69novels Chapter 56 Everything as usual
Chapter 56 Everything as usual
Chapter 56 Everything is as usual (Bonus chapter)
After seeing Lilith off, Rowe did not leave immediately.
He dragged his heavy steps to the corner of the laboratory that had not yet completely collapsed.
There, in front of the control panel with its faintly flashing indicator lights, sat a bulletproof glass jar.
The pale green nutrient solution circulates slowly within it.
It contains a huge human brain.
Countless slender metal probes and optical cables.
Like parasitic roots, they burrowed into the grayish-white grooves of the brain.
"Wake up, Case."
Luo Wei tapped the somewhat cracked control panel a few times.
Enter the wake-up command.
The bubbles inside the glass jar began to churn violently.
A spasm of bioelectric current swept across the dormant surface of the brain.
Immediately afterwards, a synthesized electronic voice came from the nearby speaker: "Command received. Logic circuit self-check in progress — self-check complete. Mind core online. Please issue commands, administrator."
Luo Wei said in a deep voice, "Calculate the battle losses. I need a detailed profit and loss statement."
"Scanning area biosignals — Retrieving monitoring logs — Comparing with fixed asset inventory —"
The green code on the screen flowed down like a waterfall.
Then, it was saved as a report in red.
"Statistics on Personnel and Asset Losses:"
"High-value military asset: Defense Force Commander Buck. Diagnosed with brainstem damage caused by a high-intensity psionic shock."
"He is currently in a deep coma, and the expected window for awakening is 48 hours. After awakening, he will need to have a cochlear implanted to repair his hearing system."
"Elite Guard: 50% casualty rate, 2 seriously wounded, 1 slightly wounded. Combat effectiveness reduced to zero."
"Losses of laborers and junior staff in Zone C: 2416 people in total."
Luo Wei's gaze lingered on the string of numbers.
Two thousand four hundred people.
This means that nearly 2% of the workforce in the eastern granary has been instantly wiped out in tonight's disaster.
It became a bad debt that had to be written off on the books.
The cause of death is analyzed as follows:
"Category 1: Physical elimination. 842 people. Killed by heavy logging guns and laser rifles with kinetic energy during the assault on the defensive line."
"Autopsy scans revealed that the adrenaline levels in this batch of samples were 300% above the normal level, and before their vital functions ceased, they all exhibited a frenzied aggression that completely blocked their sense of pain."
"Category 2: Psionic Compression. 455 people. Located near the entrance to the underground facility and ventilation ducts."
"Due to the direct impact of the psionic burst, its internal organs were subjected to a force field compression of more than 50 times standard gravity, and were ejected from the body in a liquefied state. It is determined that: there is no complete corpse and it cannot be recovered."
"Category 3: Neural synaptic backlash. 1119 people."
"The personnel in this group did not suffer any physical harm, nor were they in the core area of the psionic eruption."
"However, in the same microsecond that the vital signs of the fifth-generation purebred larvae disappeared, their brainwaves collectively experienced a devastating 'short circuit.'"
"The network of ethnic will has collapsed," Lowe muttered to himself, completing the conclusion for Case.
"Yes, Administrator. The high-frequency signals connecting their brains were forcibly severed, causing the logic section known as 'reason' to instantly burn out."
"Of the 1119 people, about 30% died on the spot due to brain death; the remaining 70% retained basic vital signs, but had completely lost higher cognitive functions such as language and excretion, and degenerated into organisms that could only drool and scream."
"Determined to be: irreparable industrial waste."
Looking at the word "scrap" on the screen.
A chill ran through Luo Wei's heart.
These two thousand-plus people are all members of the "Star Child Mutual Aid Association".
After being infected by the "Holy Kiss," they usually hide among ordinary laborers.
They drink the same green soup, do the same work, and look no different from ordinary people.
But at the moment the fifth-generation pureblood offspring died, the invisible spiritual umbilical cord was severed.
This sudden and unexpected disconnection directly destroyed their minds.
This is the most terrifying aspect of the Genestealers cult.
You think you're fighting a group of thugs.
In reality, you are fighting against a massive swarm of organisms.
They share the same will and stand together through thick and thin.
"Get rid of these lunatics."
Lowe quickly issued the most cost-effective instructions.
"Since their brains are damaged, they can no longer perform delicate labor. Send them and the corpses to the fermentation tank to become high-quality fertilizer for the next quarter."
"Instructions have been issued, administrator. Body retrieval vehicles are being deployed."
Lowe waved his hand, signaling Case to continue his report.
He was more concerned with things that were difficult to regenerate than with the dead.
"Statistics on Damage to Facilities and Assets:"
"The underground laboratory has a 65% structural damage rate."
"Three sacred high-precision centrifuges have had their core rotors twisted and deformed, rendering them completely unusable and resulting in a direct asset depreciation of 15 Imperial Coins. Note: There are currently no replacement spare parts available."
"Ventilation system malfunction, estimated repair cost —"
Case mechanically read aloud the account of events.
