Oteck Hive District, outer regions.
Due to the withdrawal of the Astra Militarum, the Adepta Sororitas, and the Space Marines, the outer regions had almost completely fallen.
However, it wasn't absolute. Many under-hive scavengers and gangs still struggled to survive in the cracks, dodging both genestealers and Ork Greenskins.
Perhaps the only thing they could be grateful for was that the 'value' of the under-hive was too low.
Thanks to the waste discharge from Stygies VIII's mining operations, the entire outer region resembled a 'city' built on pipes, a labyrinthine network of interconnected sewage pipes, like a dense spiderweb!
Anyone unfamiliar with the area would quickly get lost in the complex piping.
It was precisely by leveraging this that the under-hive scavengers and gangs managed to cling to life against the genestealers and ork attacks, and in some ways, their 'days' were even better.
If you ask why, the reason is actually very simple. Because they no longer needed to 'pay taxes'.
Yes, even if you were a scavenger living in the under-hive, you still had to pay taxes to the noble Tech-Priests.
Normally, scavengers would have to manually sift through highly radioactive waste slag for valuable minerals, which they would then hand over to the Fabricator-General's Tech-Priests in exchange for a certain amount of survival supplies.
But ever since the ork and genestealers attacked the hive city, all the garrison Tech-Priests withdrew, leaving the factories unsupervised.
The scavengers and gangs practically occupied the entire factory, dividing up the remaining supplies.
Although the quantity wasn't huge, for the bottom-dwellers who had lived in the under-hive for years, it was enough to last them a long time.
As for tomorrow?
Don't be ridiculous. People born in the Oteck under-hive never dared to hope for tomorrow.
Emrys, stepping into the Oteck outer regions for the first time, was truly shocked: "Can anyone really survive in this place?"
The Oteck under-hive was different from where he lived in Roselle; it was practically a giant 'vertical' mine shaft, looking like a bottomless abyss. Standing at the edge, one could even feel gusts of cold wind blowing up from below.
This place, rather than being called an 'under-hive,' would be more accurately described as a 'drilling pit.'
According to Drayne's data, the so-called Oteck under-hive was originally an area with vast mineral reserves, but after years of unrestrained mining, it eventually became what it is today!
Destroying the ecological environment?
Sorry, in the eyes of Stygies VIII, that term doesn't exist.
It's already a great blessing for mere under-hive commoners to contribute to the Omnissiah; don't be ungrateful.
And so, Oteck' 'under-hive,' or more accurately 'mine Shaft 3,' slowly formed, and the under-hive commoners, powerless to change it, could only choose to 'adapt.'
"It looks like the people sent by Drayne have already gone down," Emrys said.
Emrys, who found traces at the edge of the mine shaft, knelt down to inspect them, then turned his gaze towards mine Shaft 3, which resembled an abyss, and couldn't help but gasp: "I was wrong, Emperor, I shouldn't have said you treated me poorly."
If he had been thrown here back then, let alone being the heir of Merlin, even a Primarch would have struggled to climb out!
This was simply hell. Even a preliminary check at the edge startled Emrys.
The depths of the mine pit were filled with lethal levels of radioactive dust, and the air contained unanalyzable components, but a large amount of discharged mineral residue was mixed with tiny particulate debris.
Without a gas mask, even without considering the radiation, one would develop pneumoconiosis in a very short time.
Not to mention, the violent vibrations of the mining machinery could also lead to deafness, localized vibration syndrome, and other ailments.
And the deeper one went, the colder the temperature in the mine pit would get, and then it would dramatically rise again, so describing it as 'hell' is not an exaggeration at all!
Exhaling softly, Emrys looked at the abyss-like 'under-hive' and stroked his belt, feeling a bit more confident.
"Power armor, combine!"
The dark purple armor unfolded, instantly covering Emrys.
Of course, to ensure safety, he hid a 'Space Bridge' device at the edge of the mine shaft.
This way, even if he encountered any danger below, he could use the armor's 'spatial transfer' to instantly escape the danger.
After making full preparations, Emrys leaped into the abyss.
Although mine Shaft 3 was vertical, it was divided into many levels. The closer to the exit, the more suitable it was for survival, and the environment would be much better, while the closer to the depths, the harsher the environment and the more difficult survival became.
Due to the harassment of the Ork Greenskins and genestealers, many under-hive people went to deeper areas.
Emrys used the power armor's reconnaissance scanning mode, carefully descending along the edge of the mine pit, following the traces left by the Inquisitor and the large Adeptus Arbites force that had entered the mine earlier.
The only light source in mine Shaft 3 was a few greenish energy lamps.
However, the light from those few lamps was completely insufficient to illuminate the vertical mine shaft, which was tens of kilometers in diameter.
But fortunately, with the power armor, Emrys was not too affected. Looking at the constantly increasing pressure, temperature, radiation, and other values, he couldn't help but guess in his heart: "How many meters have we descended? A thousand, or fifteen hundred?"
To be able to survive in such an environment, it's no exaggeration to say that the physique of the under-hive people here is simply too exaggerated!
Finally, when the continuous descent reached a depth of about two thousand meters, light could finally be seen.
It was just that the light source was a bit unsettling.
Imagine, in a pitch-black environment, apart from the sound of cold wind blowing through the pipes, almost no living creatures could be seen.
But in such a situation, to suddenly see a greenish glow ahead, anyone would panic for a few seconds, but Emrys had, after all, seen many grand scenes, and he quickly calmed his mind, cautiously moving towards the light source.
"This is" As he approached the light source, Emrys suddenly froze in place, his pupils contracting sharply!
That was not a light source at all, but dozens of Necron Immortal bodies!
The metallic bodies bore traces of violent destruction, and the eerie green light he saw was the residual energy surging from the eyes and body seams of these Necron infantry units, the 'Immortals'!
"Are you kidding me? How can 'Immortals' appear here?!"
Emrys' face turned extremely grim. He had thought that the out-of-control psykers were already troublesome enough.
But, he never expected that traces of Necrons were hidden in this mine shaft abandoned by the Tech-Priests!
Immortals, all of them battle-hardened veterans in life, were transformed into metallic bodies after death. They not only possessed rich combat experience but also retained a bit of self-awareness, which meant there was a Necron Dynasty tomb here!