40: Hello, this is the Ommesia Technical Service Center.

[Holy Terra - Pan-Pacific Toxic Swamps - Outskirts of the Sunken Hive City 'Archimedes']

The wind and sand were like knives, carrying high concentrations of radioactive dust as they madly cut across this desolate land.

This was the edge of the inland wasteland, five hundred kilometers from the core of the Hive City.

Just a few hours ago, this place was still a dead ruin, with only a few inconspicuous vents exposed on the surface like scars.

Now, it had transformed into a boiling, massive construction site filled with industrial noise.

"Zzz—Zzz—!"

The harsh sound of electric welding tore through the wind, and the blue-white electric arcs appeared exceptionally dazzling in the grey sandstorm.

C-19 stood beneath a fifty-meter-tall black metal tower that had just been forcibly erected.

He did not take off his helmet. Even through the thick gas mask and the wrath-pattern faceplate, he could still feel the ionizing radiation that could penetrate even Ceramite.

He looked up at the structure, which was less of a "tower" and more of a "steel corpse."

It was a twisted totem crudely welded and bound together from countless pieces of discarded rebar, wreckage of old-era spaceship landing gear, and mithril plates stripped from the Hive City.

Traces of paint belonging to different civilizations still remained on the tower's body, now all covered by a uniform layer of smoke and scorch marks.

At the top of the tower, the massive, irregular blue crystal stolen from the star-glory was tightly wrapped around a lightning rod with several thick copper wires and industrial tape.

It looked like a prosthetic eye forcibly implanted into a steel skull, emitting an ominous aura.

"This is... the voice?"

C-19 looked at this bizarre structure named [Wasteland Communication Array (Repaired Version)], a flicker of confusion passing through the data stream on his tactical visor.

In his understanding, communication should be the silent transmission of radio waves, something invisible and intangible.

But this thing... when it was powered up and preheating, the surrounding air began to show visible distortions.

A low-frequency hum that made teeth ache and eardrums vibrate echoed in the air; it wasn't the sound of current, but more like something imprisoned within the crystal was screaming.

"Commander, structural integrity at 85%. Power circuits connected."

C-19 pressed his communicator, reporting to that high-dimensional will.

"Very good."

Li Cang's voice came through, carrying the specific excitement and suppression of a gambler about to reveal his hole card.

"Have all Mortal laborers evacuate to a safe distance. Especially those who haven't gone mad yet."

"We're about to start dialing."

...[Holographic Operations Cabin]

Li Cang's heart bled as he looked at the 500 GP and the large inventory of [Refined Mithril] that had already been deducted on the screen.

This was his last bit of capital. If this call didn't go through, or if the other side refused to pick up, he would truly be left with nothing but his Chainsword to charge the land battleships of the Pan-Pacific Empire.

"Whew..."

Li Cang took a deep breath and opened the operation interface of the [Communication Array].

It wasn't a simple dial pad.

It was a complex frequency modulator filled with noise and garbled code.

He wanted to send a signal to Mars.

But at this point in time, M29, the Sol System was shrouded in the aftermath of Warp storms. Ordinary radio waves would be swallowed by the storms the moment they were sent out, without even making a sound.

The only exception was "Binary Cant."

This was the common language of the Adeptus Mechanicus, a special frequency band that included mathematical logic, encryption protocols, and religious fanaticism.

Li Cang didn't know how to write a Canticle.

But he had a perfect answer key in his hand—the [Noctis Labyrinthus Star Map Data].

"System, load the data core."

"Convert the star map coordinates into binary pulse signals."

"Encryption level: omnissiah Supreme Authority (Pseudo)."

Li Cang's fingers tapped rapidly in the void, which was actually him dragging and dropping blocks of code representing sacred protocols.

He added "logic locks" to certain key data nodes to prevent reverse tracking or hacking from Mars.

This wasn't just a distress signal; it was a carefully packaged bait.

He didn't write things like "Hello," "Help," or "Requesting alliance" in the signal.

That group of Tech-Priests, who had modified themselves into tin cans, couldn't understand and didn't care for such Mortal language.

To them, the flesh was weak; only The Machine was eternal.

The information he compiled was only a looping, extremely cold low-level handshake protocol:

01001000... [Header ID: STC Standard Template Construct - Index]

01100101... [Target: Mars - Noctis Labyrinth]

01101100... [Status: Seal Loosening / Void Dragon (Data Deleted) / Titan Stasis Chamber]

01101100... [Request: Technical Recovery / Protocol Interface]

01101111... [Signature: Holy Terra - Unified Truth - omnissiah]

Translated into human speech, it was: "I know where the Titan you lost is. I know where that secret you fear most (Void Dragon) is, and I have the manual."

"Come quickly."

Li Cang looked at this code, a sly curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

An interstellar technical scam carried out under the banner of the "omnissiah (God of All Machines)."

"Transmit."

Without any hesitation, Li Cang pressed the red button... [Terra Wasteland - Base]

Buzz—BOOM!!!

The ugly metal tower shuddered violently, as if enduring great pain.

The blue crystal at the top instantly erupted with dazzling blue-white electric arcs, a sign of a high-energy physical reaction.

Immediately after, a golden ripple, invisible to the eye but perceptible to the soul, instantly broke through the thick radiation clouds, pierced the veil of reality, and shot straight toward that red star beyond the firmament.

