"Efficient, aren't they? Killing their way through so quickly," Anton remarked. There was no panic in his voice, though his expression bore not defiance but a peculiar relief, as if the end he faced was a welcome release.
Grey was suddenly reminded of the former governor from the Talon Sector. That man, too, had resisted an integration plan alongside the Inquisitor, only to meet his end at the hands of the Custodians in the basement of his own home.
Anton's expression mirrored that very same despairing resignation. This was, after all, a futile struggle—like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Had there been any other path to take, Anton would never have chosen to flip the table.
"Will you grant us some dignity in the end?" Anton placed a laser pistol on his knee.
The governor's family followed suit, each retrieving either a laser pistol or a vial of pain-free poison.
"They may have it," Chen Ye said, sparing a brief glance at the others before fixing his gaze on Anton. "But you? You will not."
"Oh?" Anton smiled faintly and, in one swift motion, raised the pistol to his mouth.
Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Anreda activated bullet time. Moving faster than Anton could perceive, he crushed the man's arm and seized him by the throat.
The moment bullet time ended, Anton's reflexive struggles began—but it was already too late. Anreda had linked his neural interface to Anton's, initiating the mind-reading protocol. Anton's memories, forcibly brought to the surface, sent his body into violent convulsions as his brain's temperature spiked alarmingly.
By the time Anreda extracted all the information he needed, Anton's head was nearly boiling.
Witnessing Anton's gruesome demise, the rest of the governor's family opted for self-termination. In a cascade of swallowing sounds and gunshots, their life signs winked out one by one on the Custodians' visor maps.
"He was indeed collaborating with gene-thieves," Anreda reported. "Their so-called 'usurper' was assassinated by a pure-blooded gene-thief."
This clarification was directed at Chen Ye, who, unlike the Custodians, lacked access to shared data feeds.
"I see." Chen Ye nodded thoughtfully. "What about the leader of those vermin?"
"Taken to the underhive." Anreda unplugged his neural link and turned toward Grey.
Grey mulled over the situation briefly before making a suggestion. "Let's wait for the army to handle it."
"The leader of the gene-thieves is in the underhive, and you're suggesting we *wait* for the army to arrive?" Chen Ye couldn't believe Grey's apparent lack of urgency.
"Extermination is best left to insecticide and the army," Grey replied calmly. However, he privately conceded that if not for the anti-insect measures developed by the Talon Master, they might indeed need to head down themselves.
Though uneasy, Chen Ye trusted that the Custodians' decisions were well-founded. After all, a gene-thief uprising would take years to pose any real threat to the First Hundred Zones.
"The battle is over," Grey declared, sheathing his chainsword. "As for guiding the army to cleanse the underhive, that task should be simple enough for you all."
"Leave it to us," Yaoen assured him with a nod.
"Go back to teaching that female officer how to swim," Anreda teased. "There's still time—unless she's already drowned, that is..."
"If I hadn't arranged for her to stay at the hotel, she probably would have!" Yaoen laughed. "She's from Talon One, like us. You know how we all are—landlubbers through and through."
"Then be careful not to drown yourself tonight, since you're also from Talon One," Anreda quipped.
"What? I'm not sleeping in the water; how could I possibly—oh..."
"..."
After exchanging a few more lighthearted jests, Grey teleported back to the Custodian ship.
Anreda, Yaoen, and Chen Ye remained on North宿 One, continuing to address the post-battle fallout. The hive city's greatest crisis had been resolved by the unparalleled team of three Custodians and one Space Marine.
Before parting ways, Chen Ye asked Yaoen, "Will He Qizheng become the next governor?"
"That depends on the sector's decision," Anreda answered, with Yaoen nodding in agreement.
"If he were to live a normal life, that wouldn't be so bad either," Chen Ye mused, holstering his boltgun. He glanced at Anton's lifeless body. "That bastard and his family have paid their due. I'm satisfied with that."
"Are you returning to your chapter now?" Yaoen inquired.
Chen Ye nodded. "I've been away for several days—it's time to report back. But there's still one unresolved matter weighing on my mind."
---
The following morning, a transport ship delivered 500,000 Talon infantry to North宿 One. Under Anreda's guidance, they secured order and began advancing toward the underhive.
Meanwhile, an insecticide deployment vessel arrived in low orbit. After scanning the gene-thieves' remains to record their genetic profiles, the vessel released its payload in the form of rain across the hive world's surface.
Standing atop the walls of the First Hundred Zone, Yaoen and Chen Ye watched as green liquid sprayed down over the buildings and streets below. Children played under the drones dispensing the insecticide, while logistics machines installed new plumbing and wiring in the decrepit structures—a promising first step in the hive's transformation.
Beyond the First Hundred Zone, automated sentries and Talon infantry clashed with gang members resisting the transition. Slowly but surely, order descended upon both the underhive and the lower levels.
"I hear the Inquisition has sent people to the North宿 system," Chen Ye commented, recalling rumors overheard in a local tavern. "They're here to gather intelligence before the hive is fully brought under control."
"Of course. They wouldn't miss such an opportunity. Once the population is catalogued and archived, not even the Emperor himself could slip them in unnoticed," Yaoen replied.
Chen Ye fell silent, his gaze fixed on the First Hundred Zone. After a while, he suddenly asked, "This place—my childhood block, and others like it—what will become of them?"
Yaoen considered briefly before answering. "To prevent corruption, the population will be documented and relocated. Transport ships will ferry them, zone by zone, to temporary shelters. Logistics machines will then build new habitats before they're brought back. Those who've lived in hell have little resistance to the temptations of devils."
"Though I haven't seen it unfold yet, I know that's exactly what you'll do." Chen Ye smiled at Yaoen. "It's time for me to report back to my chapter."
"But didn't you say unresolved issues affect your sword's speed?" Yaoen teased.
"They do," Chen Ye replied, handing him a shard of ceramic steel. "But that's resolved now. This shard, which once shielded me from a fatal shot, is yours. I may never return home, so let it serve as my parting gift."
Yaoen accepted it with both hands. "I'll make it into a pendant for my daughter."
"Just don't use it to stab anyone."
"Funny you say that—this thing could stab someone. I have a friend who got shanked on Cadia by ceramic shards..."
Chen Ye chuckled but stopped short when a transport ship descended onto the settlement's central square.
As the hatch opened, ten Talon infantry in power armor disembarked, led by an officer who inquired about He Qizheng's whereabouts.
When He Qizheng stepped forward from the crowd, the officer gestured for him to board the transport.
"The Talon Master has appointed you the new governor. Please proceed to the spire to meet your aides."
Hearing this, He Qizheng turned to the wall where Yaoen and Chen Ye stood, bowing deeply in gratitude before boarding the transport.
"Governor's aides?" Chen Ye asked, curious.
"Just people to assist and protect him," Yaoen replied.
Unbeknownst to Chen Ye, those "aides" were actually automaton stone-men. Assuming they were merely well-trained assistants, he didn't press further.
"Before you leave, I have something for you too," Yaoen said.
"What is it?"
"A new, sleeker hoverbike. Its adamantine frame was 3D-printed as a single piece, with integrated short-range teleportation and shielding. It can even hover or repair equipment with its onboard fabrication module."
"This... by the Emperor!"
Chen Ye quickly followed Yaoen to see the magnificent vehicle.