64: Besides rabbits, what else is there on the moon... tentacles?

[Trans-Lunar Injection Orbit – Bridge of the "Sword of Truth"]

Three days later.

The "Sword of Truth" exited the Warp corridor.

It was an exceedingly violent return.

Not a smooth sailing out of a harbor, but like a giant whale being forcibly hauled from the deep sea to the surface, the entire hull emitted a groan of overstressed metal.

The lights on the bridge flickered violently three times, each flicker accompanied by a low, grating rumble as if the metal skeleton were twisting.

Data cables fixed to the walls twitched wildly like startled snakes. The mechanical prosthetics of several Tech-Priests operating terminals even sparked with stray electrical discharges from the instantaneous energy backflow.

When the third tremor subsided, the madly swirling, kaleidoscopic nebula of the Warp outside the viewport finally vanished.

Replacing it was a cold, dead, yet profoundly reassuring physical universe.

"Arrival at designated orbit."

C-19's voice sounded across the bridge. He sat upon the towering command throne, his power armor deeply linked to the ship's neural network.

At this moment, he was the brain of this vessel.

He could 'feel' every pulse of the engines, 'hear' the cooling hum of the Geller Field generators.

"Activate the 'Argos' Array."

Following the command Li Cang issued via the datalink, C-19 willed it.

Externally, hundreds of sensor arrays silently deployed, like a great beast opening its compound eyes.

Invisible detection waves fanned out, sweeping towards the distant, lonely planet.

"Magnify the main observation window."

The massive adamantium armor plate at the front of the bridge slowly slid apart, revealing the several-meter-thick transparent crystal behind it.

Instantly, the Moon's crater-pocked, dead surface clearly presented itself before all the Astartes.

A new recruit, N-05, responsible for astrogation, stood at his battle station, gripping the edge of his console tightly.

His breath hitched in that moment.

"It... is alive."

It wasn't an exclamation of awe, but a whisper laced with revulsion and reverence, almost impossible to suppress.

Yes.

Alive.

Under the terrifying resolution of the 'Argos' Array, the Moon's surface was anything but barren rock.

The interiors of those massive craters were not hollow; they were covered by a translucent, keratin-like biological membrane.

Beneath the membrane, dark purple veins pulsed. Each pulse caused the entire dome to undulate slightly, as if breathing.

Beneath the domes, faintly visible, were massive, pulsing organ-like structures glowing, providing light and warmth to the entire subterranean cities.

The light wasn't the white of electric lamps, but a soft, life-like bioluminescence, sketching the shadowy outlines of the underground structures.

Connecting these 'cities' were not roads or railways.

But thick, deep purple, still faintly writhing biomass conduits.

They spread across the lunar surface like a spider's web, delving deep into the crust, drawing nutrients and energy from the Moon's core, and distributing them to every corner.

The entire Moon was a colossal entity slowly digesting rock, transforming itself into a living fortress.

"Urgh..."

Several Mortal crew members on the bridge, seeing this scene, could no longer hold back.

They bent over, vomiting violently, spilling synthetic nutrient paste onto the deck.

The visual impact and physiological disgust were far more terrifying than facing a hail of bullets.

"Is this... the 'Flesh Heresy' spoken of by the Adeptus Mechanicus?"

C-19 muttered to himself.

His mind raced, trying to use known tactical models to understand this unprecedented form of civilization.

They don't build machines; they 'grow' them.

They don't lay pipes; they sprout blood vessels. Their cities *are* their bodies.

"Commander,"

C-19 reported to Li Cang on the internal channel, his voice carrying a trace of gravity he himself hadn't noticed.

"What we face may not be a warlord, but an... ecosystem."

"I know."

Li Cang's voice, however, sounded calm, even carrying a hint of... a hunter's excitement upon spotting rare prey.

"A mature ecosystem implies rich, researchable, uncontaminated genetic samples."

"C-19, prepare to receive our host's 'welcome gift'."

As soon as Li Cang finished speaking.

