"..."
Lion's gaze was locked onto the alien biological images continuously switching and refreshing on the holographic screen.
These species data, sent back by the forward reconnaissance fleets from different star systems and planets, varied in form and adapted to their respective diverse environments, forming a seemingly flourishing alien ecological picture.
However, as he browsed deeper, an inexplicable sense of palpitation began to linger in his heart, refusing to dissipate.
This did not stem from a fear of the unknown, but a deeper warning originating from the extraordinary intuition of a Primarch, as if behind these seemingly natural biological forms hid something extremely uncoordinated, or even...
A twisted essence.
The images he saw included a planet scorched at close range by a star, its surface covered in lava rivers and sulfur vents, where probes had captured a creature resembling a giant worm.
They presented an unhealthy pallor all over, with lengthy bodies, extremely short or even nearly degenerated limbs, and sensory organs simplified to just two eyespots used for light perception.
The data showed that they almost exclusively burrowed and moved underground, as if most of the meaning of their lives revolved around only two things: endless feeding, and eating their own kind without hesitation when resources were scarce.
On a planet covered by endless grasslands with a mild and pleasant ecological environment, there stood a species that could be called giants.
Their height generally exceeded forty meters, like walking mountains. Their body structure was massive and cumbersome, with unusually thick forelimbs. The most peculiar thing was that they lacked nimble fingers; instead, they had an exceptionally muscular and versatile elongated lower lip, seemingly used to complete operations like grasping and carrying.
The report noted that these giants had the highest intelligence performance among the discovered species. They had developed primitive agriculture and even exhibited a complex sound system akin to language communication and crude petroglyph art.
As for a planet where the ecosystem presented extreme polarization, life forms were clearly fractured.
On one side were existences akin to apex predators, sporting razor-sharp fangs and claws, topped with a pair of slender, constantly twitching ears clearly used to catch the faintest sounds.
The report speculated that this creature was highly likely to develop a considerable degree of intelligence in future evolution.
And their prey was an herbivore with bird-like reverse-jointed legs, whose existence seemed solely to serve as the bottom of the food chain for the predators.
Also, on a densely vegetated planet, herds of four-legged herbivores resembling antelopes galloped across the plains.
They looked docile and alert, typical gregarious herbivores.
But the reconnaissance report included an inconspicuous note:
Namely, preliminary brainwave scans of this species showed abnormally complex neural activity patterns inconsistent with regular herbivores, yet their behavioral patterns entirely followed beastly instincts.
"..."
Lion's frown deepened.
Looking at each of these creatures individually, they all seemed explainable by bizarre natural evolution to adapt to their respective extreme or specific environments.
But when he examined these creatures of vastly different forms together, which faintly revealed an indescribable commonality in certain deep structures, that feeling of wrongness grew increasingly intense.
This was not merely an issue of biodiversity.
These forms...
Especially the degeneration of the worms, the giants' lower lip replacing arms, the overly deliberate ecological niche division between the predators and prey, and even the complex brainwaves of the antelope-like creatures...
All exuded an unnatural trace, as if forcibly twisted and shaped by some power.
This was not the random brushstroke of nature, but more like the operating table masterpiece of a cold-blooded experimenter.
"Record the detailed data of all abnormal biological forms, establish independent analysis files, and mark them as Morphological Anomaly Projects."
Lion ordered in a deep voice, trying to handle the unease brought by this intuition in a rational manner.
He pondered slightly and continued to issue instructions: "Order all fleets executing reconnaissance missions to continue executing star system search missions as planned, expand the search scope, and focus on any unnatural mega-structures, abnormal energy signals, or possible civilization relics."
Then, he turned to the communications officer: "At the same time, notify all Bio-Division technicians operating with the fleet to prepare landing teams.
Once the fleet confirms surface safety on a suitable planet, immediately collect live and cadaver samples of the aforementioned marked Morphological Anomaly creatures, and establish temporary analysis stations on site to conduct preliminary genetic sequence,
Physiological structure, and neurobiological analyses.
I need to know what exactly is going on... with these creatures."
Just then, Chris Redfield, who had been quietly standing aside observing, couldn't help but speak up.
