287

Chapter 287: Fleshworms and Ether Springtails

Comoros bottom layer.

Burns and a group of survivors have lived here for almost two years.

He missed the sunshine and food on Agathos terribly.

Although life now is not as dangerous as when he first came to Comoros, this living environment has made him extremely depressed.

The light from the Comoros star cannot reach the bottom floor. Except for the lights generated in this shelter, the bottom floor outside is still extremely dark.

The entire human stronghold has grown stronger in the past two years. Human survivors are rescued from time to time. The population of the entire stronghold has reached more than 20,000 people, which is several times more than when they first arrived.

Burns stood up and walked to the wall beside him to pick some glowing mushrooms. These were the only vegetables available to the human survivors.

The increase in population has also led to a higher demand for food, but at least now the humans here no longer need to eat the alien corpses thrown to the bottom by the Dark Eldar.

But the food nowadays is definitely not good.

Looking at the few pieces of special meat in the bowl, these two pieces of meat were fried just right.

In the kitchen in the distance, the survivors were queuing up to receive the food.

In order to ensure that more and more humans have enough food, Abathur used his ability to eliminate all genes in a group of Zerglings that would cause harm to humans, turning them into flesh worms without any killing power.

Although these alien insects still carry trace amounts of toxins, these are no longer a problem when it comes to survival, as they can provide humans with a large amount of nutrients needed by the body.

Relying on the power of the insect swarm to transform biomass into something edible for humans.

But Burns still felt uncomfortable when he thought about what these foods looked like when they were alive.

But not everyone is as unacceptable as Burns. For most people, as long as they are alive, it doesn't matter what they eat, not to mention that these steaks taste pretty good.

"Uncle Burns, why don't you eat?"

Looking at a fifteen-year-old girl nearby, Burns touched her head and put a piece of steak into her bowl.

Looking at the other person, Burns thought of his daughter, who was about the same age as the other person.

This girl named Stella was rescued from an experimental site of the Haemonchi two months ago. She is even a naturally awakened psychic. Although her psychic powers do not cause any harm, her perception is extremely sharp. It is precisely because of her identity as a psychic that she was sent to the Haemonchi as a test subject.

I have to say Stella is very lucky, otherwise God knows what kind of torture she would have experienced.

Thinking of Lord Gao Yi's promise that if he completed this mission, his daughter would be admitted to the best Zhongsi Academy in the dynasty, and his family would receive the best care from the dynasty, Burns could not help but smile. As long as his daughter could graduate successfully, she could become an official of the dynasty.

At least I don't have to fight on the battlefield like him, but I don't know how the other party has been doing in the past two years.

The human slaves rescued from time to time were the only way for these survivors to understand the outside world.

Civilians from various worlds and even a number of Astra Militarum soldiers told them about some major changes that were taking place in the Empire.

When the survivors of the dynasty heard of Cadia's victory, the return of the Primarch, and their own Rogue Merchants becoming High Lords, they were all extremely excited.

Listening to the stories of these newcomers, they all wished they could fight for humanity alongside the lord.

And this information made the humans from various forces in the shelter look at these dynasty soldiers with a higher regard again.

Especially, Gapas, who showed them the way, was much more attentive to Burns. What if they really had a chance to get out? Wouldn't it be great to get some help now?

"Stella, eat more. Only when you are full can you grow!"

But Stella forked the meat back into Burns' bowl.

"Thank you, Uncle Burns, but Uncle, I know you don't like to eat this kind of food, but I don't understand why you don't like to eat such a good thing until now.

Some of the mutant creatures we found on our planet look even more disgusting than those alien insects, but every time we find such a thing, we celebrate for a long time. Having enough food is more important than anything else!"

"That's because you haven't eaten anything really delicious yet. Perfectly fried Glock steak, fragrant mushroom soup, white bread as soft as clouds, and fresh vegetables and fruits that are dripping with water. If we have a chance to leave here, I'll treat you to all of them."

But Stella looked at him blankly. She had no idea what he was talking about. She had only heard of it but never seen it since she was a child.

"I always hear you talk about the Monget Dynasty. There is no such place in the world. Even the nobles in our place would never eat like this."