**Hmmmm——!!!**

An intangible, soul-piercing shriek instantly enveloped the entire "Sword of Truth"!

It wasn't sound.

It was a... 'presence'.

It bypassed all physical defenses, ignored the thick armor and the cold void, acting directly on the cerebral cortex of every carbon-based being.

The Mortal crew on the bridge instantly collapsed, clutching their heads.

Their eyes bulged, blood trickled from their noses and ears. Their bodies convulsed violently, their throats emitting pained, incoherent wails.

Even the Astartes in their power armor felt a wave of intense vertigo.

N-05 felt as if his helmet were filled with boiling syrup—thick, scalding. The tactical display filled with snow-like static, all readings turning to gibberish.

**WARNING! High-intensity psychic attack detected!**

**Geller Field bypassed! Target: Neural centers of all carbon-based organisms!**

"Is this... the Sect's whispers?"

N-05 gritted his teeth, trying to resist the noise drilling into his mind.

He seemed to see countless tentacles with human faces licking his soul, softly tempting him to tear off his armor and embrace the 'evolution of flesh'.

He saw his black power armor begin to melt, turning into writhing flesh, fusing with his body... [Holographic Operations Cabin]

Li Cang watched the 'crew psychic corruption index' skyrocketing on the screen and raised an eyebrow.

"Warning. Full-spectrum psychic broadcast detected. Threat level: Tactical."

But he was prepared. To fight psychic power, one uses anti-psychic measures.

"Activate 'The Holy Word'."

He pressed the pre-set red button... ["Sword of Truth" – Rhino Transport Hangar]

As Li Cang's order was given.

The ten 'rhino' transports parked in the hangar activated their 'Psychic Suppressors' simultaneously.

*Zzzzt... Hmmm...* No sound. No light.

But an intangible, icy, 'noise field' filled with pure mathematical logic instantly spread from the ten rhinos, covering the entire ship.

It was an 'anti-life' wave.

It softly chanted a binary hymn:

01000110... [Flesh = Error]

01001100... [Emotion = Variable Overflow]

01000101... [Soul = Undefined Function]

01010011... [Logic = The Only Truth]

Instantly, everyone on the bridge felt that maddening shriek disappear.

Replacing it was an absolute, heart-stopping 'silence'.

As if the entire world had turned to 0s and 1s, all color and emotion drained away, leaving only icy black and white.

The twisted hallucinations in N-05's mind shattered instantly. He felt his brain had been formatted; all emotions—fear, anger, even loyalty—were suppressed to a minimum, leaving only cold mission directives.

**'Holy Word'-class Psychic Suppressor Activated**

**Psychic Corruption Index: Cleared**

**Side Effect: Friendly unit 'Morale'-related buffs temporarily disabled**

"Effective."

C-19 straightened up again. He looked out at the pale planet, his emerald green lenses now devoid of any fluctuation.

"It seems our presence has been noted."

He stated calmly.

"Commander, please issue the landing order."

Li Cang looked at the star chart. His 'Argos' sensors had already marked several areas on the Moon with the strongest energy signatures.

The largest one was located at the center of the vast Mare Tranquillitatis basin—a 'Cathedral' formed of pulsating flesh, pallid bone, and twisted nerve bundles, like a living womb.

That was the Gene Sect's stronghold.

"No."

Li Cang shook his head.

"We are not assaulting there."

He zoomed in on the map, pointing to a small crater hundreds of kilometers to the flank of the 'Cathedral'. The energy signature there wasn't strong, but it was peculiar.

**Scan Result: No. 7 Gene Breeding Laboratory**

**Primary Output: 'Fertilized Eggs' and 'Genetic Templates' for the new generation of bio-weapons**

"Directive: Prioritize securing the integrity of the genetic templates. Capture live samples if possible. The rest, purge."

Li Cang said leisurely over the channel.

"C-19."

"Target: Laboratory No. 7."

"Stormbird gunships, prepare. Execute 'Decapitation-Style Raid'."

"Let these flesh-tampering heretics see..."

"...what a real... Gene Thief is."