114: Chapter 114 Werewolves, Oglin and the Lower Nest Settlement Project

[Reincarnators have brought back strategic materials from the 2K World (10,000 tons of timber, 5,000 tons of synthetic boards). The Hive City infrastructure material gap has been filled by 30%, and colony infrastructure progress has increased by 12%.]

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Just as Fu Haoran traversed back to the Warhammer Hive City's Underhive, Wade ran over, drenched in sweat, clutching a copy of a surveillance recording.

"My Lord, things on Ronan's end have completely spiraled out of control!"

Fu Haoran played the video on the data slate. In the footage, Ronan was secured to a bed with alloy straps, his muscles bulging, nails sharpening, and pupils narrowing into vertical slits as low growls continuously escaped his throat.

It was lycanthropy.

Tech-Priest Kallen spoke up: "My Lord, Ronan's mutation is irreversible. His internal Chaos corruption value has exceeded the threshold. I recommend immediate execution of purification protocols to prevent the spread of contamination."

"No," Fu Haoran rejected without hesitation. "Ronan is a veteran who climbed his way up from the bottom. He's just mutating; he hasn't surrendered to Chaos or lost his sanity. As long as there is hope, we cannot give up on him."

Kallen's mechanical eye flickered a few times. "My Lord, I cannot find any solution. Under current technical conditions, the mutation is irreversible."

"Just because you can't find one doesn't mean it doesn't exist. We must try."

Fu Haoran raised his hand and tapped on the system mall, and the gene-seed exchange list instantly popped up.

[Astartes Gene-seed: Unit price 10,000 General Points. Adaptability lower than 30% will trigger irreversible genetic collapse. Please choose carefully, Host.]

[Exchange Quota: ×5]

There weren't many options on the list, and each clearly stated its core bonuses and side effects:

[Imperial Fists: Defense +50%, Fortification Construction Efficiency +80%, Adaptability 72%]

[Iron Warriors: Siege Capability +60%, Mechanical Adaptability +70%, Adaptability 68%]

[Ultramarines: Logistical Operations +70%, Combined Arms Command +50%, Adaptability 78%]

[Space Wolves: Melee Resistance +60%, Feral Outburst +100%, Adaptability 65%. Side Effect: Risk of mutation]

[White Scars: Agility +60%, Vehicle Piloting +80%, Adaptability 70%]

[Blood Angels: Permanent Charisma Optimization, Self-healing +120%, Melee Burst +80%. Side Effect: Black Rage (Enters a berserk state during combat, significantly increasing attack and movement speed while greatly reducing pain perception; enters a weakened state after battle)]

[Salamanders: Fire Resistance +100%, Forging Ability +90%, Adaptability 63%]

[Thousand Sons: Psychic Affinity +150%, Knowledge Acquisition Speed +100%, Non-psyker Adaptability 31%]

[Sons of Horus: Strength +70%, Tactical Planning +60%, Adaptability 61%]

Fu Haoran scanned the list and decisively passed on most of them.

The Ultramarines' logistics?

With Jarvis around, that would be completely redundant.

He didn't think much of the fortification bonuses from the Iron Warriors or Imperial Fists.

He crossed out the Salamanders immediately; Fu Haoran didn't want to turn into a charcoal-skinned man.

The Sons of Horus' side effect (baldness) was too conspicuous.

Finally, his gaze landed on two seeds.

"Give Ronan a Space Wolves gene-seed."

"The Space Wolves' lupine genes share the same origin as his mutation. Fighting poison with poison might actually work."

After making his decision, Fu Haoran flipped back to the Blood Angels' page.

"Appearance optimization and strong melee burst—not bad."

As for the Black Rage—berserking in combat, massive speed boosts, reduced pain, and exhaustion afterward.

Fu Haoran didn't take it too seriously.

"As long as I don't lead the charge myself and just stay in the back being the Governor, this side effect will never have a chance to trigger."

"Besides, if it ever really comes down to me needing to fight in melee, berserking would be a trump card."

And so, Fu Haoran spent another 10,000 General Points.

