. These Rogue Traders were Gloria's real target. When the Rogue Traders docked, she would invade their ships and leave this star zone after obtaining the star map.

Ah Wei: "What are we going to do now? We are not going to stay on the boat, are we?"

"Of course, I'm going to visit the Empire World. Just treat it as a trip. I also want to observe this cosmic civilization carefully."

Everyone was bored on the ship, so it was a good opportunity to experience the customs and culture of the Imperial Hive World. Gloria was also preparing to continue to perfect her graduation project.

"The Nest City World, isn't it that shit ball in the distance?" Er Yu said, looking at the planet in the distance where no green or blue could be seen.

"What's so strange about this? Didn't everyone see it in the dark tide?" Luo Chen reminded.

Dark Tide was the best Warhammer 2k cooperative shooter before Starfighter 40 came out, and the six of them played it for a long time.

The opening cutscene for Dark Tides shows the Inquisition ship heading to a hive world. The color of that hive world is similar to that of Attis, or rather, most of the hive worlds in the Imperium are similar, with the exception of Ultramar 2. (This also appears in StarCraft II.)

"I skipped all the CGs and plots of Dark Tide." In brush-shooting games like Dark Tide, Er Yu basically doesn't watch the plot CGs, otherwise he would have some understanding of the Hive City world.

“This time I skipped my life.”

While everyone was joking, the Blue Silver Sword approached the orbit of the planet Atis. At this position, everyone could clearly see the buildings on the planet that looked like giant towers to the sky. These buildings were the so-called nest cities.

Hives are typically clustered around densely populated worlds, which are also classified as Hive Worlds, and over 85% of the planets in the Imperium have at least one Hive Cluster.

Hives typically exist in dense clusters. A group of tightly packed hive cities is called a hive cluster. Each hive is like a vast, completely independent city or a self-contained, vast ecosystem, home to millions to billions of people. A single hive world often has thousands of hives. (Don't ask, that's just GW math, all for plot purposes. Most hive worlds don't actually have that many hives; a few dozen at most.)

The construction of a hive city often takes thousands of years. The history of some hive cities is even longer than that of the human empire. Humans have been building such giant cities as early as the Dark Age of Technology.

The structure of the hive city is divided into the spire, upper nest, lower nest, bottom nest, suburbs/suburbs. The higher the residential area, the more noble the status. Planetary governors, hive city nobles, business tycoons, industrial giants and those distinguished aliens all live at the spire.

The upper nest is inhabited by those who are above the middle class, such as various bureaucrats and managers in the hive city, as well as some important people related to politics and economics.

The Lower Hive is where workers and civilians live, and its population accounts for the majority of the hive city. Most of the people here are destined to work at their posts until death from birth, spending most of the day earning a meager income to support their families. At the same time, the people here maintain a simple but profound belief in the Emperor and the Empire, and are glad that they do not live in the Lower Hive.

The Bottom Nest can be said to be the most famous area in the hive city. This place with a seriously polluted environment can be said to be the concentration of valuables in the hive city. Criminals, killers, mutants, heretics... almost all the scum you can think of are here. Gangs are everywhere and occupy various areas. Violent crimes happen almost all the time. Although there are one or two ruthless people occasionally, this is not a place for normal people to stay.

The living environment in the suburbs is better than that in the bottom nest, but the harsh natural environment and pollution make life here still very difficult. But at least the residents here are not as dangerous as those in the bottom nest.

People like Ap only need to report their identity as Astartes, and then they can get the best reception at the top of the tower, but they are not real Space Marine chapters recorded in the human empire. They can deceive those remote and backward imperial worlds, but forget about the hive world like Aitis that is popular and has frequent exchanges with imperial ships.

"Um... didn't you say it was very dangerous under the hive? Do we really want to go there?" Awei asked everyone. If you want to experience the customs and culture of the empire, you don't have to go to such a place.

Luochen: "The dangers of the Hive City are generally for ordinary people. We are Astartes. As long as we don't encounter a well-established Chicken Cult or Chaos Cult, we can walk sideways."

In the early days of M41, the Tyranids' vanguard, the Genestealers, had not yet officially entered the Imperium's field of vision. These aliens, capable of infecting ordinary people to expand their populations, had entered the Milky Way as early as the th millennium, but because the Zerg's main force had not yet arrived, they had remained dormant.

There is no need to say much about Chaos Cults. Once these cults become powerful and spread to other areas, the Imperial Navy and the Inquisitors will be the ones outside the planet. When the situation is irreversible, the Inquisitors can consider issuing an extermination order.

Xianyu: "Ah Wei, if you don't want to go, you can stay on the boat and be our backup."

Ah Wei: "Then I'll go down."

Although there may be unknown threats in the hive, Wei doesn't want to stay alone in the spaceship and be bored.

"Don't worry, if there is any unexpected threat, I will immediately teleport you back to the spacecraft."

This time, Gloria prepared a transmission beacon for everyone in advance. If anything went wrong, she would immediately take everyone away. With the addition of Luochen as a think tank, everyone had multiple security guarantees.

"It's time to start our thrilling adventure in the hive. If we're lucky, we might even find something good."

