Noah's hovercar slowly descended onto the abandoned plaza on the outskirts of the genestealer cult community.
Forty security robots immediately deployed into a defensive formation.
Their silver-gray armor gleamed with a cold light in the dim illumination.
Every joint of these combat machines contained energy circuits far exceeding the technological level of the Warhammer World, capable of instantly vaporizing an entire company of Space Marines.
"Scanning initiated," Noah commanded softly.
The eye sensors of the security robots simultaneously lit up with an eerie blue glow.
A three-dimensional holographic projection immediately unfolded before Noah, displaying the entire community's structural map.
Millions of red dots represented contaminated humans, while hundreds of massive purple light dots were particularly conspicuous.
"Abnormal biological signals detected," a mechanical voice calmly reported.
"The targets exhibit Tyranid Hive Mind characteristics; a large number of humans are being deceived by a strange signal, their visual senses are severely distorted, and Tyranid Swarm forces have already appeared on our planet."
Upon hearing this, Noah's brows furrowed deeply.
Bugs.
Bugs were powerful adversaries in any universe.
The Terran Federation had encountered the Norn Parasite in their original world.
They were incredibly formidable; although ultimately defeated by the Terran Federation, the combat power of these bugs was indeed strong.
After the Terran Federation completed its ascension, they initially thought they would no longer encounter bugs.
But the final outcome was encountering more bugs, who were still named Norn Parasite by the federation.
However, their combat power was even more formidable; the overwhelming Tyranid Swarm had once engaged in a fierce battle with the federation.
The result of the battle was the federation repelling them, but the Tyranid Swarm's numbers were too vast; even with the Terran Federation's combat power, they couldn't completely annihilate them.
To this day, both sides still occasionally engage in a war of attrition on the northern border.
The Tyranid Swarm's fleet blotted out the sky, yet do doomsday missiles still have an impact on the Terran Federation's fleets?
Now that Noah himself had encountered bugs, it made him feel unwell.
What if they were like the Norn Parasite? How would he fight them?
Would he rely on his current civilian technology?
Behind him, there was no powerful fleet of the Terran Federation; behind him, there was no endless supply of energy and resources like the federation.
And there was no industrial capacity that could deploy a sky-blotting fleet in just a few days.
"Confirm the scale and species of the Tyranid Swarm, and identify if they are Norn Parasite."
The robots received the order and began to cross-reference gene sequences, finally reaching a conclusion.
"No, it has been fully explored; they possess a portion of the Norn Parasite's gene sequence, but it can be confirmed that they are not Norn Parasite."
"Phew," Noah let out a heavy sigh.
It was good that they weren't Norn Parasite; he didn't want to face a Tyranid Swarm catastrophe right now, even if it was just a part of one.
"Kill!" All creatures whose gene sequences and souls have been completely altered must be utterly exterminated, while those shielded by psionics will be left, and I will personally resolve this issue for them.
As always, the Terran Federation is merciless towards xenos, but still full of warmth towards their fellow humans.
Those shielded humans were not there by their own will; they were also helpless.
In such circumstances, the federation is willing to give them a chance to atone and a chance to recognize their mistakes, rather than simply annihilating them.
Of course, the premise for doing so is that their genes have not been contaminated by the Tyranid Swarm; if their genes have also been contaminated by the Tyranid Swarm, then Noah would have no choice but to kill them.
It's not that he wants to ruthlessly kill these fellow humans or is unwilling to save them.
Rather, gene restoration requires a large amount of resources, and Noah currently has no money.
Without money, he can only operate within his means.
As for those xenos who are no longer human, they must be eliminated.
Noah, who had already gained some knowledge of the Imperium of Man, knew very well that these genestealer cultists would summon those bugs.
Right now, he didn't want to fight orks and bugs at the same time.
The Mechanical Legion began to advance into the genestealer cult community.
The security robots that had originally stood around Noah, responsible for protecting him, also began to move out, preparing to eliminate all these xenos.
As for the PDF forces that Noah had transferred, they continued to set up defensive positions on the outermost perimeter to prevent anyone from getting desperate or escaping, to avoid this kind of incident from repeating.
