Warhammer, I really didn't intend to form a second empire!

He saw no fear or unfamiliarity in their eyes, but rather a restrained curiosity in their observation.

Zhao Zheng took two steps forward and stopped in front of Andrei, aligning his gaze with Andrei's.

He did not speak immediately, but calmly met the gaze of this Terran descendant.

Andrei remained motionless, his arms hanging at his sides, his knuckles neither clenched nor relaxed, showing no signs of the state one would expect from someone who had just experienced a psychological shock to his genetic father.

“I already know that you’ve been working in logistics all these years.”

Zhao Zheng's voice wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for everyone in the corridor to hear clearly.

Andrei's eyebrows twitched slightly. He could tell that Zhao Zheng's tone was calm, stating facts, without any blame or mockery. However, the tension caused by uncertainty had not completely disappeared from his shoulders.

"How long did you stay on the logistics route?"

"From the day the legion was formed, Father, it has been about twenty years in total."

"Did it begin with the war of unification?"

"There aren't many wars that require our participation anymore, and our numbers are small, so this can be considered their 'protection' of us."

When Andrei said this, there was a hint of resentment in his tone. Clearly, Astartes did not need this kind of "protection"; what they needed was "respect."

"For twenty years, there has not been a single major battle or any military action of an offensive nature."

Zhao Zheng's gaze remained fixed on Andrei's face.

"You must be feeling quite aggrieved about this."

Andrei's fingers tightened slightly around the helmet, then loosened.

"We obey the Emperor's orders."

This was his answer, without any attempt to argue or conceal his disappointment and helplessness.

The Emperor isn't necessarily a good person either. If your transportation value didn't exceed your value in the battlefield, this person with extremely low emotional intelligence would definitely have pushed the Second Legion to the front lines.

“I will now carry out your orders.”

Zhao Zheng's voice was steady, but the unquestionable tone in it made Andrei's eyes light up slightly.

"I will have you undergo two rounds of surgical modifications according to the standards of the Qin Empire, followed by equipment upgrades and training."

"If your grades don't meet the standards, don't blame me for not warning you. You'll still be doing logistics and transportation work in the future. The Great Qin doesn't care about bloodlines, it only cares about ability, even for ordinary people."

The posture of the Terran descendants behind Andrei changed almost imperceptibly at that moment. Their backs straightened a little more, their shoulder armor angles widened slightly, and the restrained curiosity in their eyes was quickly replaced by a more intense emotion.

"Father...may we call you that?"

“You were originally my children.”

Andrei's lips twitched slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he simply shifted his helmet to his left arm, brought his right hand together in front of his chest, and performed a more profound Eagle salute than before.

The three hundred Terran descendants followed his movements, and the sound of armor rubbing together echoed in the corridor, neat and efficient.

Zhao Zheng stood still and waited until the noise completely subsided before continuing to speak.

"Andrei, take your brothers to the third underground level of Chiyang City. There are operating rooms and equipment warehouses prepared for you there. There will be people to help you get familiar with the armor and weapon systems here. Get used to the operating standards here first, and then you will all undergo comprehensive surgical modifications."

"I will come to see you again then."

Andrei nodded without asking any further questions, simply giving a curt reply before turning and leading the group along the corridor toward the elevator shaft.

Zhao Zheng stood there watching their figures disappear around the corner of the passage, their footsteps gradually being cut off by the sealed gate at the end of the corridor.

When Kong Ming came out of the side communication cabin, he had a completed material handover confirmation form in his hand. He glanced at the direction of the corridor following Zhao Zheng's gaze, and then lowered his eyelids.

"Is everything arranged?"

"Yes, they have been arranged to move into the third underground level. The rest of the Second Legion will arrive in the coming weeks. There are about 2,400 people currently en route, and they are expected to arrive in six batches."

Zhao Zheng turned around and walked towards the center of the bridge, but stopped after a few steps.

"Have Xiao He transfer a batch of active-duty power armor and weapons from the Qiankun Star's reserve. Make adjustments to fit the physiques of these Terran brothers. They wear the Mark III in the Empire, which is a generation behind our White Tiger and Black Tortoise models in terms of performance. They need to familiarize themselves with the equipment here after they complete the surgical modifications."

"I will take care of it immediately."

As Kongming turned to leave, Zhao Zheng stood in front of the command chair for a moment.

On the holographic star map, the territory of the Qin Empire still glowed quietly with a pale blue light, and the shipping route leading to the empire had been marked with its first official logistics sign.

The Second Legion is emerging from its long period of silence on the logistics routes, while the experimental data from Qiankun Star continues to advance steadily.

The subspace engine and other imperial technologies have rapidly replaced some outdated technologies within the Qin Dynasty, and Zhao Zheng needs to complete a comprehensive integration of them.

Looking at the warships that blotted out the sky, Zhao Zheng knew that the days ahead would probably not be easy.

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Great Qin 30K Expedition – Initiated!

Another week had passed when the second batch of Terran descendants arrived on Qiankun Star.

