The sept world of K'shan was a densely populated and exceptionally beautiful planet. Its landmasses were draped in lush vegetation, where elegant alien flora cast a vibrant emerald glow across the landscape. Its oceans were a brilliant, lively royal blue; viewed from orbital track, it was a sight that commanded attention.
Deep within a dense jungle—
"Look at that. The scenery is truly beautiful, isn't it?" Adam looked up, sighing with genuine admiration.
Beside him, a visitor who had no business being on this planet slowed his pace. Belisarius Cawl emerged from his contemplations, pondering for a moment whether there was a deeper meaning in Adam's tone before looking ahead. He, too, offered a sincere compliment: "—Yes, it is indeed beautiful."
A semi-spherical alien base, shaped like an overturned bowl, appeared before them. The unknown materials used in the base's construction shimmered with strange, rippling colors under the sunlight. The surrounding jungle served as a perfect backdrop, blending with the structure so seamlessly that it appeared not as an intrusion, but as a natural part of a masterpiece painting.
It was hard to imagine that such a massive structure could integrate so harmoniously with the natural environment. This was the T'au Data Core Base on K'shan, a repository for a vast wealth of the T'au Empire's technological achievements. Now, led by an Ethereal, its doors were about to swing open for Adam and his party.
One had to admit that in terms of planetary planning and construction, the T'au were ten thousand miles ahead of the Imperium—no, even comparing the two felt like an insult to the T'au. In this regard, perhaps only the Maiden Worlds of the Craftworld Aeldari could stand as equals.
Currently, the Imperium lacked the infrastructure technology to blend perfectly with the environment; neither the Orks nor the Necrons possessed such aesthetics. If they wanted it, they would have to research it from scratch—so why not just "copy-paste" what was already here?
However, as he thought of this, Adam felt a surge of irritation. No, I need to hurry those Custodes up. Forget the other Mobile Task Forces for a moment; send the 'Left Hand of the Law' out first. Starting from the Solar Segmentum, send those parasitic 'maggot' nobles who sit on their laurels doing nothing but wasting resources straight to the heavens!
Using an ancient Terran tax-farming system to rule a galaxy-spanning empire and creating monstrosities like Hive Cities was an affront that demanded a "purge." Swallowing those nobles' souls to enhance the strength of reality was actually doing them a favor—their death would be a greater contribution than their entire worthless lives combined.
Forget it, it's not worth getting angry over.
Adam turned to look at Sibylla: "Have they arrived?"
Sibyllasilently drew her power sword, fulfilling her duty as a teleportation beacon. She felt like she was becoming a human teleportation device lately.
With a flash of blue light, dozens of figures appeared in the forest clearing.
Not bad. Adam scanned them. These people already bore a striking resemblance to the anomalous tech researchers from his memories of his past life. They wore white lab coats, carried an air of deep scholarship, and wore the classic logo of Prometheus Labs—a pattern resembling an atomic nucleus—on their chests.
With a little help from reality-warping abilities, those Archmagi who realized an avatar of the Omnissiah had descended immediately cast aside their old principles and resolutely restored their biological bodies. Consequently, they received Adam's favor, becoming Level 1 Reality Warpers one after another.
This allowed their wills to communicate directly with Machine Spirits and operate all kinds of mechanical weaponry. Later, they even developed the ability to project their consciousness into cogitators for high-speed calculations.
Adam was merely pleasantly surprised, but the Archmagi—having finally met the long-sought Avatar of the Machine God—were far less composed. They stepped forward in unison, kneeling with their foreheads to the ground in total prostration: "Praise the Machine God!"
"0101001000110001——.——"
"All glory to the Omnissiah!" They repeated their devout prayers incessantly.
Adam: "—"
He immediately turned to Archmagos Cawl: "What is this? Didn't you explain it clearly to them? Tell them there is no need to revere me so."
"I told them, but clearly, it was useless," Cawl explained helplessly. "After hearing those words, most of the Magi said that only the true Omnissiah would humbly deny his divinity, for his power is as objective and real as the laws of physics, unshakeable by any words."
"Fine, they've got it all figured out then," Adam sighed. It seemed the Adeptus Mechanicus was in dire need of an ideological revolution. However, now was not the time.
With a wave of Adam's hand, a blessed servo-skull drifted over. Data streams flickered in its eyes, and a vast array of holographic images instantly spread across the surrounding space, projecting various T'au technological blueprints.
With the Ethereal's coordination, the data base's firewalls were completely disabled, allowing Adam to drive straight in and pack up all the technology. This included blueprints for various battle-suit models: XV8 Crisis, XV88 Broadside, XV9 Hazard, XV104 Riptide, and even the XV94 Ghostkeel, which should have been part of a classified project.
There were also various vehicles, including the Manta and the Devilfish, as well as the technologies Adam valued most: environmental terraforming, Skydome space station blueprints, AI automation, dark matter engines, and data on small tactical drones.
Seeing such a wealth of knowledge, the Archmagi immediately stood up, directing their instruments to begin copying data, performing analysis, integration, and archiving.
Meanwhile, Adam asked Cawl: "What is your evaluation of these battle-suits?"
"Excellent weaponry and equipment," Cawl replied flatly. "However, they are ill-suited for the Imperium's current order and difficult to promote on a large scale. Given the Imperium's current state, we need equipment that is easier to produce and more rugged. Still, equipping certain elite units—like the Militarum Tempestus—is feasible."
"That is enough," Adam nodded, then a sudden thought occurred to him. "By the way, do you think the Astartes are suited for using these battle-suits?"
Truth be told, looking at various combat cases, the experience and performance of a pilot significantly affected a battle-suit's combat effectiveness. Some pilots would be killed by Imperial Guard charging through the fire, while legendary pilots could cut through Astartes in close combat like carving melons.
Both might be piloting the same suit, yet their records were worlds apart. If you combined the combat experience and reaction speeds of an Astartes with the advanced firepower and mobility of a battle-suit, wouldn't they be invincible?
Cawl fell silent. Nice thought, don't think it again. It wasn't like the Astartes hadn't fought the T'au before; asking them to use xenos equipment on a large scale? Did he really think every Astartes Chapter was the Deathwatch?
"I can only say... it is worth a try," Archmagos Cawl responded reluctantly, speaking as an expert in Astartes equipment.
Just as Adam nodded in satisfaction, his eyes flickered. Sensing that Adam had discovered something, Cawl immediately asked: "What has happened?"
"The situation has become quite serious."
Adam's thoughts seemed to pierce through space, ignoring physical barriers to connect with the ship stationed in orbit. Through the scenes monitored by the auspex—even in the vastness of space, the sight was unmistakable.
It was a torrent composed of countless bio-ships. Narvhal bio-ships hovered around, forming gravity tunnels, while countless living vessels slid through the conduits at superluminal speeds, crossing the vast void and closing in on K'shan. Judging by the scale, they would likely invade this system within a dozen days.
Adam showed a trace of alarm. Tyranids? How could they arrive so quickly?