Brother Ou couldn't wait to go to the bottom nest to take a look. If a nest city is very old, there is a high possibility that there are technological creations from ancient times buried underground. He would be rich if he could dig up an STC (standard construction template).

"I will use a transport plane to send you to the wilderness outside the capital hive. You can enter the lower level of the hive through the suburbs. The structural diagram of the hive will be sent to you soon." Gloria's technology can easily bypass the planet's air defense detection.

"Wait a minute, are we going down like this?"

Er Yu asked, wouldn't they be suspected if they entered the nest with their heights of more than two meters?

"Oh, aren't I here?" Luo Chen asked everyone to look at him. His magic could disguise everyone, making them look no different from ordinary people.

In fact, as long as they don't wear power armor, not many people can recognize them. In the 41st millennium, most of the residents of the Empire will never see an Astartes in their lifetime. As long as they cover up some of their body features and wear tattered clothes, others will at most regard them as genetically modified slaves.

Wearing close-fitting carapace armor that provides minimal protection, deliberately distressed clothing that covers most of the body, gas masks and filters essential for survival outside the hive, and huge backpacks filled with supplies, everyone looks like wanderers in the wilderness.

"It looks pretty decent." Apu said as he looked at his wasteland-style outfit.

After everyone changed their clothes and got ready, Gloria said to everyone:

"The transport plane is ready. Have fun down there."

Chapter 13: Suburban News

In the suburbs of the Hive City, the capital of Atis, there are large residential areas that have been abandoned for who knows how long. "Mountains" made of garbage and waste and lakes formed by sewage can be seen everywhere in this area. The large amount of radiation and pollution that permeates the already harsh environment has turned this place into a forbidden zone for most life.

"Can people really survive in a place like BYD?"

Luo Chen looked at the Geiger counter that had been making noises since he entered this area. This spooky environment made him begin to doubt whether the popular science articles about the hive city he had read on the website were fabricated. Most people would die after taking just two steps in such a place.

"Who knows? The humans in 40k are different from those in 3k. It's not surprising where they live." Apu, who was walking in front, said. He was comparing the hive structure diagram sent by Gloria to find a way to enter the bottom nest.

The humans of the Warhammer 40k era can no longer be equated with the humans of the 3K era. After tens of thousands of years of development, the 40k humans underwent drastic changes to their own genes during the Dark Technology Age and the Old Night Age. Coupled with the influence of the Warp, the genes of the 40k humans have long been distorted.

A classic Warhammer joke is that a time traveler from the 3K era looks more human-like when holding a banana than a human from the 40K era. Of course, this is just a joke, please don't take it seriously. At least the humans in the dark technology era did not completely change humans/themselves like the giant dragonfly in a certain work.

"Can't we try another way to get in? Like hitchhiking?" Xianyu suggested. When they landed in the wilderness, they saw the train tracks leading to the interior of the hive. As long as they waited for the train to come and found a good opportunity to jump on it, they wouldn't have to look for a passage to the lower nest in the suburbs.

Various types of aircraft and trains are the most commonly used means of transportation between hive cities. Apart from cargo, those who ride aircraft and trains are basically nobles, politicians and the like. Ordinary people in the lower nests cannot afford these means of transportation, and most people have never left the hive city where they were born in their entire lives.

"Not really. There are guards on those armored transport trains, and there will be inspections after entering the hive. It's more convenient to go through the suburbs." Apu replied.

"Anyway, we are here to adventure in the Nest City, so we have to visit all these areas." Brother Ou said to Xianyu.

"If you want to take risks, you shouldn't come to a place like this."

"Wait a minute, don't talk for now. Did you hear any sound?" Er Yu asked everyone to be quiet first. His ears just caught some sound.

“What’s that sound…”

Awei was just about to ask Eryu in a low voice what he heard when the garbage pile beside him suddenly exploded and a strange and deformed figure jumped out and rushed towards Awei.

Easily dodging the sudden attack, Ah Wei drew out the single-molecule combat knife from his waist and stabbed it into the enemy's head with his backhand.

"Mutant?" Wei pulled out his combat knife and saw the true face of the dead enemy on the ground.

In the human empire, there are some deformed people whose skulls and bodies have undergone severe mutations. They are collectively called mutants.

As for the status of mutants in the human empire, let us hear what a Blood Angel priest has to say.

"Burn the heretics! Kill all the mutants! Purge the unclean!" - From the Angel of Death, Reverend Raphael.

It can be seen how miserable the mutants' lives are in the Empire. Their mutations are believed to be affected by Chaos pollution, so mutants are generally persecuted by the Empire.

As a result, mutants are indeed more susceptible to Chaos corruption, but it is hard to say whether there is a causal relationship.

In order to survive, mutants either work themselves to death in black factories or live in ungoverned chaotic areas like the suburbs of the Bottom Nest, relying on their extraordinary systems to commit crimes and plunder.

Just like now, mutants will hide in ruins and garbage to attack ordinary people living in the suburbs. It is not known whether Apu and others accidentally stepped into their ambush circle, or they were targeted as early as when they entered this area.

Seeing that the attack failed, all the mutants hiding around showed up. They were a gang, and people like scavengers and travelers were their targets.