The Mechanical Legion began to advance in an orderly fashion, their gauss rifles set to maximum power, ready to utterly obliterate these heretics until not even a speck remained.
Meanwhile, the security robots that had been around Noah entered the community first at a rapid pace.
At this moment, the genestealer cultists in their community were still unaware of what was happening; they had originally planned to go to the factory again today to work and earn various necessities for their families.
Life had clearly improved recently; the governor, for some unknown reason, suddenly started distributing delicious food to them, no longer the corpse starch of before.
He even distributed food to marginal figures like them.
Several genestealer cult members walked together, conversing with each other.
After all, going out to find work was a bit boring during this time, so naturally, several genestealer cult members walking together would chat.
"Honestly, this new governor seems like a decent person lately.
He actually distributed food to us, followers of the God-Emperor; he doesn't seem to have any religious prejudice.
Do you think we can persuade this governor to join our cult?"
"Are you crazy?" another genestealer cultist nervously looked around, lowering his voice.
"The previous governor was ruthless towards true believers like us.
Even if this one has given us some benefits, what if he just wants to trick us into coming out?"
"Then have you forgotten? Even if this esteemed governor hasn't killed us recently, who can guarantee that if something goes wrong, our entire community will be finished?"
"Quiet!" A third cultist nudged his companion with his elbow; they were passing a dilapidated food distribution station.
"I heard a missionary in the community next to ours was caught, and the Inquisition burned him alive in the plaza."
"The Inquisition's stance is clear; how could the governor dare to join our true faith? Going to the governor, he wouldn't possibly agree."
"Sigh," the first genestealer cult believer to speak let out a heavy sigh.
"Why do you think this is? We all believe in the Emperor, it's just that they believe in a two-armed Emperor, and we believe in a four-armed Emperor.
What's the difference? It's just a slight difference in belief.
"Why do these guys want to exterminate us?"
"Ultimately, don't we all obey the Emperor?"
The old cultist walking at the front suddenly stopped, a strange purple light flashing in his cloudy eyes: "Don't you think... the wind feels a bit off today?"
Everyone stopped at his words.
Indeed, the air, usually filled with industrial exhaust, was now permeated with a strange metallic smell.
In the distance, a regular "humming" sound could be faintly heard, like some precise machinery in operation.
"Maybe the governor is starting some new project again," a young cultist shrugged indifferently.
"I heard he's building some 'recycled water system' in the Underhive..."
His words trailed off abruptly.
At the end of the street, a line of fully armed figures was approaching them with synchronized steps.
The way these "people" moved was too precise; every step's distance was exact.
Anyone seeing this army would exclaim that it was truly an elite army!
Since Noah had not taken over this Hive City for long, these genestealer cult members naturally didn't know that this army was Noah's subordinate.
They initially just stared blankly at the approaching troops.
The leading elder of the genestealer cult in this group watched the troops advancing towards them, a bad premonition gripping him.
"Something's not right..." The old cultist's throat tightened, and his cracked lips trembled, "These soldiers' uniforms... I've never seen this style before..."
His cloudy eyes fixated on the increasingly close army. The soldiers' steps were terrifyingly precise, each one as if measured with a ruler.
Such an elite unit could never be the governor's PDF; they were never that elite. The Astra Militarum might be, but what would the Astra Militarum be doing here?
Surely, with the orks at their doorstep, the new governor wasn't planning to encircle and suppress them, was he?
"You... who exactly are you?" The old cultist trembled, taking a step back until his back hit the mottled wall.
The leading soldier suddenly stopped, just five meters away from them. It was an extremely ordinary face, yet it bore an unsettling calmness.
"According to Article 37 of the 'Human Purity Protection Act'," the soldier's voice was terrifyingly gentle, "you are suspected of involvement in genome contamination activities. Please cooperate with the investigation."
What in the world was this all about?
Genome contamination activities?
To these genestealer cult followers, it was all nonsense; they didn't believe in such absurd things.
The young man who had originally wanted to draw Noah into his genestealer cult directly sprang out, standing in front of the soldier and shouting loudly.
"You're spouting nonsense! What genome contamination? How could we possibly do such a thing? I see clearly that it's you people who worship false gods, wanting to harm us true believers!"
