Chapter 102: Chapter 102: Did It Explode?
Before anyone could react, the screen underwent another disturbing transformation.
A pixelated Slaaneshi daemonette, seductively twisting and posing, approached the statue of the God Emperor, rubbing against it and dancing provocatively under the gaze of several terrifying eyes.
Blasphemy! Complete blasphemy!
Watching this scene, Carter and the others were utterly stunned.
They turned away, not daring to make a sound.
They couldn't bear to look—it was truly unbearable!
Eden felt a sharp pain in his jaw and cursed, "Who the hell made this heretical animation? Are they trying to get me in trouble?"
Moss, however, remained unfazed, merely puzzled.
"The circuits and data are fine. How could it malfunction like this? It's impossible…"
Bang, bang!
He resorted to his usual repair method, having a mechanical arm bang against the pixelated screen.
But it was no use; the screen continued to play the depraved scene.
"Quick, turn this cursed thing off!" Eden shouted, realizing what was happening and urging Moss to shut it down immediately.
It seemed the pixelated screen was likely corrupted by some form of Chaos energy.
Chaos glitch? Or maybe a prank by a Chaos god?
Could it possibly be the work of that mysterious daemon engineer, Vashtorr?
The name "Vashtorr" echoed in whispers through the communicator, scrawled messily in the most maddening of glitch-riddled corners.
Legend has it that Vashtorr is known for tampering with twisted machinery, relishing in mad "innovations."
The idea that Vashtorr might mess with something Eden had created wasn't entirely impossible.
Whatever it was, it wasn't good. Best to shut it down before it attracted the attention of these fiends in the flesh.
"I've cut the power, but the screen still won't shut off."
Moss stroked his chin, deep in thought.
"This is extremely rare… there must be some mysterious energy sustaining it. If you give me enough time, I can work on a coded response to address this malfunction…"
Eden was at a loss for words. Time was the one thing they didn't have.
At the current rate of corruption, any delay would risk these abominations crawling out of the network.
The animation's sound became increasingly chaotic.
The daemonette panted, performing even more obscene gestures toward the revered statue of the God Emperor.
More and more demons appeared, and the scene grew increasingly rowdy.
There were daemons leering; others cheered for the daemonette, carrying human heads in twisted encouragement; some were hacking away, splattering blood across the screen.
It was a veritable dance of madness.
As the tension in the animation reached a fever pitch, the daemons turned their gazes toward those watching, as if they had become aware of them.
Could these fiends really possess sentience?
The scene was thoroughly unnerving.
Bang!
The pixelated screen suddenly exploded, half of it shattering, and the display went dark.
"Phew, it's finally over…"
Eden holstered his smoking bolt pistol and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
That was terrifying.
To broadcast a heretical spectacle of the God Emperor was an unforgivable sin.
If the Emperor knew he'd caused such a scene, Eden would be psychic-slapped into oblivion.
This had to remain a secret!
But before Eden could relax, the screen abruptly flickered back to life.
Was it not over yet?
Bang, bang, bang!
Eden, now enraged, fired repeatedly until the explosive bolts reduced the pixel screen to ruins.
But even this wasn't the end.
Zzz— The lab's voltage fluctuated, the lights dimming ominously.
Sparks flickered across the multitude of cables, tendrils of purple-black smoke snaking along the wiring, spreading quickly.
Tracing the cables back to their source, the lab's central mechanical unit was already enveloped in a thick shroud of Chaos energy.
It was running out of control, continuously emitting corrupted information.
Fortunately, this main unit wasn't yet connected to the network, confining the influence to the lab.
Had it been operational and linked to various institutions and industrial sectors in the Royal District, it could have output Chaos data across the entire district in mere moments.
That would have resulted in a catastrophic disaster.
"Destroy the main unit immediately!"
Without hesitation, Eden ordered Carter and the guards to destroy the machine.
Following his command, Carter and the guards quickly approached the main unit and raised their bolters.
Bang—
Multiple bolters fired simultaneously, flashes erupting from the barrels as bullets poured into the main unit.
When the firing ceased, the main unit was reduced to scrap, its operations halted.
Even so, Eden wasn't reassured.
"Abandon the network experiment. Everyone evacuate, and initiate high-temperature purification of this lab!"
Eden and his group withdrew, and the high-temperature purification team was dispatched to incinerate the lab thoroughly.
The team meticulously examined the ashes, ensuring no traces of Chaos remained, before sprinkling holy water, pouring concrete, and sealing the lab completely.
They hammered a warning sign on the door reading "No Daemons Allowed."
The sign included the date of purification and scheduled inspections—a testament to their caution.
The purification team had been recently established by Eden, equipped not only with cleansing personnel but also accompanied by priests.
Their job was to handle incidents of contamination and carry out purification, exorcism, and a full suite of purification services.
Currently, the team's skills were somewhat rough, but as they honed their expertise, they were expected to grow more professional in time.
After reporting the completion of their work, the purification team departed.
Eden looked at the sealed lab before him, feeling a pang of disappointment.
His interconnected network project had failed.
It seemed that humanity's technology from the 30th millennium simply couldn't withstand the corruption of Chaos.
No wonder the Tech-Priests of the Mechanicus were so cautious about new technology.
They restricted knowledge, enforcing strict policies on any independent scientific experiments outside the Mechanicus.
Allowing widespread production of any defective technology vulnerable to Chaos corruption would undoubtedly harm the Empire.
They often spent centuries studying, translating, and debating a single piece of technology before finally creating a usable product.
Some even performed elaborate rituals on the machines as part of the manufacturing process.
All of this was in pursuit of stability.
Eden sighed deeply; trying to invent anything in Warhammer 40K was an incredibly arduous task.
Boom!
An unknown explosion shook the ground of the Royal District, with shockwaves shattering glass along its path.
Simultaneously, Eden's psychic senses picked up a surge of Warp energy dispersing.
What in the Emperor's name?!
Did he somehow mess up so badly that it exposed Urth's location, drawing the attention of Chaos daemons for an invasion?
For a moment, Eden felt uneasy.
He glanced in the direction of the explosion; it came from the newly built Mechanicus workshop.
The workshop's owner was none other than the newly appointed tech-priest of the Royal District—Salii Kaul.
Considering the Salii family's illustrious traditions, a sense of foreboding welled up in Eden.
Could Kaul possibly be making an even bigger mess than I am?
(End of Chapter)
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