The experienced agent wore obvious confusion on his face. He pointed at the image of the giant creature on the screen and said, "Warmaster, forgive my bluntness, but why is it that when I look at these creatures, especially this big guy and those worm-like things, I always get a... strange sense of familiarity?
Not that I have seen them before, but a feeling as if I have experienced a similar structure somewhere?
It is very vague, but it definitely exists."
Hearing this, Lion turned to look at Chris, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
Even that veteran agent had this feeling?
This was by no means a coincidence.
As a top agent, Chris's observation skills and intuition also far exceeded those of ordinary people, and his feeling further corroborated Lion's own suspicions.
"You feel this way too?" Lion's voice carried an imperceptible solemnity. "I feel the same.
This is not deja vu, but a feeling as if observing a set of creations made based on some unpleasant, unified design language."
Relying on their exceptionally sharp senses and intuition, both battle-hardened warriors caught a whiff of an extremely ominous, cold aura of artificial intervention from this universe's seemingly natural biosphere.
This 22nd Universe was far more bizarre and dangerous than their initially imagined mystery of human disappearance.
The Empire's exploration was unwittingly touching upon a possibly far-exceeding and extremely dark secret.
And on the side of that densely vegetated planet where the antelope-like creatures were discovered...
A Luna transport craft landed smoothly on the vast grassland, the breeze churned up by its engines brushing over the knee-high grass.
The hatch opened, and several Imperial Bio-Division technicians dressed in standard white sealed hazmat suits and wearing multifunctional data analyzers stepped out first, carrying various sampling boxes and testing equipment in their hands.
Closely following them were over ten Night Lords warriors clad in dark blue titanium armor, decorated with pale skulls and bat-wing insignias.
They were silent and vigilant, like shadows blending into the sunlight, rapidly spreading out to occupy key positions around the transport craft. The light from their helmet visors swept across the antelope-like creatures quietly foraging in the distance.
Their mission was to provide absolute protection for the practically combat-incapable technicians and respond to any potential sudden dangers.
However, the expected danger did not appear.
The antelope creatures reacted surprisingly calmly to this suddenly arriving team that clearly did not belong to the natural world.
They had noticed these uninvited guests as early as when the flight formation appeared on the horizon and began to land, but they did not show the panic, flight, or aggression expected of ordinary beasts or low-intelligence creatures.
They merely stopped grazing on the grass, raised their heads, and quietly watched the approaching humans and Astartes with those docile... seemingly overly deep eyes.
"Recording: The target creatures show no instinctive stress reaction consistent with their apparent ecological niche to the approach of unfamiliar large aircraft and armed personnel. They lack vigilance and fear, and their behavioral patterns are abnormal."
A technician spoke in a low voice into the built-in microphone while operating the recorder, his tone full of astonishment.
As the technicians and Night Lords continued to approach, something even more bizarre happened.
These antelopes seemed to see clearly through the transparent visors of the technicians' helmets, looking at the human faces hidden behind them.
?!
In an instant, a slight commotion broke out among the antelope herd.
But they did not seem to be agitated out of fear.
Their eyes changed, shifting from their previous calmness to an indescribable... abnormal excitement?
They let out a short and rapid bleating with a certain rhythm, their hooves gently pawing the ground, and their heads stretching slightly forward as if wanting to get closer.
What tightened people's hearts even more was that tears clearly welled up in the eyes of some antelopes, sliding down the fuzz on their cheeks.
Those tears seemed to contain not only excitement but also a profound... indescribable sorrow and anticipation that spanned a long river of time?
"They are crying?" another technician whispered in disbelief, almost dropping the sampler in his hands.
Despite their hearts being filled with shock and incomprehension, their professionalism allowed them to quickly steady their minds.
Following the predetermined procedures, they began executing the sample collection mission.
Using non-lethal tranquilizer darts and restraint nets, they attempted to capture a few antelopes alive as live samples.
The entire process went extremely smoothly.
These antelopes made almost no effective resistance.
Even when hit by tranquilizer darts, they only stumbled slightly and then fell over docilely;
Even when covered by restraint nets, they only let out a few cries akin to mournful whimpers, their struggling strength pitifully weak.
