15: Judges serve as advisors, overseeing the selection of a heavy factory site from its entrance to its final resting place.

Inside the Command Center, a massive sketch of the underground structure was projected onto the holographic screen.

Ilaria stood before the screen, her long silver hair tied back, revealing her smooth neck. Her expression was focused and serious, and the data stylus in her hand rapidly moved across the screen, lighting up red markers indicating danger.

Zhang Yuan stood to the side, listening quietly.

He realized that Miss Inquisitor was far from being just a Battle Sister who only understood dogma. Her knowledge of the lower Hive City was astonishingly detailed; this cold map was alive in her eyes.

"Here, three hundred meters underground, there is an abandoned Promethium Vein. The geological structure is extremely unstable, and any large-scale vibration could trigger a chain collapse," Ilaria stated, pointing to an area. "Its reserves are very tempting, but it is the consensus among all Scavengers in the lower Hive City that whoever touches it dies."

Her data stylus moved toward another area.

"And here, an area called the 'Trace of the Crawlers' by the underlayers. Legend says some kind of giant burrowing creature passes through periodically, and no one knows where its lair is. All outposts attempted here vanished overnight—people and structures alike—leaving only smooth holes."

Zhang Yuan felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the Death Zones that were quickly being marked out.

This was far more intense than Red-Name Zones in a game.

He couldn't help but tease, "Miss Valentine, are you sure you aren't an Prospector sent by the Adeptus Mechanicus? You know so much."

Ilaria's data stylus paused. She turned her face, her delicate features devoid of any unnecessary expression.

"The Inquisition requires every member to be an Expert in their jurisdiction, including history, geography, culture, and threat assessment. This is basic," she said, ignoring his joke and continuing to point at the map. "Your ignorance will only get you killed faster."

"Alright, alright, Miss Expert." Zhang Yuan raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"The safest area is here." Ilaria zoomed in on the map and circled an area that sensors showed as high-density rock mass. "A massive, Monolithic Granite Stratum, codenamed 'Silent Platform.' It is solid enough to isolate most vibrations and energy detection, making it a natural underground fortress."

Zhang Yuan leaned in to look.

This place was indeed good, practically tailor-made for a heavy factory.

"But..." Ilaria changed the subject.

"But what?" Zhang Yuan's heart jumped.

He knew it; in the Warhammer world, there was no such thing as a free lunch.

"However, that is an important stronghold for the 'Children of the Sewer' gang," Ilaria's expression grew serious. "They are experts at playing with toxins and tricks, completely different from the Goliath Gang barbarians who only think with their muscles."

"They specialize in ambushes, poisoning, and even use mutated creatures as traps. Their leader, 'Poison Tongue' Maureen, is a cunning and cruel woman. She has killed more bounty hunters and Imperial Enforcers than the Goliath Gang members we just eliminated."

Zhang Yuan looked at the 'Silent Platform' circled by Ilaria on the map, then at the dense activity markers for the 'Children of the Sewer' nearby, and fell into contemplation.

"Adjutant, dispatch one SCV, activate stealth mode, and perform close-range reconnaissance on the perimeter of the 'Silent Platform.'"

[Command confirmed.]

On the holographic screen, a yellow light representing the SCV cautiously left the base perimeter and moved along the abandoned pipe network toward the target area. However, just as it approached a narrow pass marked as a 'Children of the Sewer' patrol route, the light suddenly flickered violently and emitted a piercing alarm!

[Warning! SCV Unit 7 has encountered unknown corrosive toxin attack! Hull integrity reduced to 51%! Retreating!]

Soon after, the SCV stumbled back to the base, its yellow paint covered in large, sickening, dark green spots. Its alloy shell sizzled and smoked like it had been doused in concentrated acid, emitting a pungent, almond-like odor.

Ilaria's face was grim: "Do you see? This is the 'Children of the Sewer' welcome ceremony. They don't even need to show themselves."

Zhang Yuan looked at the analysis data uploaded by the SCV, his brows tightly furrowed. A direct assault would result in unacceptable losses.

Against enemies skilled in using toxins and traps, even his well-equipped Space Marines could suffer unnecessary casualties. More importantly, this would expose his location and strength prematurely, attracting more powerful foes.

He needed a smarter solution.

A way to quietly grow stronger right under the enemy's nose.

His finger slowly moved across the holographic map, tracing the marked areas.

Suddenly, something occurred to him.

His finger stopped. He zoomed in on the map and pointed to a massive pipe symbol below the 'Silent Platform,' marked "abandoned."