As he said this, he started to eat the meat in the bowl in big mouthfuls.

"Really? At your age, you would still be studying in the Dynasty. There's no need for you to go through what you're going through now."

Just as Burns wanted to continue telling Stella about the beauty of the dynasty, the SCV placed in the square suddenly started moving on its own.

This sudden change made everyone in the camp nervous.

The importance of the SCV to the humans here has led to it being placed next to the statue of the Emperor, with people praying that it will never be damaged.

"Burns! Burns, come quickly! The machine is moving!"

Gao Yi only gave Burns the authority to use it, and on weekdays it would only be active when Burns manipulated it to repair things.

This SCV moved for a while when it first arrived in Comoros to rescue everyone from the slave owner's cell, and it has never moved independently since then.

Recalling the SCV's independent action in the beginning to save everyone from suffering, Burns immediately put down the food in his hand and rushed over.

He always felt that something big was about to happen.

At this time, the area around SCV was already full of people.

The guards belonging to the shelter, wearing combat uniforms, began to disperse the crowd and formed an isolation zone. The importance of the SCV made no one dare to be careless.

The scv turned its body and looked around, as if looking for someone.

And when Burns pushed through the crowd and walked in front of SCV, SCV seemed to have found the person it was looking for, and began to use the drill on its robotic arm to carve a line of High Gothic on the ground of Burns.

"Burns, I'm glad you're still alive. I'm Gao Yi, your Rogue Trader. I haven't forgotten you. We've been trying to find a way to rescue you from Comoros. Tell the Astartes and all the survivors here that I'm here to help you escape from Comoros. Everyone, get ready for battle. Go find Abathur, he'll tell you what to do next.

Hold on and wait for the arrival of the Dynasty. The Dynasty will take back the damage done to you by the Dark Eldar."

Burns murmured the words on the ground, his face full of shock.

Burns even had the urge to cry at this moment. The importance of having a reliable force was suddenly revealed.

Gao Yi's actions against Comoros were certainly not just for them, but Burns felt that he was just an inconspicuous officer of the dynasty, and the great wandering merchants still remembered him and were even willing to wage war against this devil's den for them.

Now if Gao Yi asked him to commit suicide, he would do it without hesitation.

After reading this, Burns immediately took out a dagger and completely destroyed the words on the ground. He looked at the humans around him vigilantly without showing any sound.

When others asked Burns what happened, Burns said it was just a malfunction of the SCV.

Sure enough, it was their Rogue Trader who controlled the SCV in the first place, and the Rogue Trader had not forgotten them! Now he came to save them!

After receiving the order, Burns did not dare to stop at all and immediately found Argus the salamander!

Argus had been planning the next attack on the slave owners with two other Astartes. They all turned around and looked at Burns who had barged in rashly.

"What happened Burns? Why are you so excited? Could it be that the invasion team of the Dark Eldar has found us?"

"No, Lord Argus! Lord Gao Yi is coming to rescue us!"

"Save us?! This is Comoros!"

"Of course I know this is Comoros, but you also heard what those imperial soldiers we rescued said. Lord Gao Yi is a man who can work miracles! If he says it will work, it will work! Quick! Come with me to find Abathur!"

Burns told Argus everything that had just happened, and Argus found it even more incredible.

Across the dynasty and at an unknown distance, the other party could actually control that mechanical creation. Wasn't this really a conspiracy of the Dark Eldar? ! They wanted to trick them all out and kill them, and now the only way to verify it was Abathur.

However, before the two men reached the gate of the camp, the two puppies ignored the physical barriers, virtualized their bodies, and directly passed through the thick walls of the camp and came in front of the two men.

The border outposts and patrols outside did not stop these alien insects at all, because they knew that these alien insects were on their side.

Seeing these two special Zerglings, Burns and Argus knew that everything that had just happened must be true. Abathur had taken the initiative to send Zerglings to pick them up.

These two Zerglings are also the results of Abathur's transformation. They devoured a special beast, the Aether Hound, which came from the Warp, but no one knows whether they have been transformed by the Haemolects. The Dark Eldar did not classify them as demons from the Warp.

They are one of the few sub-space creatures that exist in Comoros.