They acted extremely cooperatively, as if...
As if they had long accepted some fate, or were actively waiting for something.
When these anesthetized live antelope samples were carefully transferred to the transport craft and successfully brought back by this small formation to a large supply ship anchored in low orbit, more in-depth analysis work immediately commenced.
The hydraulic devices of the isolation cabin doors emitted a faint hiss, sending this batch of special samples into a research area with a Level 3 biological protection rating.
A portion of the technicians conducted behavioral studies on the awakened antelopes in a highly isolated observation room.
These creatures were placed in an ecological pod simulating a natural environment, their hooves making faint sounds as they stepped on the artificial turf.
They soon noticed another hair-raising detail: "Recording: The live samples show an extraordinary degree of attention to the verbal communication of the experimental personnel."
A behavioral expert whispered into the recording device, his eyes fixed on the scene behind the one-way glass.
"When discussing sampling procedures in the official Imperial language, Sample 3's auricles immediately turn toward the sound source. When giving simple movement commands, the pupils of all samples undergo regular dilation and contraction, with a frequency matching the rhythm of the sentences."
He paused for a moment and added, "When mentioning emotional words like going home and freedom, the hair on their necks stands up noticeably, and their breathing rate increases.
Preliminary judgment: They are suspected to be able to understand, or at least produce specific physiological reactions to the structure of human language. This far exceeds the cognitive scope of any known non-intelligent or low-intelligence creatures."
Meanwhile, in the adjacent genetic analysis laboratory, the analysis of the collected blood, hair, and tissue samples also yielded preliminary results.
In the sterile laboratory, there was only the hum of running instruments. The screen of the gene sequencer was streaming waterfall-like base pair data.
A genetic analyst looked at the scrolling data chain on the screen, his fingers resting on the console trembling slightly, and his face instantly turned pale.
He almost tremblingly connected the communication with the observation room and the bridge, swallowing hard before struggling to organize his words: "This is the genetic analysis team... we... we have just completed the basic genetic sequencing comparison of the samples..."
His voice was somewhat distorted due to extreme shock, every word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth.
"Based on the comparison of core genetic fragment sequences, telomere structures, and multiple hallmark genetic information loci..."
He took a deep breath and pointed to the 23 pairs of chromosome maps highlighted on the screen, "The data shows that the samples not only retain the complete number of human chromosomes, but even the specific DNA fragments maintain an astonishing consistency.
The matching rate... the matching rate is as high as 99.97%!"
The other researchers in the laboratory simultaneously stopped their work and looked at the main screen in disbelief.
The analyst broke down a bit and even angrily shouted the conclusion: "They... these antelopes... from a genetic level, they are humans!"
"What?!"
"That's impossible!"
"Humans?! You're saying these animals are humans?!"
The news was like a bolt from the blue, triggering violent shock and cries of disbelief in various related areas within the supply ship.
The technicians looked at each other in dismay, almost unable to believe the conclusion they had heard.
Those docile antelopes that seemed to understand human speech were actually humans?
How could this be possible?!
But cold genetic data did not lie.
Suppressing the raging waves in his heart, the analyst added, "Not only that, their genetic sequences are embedded with a large number of unnatural, redundant fragments of unknown function, as well as...
As well as some areas showing traces of highly targeted editing. This perfectly matches the characteristics of some extremely advanced, yet extremely cruel mandatory species modification!"
Realizing the severity and subversiveness of the situation, the official in charge of this scientific research mission dared not delay in the slightest and immediately reported this earth-shattering discovery in its entirety, with the highest priority, to the supreme commander of this integration operation—
Warmaster Lion.
By the time the information was transmitted back to the flagship Invincible Truth, Lion was standing before the viewport in deep thought.
And when he finished listening to the report and saw the clear genetic comparison data and the preliminary behavioral analysis report, even with his fortitude and calmness, his pupils couldn't help but constrict abruptly.
The truth of this 22nd Universe was slowly revealing its terrifying tip of the iceberg in a worst-case scenario that far exceeded everyone's expectations.
Humanity had not simply disappeared; they had been, in some unimaginable way, reshaped...
______
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