The diameter of that pipe was nearly the size of a main thoroughfare.

"Where does this pipe... lead?"

Ilaria leaned closer to the screen, scrutinizing it. Her memory began to work, and countless fragments of information started to recombine.

"That is a Main Sewage Channel from hundreds of years ago, codenamed 'River of Sorrows.' During the height of Varak Hive City, it was responsible for draining industrial wastewater and domestic waste from the upper city into the deep underground."

She continued to explain: "But about two hundred years ago, according to archival records, due to an unexplained collapse and toxic gas leak, the Hive City Governor at the time ordered the pipe to be completely sealed. All entrances were blocked by dozens of meters of armored concrete."

"Now, that place should be a Swamp of Deadly Toxins and a paradise for mutated creatures. No rational creature would want to enter there."

"Swamp of Deadly Toxins? Paradise for mutated creatures?" Zhang Yuan repeated the phrases, his expression turning strange.

He was not afraid; he was excited.

"Isn't this a perfect Natural Barrier?"

Ilaria was stunned by his reaction. "What?"

"Think about it." Zhang Yuan's finger drew a bold arrow on the screen, pointing from beneath the abandoned pipe directly to the ground beneath the 'Silent Platform.'

"What if we don't attack from the front, but from below?"

"We break through this abandoned pipe, clear out an area, and then build our heavy factory directly beneath the 'Silent Platform,' inside this granite stratum!"

Ilaria was speechless, stunned by his insane idea.

Her brain was racing, evaluating the feasibility of the plan.

Toxic environment, unknown mutated creatures, a sealed space for hundreds of years... every factor represented a deadly danger.

In her view, this was equivalent to willingly jumping into the mouth of a demon.

"You're insane!" she blurted out. "The gas down there is enough to corrode the armor of your robots in minutes! Not to mention the monsters that have been entrenched there for centuries! Inquisition archives record that seventy years ago, Inquisitor Corleone tried to breach a small tributary of the 'River of Sorrows' to pursue a renegade Tech-Priest. The entire Stormtrooper squad he led, along with three combat servitors, lost all signal less than ten minutes after entering. All we found at the entrance was a puddle of melted Power Armor, reduced to a skeleton!"

"The SCV's Work Suit is completely sealed and can handle vacuum and strong radiation environments; some corrosive gases are not a big problem," Zhang Yuan countered. "As for the monsters... can't they just become our bio-fuel?"

The more he spoke, the more excited he became.

"The most crucial thing is that the 'Children of the Sewer' will never expect someone to crawl out from underneath their toilet!"

"That is not a toilet!" Ilaria felt her worldview being challenged again. "That is the 'River of Sorrows'! A place of death that has buried countless corpses and industrial waste!"

"It's all the same," Zhang Yuan waved his hand. "As long as the goal is achieved, the name doesn't matter."

Ilaria looked at him. This man's logic of action was completely beyond her comprehension.

He could always see the most incredible opportunities in the most desperate dangers.

This way of thinking was heresy; it was madness.

But it was also... damnably effective.

Zhang Yuan had made up his mind, and he patted the Control Panel.

"It's settled!"

He turned toward the other side of the empty Command Center.

"Adjutant! Calculate the safe route, engineering volume, and estimated time required to breach from the 'Main Sewage Channel' to the rock stratum beneath the 'Silent Platform'! Assign all SCVs to Engineering Team One, and prepare to execute 'Gopher Plan'!"

[Command confirmed. Performing path planning and engineering simulation...]

[Warning: Target area contains high concentrations of corrosive gases and unknown biological threats. Recommend equipping SCV units executing the mission with 'Reinforced Structural Plating.']

[Upgrade Project: Reinforced Structural Plating.]

[Cost: Metal 200, bio-fuel 50.]

[Description: Adds a layer of corrosion-resistant Composite Ceramic Coating to the SCV hull and reinforces joint sealing.]

Zhang Yuan glanced at the resources and chose the upgrade without hesitation.

A Super Engineering Project, racing against time and fighting a toxic environment, was about to commence.

Its goal was to secretly build a Steel Behemoth capable of crushing a cunning and cruel gang, right under their feet.

Ilaria looked at the man, watching the confidence of a master strategist on his face, and suddenly felt a surge of powerlessness.

Perhaps she shouldn't have tried to judge him using Imperial logic from the start.

He was not an enemy of the Imperium, nor a follower of Chaos.

He was a new kind of force, one that could not be defined or predicted... a Natural Disaster.