Just then, the medical room door was pushed open, and Tychus strolled in with a cigar in his mouth. He glanced at Ronan on the screen and sneered, "Governor, this guy is a goner. Better to just burn him. By the way, I've got something to tell you—I'm leaving."

Fu Haoran glanced up at him.

An Ogryn with innate psychic resistance is hard to find even with a lantern. He’d provided him with the best food and drink, and now he wanted to run?

He turned back to the system mall and dropped another 10,000 General Points to exchange for a Thousand Sons gene-seed.

Tychus was still spitting as he ranted about how "freedom is most precious," not noticing Fu Haoran giving Kallen a look.

Kallen understood immediately. Two servitors crept up behind Tychus, clutching tranquilizer guns.

"I'm goin' back to open a repair shop. Better than bein' a beast of burden here—Eh? What just poked me?"

He felt the tranquilizer dart in his neck, pulled it out, and looked at it with a face full of confusion.

*Thwip!* Another dart hit him in the buttock.

Tychus shook his head, but stubbornly refused to fall.

Kallen grew anxious, feeling the honor of the Adeptus Mechanicus was at stake, and barked an order: "Maximum power! Inject all reserve sedatives!"

A dozen tranquilizer needles fired simultaneously. Tychus finally couldn't hold out; his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed like a falling mountain, the cigar still firmly clenched in his teeth.

Fu Haoran knelt down, patted the groggy Tychus, and said with a cold laugh, "Want to leave? Too late. Now that you're on my ship, don't even think about running. Freedom isn't for the likes of you."

"Someone, place Tychus and Ronan into stasis fields."

Fu Haoran decided to find a suitable opportunity to have Danteoche and Kallen perform the gene-seed implantation surgery together. But before that, he had other matters to attend to.

On the open ground of the Underhive, the timber and synthetic boards brought from the 2K World were piled up like mountains.

The shantytown construction project had already begun.

The High Priestess Moriah was leading her followers in building simple shacks.

The progress wasn't fast, but for the followers, it was a hundred times better than living in the tunnels.

The progress wasn't fast, but for the followers, it was a hundred times better than living in the tunnels.

However, just half a day after work started, trouble came knocking.

Yuri was the first to slam the table: "My Lord, you want to expand the Underhive tenfold? That's housing for heretics!"

Ling Shuang said coldly, "If we don't expand, they'll have nowhere to live and will crowd into the Mid-Hive. When public order collapses then, will you be responsible?"

Wade chimed in: "I don't care where they live, but the weapon production lines cannot stop. If they dare cause trouble, I'll be the first to lead men in to crush them."

Before long, guild representatives, human labor leaders, corporate delegates, and the surrendered leader Moriah all barged into the temporary command tent, shouting and arguing.

"My Lord, we can't let these heretics steal our jobs!" The human labor leader's face was flushed with anger. "They don't want wages and don't care about workplace injuries. How are we supposed to compete for our livelihoods?"

Moriah said cautiously, "Herald, we only wish to have food to eat and a place to stay. We are willing to do the hardest labor without pay, only asking not to be purified."

The corporate representative covered his nose with a look of disgust. "My Lord, these her—"

He thought for a moment; he couldn't call them heretics to their faces, so he corrected himself, "These Underhive civilians are stealing our jobs. They must be driven away!"

The tent descended into a chaotic argument.

Fu Haoran tapped the table, and the room instantly fell silent.

Fu Haoran realized helplessly that killing the Genestealer cultists would be a waste of labor and would require spending money to purge the remnants.

Drive the Genestealers away?

Ordinary humans truly couldn't match the cost-effectiveness of Genestealers; the infrastructure progress would be delayed indefinitely.

The Departmento Munitorum's tithe ships were already on their way. Right now, the treasury was empty, and if the tithe couldn't be gathered, he, as the Governor, would have to take the blame.

In contrast, these Genestealers had a production efficiency three times that of humans, with better quality and shockingly low costs. As long as they were given enough energy bars and water, they even rested half as much as ordinary people.

