At the pinnacle of the Hive City, Marcus observed the PDF Soldiers and Isaac's kill squad reaching their target. After a few seconds of contemplation, he retracted his gaze. He had, in fact, been listening to the conversations between Isaac, Wesker, and the others via their RIG Systems.
"Mass production of Tyrant Xenomorphs…" Marcus murmured to himself. "It's indeed an enticing option." While the combat power of the T103 Tyrant Xenomorph might not be considered exceptionally strong in the Warhammer Universe, it was certainly sufficient for Marcus's immediate needs. If truly feasible, mass production could rapidly address the critical lack of core strength on Avarax.
"The only problem is the entities in the Warp," Marcus thought, a mental image of an entirely green figure stirring an unknown thick soup in a large pot flashing through his mind. Shaking his head, Marcus dismissed this dangerous association. "I could try it on Kadaku first. If it fails, I'll just leave. Besides, if the Imperium of Man can create things like Servitors, there shouldn't be a problem with me creating a more humane Tyrant, right?"
(T/N : After debating in my head a bit, yeah compared to a servitor, the tyrant is more 'humane')
After secretly adding this plan to his agenda, Marcus summoned several officials responsible for overseeing the clone cultivation factory and inquired about its construction progress. Upon receiving confirmation that the factory was nearing completion, Marcus immediately hurried to the Underhive without delay. Compared to the temporarily uncertain mass-produced Tyrant Xenomorph, a clone army offered a more immediate solution to his current problems.
By this time, the clone cultivation factory was largely complete. Several small Adeptus Mechanicus spacecraft continuously transported various complex equipment from other Adeptus Mechanicus facilities on the planet to this location. Then, several Tech-Priests, constantly reciting binary prayers, meticulously installed the components into the factory. After several hours, once the Adeptus Mechanicus personnel had completed all rituals to appease the machine spirit, the clone cultivation factory was finally deemed fully operational. Before this, Avarax had indeed possessed such factories, but they had all been destroyed by the recent Tyranid offensive. This new clone cultivation factory would mark a fresh beginning for Avarax.
The Imperium of Man's cloning technology was not "cloning and replication" in the conventional sense; it was more akin to directly cultivating a human from an embryo in a culture tank and imbuing them with a certain amount of knowledge. The incubation period, however, would be influenced by many factors. In short, it still took some time to obtain a complete clone soldier from start to finish.
After touring the factory, led by several Tech-Priests, Marcus first praised the Omnissiah, then expressed his gratitude to Elder Halifus who had provided this technology. Following that, he issued an order for the factory to produce soldiers twenty-four hours a day, non-stop.
Having completed all this, Marcus left the Underhive. However, his destination was not a return to the Upper Hive, but to the deep hell buried beneath the countless steel structures of the Hive City—the true Underhive. After easily shaking off the few guards who had been following him, Marcus arrived alone at the junction of the Underhive and the Underhive proper. It was not as desolate and dark as he had imagined; on the contrary, people were constantly moving back and forth between the two sections.
The only caveat was that these individuals had to pay resources or credits to the gang members stationed there. Chaos and order coexisted; this was the true, gritty appearance of the Hive City. Shaking his head, Marcus vanished into the darkness of the Underhive and quietly summoned several Tyranid Warbeasts that had long been starving: a Lictor, Venomthrope, Neurothrope, Zoanthrope, Tyranid Hive Tyrant, and Tyrant Xenomorph…
Then, Marcus issued new orders to these Warbeasts, who had not hunted for a long time. "Kill all the Gene Stealers in the Underhive." Although Avarax had recently endured a campaign against the Tyranids, the Gene Stealers that had been lurking there had already come out in full force. They were either annihilated by Imperial forces or recycled into biomass by the Tyranids. But Marcus knew that Tyranid Genestealers were like weeds; no matter how many you killed, you couldn't completely eradicate them. In places he couldn't see, Tyranid Genestealers would surely be boarding ships from other planets, secretly lurking in the lower levels of the Hive City, and beginning their insidious reproduction. And what Marcus had to do was to nip all of this in the bud.
Upon receiving the order, the Tyranid Warbeasts immediately slunk into the darkness, scattering to begin their grim hunt. "I wonder what expression those Tyranid Genestealers will have when they see the stellar savior in their eyes hunting them down," Marcus muttered softly, then disappeared himself.
Above Avarax, inside Merchant Ship No. 3, over a thousand PDF Soldiers had gathered. According to the plan, they would be organized into small teams to sweep the entire ship. All intelligent beings encountered would be scanned and tested.
Those who met the Imperium of Man's definition of legal humans and mutants would be sent to the Hive City. Illegal crew members detected would be detained on the spot, awaiting interrogation. As for the hidden Tyranid Genestealers, if found, they would be executed on sight.
Isaac's kill squad was assigned to the crew deck area, where the ship's personnel were most concentrated. "Watch your surroundings," Isaac continuously reminded his teammates through the RIG System, clutching his focus rifle. In front of the five, two tall Elite Marauders led the way, while Wesker, with his superior physical condition, was responsible for the rear, preventing any surprise pincer attacks.
"Are there really Gene Stealers on this ship?" Tyrell asked, holding a special instrument and continuously scanning the oddly shaped mutants before him. But without exception, the results consistently showed only legal mutant crew members.
"Nonsense, Gene Stealers won't just obediently come to you to be found," Carlos retorted, rolling his eyes at Tyrell.
"So far, there have been no reports of Gene Stealers being found on the PDF Soldiers' communication channel," Jill, who had been monitoring the channel, spoke up. "Those monsters are definitely accumulating strength, preparing to launch a large-scale counterattack when the opportunity arises."
Isaac nodded; he was all too familiar with this kind of behavior. The Slashers on the Ishimura loved to do that, rushing out from every corner to startle people for no reason. "First, quickly filter out the normal crew members, then send them off the ship. Otherwise, if a battle breaks out, the situation will be quite chaotic." Under Isaac's command, Jill and Carlos also joined the ranks of testing the crew members. Only the two Marauders, Isaac, and Wesker remained, guarding the complex surroundings.
Wesker, positioned at the very back of the team, still wore his signature sunglasses despite the dim lighting. His hearing, significantly enhanced by the Progenitor Virus, allowed him to keenly catch a suspicious sound amidst the general noise.