The Bizarre Adventures of the Oil Man, but Starting with Warhammer 32K

The advantage of the soulless lies in the unknown nature of their thoughts, which will not be spied on by the evil spirits of the subspace. However, if they follow a routine too much, this unknown will also become a predictable known.

The Tzeentch Demon who was crushed to death by Leon at the beginning of Dauntless might know something... But that was the Tzeentch Demon, and Leon didn't feel sorry at all for not learning anything from him.

"In the end, it can only be left for later..."

Leon put down the scalpel in his hand and planned to suspend the investigation of the Tyranid swarm nine thousand years later.

It had already taken him three days to explore the situation of the forge ship and the Tyranid swarm. He didn't intend to waste any more time on this matter as he had more important things to deal with.

It happened that at this moment the door of the laboratory was opened and a person walked in from outside.

Li Ang had borrowed the laboratory on the forging ship and had told others not to disturb him unless necessary. However, it was obvious that the current visitor was necessary in itself.

"You're here." Leon turned around and saw Amidel.

"I'm here." Armidale nodded. He and the Fey cat at his feet were holding a cryopreservation device. "Just like we agreed."

PS: There was a problem with the wetware of the codeword machine these two days, and I urgently need to appease the machine soul. I will update it once today and try to restore it tomorrow.

Chapter 36: Seeds of Change (Part 1)

Seeing Leon, Elu the cat who came in with Amidel immediately became excited. He ran to Leon and rubbed against him affectionately, and Leon picked him up.

This Elu cat, which looks like a British shorthair cat, is the one who helped Leon put the energy shield on Amidel. His intelligence and courage were an indispensable part of that Jedi counterattack.

Leon admired the cleverness of this Feline cat, so he named it Tom and brought him with him as an experimental assistant.

"I still don't understand why he was named Tom..." Looking at Leon holding the cat, Armidale shook his head helplessly.

"Come on, it's good enough that you're not called Big Cat or Second Cat. That name is a secret of Ancient Terra." Li Ang disagreed. "Seriously, did you bring the gene seed with you?"

"They're all in this freezing device, from the brothers who died on the space wreck to the gene seeds that were recovered recently."

Armidale took two steps forward and placed the freezing device in front of Leon, who nodded. He cleaned the insect tissue from the test bench and then took out several cryotubes containing gene seeds from the device.

This was what Hunter Fearless had agreed with Leon in advance, that the gene seed would be handed over to Leon for inspection.

Although they had to wait until Amidel woke up before making a decision, this request was more of a formality. After all, they had no other choice but to ask Leon to reorganize the company.

Amidel's only request was that he watch while Leon studied the gene seeds, which was why he was here.

The palm-sized gene storage gland, with a few fleshy whiskers on it, looked no different from other gene seeds, but the key was always what lay within. This unmanned space ship happened to be fully equipped, allowing Leon to observe the secrets within these gene seeds.

It would take some time to adjust the equipment, so Leon sent Tom to help him with these chores, and then chatted with Amidel casually.

"Your recovery speed is far beyond my expectations, Armidale. It's only the third day, and you're already no different from a normal person."

Armidale shook his head. "Is it really no different?"

Leon looked at Amidel, confirming the condition he had observed many times since his recovery: no dragon claws, no pointed ears, and no dragon scales. The only change was that his newly grown skin was silvery-white, like the Silver Rathalos, and its resistance to blows had also increased.

"I don't think there's any difference." This level of mutation is considered mild among Space Marines. At least the dragon people that Leon imagined no longer exist.

But Armidale was still not satisfied.

"The abilities bestowed upon us by the Emperor naturally have their value. I have always understood that there will always be a place where I must utilize them, but when I actually use them, I always think of my genetic father who colluded with the devil." He sighed, "This makes me very uncomfortable."

"Having the same abilities doesn't mean you're the same people. Armidale, you must remember that there's a line between exploitation and complicity."

Although it is still unknown whether the abilities brought by their gene seeds are reliable, Leon does not mind comforting this warrior who turned the tide.

As the indicator light on the device lit up, indicating that the equipment was ready for use, Leon picked up a can of gene seed taken from a warrior who died after fighting the Tzeentch demon a thousand years ago and placed it under the microscope. "What's more, we may be able to uncover the truth about your abilities today."

Armidale remained noncommittal: "I only hope my brother's second sacrifice will be worthwhile."

"If we can find out something from the outside, then we don't have to dissect the gene seed and examine it." Li Ang frowned, "But this..."

As the cryotube thawed, the dormant gene seeds became active. The tentacles on the round tumor began to wriggle and expand outward like living things, like an octopus craving for food.

Leon looked at the gene seed and asked Amidel uncertainly, "Have your seeds always been so active?"

"That was the case with the previous batch," Armidale replied.

Li Ang stopped talking.

Tithe is fundamental to the Imperium, and this levy applies to all Space Marine Chapters as well. Each Chapter must pay tithes with their gene-seed, which is then shipped to Mars for safekeeping.

As a non-Martian Mechanicus sage, Leon obviously does not have many opportunities to deal with the gene seeds of various bloodlines.

