111: Chapter 111 Thunder Warrior

At the same time.

High in the sky over the wilderness, not far from Shahe Town.

Black Tiger A-Fu was dozing in the officer's lounge of the shuttle.

Suddenly, his new pv terminal, the 'Awesome Boy' model on his wrist, received a short message from a player:

"The second batch of five thousand new players is online! Get back here and grab them!"

A Fu sprang up from the bed!

He rushed out of the lounge, kicked open the cockpit door, and roared at the Defense Force pilot who was operating the ship:

"Turn around! Turn back to the base right now!"

The crew member was startled. "But Sergeant Major, sir, Shahe Town is just ahead..."

"I said turn around, so turn around! Shahe Town isn't worth a damn! Hurry back to the base to snatch the recruits!"

...

The ruins of the Gaobo Food Factory, underground genetic laboratory.

Carmen stood before the micromanipulation station, his weather-beaten face filled with frustration.

In the end, he dejectedly set down the data terminal, giving up on his plan to continue deciphering the genetic sequences of those clones.

"It's too obscure. This underlying double-helix architecture is simply flawless."

Carmen muttered to himself.

"Even the legendary Golden Men of old, who were masters of biotechnology, would find it as difficult as climbing the heavens to write a genetic sequence of this caliber from scratch."

After thinking for a long time, Carmen made a decision.

He had to go to the surface and personally talk to that administrator who was suspected of being an ancient Golden Men.

As long as the other party was willing to help solve the terminal illness of genetic collapse, he would accept it, even if it meant paying a heavy price or suffering a massive loss.

Ten minutes later.

Clad in a large, tattered cloak to hide his unusually tall and burly frame, Carmen hunched his back and walked out of the drainage pipe.

The depression outside the pipe had changed significantly over the past few days.

The originally barren saline-alkali land had been surrounded by a group of people who used the water source to develop large tracts of farmland, where a weed-like crop with hard leaves was growing.

Carmen had no interest in studying agricultural development.

He strode forward, preparing to head toward the Shelter.

Suddenly, his gaze was fixed on several animals in a nearby enclosure.

They were several massive mutant cows.

They were lying lazily on the mud, basking in the sun.

On the backs of these cows, a thick layer of green plant tissue, resembling moss, was actually growing!

Carmen found it somewhat familiar.

In the next second, a bolt of lightning seemed to strike his mind!

"This... isn't this the photosynthetic fusion experimental subject we secretly cultivated in the lab back then to solve our own genetic defects?!"

Carmen stared fixedly at those Green Algae Cows, his breathing coming to a halt.

He knew better than anyone that their experiments had hit a dead end back then.

Because this kind of cross-species gene fusion had insurmountable rejection defects.

And the underlying logic of that defect was exactly the same as the short-lived genetic defect of the Thunder Warriors themselves!

But now, these mutant cows were alive and kicking, their vital signs terrifyingly stable!

"The gene rejection problem... has been completely solved?!"

Carmen's scarred face was full of disbelief, which was instantly replaced by wild joy.

"There's hope! There's hope! The Commander... the Chapter Master... we're all saved!"

Carmen tore off his cloak and, like a maddened bull, sprinted all the way toward Fire Seed Shelter.

The wind whistled in his ears, and he felt his steps were lighter than ever before.

It had been ten thousand years.

Hiding in the dark, lightless underground, lingering on like a rat, watching his brothers go mad and die miserable deaths one by one due to genetic collapse.

He had endured for a full ten thousand years!

Today, in the abyss of despair, he finally saw the dawn that could tear through the darkness!

...

Fire Seed Shelter, surface camp.

Lin Li was holding a large stainless steel bowl, squatting on the threshold of Lao Ba Canteen, slurping down a bowl of Mutant Beast Meat Sauce Noodles.

He was halfway through when the ground suddenly vibrated with a dull thud.

Lin Li looked up to see a massive figure, at least 2.5 meters tall with muscles knotted like rocks, rushing madly toward him amidst a cloud of rolling dust.

Thud!

Completely ignoring the surprised looks of the surrounding players, Carmen knelt on one knee directly in front of Lin Li, his massive knee smashing a shallow pit into the hard ground.

"My Lord! I beg of you! Save us!"

Carmen's voice was hoarse from excessive excitement.

Lin Li held his noodle bowl, a look of complete bewilderment on his face.

Half a noodle was still dangling from his mouth.

"What's the situation? Is this a scam?"

Lin Li slurped the noodle in and set down his chopsticks.

Carmen looked up abruptly, his tone carrying a hint of irrepressible panic and urgency:

"Our race has severe congenital genetic defects. Our lifespans are very short, and we can fall into madness at any moment. Of the millions of brothers we once had, only a scattered dozen remain!"

"I just saw those modified Green Algae Cows in the depression. Since you possess this level of genetic remodeling technology, you must be able to fix our genetic defects! I beg you to help!"

Lin Li suddenly understood.

So that was it.

This big guy had likely passed by the depression and seen the [Brave Cow] that Stone Man Hong had modified in passing, which was why he had sprinted all the way here to seek medical help.

Clearly, these fellows had been tormented by genetic disease to the point of desperation.

"Don't be so quick to kowtow. Stand up and speak."

Lin Li set down the large bowl and took out his walkie-talkie to call Stone Man Hong.

A few minutes later, the silver-haired, cold Hong took the elevator to the surface.

Without any nonsense, she directly took out a thick blood collection needle and drew a large tube of dark red blood from Carmen's arm, which was thicker than an ordinary person's thigh.

Afterward, Hong turned and went back to the underground laboratory.

Carmen paced back and forth anxiously on the spot.