Zhao Zheng did not wait in the hangar of the Lishan. He simply handed over the takeover work to Andrei and Kongming to handle together, while he stayed on the bridge to deal with the new problems brought about by the integrated technical system.

Within two weeks, several batches of core technical data obtained by the Qin Empire from the imperial side arrived through material handover channels.

Those sealed data storage units contained blueprints for the Imperial standard-specification engineering chip production line and manufacturing procedures for microreactor components, as well as a complete set of Imperial Mechanicus technical basic textbooks.

After decoding the data one by one, Zhao Zheng forwarded it to the various special task forces of the Qiankun Star Central Research Institute. At the same time, he issued instructions to various production departments to transform the existing production lines and reconstruct the manufacturing process of the Great Qin in accordance with the standards of the Empire.

The compatibility and modification between systems is progressing more smoothly than Zhao Zheng had anticipated.

In terms of structure, the empire's technological system, due to the presence of the emperor, also carried some technologies from the golden age. Although the amount carried was not large and was subject to many strict rules imposed by the emperor, it was still an industrial innovation that had a significant impact on the Qin Dynasty.

The industrial system of the Qin Empire, from its initial stage, was basically a product of Zhao Zheng's reverse deduction based on these knowledge frameworks.

The compatibility between the two is not bad. Most of the core parameters only have slight differences in tolerance standards and unit systems. Therefore, Zhao Zheng only took a little over a month to unify the entire standardized system.

The production lines for bone and living metal are being gradually incorporated into the new standard framework, but their mining and processing still operate as independent projects and are absolutely not open to the public.

When the third batch of Terran descendants arrived, six Imperial-standard transport barges were already moored in orbit around Qiankun Star.

Zhao Zheng stood in front of the observation porthole on the bridge of the Lishan ship, watching the barges slow down one by one under the guidance signal and slowly descend along the predetermined route towards the Chiyang City spaceport on the planet's surface.

He watched for a while and then turned back to the main control panel.

Following that technical document, the Empire sent several batches of supplementary documents, including detailed star map records of the Great Expedition routes and several planning manuals for Star Speaker relay stations.

These two items are more practical than mere technical blueprints, because the Qin Dynasty already has a subspace engine, but the biggest challenge is finding the safest route to navigate the vast galaxy.

Zhao Zheng originally wanted to continue developing his navigation technology, but unfortunately he struggled to make any significant progress, and it seemed that Zhao Zheng's abilities had reached their limit.

Although he knew that technical problems couldn't be rushed at first, no one likes to be held back.

Fortunately, Zhao Zheng wasn't too worried about problems arising in the warp, otherwise he wouldn't really want to use the warp engine.

After all, this requires burning psionicists and using the Geller force field. Where would they get so many psionicists? Once discovered, most of them would be directly recruited into the psionic academy.

The number of people who will actually get into trouble is extremely small.

If possible, Zhao Zheng doesn't like wasting resources, so he usually gets free psionic users from the Empire. As long as they don't die on his own side, he doesn't care at all.

Zhao Zheng imported those star maps into the Qin Empire's navigation system and integrated them with existing route data. Since most of the routes overlapped with the empire's existing waterways, they provided some better route options in many areas.

He marked those paths on the star map and included them in the route planning for the next supplement and adjustment. Then he reached out and lightly swiped the archive button on the edge of the main console, saving the Star Speaker Relay Station's planning manual into the backup database.

After doing all this, he leaned back in his chair and glanced at the star map in front of him.

The Qin Empire's territory has ceased expansion, and the pale blue halo has barely moved outward in the past few months. However, the data layers within the star map that represent industrial capacity and population density are slowly changing color.

The development worlds that were originally marked as light yellow are gradually turning into stable light green, and the number of core worlds has steadily increased from the initial dozen or so to nearly forty.

The data from the third phase of the psionic pulse field experiment was updated with a new set of readings on the same day Zhao Zheng reviewed the records.

Hua Tuo noted in the remarks: The gene expression curve of the sixth group of subjects has also entered a plateau period, and the rate of increase of the convergence index has begun to slow down, but all data are stable within the expected range and there are no signs of decline.

However, Hua Tuo also included a new suggestion at the end of the report.

"It is recommended to add a control group to the experimental group, and to superimpose the contact of the spirit bone material on the basis of pulse field irradiation, in order to verify whether the spirit bone has a promoting or catalytic effect on the convergent evolution process."

After reading the report, Zhao Zheng wrote a reply at the end, approving Hua Tuo's plan and instructing him to use the intensity and duration of contact with the spirit bone as variables in future experiments for systematic multi-group controlled tests.

As he closed the report, a message from Kongming came through the communication channel.

"Your Majesty, the third batch of Terran troops returning to their homeland has completed landing and personnel registration, totaling 420 people. They are currently being housed in the transitional camp on the third underground level under the leadership of Andrei."

"The second batch of Terran brothers who underwent surgery are recovering well, and the first batch of 150 people were transferred from the recovery ward to the adaptation training phase this morning."

Zhao Zheng did not reply immediately; he glanced at the time.