But he had the "fortunate" opportunity to "observe" several gene seeds from the Ultramarines on a Mechanicus transport ship that was transporting gene seeds.

Although everyone's gene storage glands did look similar, he was certain that the Ultramarines' gene seeds were definitely not as active as this one.

Faced with this gene seed that fully demonstrated his desires, Leon thought for a moment. He did not choose to cut it open, but tentatively took out a small piece of meat left over from the previous dragon seed and placed it next to the gene seed.

The active tentacles of the gene seed rolled up the piece of meat the moment they touched it and quickly stuffed it into its main body. After a while, the piece of meat was integrated into the gene storage gland.

Afterwards, the gene seed that had "swallowed" the pieces of meat slowly vibrated. In the surprised eyes of Leon and Amidel, a small structure similar to dragon legs and claws actually emerged from the bottom of the gene seed.

The gene seed that grew legs fiddled with it for a while, and after adapting to this organ, it actually jumped off the test bench by itself and ran all the way to a corner where it could hide itself!

Li Ang's pupils trembled.

For a moment, he began to wonder if the coordinates of this planet were the Eye of Terror.

What the hell is this? Is this the gene-seed the Loyalists should have?!

He turned his head to look at Amidel, but to his surprise, Amidel also looked at him in confusion.

"Gene seeds have always been the responsibility of pharmacists. I've never learned about this."

Seeing the gene-seeds so 'independent', Amidel's voice was clearly a little weak. "Our pharmacist died on the space wreck. Before he died, he told us that our gene-seeds must be kept strictly frozen and not contaminated by any foreign objects. Our brothers who are temporarily responsible for recovering the gene-seeds have always followed his instructions without slacking off, so they have never discovered any problems in this regard..."

Chapter 37: Seeds of Change (Part 2)

While Armidale was explaining, the gene seed that had grown legs had already run away for a long distance. Fortunately, Tom easily caught the gene seed that was trying to escape and brought it back to the experimental table.

Leon patted Tom's head and took the gene seed that had grown legs. With his experience, he didn't hesitate at all and cut the gene seed in half. He then placed the still twitching gene seed under an electron microscope for observation.

The research equipment also automatically extracted part of the original liquid from the gene seed, and then began to determine the entire DNA sequence.

However, there was no need to even use DNA sequencing. Just by observing the dissected gene seed through a microscope, Li Ang could also feel the degree of chaos in this gene seed.

Beyond the unstable double helix, countless fragmented gene chains lingered within the gene seed. Though the entire gene seed had been fragmented and gradually lost its activity, these chains still ferociously devoured each other. Every collision between two gene chains gave rise to a new transformation, and the entire gene seed, amidst this ever-changing landscape, presented countless possibilities.

However, in the end, these gene chains were fixed into a larger gene chain by devouring each other and connected to the double helix body.

Leon didn't know what traits this double-helix gene chain would express upon implantation, nor was he interested in finding out. This process of ever-changing, ultimately convergent strands reminded him of the bird-headed man in the subspace who loved to toy with fate.

Although the gene chains within the gene seeds did not show any specificity of subspace power in the process of devouring each other, he took out his promethium flamethrower without hesitation and directly burned the gene seeds on the test bench clean.

The legacy of a battle brother came to an end, but Amidel said nothing. The crux of the matter at this moment was no longer about one or two gene seeds.

He and Li Ang looked at each other in silence, and the atmosphere in the laboratory suddenly became tense.

A gene-seed that could grow legs on its own was enough to be labeled an alien or a blasphemy. If exposed, this label would be enough to plunge every Imperial Astartes who used this gene-seed into an abyss of no return.

Leon and Amidel accidentally touched upon this secret that needed to be strictly kept by everyone in the legion. Unfortunately, among all the people here, only Leon was not a member of the Second Legion.

But eventually, Armidale handed over a second gene-seed.

"I haven't looked at the current gene seeds yet," he said.

Leon nodded, and the atmosphere in the lab relaxed considerably. He placed the gene seed that Armidale had handed him on the table, cut it, and re-extracted its genetic sequence for observation.

The result this time was surprisingly much better than the one a thousand years ago. This gene seed already had a complete and stable double helix structure, and there were no broken gene chains that devoured and recombined each other.

Li Ang tried to insert several gene chains into it, and found that it did not replicate the "ever-changing way" of fighting each other in the previous gene seed.

Although the gene seed still showed good compatibility with foreign genes, in the presence of a complete double helix, these gene fragments were merely attached rather than changing the original structure, and therefore could not be judged as alien.

Li Ang breathed a sigh of relief. He compared the gene sequences of the two gene seeds on the screen and analyzed the structural differences between them.

Seeing Leon heaved a sigh of relief, Amidel also relaxed his expression and walked up to Leon to ask him what the situation was.

"Your gene-seed is now very stable. Preliminary assessments indicate no issues, at least not issues that would alter your human identity. However, I need to conduct a more detailed comparison so I can conduct purity tests on your seeds and select those that are still usable."

