Warhammer Survival Guide

Chapter 17 The Coming Storm

"Don't worry."

Luo Wei's eyes were calm as still water.

"Remember those men in black robes who were taken care of by the harvester at the East Warehouse?"

Buck paused, then his face paled. "You mean, those twenty-three guys that Supervisor Case sent to the irrigation canal entrance to release the Chaos Virus?"

"But... consultant, for fifty thousand mouths, this little bit of meat isn't even enough to fill a tooth gap."

"You've got the math wrong, Buck. That's a 'high-energy additive,' not a staple food."

Lowe corrected his wording.

The tone was serious, as if they were discussing a chemical formula.

"The twenty-three men in black robes were just the 'trigger.' The real source of protein lies in the byproducts of the cleanup process."

He held up his finger.

I drew a circle on the desktop.

"The bottom of the irrigation canals and granaries in the eastern district is dark and damp year-round, inhabited by mutated rats and giant food-eating cockroaches in astonishing numbers."

"The fire and toxic fumes caused by the harvester not only killed the intruders, but also suffocated all the pests in the area inside the burrow."

Luo Wei paused for a moment and then presented a cold, hard statistic.

"According to Father Alpha's scan, the biomass layer beneath that area is more than half a meter thick."

"Scoop up the charred rats and the cockroaches that died from the smoke, along with the undigested grains in their bellies."

"That is the best mixed protein raw material, which is rich in a variety of trace elements."

Upon hearing this, Buck's Adam's apple bobbed violently.

She seemed to be suppressing the urge to vomit.

"Run the fermentation tanks at full power, then notify the logistics department to take out all the moldy, old wheat from the warehouse, grind it up, and mix it in."

"But moldy wheat will cause diarrhea if people eat it..."

"High-temperature fermentation will kill most of the mold," Luo Wei said calmly. "As for the remaining toxins, that's a necessary loss. As long as it doesn't kill people and gives them the strength to work, it's a qualified food."

He took a seal out of the drawer.

He stamped the supply request form that Buck handed him.

"Remember, Buck. We are in a state of war. Here, human lives are a renewable resource, but food is not."

Buck stared at the bright red stamp, his Adam's apple bobbing.

He still stood up straight and gave a military salute.

"Yes, sir."

After Buck left, Rowe put down his pen and rubbed his throbbing temples.

He didn't like this kind of cold-blooded calculation.

However, in the world of Warhammer 40, mercy is a terminal illness that can lead to total annihilation.

I want to survive.

They wanted to pull this planet back from the brink of destruction.

He must be more ruthless than heretics and more shrewd than bureaucrats.

He stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

Outside the window, it was already completely dark.

The beams of searchlight swept across the square, casting long shadows of the construction workers and laborers digging trenches.

The roar of machinery, the shouts of the supervisors, and the heavy sounds of digging mingled together.

It forms a symphony, full of industrial violent aesthetics.

And in the darkness further away.

Within that churning, radiating cloud, faint purple lightning could be seen dancing.

That's a rift in the subspace, breathing.

Luo Wei subconsciously touched his chest.

The fragment of the amulet, wrapped in layers of lead plates, was emitting a faint warmth.

This is not only evidence, but also an alarm bell.

"Nut-filth..."

Luo Wei murmured the forbidden name under his breath.

As a time traveler, he knew very well what this meant.

Plague, decay, despair.

The black-robed follower was merely a pawn.

The real offensive often begins the moment people think the crisis is over and relax their guard.

He turned and went back to his desk.

He picked up the report he had just written, ready to be presented to Governor Alicia.

He added a coded message in small print on the back of the envelope:

"A downpour is coming, so prepare an umbrella. The ribs are ready, but the cover is missing."

This is to tell the governor:

I have already set up the defense system (the ribs) here.

However, there is a lack of sufficient heavy weapons and elite troops (skin) to withstand the impending full-scale attack.

He did not ask for help directly.

Asking for help directly would seem like a sign of incompetence.

He was demonstrating an attitude of, "I have done my best to lay the groundwork, and now I need you to complete the final piece of the puzzle."

This will minimize the governor's resentment.

At the same time, it demonstrates one's own value.

"Someone come here."

Lowe pressed the call bell on the table.

A young messenger walked in, looking nervous.

"Deliver this letter to the Governor's Palace and hand it to Captain Lilith personally."

Lowe handed him the envelope. "Tell her this is a 'top secret' document about the tithe production forecast for the next quarter."

"yes!"

The messenger took the letter, turned and ran out.

……

East Warehouse.

Accompanied by the sour, grinding sound of gears meshing.

The giant conveyor belt began to move slowly.

This tracked machine, originally used to transport grain, is now carrying something far more unsettling.

That was "protein" that was cleared from the bottom of the irrigation canal in the eastern district.

The carcasses consist of charred, mutated rat carcasses, giant cockroaches killed by smoke, and rotting fungal blocks.

It is a viscous mixture of soil and undigested grain residue.

They emitted an indescribable burnt and fishy smell.

Like a black, dead river.

It flows slowly toward the entrance of the roaring fermentation workshop.

Luo Wei stood on the high iron platform, holding a pocket watch in his hand, calmly observing everything.

He was not wearing a mask.

Despite the fact that the surrounding air quality was so bad that it would cause any of the upper-class nobles of the hive to faint on the spot.

"The input flow rate is stable at 1.5 tons per minute."

Father Alpha beside him asked:

"The detected large fluctuations in organic matter content suggest that the concentration of the acid spray should be adjusted."

Lo Wei glanced down at his pocket watch.

The second hand was ticking at a reassuring rhythm.

"Increase the amount of industrial hydrochloric acid injected by 15%."

He said calmly.

It's like directing a precise chemical experiment.

"The bones of these rodents are highly calcified, and we need a stronger acidic environment to soften them and ensure that the calcium can be fully released."

He paused, then added:

"Also, set the temperature of the reactor to 120 degrees Celsius and maintain a high-pressure state."

"I don't want to see any live parasite eggs in the finished product. In this damn world, even diarrhea can kill you."

"Instruction confirmed. Logic loop being adjusted."

As the instructions were issued.

A pungent white mist rose from the workshop below.

The giant stirring blades began to spin wildly.

Crush, stir, and dissolve those disgusting ingredients.