Chapter 1019 Pollution Crisis
Burt Duffy should have been called to the rally like everyone else, but he was in no rush.
He soaked in the water storage room, while others would only visit here when they had no other choice, but he liked it here, it reminded him of the place where he used to work, not counting the one in Attica Warm but comfortable job.
But with the invasion of Chaos, a thoughtless swing of a jackhammer and a snatched piece of food, he had to change the direction of his career.
He has become a Chaos believer who just a few months ago would have shouted abuse.
"Burt, I know you can hear it, go to the meeting!"
A sound broke the silence, and Bert clicked the communicator on his waist and turned it off.
Except for people who have long been accustomed to the harshest living environment, no one is willing to break into the smelly water storage system and get contaminated with sewage in the water tank.
Human beings need water no matter where they go, just because they cannot survive without it. There are countless examples of fighting for water resources in human history.
Burt didn't quite understand this, but he did know that without water, there would be no life.
Water has its own way out, and it is never easy to capture it. Water longs for freedom and hates being imprisoned. It always seizes every opportunity to escape from the cage. It corrodes the ancient pipes it flows through, and slips away from incomplete seals. . As always, the water flows downward until it reaches the bottom with nowhere to go.
This is why refugee camps need water storage tanks, no different from the dirty sewage ditches on ancient sea ships, every drop of condensation that overflows, every drop of sewage that flows from broken water pipes, every drop that the crew spills The rationed synthetic alcohol flowed into this ugly water tank.
Fuel, gasoline, and whatever else only the Emperor knew, mixed together into a thick soup.
In a well-functioning water supply system, these liquids will be pumped out for processing and recycling, and the water tanks will be cleaned frequently to remove dirt.
But nothing in the refugee camp will be functioning well. The water storage tanks are already overflowing and sewage is flowing everywhere.
In places invisible to humans, the wonderful magic of life takes root and grows, creating a small world.
A rusty lifting platform is located far away from the water supply room, but Bert has never used it, and the roar of the motor destroys the tranquility here.
The sewage has already reached the edge of the square water tank. Under the water, algae is growing wildly.
In some places, these primitive plants are almost piled up, leaving little practical space for humans. In addition, the ceilings here are not high, and the low-hanging cables are enough to strangle a reckless guy. The heat There is a risk of the bulb exploding.
The water tank was not built for life, humans, or anything else, but Burt found joy in this quagmire surrounded by metal.
It supports almost an entire ecosystem, and there are rats that live here - as many species as the stars that humans have explored, in addition to some mutated insects, luminous amphibians, and smooth-bodied, toothed animals. Predators like steel needles.
No one cares about the disordered biological populations in the water supply system. Burt keeps this secret, and he has almost become an amateur naturalist.
Of course, he wouldn't care if someone drank the water flowing out of here and got sick.
It seems that because he is in this key position, he has a middle-level position in the sect, which seems to be called the chief priest, but he doesn't care that much.
However, some people say that it is because everyone who is too close to him becomes sick and is regarded as being blessed by the dark power, so he got this position.
To be honest, he didn't care about that either.
The Emperor has been abandoned by him long ago, and now he believes in something that can allow him to survive - although he can't name it.
Burt hummed and groped in a tank filled with silt. When he slid a pole through the silt, rich organic gases emerged from the bottom.
The smell gradually calmed down and was far less bad than imagined.
Suddenly, the rarely turned on speaker in the central aisle rang.
"Everyone gathers immediately, including you, Bert!"
A furious roar came from the speaker accompanied by the sound of electricity, and it took a long time for the echo to completely disappear.
Then, the creatures in the water tank became active again.
Burt glared at the speaker.
“Leave me alone!”
He complained, the communicator on his waist kept trembling, asking to be reconnected.
He looked toward the stairwell, where most of the light in the water tank came from. Most of the lights inside were off, or were filled with water and mucus, rendering them useless.
"Curse it all."
He put down the pole regretfully, wiped his knees, and then turned around, only to bump into a giant that he didn't notice at all.
He took a step back.
If he didn't, he wouldn't be able to see the thing's glowing eyes.
Using eyes seems inappropriate to describe it. A pair of eternally dark scarlet goggles was looking at him.
"Hello, mortal, what's your name?"
If it weren't for the cold air exuding from its body and the smell of the slaughterhouse in its breath, this voice would seem to be amiable.
Bert Duffy took a step back, ready to escape, but he stepped on the water and had to stay where he was.
"Bur-Bur-Burt Duffy." The creature took another step closer. Burt Duffy tensed up and leaned back, teetering on the edge of falling into the water.
The giant is wearing a blue robe, and the unshielded part leaks a silver-gray metallic luster, but it always exudes a unique smell similar to grease.
Suddenly, a fly buzzed over Bert Duffy's head. After he stood still for a while, they began to boldly harass him, but none of them dared to approach the giant.
“Tell me, where is your bishop now?”
Bert Duffy frowned at the question.
"I-I-I-I-"
"Shh, watch your next words."
Burt Duffy swallowed Spit.
“Now, I am preparing to go to the temple for a meeting, and the bishop should be there too.”
"Temple."
The giant said with satisfaction:
"Look, now you sound like a believer, right?"
"You—— You - you, are you an Astartes?"
Bert Duffy didn't know if there was something wrong in his mind, but he suddenly blurted out an obvious question.
The giant let out a deep laugh.
"Yes, I am."
He stretched out his hand and poked the man in the chest. The force caused the man to let out a painful cry.
"I suspect this is common sense. I think you must want to know what I believe in. Guess what?"
Burt Duffy shook his head.
"Oh, I bet you know, name the beings I believe in."
Burt swallowed, reality numbing his tongue.
The giant came closer.
"I will tell you the answer, as long as you promise to keep this secret, you will, won't you? Say yes immediately, come on, I know you are scared, I smell it."
The man nodded, he was too frightened to say a word.
"I am the Emperor's Angel of Death, I am the Final Punishment of the Throne."
The giant carefully held Burt's neck and lifted him as high as his face.
Suddenly, the cult leader made a wet sound, followed by a warm, surrounding smell of defecation.
"It seems you know what I mean, that's good, great."
The scarlet eyepiece stared at him horribly.
"Do you know what I'm thinking?"
The cold hands moved on Bert Duffy's neck, and the man cried.
“Is the price of this betrayal too great for you?”
“Wha, what——”
Maybe the man himself is confused, but in Sa In Brin's sight, what he was struggling with was a poor man covered in blisters and with ulcerated skin.
Flies surrounded the man's head, light green gas surged from his features with every breath he took, and maggots came in and out of the holes in his skin.
With disgust, Sablin exerted a sudden force.
With a puff, the opponent exploded like a ball.
"Fallen——"
Sabrin looked at the large water tank that had almost turned into a viscous green swamp, and the disgusting subspace creatures wandering inside, and felt that the situation was getting worse. It's getting more serious.
He didn't know how many people drank the water or how many people were infected.
“The leader of this sect must be dealt with first.”
(End of this chapter)