Deep within the wasteland workshop, the hum of the dimensional teleporter gradually subsided, eventually settling into a steady operational sound, leaving only the faint hiss of the cooling system.
Osiris' crimson optical lens locked onto the main control interface; the data stream had stabilized.
The life signals of all Maine's crew members were clear and steady, confirming their successful arrival at the preset coordinates.
The final visual signal transmitted by the servo-skull was fixed on Sekhmet's familiar dark red armored figure.
At this point, the first phase of the mission, live teleportation and coordinate verification, was successfully completed.
The confirmation of success did not stir any unnecessary ripples in his core thought processes.
For him, this was merely the successful collection of a necessary data point in the experimental process.
His attention had quickly shifted to the next critical node: ensuring the dimensional teleporter could flawlessly execute the retrieval procedure after a seventy-two-hour cooling and recalibration cycle.
Several mechanical tentacles silently extended from the workshop's shadows, beginning a comprehensive inspection of the equipment, meticulously calibrating each energy circuit, and rigorously analyzing the structural stress endured by the core resonant unit during this teleportation.
Every trans-dimensional leap was a severe test for precision components, and the retrieval phase could not afford any failure.
Concurrently, he activated the preset command sequence within the servo-skull that had accompanied Maine's crew through the teleportation.
These commands had been finalized before the experiment began, and their trigger condition was 'successful arrival at coordinates and establishment of initial contact with the receiving unit.'
The command content was interconnected: first, it granted Sekhmet, the Skitarii Corps commander, permission to utilize camp resources to provide Maine's crew with basic living necessities, ensuring the survival of these experimental subjects during the observation period.
Subsequently, the servo-skull unlocked an independent data package in its local database, providing Maine's crew with a highly streamlined and strictly de-sensitized overview document of the Warhammer Universe background for their perusal.
This was intended to give them a basic understanding of the extreme and dangerous nature of their environment, preventing uncontrolled behavior due to complete ignorance.
Finally, the servo-skull was strictly ordered to bring back the specific data carrier prepared by Sekhmet, based on Osiris' earlier instructions, during the retrieval phase.
At this moment, the direct, real-time connection between Osiris and the Warhammer Universe camp was completely severed.
He was like a scientist who had launched a probe into deep space; all he could do now was wait for the probe to safely return at the appointed time with the collected samples.
He turned around, reallocating his primary computational resources to the in-depth analysis of the massive operational data from this teleportation, while simultaneously dedicating a portion of threads to continue monitoring various affairs in the local Cyberpunk World.
—
On the Warhammer Universe side, within a makeshift barracks on the edge of the Death World camp, Maine's crew was experiencing unprecedented 'boredom,' 'oppression,' and 'information isolation.'
After the first day passed in high alert and poor adaptation, they found that Sekhmet's warning was not false.
Their range of activity was strictly limited to a fifty-meter radius centered around their barracks; although there were no obvious physical barriers, the silent patrolling red-robed Skitarii Corps and the constantly rotating muzzles of the strangely shaped weapons on the watchtowers clearly delineated an invisible boundary.
Any attempt to approach the boundary would immediately draw the attention of the Skitarii Corps; though they did not use weapons, their cold, unyielding demeanor was enough to make anyone retreat.
Attempts at verbal communication with these Skitarii Corps were largely futile.
They either showed no reaction to the language used by Maine's crew or responded only with monotonous binary code, the information of which needed to be translated by the servo-skull, often resulting in brief commands like 'forbidden,' 'return,' or 'wait.'
Aside from Sekhmet herself, they could barely communicate effectively with any other unit in the camp, as if they were on an island made of steel and silence.
Rebecca was the first to find it unbearable.
Her energy had nowhere to be expended; she could only pace back and forth in the narrow space or punch the metal walls of the barracks, her reinforced bones and muscles hitting the steel plate with a dull 'thudding' sound.
"Damn it, this is worse than jail! At least in jail, you can fight!" She irritably ran her hands through her two-toned short hair, her green cybernetic eyes flashing with impatience. "That iron can said it's a Death World, but outside it's just sand and rocks. What's there that we can't go to? I think she just doesn't want us looking around!"
Pilar squatted in a corner, fiddling with his long arms, trying to perform some minor, irrelevant adjustments with his portable micro-tools, but quickly lost interest: "Can't even find a network signal... Kiwi, Sasha, how are you two doing? Can you crack their internal network? Even just to connect and read the news would be good!"
Sasha and Kiwi sat side by side on a simple metal bed, their temples faintly glowing—a sign of their electronic warfare cybernetics operating at full speed.
After a long while, Kiwi was the first to open her eyes and shake her head, a hint of frustration in her usually calm voice: "No. Their network protocol... is completely unfamiliar. The underlying logic is different from everything we know.
The signal is closed, physically isolated. We can sense powerful energy flows and data exchanges around us, but we can't intervene; it's like there's an invisible wall."
Sasha added, her voice softer: "Moreover, the electromagnetic background noise here is very peculiar; there's a kind of... regular fluctuation, which doesn't seem natural. It's more like interference caused by some large equipment running continuously, and this interference itself forms a kind of shield."
Falco, meanwhile, used this time to record environmental data as detailed as possible: air composition, temperature fluctuations, gravity parameters, and the trajectories of the two dim suns on the distant horizon.
He compared this data with the limited information provided by the servo-skull, attempting to piece together a fragmented picture of this world.
Dorio remained silent most of the time. She stood against the wall like a rock, her enhanced senses also collecting information, but focusing more on the camp's operational model, the Skitarii Corps' patrol patterns, and the types and potential weapon configurations of the large vehicles.
This was her instinct as the team's shield.
Maine, as the captain, felt the most pressure. Not only did he have to soothe his team members' emotions, but he also had to consider the deeper meaning of Osiris' actions.
He gathered everyone, sitting them in a circle in the center of the barracks.
"Everyone calm down," Maine's voice was low and strong. "The boss didn't send us here just to lock us up for three days. This itself is part of the test, testing our psychological endurance and discipline in a completely unfamiliar, restricted environment. Every move we make here is probably being recorded."
He pointed to the servo-skull hovering in the corner, on standby: "The boss gave us some information. Take this opportunity to read it carefully. We need to understand what kind of world we're in so we can know what we might face in the future."
The servo-skull received the command, and red light flashed in its eye sockets, projecting a holographic image into the air.
The content of the image, pre-packaged by Osiris, was extremely brief.
It first displayed a vague outline of the Imperium of Man spanning the stars, emphasizing the basic tenets of human supremacy and eternal war.
It then briefly explained the core beliefs of the Adeptus Mechanicus, their worship of the Machine God, and their eternal quest for lost technology and standard construction templates, concluding with a somber emphasis on the extreme dangers and endless conflicts that permeated this world itself.
Though limited, this information was enough to unfold before them a vast, harsh, and alien cosmic landscape.