Leon continued comparing the two genetic maps. "Also, I'm quite curious about what kind of experience could cause such a dramatic change in your gene-seed. I know that an Astartes' combat experience and intake of substances will affect the gene-seed that continuously absorbs the Astartes' own characteristics and cause it to change, but... huh?"

"What's wrong?" Amidel asked from behind.

"No...it's nothing."

Feeling that the information and knowledge he obtained from the comparative gene seed map could actually be integrated into the blueprint in his head on how to create the Zerg, Leon's heart was already in turmoil.

Only then did he discover that the gene seeds of the Second Legion, in the process of changing their own characteristics, were somewhat similar to the Tyranid swarms he had previously dissected!

But Armidale was still here. He could only suppress his surprise and pretend to be normal on the surface.

Why would the Primarch of the Second Legion collude with Tzeentch? Why was the gene-seed of the early Second Legion so volatile? Why did the genetic expression of the Second Legion bear resemblance to that of the Zerg? Why... did Old Man Huang abandon himself to this planet?

Too many doubts weighed on Leon's mind, making him feel like he was stuck in a quagmire. He tried to sort out some of his thoughts, but Armidale, standing behind him, began to ask Leon about his feelings.

"It's interesting, isn't it?" said Armidale.

There were so many questions to think about that Leon paused for a moment before realizing that this question should not and could not be uttered by Amidel.

He whipped out his plasma pistol and aimed back at Armidale.

But 'Armidel' just looked at Leon with a smile.

"Interesting, isn't it?" he repeated. "The gene-seed of these people."

Leon pulled the trigger, and the plasma pistol began to charge in his hand, but 'Armidel' simply raised his hand, and the fluctuating psychic energy calmed the pistol coil that was charging.

Tom Cat, sensing something was wrong, pounced towards Armidale, but was knocked away by psychic energy the moment he raised his hand, and fell to the side unconscious.

But its heroic action bought Leon time. Realizing that the other party was a powerful psychic, Leon simply placed his other hand on the coil and used his soulless characteristics to block the interference of psychic energy.

He aimed again with his restored plasma pistol, and frowned when he realized he couldn't use his psionic power to stop the shot of 'Armidel'.

"Your peculiarity is beyond my expectations..." he muttered to himself, then raised his hands towards Leon, expressing his non-threatening attitude: "There's no need to be so serious. After all, I have no ill intentions now."

"Who are you? Why are you attached to Amidel?" Leon did not let down his guard and continued to aim at him.

He had already gone through all the powerful psykers involved in the gene-seed and the Zerg in his mind, trying to determine who was possessing Armidale, but the other party's next answer still caught him off guard.

Armidale asked, "What reason do I need to possess my chosen one?"

Li Ang was stunned for a moment: "Are you the emperor?"

As soon as these words came out, Leon was sure that he saw a deep sigh on 'Amidel's' face.

"You humans can only dream of the sun in that subspace?"

Leon held the coil and continued to charge it: "I don't mind giving the remaining evil creatures in the subspace a quick death."

"I've deeply understood this, Leon, especially after you smashed my statue a few days ago."

'Armidel' shrugged, his words taking his identity in a direction Leon had never considered before.

"Let me introduce myself. I am the Black Dragon Miraberias, the Avenger of the Ancient Dragons, and the Agent of the First Dragon." He opened his chest and made a gesture of embracing the world: "Of course, you can also call me as before -

Soul of the World."

Chapter 38: Black Dragon Miraberias

Leon stared at Mirabellas for a long time. He still held the plasma pistol, but he already believed the other party about 70%.

He had long suspected that the World Soul was interfering, but he never thought that the other party would appear in this form at this time.

The black dragon, a legendary ancient dragon, stands at the pinnacle of the ancient dragon species and is the ultimate target of the protagonist in many Monster Hunter games.

He once had a definite record of destroying human civilization, and there was also speculation that the ethereal black dragon himself had transformed into a human form and participated in the establishment of the Hunter's Guild, but no one could tell what the truth was.

If this was Monster Hunter, and Leon said the person in front of him was the Black Dragon Miraberias just based on the fake ancient dragon drug that was always elusive, then he would naturally not believe it.

But this is Warhammer.

The other party believes that he is the soul of the world, and his behavior when possessing a certain person is no different from that of other subspace creatures.

In the Warhammer universe, where any concept of the real universe corresponds to the subspace and produces corresponding existence, it does not seem difficult to understand why the black dragon in Monster Hunter becomes the soul of the world.

But Li Ang felt that he still had to clarify something, so he still aimed at the other party and asked, "What exactly is the World Soul?"

Of course, he knew what the World Soul was, but that was precisely why he knew it, so he could use this sentence to judge the other party's reliability. Unexpectedly, Mirabelles just shrugged.

"Who knows? It's not a machine spirit the size of a planet anyway."

What Leon had said before when Amidel and the others explained what the World Soul was was now repeated by the World Soul itself, which made Leon a little embarrassed.

Realizing that the other party knew their situation inside and out and had no intention of communicating properly under threat, he could only put down the plasma pistol in his hand, and Mirabereas also breathed a sigh of relief.