Soames Hive is waking up. Although as a city with an extremely large population, it will not really sleep, it still has a cycle of ebb and flow.
In the heart of the city, the pulse of life is even more evident.
The market gradually opened, merchants hawked, loud-voiced priests led morning prayers, and vendors pushing carts and carrying burdens walked through open squares, winding alleys and stone-paved streets.
Sorge retraced his last route, trying to recall his impression of the layout of the entire city when he first came here.
Vendors and elderly people passing by recognized his class and made respectful gestures to him.
He responded with the same gesture.
Now Sorge wants to enter the suburbs in the northern part of the middle level of the hive city. There is an organization responsible for low-orbit transportation statistics there. From it, he can obtain the data on the use of low-orbit transportation space by the Astral Knight's aircraft in recent years, so as to analyze the actual data compiled by the other party. general information.
In fact, during this period of investigation, he had vaguely realized that the actual number of Astral Knights must be more than two hundred.
There is no doubt that a battle group that was driven out from its home planet with only thirty-three people would never be able to recover to such a number in such a short period of time. Then there is only one explanation -
The Astral Knights did the same thing as the Star Claws of old, annexing the remnants of a certain Chapter.
When he finds enough evidence, he wonders if the inquisitors will appreciate his efforts.
Thinking of this ironic scene, Sorge showed a weird smile.
Then he stepped back to the street to let a truck pass.
The scavenger servitors used brooms and buckets of water to clean the stone roads and shovel away the garbage with dustpans - they made unpleasant singing sounds as they worked.
The city's walls embedded with painted pottery shimmered in the morning light, and the bright pottery pieces formed various patterns.
Sorge saw one of the symbols, a double-headed eagle made of bright red ceramic, and his trained mind realized with certainty that he had never seen this before.
This also means that he may have taken a wrong turn.
The terrain of the hive city is so complex, with so many twists and turns, that the general layout is difficult to remember, like a spider web.
Suddenly, Sorge stopped and thought about it.
The compass in his mind was confused. He glanced at the rising sun and determined which side was east and which side was west.
He slowed his breathing and allowed himself to sweat for a while to stabilize his condition.
Soon, the secret agent recovered.
He just walked one more street to the west, that's all, and his destination was on his left.
But in fact, when he walked over, he found that this was not the case.
There was a rare problem with his sense of direction.
Sorge paused again, resisting the panic that was slowly seeping into his heart.
A water vendor came over and sold him a bottle of pure water.
"No, thank you."
Sorge declined politely.
"May the God-Emperor still love you."
The vendor replied, moving on.
Hearing these words, Sorge suddenly trembled.
What is wrong with me?
Sorge thought that the last time he came here, he walked through the streets easily.
But this time, like a newbie, my head was spinning.
This...this is so stupid.
He then crossed two busy streets, looking for familiar landmarks.
But it seemed that the destination was getting further and further away from him, as if something was interfering with him and affecting his ability.
On a whim, he reached into the pouch on his belt and took out the gem hidden inside.
It is about the same size as a human earlobe and was given to him by his owner. It is a very precious "spiritual detection stone" that will respond to spiritual energy.
If it gets hot, or shows any signs of dryness, that means there's psychic activity nearby.
Sorge looked at the deep purple gem, which had always been warm and dry under the influence of his own psychic energy.
But now, the gem in his hand had become hot, like burning coals, and it had shrunk severely.
He's in trouble.
The gem was warning him that something was nearby, perhaps hunting him.
"Leave first."
He continued down the street, feeling as uneasy and lost as before.
Then he quickly walked into a square where the crowd was relatively sparse. He hoped that the looser space would help him sort out his thoughts, and perhaps allow him to find out the psychic activity detected by the gem.
But his mind stubbornly refused to clear up.
Suddenly, Sorge stopped and slowly raised his gaze.
He was standing in front of a church. Under the high lintel of the temple was a sculpture made of brass, showing the images of the emperor and angels.
What a terrible mistake, what stupid detour that led him here?
This was the area in the entire city that he was least willing to visit. As he watched, all the statues seemed to pulsate, stretch, and press his eyes into his skull.
The sun was irritating and dazzling. He retched, but he immediately suppressed the hot reflux from his stomach.
His infiltration of the city this time was completely different from before, as if the city had noticed him as an intruder and turned into a big net to catch him.
Someone, something, was playing a trick on him.
He still couldn't help but want to vomit, so Sorge hurriedly walked into an alley next to the Temple Square, stood in the shadows and bent down, releasing the sour liquid.
Gastric juices quickly spurted out of his throat.
In weakness, he fell to his knees, trembling and spitting out acidic water.
Suddenly, two figures - previously just dark shadows - began walking towards him down the alley.
They were in no hurry, but there was a sense of purpose and urgency in their steps.
Sorge immediately stood up and walked in the opposite direction, equally purposeful and unhurried.
Three more people appeared at the other side of the alley, walking towards him along the long and winding alley.
Who are they? Soldier? Law enforcement officer? Judge? still--
Without thinking too much, Sorge noticed that there were several branches on the side of the alley, so he quickened his pace and turned into the first fork. He waited until he disappeared from the sight of the approaching people and ran immediately.
Soon, he left the alley and came to a strange place.
This is a garden.
While observing the environment, the leaves above his head suddenly trembled in a breeze that came out of thin air.
Sorge slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked quickly through the forest to find an open area where he could see the sky clearly. He remembered this place - he had hidden in the gorgeous garden before, huddled on the lawn behind a tall tree. , try to get some sleep and rest to help your mind relax.
But as he moved, a disturbance touched his mind.
The sudden stirrings in his soul converged into a sharp stabbing pain between his eyes, a feeling that almost preceded the tinnitus.
Although we don't know what happened, one thing seems certain - there is a new enemy, a new threat that is approaching rapidly.
Forced to look into his own mind, Sorge must extract something that can be used by him, some information that can give him the upper hand later on.
If he can foresee what's coming next, then he can decide where to hide and under what disguise.
At first he found nothing.
Sorge worked hard to find more detailed information.
Finally, he found something, but it made him scream and immediately flinch.
He came into contact with a single mind, a dark being, a thing of midnight, unlike any mind he had come into contact with before.
It's wild and dark and hot and repulsive and extremely dense and aggressive.