However, Luo Wei's brows furrowed even more deeply.
In the face of current scarcity of resources, these three centrifuges are far more valuable than those three thousand lives.
It is a key piece of equipment for refining biomass fuels and producing antibody enzymes.
And those dead laborers—
Although they are just disposable items, at this critical juncture...
Every worker is a cornerstone in achieving the tithe target.
"There are also losses of hidden assets —"
Luo Wei silently added in his mind.
The corpse of the fifth-generation pureblood is now a meaningless pile of waste.
Father Alpha's "living bio-armor" project was thus completely destroyed.
This plan originally held great promise as it could have reversed the current passive situation of the plague invasion.
"This deal was still a loss."
2
Lo Wei sighed.
He raised his hands to rub his throbbing temples, trying to relieve the stinging pain deep in his brain caused by the aftershocks of psionic energy.
However, he is very pragmatic.
In this crazy universe, there is never a business that only makes money and never loses.
Tonight's situation is such that I can preserve my most crucial "principal," which is my life.
In a sense, it can be considered a successful risk hedging.
"consultant."
At that moment, a sorrowful electrical sound rang out.
Father Alpha had somehow gotten to the console.
He stared at the list of material losses on the screen.
Several broken mechanical tentacles trembled helplessly in mid-air.
It was as if they were mourning the passing of mechanical creations.
"Centrifuges—this is a sacred creation of STC—how are we supposed to explain this to those above?"
Lowe heard static noise in his voice.
This is the core of the priest's logic, a manifestation of his state of anxiety.
"With this level of damage, the inspectors from the Mechanical Church would determine that we have committed serious dereliction of duty and could potentially revoke my oil rations."
"explain?"
Luo Wei turned around, his gaze sweeping over the devastated laboratory.
The lingering subspace odor has not yet dissipated.
The weariness in his eyes quickly faded.
It became cold, hard, and sharp again.
"No explanation is needed. This was just an accident, a perfectly ordinary biogas pipeline maintenance accident."
He stated unequivocally, "Collect these dead laborers' bodies as soon as possible, sort them, and send them to the fermentation tanks."
"As for centrifuges—"
Luo Wei thought for a moment.
Several alternative options quickly flashed through my mind.
Finally, a solution took shape in my mind.
"Cheer up, Alpha. The Ninth Granary has all the parts we need."
When Lowe finished dealing with the last of the trivial matters at the scene and dragged his tired body back to the ground.
The hour hand of the pocket watch pointed exactly to six o'clock in the morning.
"Clang, clang, clang."
The dull tolling of the bell rang precisely on time through loudspeakers that were blaring throughout the entire granary.
The rallying cry for the early shift.
It was also the starting gun that fired the start of operation for this massive human-powered factory.
Accompanied by the tolling of bells, a national religious morning prayer, filled with static and noise, began to play on a loop:
-
"Labor is prayer, production is dedication."
"Blessed Emperor, who gave us bread and chains—"
I quietly returned to the administration building.
Looking out the window, Rowe could see countless heavy iron gates slowly opening in the square below.
Tens of thousands of laborers, dressed in gray coarse cloth overalls.
Like a swarm of worker ants emerging from an anthill, they densely filled the square.
Most of them were pale and emaciated, with numb eyes.
The harrowing events that unfolded deep underground last night were, for them, unforgettable.
It was just a strange palpitation during my sleep.
Or perhaps a muffled thud coming from afar.
Unbeknownst to them, a woman named Mary, driven by love and desperate maternal instinct, transformed into a monster capable of destroying everything.
Unbeknownst to them, they almost became food for some kind of alien creature while they were asleep.
They only care about one thing:
Could you please add an extra piece of synthetic starch to today's green soup?
"Line up! Everyone, line up properly!"
Old John roared in the square with his hoarse voice.
He waved the rubber baton in his hand, driving away the slow-moving laborers.
"Anyone who cuts in line will have their rations canceled today! Hurry up! The machines are hungry!"
The oppressive scene before my eyes.
This gave Lo Wei a strange sense of absurdity.
But what follows is a sense of security that is grounded in reality.
No matter how many people died last night.
No matter how terrifying the psionic catastrophe may be.
As long as the sun rises, this massive and cold human-powered factory will continue to operate.
It doesn't care about individual joys and sorrows.
They don't care about sacrifice.
It only cares about output.
They only care about the final numbers.
And Luo Wei is just a cog in this machine.
All he could do was nail himself tighter so he wouldn't be thrown off.
"it's over."
Lo Wei downed the bitter, cold coffee in one gulp.
The cold liquid slid down my throat.
It cleared his groggy mind a little.
He turned away, no longer looking at the gray crowd outside the window.
The desk was already piled high with documents and reports for the new day.
Where is repair needed?
Where manpower is needed.
Where did production fluctuate?
These trivial, tedious, yet vital data points are his true battlefield.
"Work has started."
Luo Wei said something to himself.
Then he pulled out a chair and sat down.
He picked up the well-worn fountain pen.
A new day begins.
Business as usual.