On one side was the immediate threat of the tithe and civil war; on the other was the potential risk of infection over a decade away. Even a fool knew which to choose.

"Stop arguing and listen to me first." Fu Haoran interrupted the bickering, his gaze sweeping across the crowd. "The Emperor does not wish to see His children in-fighting. Humanity must learn to be inclusive."

"Only when the nobles include the workers, and the workers include these surrendered followers, can we stabilize the situation in this crisis."

He looked at the nobles and corporate representatives, running a hand through his hair. "You're worried about your interests. I can guarantee that the Genestealers will only handle infrastructure and raw processing. All core technical and management positions will remain for humans. Your profits will not decrease by a single cent."

Fu Haoran then looked at the finance officer and sighed. "The treasury has no money for wages. These free laborers can help us save enough to cover the tithe's material gap. You won't have to worry about missing the quota anymore."

Finally, he looked at Wade and Yuri. "The military will be responsible for supervision. The Genestealers will form a Militia Committee under your command to specifically purge the remnants of the old nobility in the Underhive. This solves the security problem without consuming extra military funds."

Everyone looked at each other, their shame palpable.

They had only thought of their own interests and failed to see the global considerations behind this.

In this meeting, only one resolution passed unanimously: under the recommendation of the Adeptus Arbites, to completely purge the Purestrains among the Genestealers, while increasing inspections in all industries to strictly prevent infiltration by un-surrendered Genestealers.

Fu Haoran knew in his heart that being a Planetary Governor was never as simple as being a saint.

He had to feed the commoners to keep them from rebelling, feed the nobles to keep them from causing trouble, protect the family interests, and deal with the layers of pressure from the Departmento Munitorum.

Right now, relying on Genestealers to revitalize the Underhive was the optimal solution.

Back to the point, Fu Haoran's plan was quickly implemented.

His first order was to seal off the southern district of the Underhive, designating it as a Genestealer-exclusive residential and industrial zone, physically isolated from human settlements to ensure no interference.

The second order was to provide the Genestealers with ample energy bars and water, announcing a ten-year tax exemption policy to encourage full production, while clearly stipulating: Genestealers were not to enter the Mid-Hive core or touch core technology.

The third order made Moriah the Chief Administrative Officer of the Militia Committee, leading the Genestealers to purge Chaos cultists in the Underhive.

The officers of the Militia Committee, however, were all humans, ensuring firm control over command.

At the same time, Fu Haoran had someone write a 'Hive Unity Directory' and distributed it to all residents.

The directory explicitly stated that 'Genestealers and humans are both followers of the Emperor and should coexist in harmony,' but secretly included Genestealer identification charts and emergency suppression plans for humans. He also had industrial workers and gangs form voluntary patrols to watch the Genestealers' movements.

For those Genestealers who refused to go south and wanted to stay in human settlements, Fu Haoran directly labeled them as 'unwilling to contribute' and exiled them to abandoned factories in the wastes to perform the most dangerous ore mining.

Even more ruthlessly, the illegal psykers Fu Haoran kept, disguised as remnants of the old nobility, silently assassinated the Purestrains hidden among the Genestealers, intentionally leaving traces of the rebels behind.

The Genestealers believed it was revenge from the old nobility, and their gratitude toward Fu Haoran deepened, making them work even harder.

In just one month, the Underhive took on a completely new look.

Rows of shacks rose from the ground, and steel and machinery plants began operations one after another. The industrial goods produced by the Genestealers were extremely low-cost and quickly found markets. The Underhive's finances turned from deficit to profit, and the tithe's material gap was completely filled.

Moriah led the Genestealer militia to purge the old nobility remnants in the Underhive, and even took the initiative to request incorporation into the defense forces, ready to fight on the front lines at any time.

Fu Haoran went with the flow, organizing the Genestealer militia into suicide squads and selling them to the Adeptus Mechanicus as experimental subjects in exchange for large amounts of industrial equipment and rare materials.

Everything seemed to be back on track, but a new financial deficit appeared—this time from the 2K World.

Building ships, recruiting talent, research and development—none of it was free.