"Urgh..."

C-19 felt a sudden surge of intense nausea, his stomach churning.

The low-frequency hum penetrated the helmet's soundproofing, causing sharp pain in his eardrums and involuntary tremors in his eyeballs.

Several Mortal workers nearby who hadn't had time to evacuate immediately bled from their nostrils, their eyes rolling back as they collapsed unconscious.

That was the echo of the Warp.

This call was using energy and trace amounts of psychic ripples as a carrier... [Warning! Warning!]

[High-energy reaction detected approaching!]

[Distance: 50 kilometers.]

[Identification Signal: Pan-Pacific Empire - 'Deep Sea Calamity' class Land Cruiser x 3!]

Just as the signal was transmitted, a harsh air-raid siren blared within the base, shattering all hopes of luck.

Li Cang snapped his gaze away from the communication interface and toward the tactical map.

At the edge of the map, a dense cluster of red dots was surging from the horizon like a crimson tide.

The Pan-Pacific Empire's retaliation had arrived. And it was faster and more ruthless than expected.

They didn't come by sea. Those mad warlords had fitted massive nuclear-powered submarines with thousands of giant load-bearing wheels and air-cushion levitation fields, transforming them into even more terrifying Land Cruisers.

These steel behemoths crushed rocks and spewed black smoke to display their power.

Surrounding these giants were tens of thousands of biochemical slaves and assault infantry wearing heavy diving suits.

They weren't here to take back the geothermal core. They were here to silence everyone.

"Damn it."

Li Cang looked at his pitiful defensive line.

Dozens of Dark Ravens in pieced-together power armor, and several thousand shivering Mortal Auxiliary Army soldiers holding Autoguns.

Against a field army charge of this scale, they were like mantises trying to stop a steamroller.

"Mars... pick up the phone, damn it."

Li Cang looked at the progress bar still displaying "Signal Transmitting," cold sweat breaking out on his forehead... [Hundreds of millions of kilometers away - Mars - Olympus Mons Forge Temple]

Red dust covered forge factories stretching for thousands of miles, molten lava flowed in cooling troughs, and hundreds of millions of data cables were connected to the back of every Servitor's head like blood vessels.

This was a world composed of steel, lava, and data.

Countless massive gears were turning, and countless modified Servitors were chanting. The air was thick with the fragrance of machine oil and the scent of burning incense.

In the deepest part of the temple, the massive "Mainframe" core had been silent for centuries.

Until today.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

A weak binary signal, filled with noise but extremely rigorous in logic, penetrated the interference of the Warp storms and began to pulse on the Mainframe's core processor.

Several high-ranking Tech-Priests, dressed in red robes, covered in data cables, and with faces replaced by breathing masks and prosthetic eyes, suddenly looked up. Red runes jumped frantically on their modified electronic retina displays.

[Signal Source: Holy Terra]

[Key Verification: Noctis Labyrinth low-level protocol... Passed.]

[Authority Level: omnissiah... Error... Recalculating... Cannot be disproven.]

[Conclusion: Divine Oracle.]

"Praise... the God of All Machines..."

An Archmagos tremblingly raised a mechanical hand covered in hydraulic pincers and data probes, letting out a voice that sounded like the friction of rusted gears, distorted with excitement.

In order to receive this signal, he even actively cut off the computing power connections of the surrounding low-level Servitors, causing the nearby Servo-Skulls to fall like kites with severed strings.

"A Divine Oracle." "This is a Divine Oracle."

"There is a clue to that thing on Terra! The Avatar of the God of All Machines... He is summoning us!"

"Launch the 'Iron Cloud' Ark."

The Archmagos's command instantly spread through half of Mars via the data link, awakening countless sleeping engines.

"Target: Terra."

"Mission: Retrieve the Holy Relic. If met with resistance... execute forced boarding and Titan drop."

...[Holographic Operations Cabin]

[System Notification: Communication link established!]

[Response: Received.]

[Diplomatic Relations Change: The Adeptus Mechanicus (Mars)'s attitude toward you has changed from [Unknown] to [Extreme Interest/Fanatical].]

[Warning: High-energy Warp readings are approaching Terra's orbit! Estimated arrival time: 30 minutes.]

"It worked!"

Li Cang pumped his fist hard, his palms soaked in sweat.

But a second later, the vibration of the ground brought him back to reality.

The Pan-Pacific Empire's vanguard, those massive Land Cruisers, had already appeared on the horizon, their giant muzzles adjusting their angles.

The first large-caliber land artillery shell had already whistled through the air and slammed into the base's outer defensive wall.

BOOM!!!

The defensive wall collapsed instantly, debris flying everywhere.

"30 minutes..."

Li Cang looked at the sky full of artillery fire, a flash of madness in his eyes.

"C-19! Everyone, hear my command!"

Li Cang's voice echoed over the base, cold and resolute.

"Hold the line to the death!"

"Even if you have to use your teeth to bite or pile up bodies, you must hold for these 30 minutes!"

"Our 'reinforcements'... are watching us from the heavens!"

This was not just a defensive battle.

This was a roadshow for the "Martian Investors."

If they couldn't even hold for 30 minutes, it would prove this civilization had no investment value and only deserved to be turned into Servitors.