The Emperor seemed eager for the Terran descendants of the Second Legion to return to their posts as soon as possible, with the intervals between each batch being so short that Zhao Zheng was somewhat surprised.

Zhao Zheng thought the Emperor would at least delay for a while, because the Second Legion's Space Marines were really good at logistics and transportation.

After confirming that the list and files were correct, Zhao Zheng sent a brief confirmation reply to Kong Ming and then closed the communication panel.

On the orbit of Qiankun Star, the engines of the Imperial transport barge were restarted after "unloading" and slowly broke away from the planet's gravity along the route they had come from.

Zhao Zheng stood by the porthole for a while, watching the tail flames of the barges gradually disappear into the distant starry sky. Then he turned and walked towards the corridor on the side of the bridge, heading towards the third underground level of Chiyang City along the elevator shaft.

The corridors of the third-floor camp were quiet.

The Terran descendants had completed their initial acclimatization training in the days since their arrival, and most of them were now undergoing more routine physical recovery and equipment integration in the lower training grounds. The rest areas and equipment warehouses on both sides of the corridor were mostly empty.

They train alongside the Qin recruits, learning to control their bodies. Sometimes they teach their Qin brothers fighting and combat skills, such as how to fire a bomb gun in rapid succession, how to use a chainsaw sword to cut aliens without getting stuck in the chains, and how to hold a longsword so it won't slip from their hands...

These experiences are actually very valuable; some things you can't learn unless you actually go to the battlefield.

Andrei stood at the junction of the main passage on the third floor and the entrance to the training area, holding a data panel in his hand, talking to an officer next to him who was wearing newly changed Xuanwu-type heavy armor.

Upon seeing Zhao Zheng approach, they immediately ended their conversation, turned around, and stood at attention.

"Father."

Zhao Zheng stopped in front of Andrei, his gaze sweeping over the entrance to the corridor leading to the training area behind him, where the faint sounds of metal clanging and the hum of a hydraulic servo system could be heard.

"How's the training going for the second batch of brothers? Are they settling in well here?"

"Better than expected."

Andrei's tone was more relaxed than when Zhao Zheng first met him; the tense observation had faded considerably.

"The first batch of brothers who have completed the transformation have performed close to the standard value in the physical fitness test. Their bone density and muscle strength are not significantly different from those of the brothers on Qiankun Star."

“Father, these new surgeries and added organs... are indeed very effective.”

Zhao Zheng nodded.

"Get to know more about the technological level of the Great Qin. In the next few weeks, you will be exposed to more equipment and tactical systems. Take it slow and don't be impatient. Honor on the battlefield is not earned by dying. Only by surviving can you enjoy the honor, understand?"

Andrei responded but didn't say anything more.

As Zhao Zheng turned and walked down the corridor toward the elevator shaft, Andrei stood there watching his figure disappear around the corner, then lowered his head again and glanced at the newly updated adaptation training progress chart on the data panel.

Time flows smoothly and steadily along the orbit of the Qiankun Star.

The Terran descendants arrived on Qiankun Star in the following weeks and completed surgical modifications and equipment adaptation training.

The Space Marines returning from the Imperial logistics routes gradually shed the traces of Imperial standard practices, and their equipment and tactical systems are rapidly converging with the mainstream standards of the Qin Empire.

After undergoing a series of surgical modifications, their physiques were even larger than when they first arrived on Qiankun Star. The adjustment period between the new power armor and the Qin Dynasty's tactical system was shorter than Zhao Zheng had initially estimated.

Andrei led the first batch of Terran-born companies that had completed training in a high-intensity combat exercise against the native companies of Qiankun Star on the training field. In the end, neither side showed a clear advantage or disadvantage. However, at the joint debriefing meeting after the exercise, the Terran-born brothers demonstrated an extremely high degree of adaptability to the new armor system and tactical system.

Zhao Zheng watched the entire exercise from the observation platform on the side of the training ground.

He observed the Terran descendants' modus operandi in that conflict; their alertness and battlefield judgment honed over two decades on the logistics routes were quickly adapted to the new equipment's capabilities once they donned their new armor.

They are accustomed to achieving their goals with minimal cost, whether it was in the initial logistics and transportation or in the current battlefield confrontation.

Zhao Zheng felt that these Terran descendants were a good match for this harsh world, being more cautious and calm than their descendants on Qiankun Star.

They won't get carried away with passion, and they can always maintain that clear-headed judgment.

They had experienced too many situations where they couldn't solve problems with passion and brute force, and learned to use their brains to make up for the gap in combat power.

This pleased Zhao Zheng somewhat. If these Terran descendants could complement the descendants of Qiankun Star, his army would become more comprehensive.

It seems that since the Qin Dynasty began its expedition, apart from the formidable enemy of the Space Necromancer, it has not encountered any truly formidable adversaries.

Those greenskins are at best troublesome; how can greenskins be powerful without even a War Boulder?

Therefore, the system on the Qin side is not complete enough. Zhao Zheng has only been leading them for a short time, and they still lack a lot of experience.