The ten minutes felt like a century to him.

Finally, Hong returned to the surface.

"The analysis results are out."

Hong's electronic voice remained as emotionless as ever, yet she spoke a sentence that shocked Carmen.

"Solving this defect is very simple. The person originally responsible for cultivating you was not very skilled. One could even say they were very crude."

After hearing this, the expression on Carmen's face became incredibly complex.

As a first-generation super-soldier created by the Emperor himself, hearing his Creator described as crude left Carmen with mixed feelings.

But he was powerless to refute it, because that was the reality.

They were essentially rushed, defective products.

Lin Li looked at Carmen and laid out his terms.

"If it can be treated, then that's easy."

Lin Li brushed the dust off his hands, his tone calm.

"Solving this trouble is simple, as long as all of you join the Kindling Alliance and serve the Shelter. I will have Hong arrange gene repair surgery for you."

There was no such thing as a free lunch, especially not for this kind of fate-altering genetic technology.

Hearing Lin Li's conditions, Carmen's excited brain finally cooled down.

He also realized his actions just now were a bit too rash.

"My Lord."

Carmen took a deep breath.

"Your terms are fair. But I cannot make the decision alone. I must go back and consult our Commander."

Lin Li chuckled inwardly. "As I thought, this big guy has a whole group of veterans hidden behind him."

"No problem," Lin Li nodded readily. "Go back and discuss it. The door is always open for you."

...

Watching Carmen's burly back disappear into the wilderness, Lin Li turned to look at Hong.

"Did you find out their background?"

Hong produced a data report:

"Confirmation complete. Their genetic sequences carry ancient artificial enhancement traits. If the database records are correct, they should be products of the late Old Night, the era of the Unification Wars of Terra on Terra—the Thunder Warriors."

"To completely remove the genetic collapse defect in their bodies, we cannot rely solely on drug injections. They must enter Gene Incubation Chambers for deep cellular reconstruction."

"Thunder Warriors?!"

Lin Li rubbed his chin. "So that's it. No wonder they're so huge."

As a transmigrator well-versed in Warhammer lore, Lin Li naturally knew the tragic fate of the Thunder Warriors.

Back then, to unify the chaotic Terra, the Emperor used crude genetic technology to mass-produce these incredibly strong and violent Thunder Warriors.

They endured the pain of genetic collapse to win the Emperor his empire, performing meritorious service.

However, once Terra was unified and the Space Marine project matured, the Emperor felt that these difficult-to-control, madness-prone defects had lost their utility and became a stain on the new Empire.

Thus, during the Battle of Mount Ararat, the Emperor directly ordered the Custodes to ruthlessly massacre and secretly purge these loyal veterans!

Only a very few managed to escape by luck, hiding in various corners of the galaxy like rats.

Thinking of this, Lin Li couldn't help but complain wildly in his heart.

"That Emperor is also a pure freak of a boss, a typical case of killing the donkey once it's finished the work on the mill!"

Lin Li was very repulsed by this kind of heartless workplace purging.

"You treat the workers who bled and sweated for you as disposable rags, to be thrown away after use. No wonder half of the Space Marine Legions followed Horus in rebellion during the Great Heresy. After all, nobody wants to be the next Thunder Warrior to be purged."

Lin Li pulled back his wandering thoughts and looked at Hong, asking a more constructive question:

"Since these Thunder Warriors' genes are so fierce, can we extract their genes to strengthen the ordinary mortals in the Shelter? Or, directly unlock the genetic locks for mortals?"

Hong shook her head, decisively rejecting Lin Li's idea.

"Creator, please dismiss this notion. Mortal bodies are very fragile.

Trying to unlock genetic locks without destroying their physical architecture is simply impossible. Forcing the operation would only turn them into a pile of rotten meat, and I do not have the ability to unlock genetic locks."

"Furthermore, the clones currently in the Shelter are already perfect architectures. Their mechanisms and environmental adaptability far exceed those of ordinary people. There is absolutely no need to gild the lily with genetic modification."

Lin Li clicked his tongue in disappointment.

"So this becomes a dead end? We can't just watch this genetic treasure trove go to waste, can we?"

"It is not entirely useless."

A hint of the rigorous researcher's demeanor appeared on Hong's cold face.

"First, we can extract the gene segments from their bodies that control adrenaline and berserk emotions to create a temporary Combat Stimulant.

This agent can significantly increase the user's strength and pain tolerance for a short period. It is very suitable for those clone warriors."

Lin Li's eyes lit up.

Isn't this the Warhammer version of a combat stim! Those players who aren't afraid of death would definitely love this kind of simple and crude buff item!

"Second," Hong continued.

"The Thunder Warriors' genes contain a very special anti-psionic inert trait. This makes them rarely affected by the corruption of the Warp. If it can be isolated and extracted, we can develop an Anti-Psionic Injection or make it into a portable Interference Field."

Lin Li slapped his thigh! This was a strategic-level weapon for dealing with those disgusting cultists and psionic monsters!

"As for ordinary mortals, if they want to enhance their physique."

Hong gave the simplest solution.

"There is no need for complex organ transplant surgeries with high mortality rates like the Space Marines. Simply put them into a Gene Incubation Chamber and perform a full-body reconstruction at the cellular level. It is safe and efficient."

Lin Li nodded with satisfaction.

Looking at this reliable and highly efficient Stone Person before him, she was simply too valuable.

"Good! We'll do exactly as you say!"

Lin Li waved his hand grandly.

"Establish the research plan immediately. The stimulant and Anti-Psionic Injection are designated as top-priority R&D projects. Once successful, contact 73 immediately to start mass production!"