And now they are widely found in the Comoros and are also a very common species in the arena.

These creatures can travel through entities through special phase transfer, and this special gene was also intercepted by Abathur and injected into some of the Zerglings.

Although they are unable to attack during the virtualization process, their flexibility and stealth are enhanced, making them a new type of springtail variant called Ether Springtail.

Especially in the complex terrain at the bottom, it is difficult to predict where these springtails will attack from.

Moreover, the claws and teeth of the Zerglings also have a special power that allows them to cause more effective damage to creatures in the subspace.

Although it takes more biomass to create these springtails, the cost is worth it.

When the two Zerglings saw Argus and Burns, they transformed into physical bodies again and crawled in front of them, as if inviting them to ride on them.

Burns and Argus skillfully turned over and climbed onto the body of the springtail. Now they were at the bottom level, with no vehicles. Each springtail had become an important means of transportation for humans at the bottom level.

There was a special reason why the jumping worm came to pick up the two of them.

Even Burns and the three Astartes here did not know where Abathur's hiding place was on the bottom floor. This was because they were worried that there might be traitors among the rescued slaves.

The Dark Eldar's previous attack on Abathur was caused by some humans who had actually defected to the Dark Eldar.

Unlike those who believe in Chaos who have obvious signs of Warp corruption, humans who believe in the Dark Eldar do not even look abnormal in appearance.

They disguised themselves as loyal soldiers of the Empire and infiltrated the human shelters; one of them even wore the clothes of an Imperial political commissar.

He spoke passionately of the Empire's loyalty, even describing himself as a tough warrior who fought the Dark Eldar to the bitter end before being captured.

The other party's acting skills were extremely outstanding, and he deceived everyone in the shelter.

The Dark Eldar had previously successfully found Abathur and launched a raid on him, and it was this person who passed Abathur's information to the Dark Eldar.

But the Dark Eldar still underestimated Abathur's strength. They failed, and the traitor who thought he had succeeded also exposed himself.

After enduring countless tortures, he told the truth.

He is just a coward who is afraid of death. The political commissar's clothes on his body are indeed real, and all the experiences he talked about are also true, but all the experiences come from the original owner of the political commissar's clothes.

He was just a servant of a political commissar. When fighting against the Dark Eldar, he killed the political commissar with a surprise attack and gained the Dark Eldar's mercy. He was taken back to Comoros and was specially used to deceive the survivors of the lower class of humans and send them to the arena.

Humans who can survive at the bottom level are considered good fighters.

This incident also caused more suspicion in the shelter, and even the plan to rescue human captives began to be abandoned. Burns and others really had no ability to identify potential traitors among the crowd.

Both of them were sure that there was definitely a traitor in the shelter, but they couldn't confirm who it was.

The world around the camp seemed normal just after leaving it, but after moving forward for a distance, it was as if we had entered a different world. The void under the broken ground was flashing with strange halos and constantly revealing colorful light. If we stepped into empty space, we were doomed to die.

And on the ground and the surrounding walls, countless fungal mats cover them.

The surroundings turned into a dark purple world of flesh and blood.

Abathur's fungal creep did not spread into the shelter, but instead established a quarantine zone for humans.

Otherwise, even with the support of the Zerg network, these fungal mats will autonomously absorb everything useful around them, and humans will not be able to survive on them.

The defensive tentacles that appear from time to time keep wriggling, and they will attack any enemy that approaches.

From time to time, there were bulging green pustules appearing on the ground. These dark green fungal carpet tumors looked like fixed banelings.

Any creature that steps on them will be dissolved by the corrosive acid.

Even if Argus and others led the team out to attack the Dark Eldar, they still needed the guidance of the Zerg to pass smoothly.

These pustules and countless tentacles became a nightmare for the Dark Eldar who tried to enter.

No other signs of alien activity have been found in this lower level area.

The other alien survivors who once took root in the lower classes like humans had long since died out in the Zerg attack.

Even the native organisms on the bottom layer and the various mutants that escaped from the Blood Orcs' laboratory have disappeared.

These creatures are important biomass needed for the initial development of the Abathur swarm!

This once extremely dangerous area at the bottom is now extremely safe for humans