The leading soldier looked at the agitated young man expressionlessly, his deep blue pupils slightly contracting. He quickly completed a genome scan of the Humans in front of him.
"Target confirmed: Level 3 genome contamination, only humane extermination is an option. Only one person here might have a chance to be saved," he announced calmly, "Execute purification protocol."
Before the young man could react, he suddenly felt a chill in his chest.
He looked down to see a bowl-sized bloody hole, appearing on his chest at some point, its edges as neat as if cut by the most precise instrument.
Immediately after, his body was incinerated while he was still conscious, leaving no trace.
A massacre began. All the young genestealer cult members who had intended to work in the Hive City were killed, and the old man was also dealt with, leaving only one individual whose genome contamination was only Level 2.
Those with genome contamination at Level 3 or higher were to be killed; those below Level 3, at Level 1 or 2, could be treated.
This was the last bit of leniency from the Terran Federation that Noah could manage. As for more, he couldn't do it.
He was truly poor.
If the Inquisition of the Imperium of Man had come, these people, let alone those at Level 1 or 2 who could be treated, all those at Level 3 and above would have been slaughtered.
In the eyes of the Inquisition, all these people should have been dealt with long ago.
To consume precious medical resources, precious machinery, and energy to save so few people was an immense waste.
The remaining genestealer cult youth, who could be treated, was now kneeling on the ground, terrified, not daring to resist.
Two soldiers walked up to him, then reached out to help him up and said,
"Citizen, you are safe now. We will send you to a genome hospital for treatment. You are very fortunate; you have been given a chance to live, while your companions... I'm sorry, we cannot treat them."
The young man was led by the Servo-Automaton, his legs still trembling uncontrollably.
He looked around blankly; the once familiar streets had become a living hell.
His neighbors and friends, with whom he had spent every day, were now charred remains on the ground.
"W-why..." His voice was hoarse and broken, "We are all children of the Emperor..."
The Servo-Automaton watched him calmly: "According to genome testing, your level of contamination has not yet exceeded the critical threshold. Our medical technology can reverse your genetic mutation."
The soldier paused, "As for the others... regrettably, they are no longer Human."
"Although our medical technology could also treat them, unfortunately, we do not have sufficient resources.
So, this is unavoidable. For the continuation of the Human race, they must sacrifice."
The Servo-Automaton expressed its apologies. They were somewhat apologetic for not being able to treat federation citizens, as insufficient resources meant abandoning citizens. Such actions were truly inexcusable.
If they hadn't lacked resources, these people could have been saved, but unfortunately, they did lack them.
"But they are all good people! Everyone in our community is good; we all stick together for warmth, and we help each other whenever someone has difficulties.
They are all good people, so why can't they live?"
Someone answered his question. Some Servo-Automaton couldn't directly tell them it was because the governor was too poor to treat them, could they?
They simply took this person, who had lost the meaning of living, to the back, preparing to send him to the hospital for treatment.
These ordinary basic AI soldiers did not possess rich emotions.
They could comfort and explain according to procedures and various strategies; the reasons given earlier were the extent of what they could do.
This squad was merely one of thousands of squads within this cult.
For the entire genestealer cult, Noah had only one goal: complete eradication. He did not want a Hive Fleet to appear while he was fighting the orks.
He wasn't sure what situation he would face when those bugs arrived.
He didn't want to give up this planet; he had put a lot of effort into acquiring it.
Necessary sacrifices had to be made.
Just as a saying in the Imperium of Man goes, sacrifice is the cornerstone of the Imperium.
Over the next 5 days, a great massacre was unleashed upon the genestealer cult communities.
All genestealer cult members with severe genome contamination were eliminated.
And those pure-blooded bugs they called angels were all slain by Noah's bodyguard robots.
The entire genestealer cult was thoroughly purged at this moment!
The genestealer cult had developed very well on this planet, with tens of millions of people. Among these tens of millions, fewer than 100,000 were deemed worthy of survival, a true one in a hundred.
When the last pure-blooded genestealer and genome-contaminated Human were slaughtered, Noah breathed a sigh of relief.
At least from now on, he only needed to face the orks, those mere food sources.
He wouldn't have to face those bugs.