20: Chapter 20 The Unknown World of Forging

After the battleship stabilized, Xia Xingchen's first order was to detect if there were any Warp rifts nearby. If there were, he was to immediately initiate another jump and withdraw.

Nuwa gave Xia Xingchen a precise answer:

"My Lord, our detectors show no signs of psychic fluctuations. On the contrary, we have discovered a complete planet."

Xia Xingchen's heart, which had just settled, instantly tensed up again.

A complete planet.

Wait a minute, it couldn't be an Imperium of Man Hive City world or Forge World, could it? If it was either of those, he still had to run.

The Imperial Navy was not to be trifled with. Xia Xingchen could handle one battleship, but against an entire fleet, he would only have the option to flee.

"What's the situation? What kind of Imperium of Man world is that planet?"

Xia Xingchen immediately pressed for details.

"According to the intelligence transmitted by the detection radar, there are no signs of life activity on this planet, so it can be identified as a dead world."

Phew!

Xia Xingchen instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Assess its value. If it's valuable, we'll take a look around and see if there's anything worth salvaging."

Xia Xingchen's orders were swiftly issued. Operators and analysts immediately began to analyze and assess based on the information returned by the detection radar.

Captain Zheng Hai walked up to Xia Xingchen and reported:

"This unknown planet is emitting intense energy fluctuations and high-intensity nuclear radiation. We judge that it has likely experienced a brutal war, most probably a once prosperous world of the Imperium of Man.

Its value is immeasurable. We believe there must be some hidden storage rooms, perhaps even resources not yet destroyed by the war."

Upon hearing the report, Xia Xingchen waved his hand directly:

"What are you waiting for, dream star, full speed ahead!"

The crew quickly maneuvered the dream star to change direction, aiming for the dead world and accelerating towards it.

Half an hour later, Xia Xingchen arrived above the dead world.

Looking down from the viewport, the planet's surface seemed to be entirely yellow earth. The entire planet was yellowish, and even its oceans were yellow.

"What's wrong with the planet?" Xia Xingchen walked to the viewport, gazing at the planet outside the window.

Clearly, something was amiss. How could a planet be entirely yellowish for no reason?

Either the sulfur and volcanic activity on this planet were extremely intense, or it was a heavily developed heavy Industrial World.

Soon, a scout ship from Xia Xingchen's battleship swiftly detached from the mothership and entered the planet's atmosphere.

Passing through the thick yellow mist, a desolate scene appeared before everyone.

Through real-time transmission on the electronic screen, Xia Xingchen and everyone present saw that the world was filled with towering buildings and chimneys.

It seemed this world was either an Industrial World or a Forge World.

However, in the next second, the identity of this world was precisely confirmed.

Xia Xingchen's scout ship discovered a distinctive symbol on the largest building.

A giant skull and mechanical gear pattern.

It was the symbol of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Without a doubt, this world must belong to the Adeptus Mechanicus, and a world belonging to the Adeptus Mechanicus could only be one thing: a Forge World.

After reaching this conclusion in his heart, Xia Xingchen couldn't help but swallow.

A Forge World! Even a small Forge World would contain unimaginable treasures.

As long as the Adeptus Mechanicus was willing to hide even a small amount of treasure and it remained perfectly preserved, for others, it would be no different than discovering a gold mine.

"Summon Leovitos and all the members of his Iron Heart Society."

Xia Xingchen had Nuwa gather the members of the Iron Heart Society, preparing to explore this world together.

This time, the scale of the exploration team organized by Xia Xingchen was several times larger than before.

In addition to all the Tech-Priests of the Iron Heart Society, there were also Xia Xingchen's personal guard, the Skitarii, and thousands of Servitors for carrying cargo.

Under the escort of fighter jets, ten transport ships successfully landed on the planetary surface.

Leovitos used instruments to scan the entire planet and reported to Xia Xingchen:

"The environment of this unknown Forge World is harsh, and survival is extremely difficult. The oxygen content is very low."

Leovitos then concluded:

"The oxygen content of this world can only sustain the minimum requirements for human survival. A person can only be active outside for a maximum of two hours. It is recommended to wear life-support masks."

Xia Xingchen turned his head to look outside, and all he saw was a deathly yellow, with only the steel remnants of the city showing a different color.

Listening to Leovitos's advice, Xia Xingchen nodded.

He trusted Leovitos's detection instruments; he couldn't afford to joke with his own life or take risks.

Xia Xingchen quickly donned his power armor helmet. Instantly, the sound of mechanical interlocking came, and the visor completely enveloped Xia Xingchen.

Only after the spaceship confirmed that everything was safe in the surroundings did it open its hatch.

The soldiers rushed out of the spaceship first at maximum speed, then patrolled the surroundings to ensure there was no danger.

Following closely, Xia Xingchen, Nuwa, Leovitos, and a host of Adeptus Mechanicus personnel successively disembarked from the spaceship.

Looking at the desolate landscape around him, Xia Xingchen couldn't help but exclaim:

"As expected of a Forge World, every inch of this planet's land has been used for production."

At this moment, the open ground Xia Xingchen was standing on was not a forgotten corner by the Adeptus Mechanicus, but an area directly leveled during the war. He could still see scattered architectural debris in the surrounding land.

"Hopefully, there are still some usable things left on this planet."

Xia Xingchen led everyone towards the largest city ruins.

He didn't even need a map; with just the towering buildings, Xia Xingchen could easily discern the direction.

As soon as they reached the city's edge, a gust of wind carrying the scent of rust blew towards Xia Xingchen.

Xia Xingchen raised his hand and wiped his power armor, his fingertips immediately stained with a thick layer of red rust.

Given this level of corrosion, how much usable stuff could possibly be left in the entire city?

Xia Xingchen suddenly had no expectations for this city.

Clearly, this city had been too severely corroded over the long years.

However, out of reverence for Forge Worlds.

Xia Xingchen still ordered everyone to split into groups of five and search the entire city ruins, hoping to find something useful.

Xia Xingchen himself, along with Leovitos and Nuwa, headed for the city's underground vault.

The Adeptus Mechanicus usually didn't build all their structures above ground; many core buildings would be buried dozens or even hundreds of meters underground. These structures and facilities could completely survive orbital bombardment.

"Can you find the entrance to the underground passage?"

Xia Xingchen asked Nuwa and Leovitos behind him.