The staircase appeared to be in a state of disrepair, covered in dust, and the well opening below had been welded shut. It seemed that after occupying this place, they had not used the inner exit of the tunnel to venture outside.
This was good news, meaning the risk of exposure was significantly reduced.
Zhang Ge stepped forward, and with a gloved finger, he wiped the outer side of the staircase. After brushing away the layer of dirt, he found that the plastic steel forming the staircase itself was still as bright as new.
Seeing this, the political commissar, who rarely joked, quipped:
"Afraid of getting dirty? You can go back and take a bath first."
Zhang Ge shrugged and replied:
"If I can make it back alive from here, I hope the medal the military department awards me is of better quality than this staircase."
Flag achieved! Zhang Ge secretly felt a surge of satisfaction as he wiped his laser gun.
They were currently in the midst of pre-battle preparations, which was why the two of them had the leisure to chat. Tasks like soothing the machine spirit, checking ammunition, wiping off bloodstains, and offering prayers were best done before entering a dangerous area, especially one deeply influenced by Chaos.
Zhang Ge, not wanting to be considered reckless, naturally didn't plan to be an exception. He had already reached the final part of the standard procedure for checking firearms in the Astra Militarum.
Wait a minute... the feel is off, it's a bit sticky.
Puzzled, Zhang Ge removed the magazine that had given him the unusual sensation and found that the energy cell was oozing a translucent, viscous liquid from the top, which was dripping down the outer wall and onto his fingertips. The magazine was also covered in this substance, which seemed to be some kind of electrolyte.
"Why does the battery have to leak at this exact moment? Couldn't it have happened earlier or later?"
Muttering to himself, after checking again and finding no other anomalies besides the magazine, he had no choice but to discard it, wipe his hands clean, and replace it with a new one.
At this moment, Sister Amilia, who had gone back to check for any remaining xenos, returned. Seeing this, the commissar tossed Zhang Ge a cutter and said:
"Alright, you'll take the lead," the commissar pointed at Zhang Ge, "Sister Amilia will follow. You two check the environment above, and once you're done, signal us at the well opening, and we'll follow."
Nodding in acknowledgment, Zhang Ge attached the cutter to his belt and began climbing up the staircase. The ladder was extremely sturdy, not making any unusual noises even with two people using it simultaneously. Upon reaching the well opening, he noticed that the well cover had a small cylindrical device resembling a periscope.
Well, since he'd seen it, he couldn't just ignore it. Pushing it with his finger and finding it still functional, he pushed the upper part up to its limit and fixed it in place, then leaned in to look through the lower lens.
The image outside was refracted through the light. It was an extremely concealed spot, located behind a massive metal pillar, with no cultists in sight.
After observing, Zhang Ge took out the cutter, aimed the nozzle at the welded seam, and the intense heat of the jet quickly cut through the sealed edges. Once he had made a full circle, he pushed the well cover aside with his hand, which had been braced against it, allowing the faint pinkish light from outside to shine down.
Tossing the cutter aside, he raised his plasma pistol and checked his surroundings as he exited the tunnel. There were no signs of cultists, but suddenly, Zhang Ge felt his gaze being drawn upward as if by an invisible force.
In the sky, the Great Rift, which should have been obscured by clouds, was unusually clear. It stretched across the entire firmament, occupying most of the sky. This astronomical wonder of the Warp, which had torn the Imperium in half, shone alongside the stars, like an enormous eye gazing down at every living being daring enough to look up.
Sister Amilia's lips were almost touching Zhang Ge's ear as she whispered this. Her hand, which had somehow found its way to his head, forcefully pushed it down, removing the Great Rift from his view.
It was said that merely gazing at the Great Rift carried the risk of Warp corruption, and many planets had enacted laws forbidding people from looking up at the sky. However, Zhang Ge had a faint feeling that the urge to look up just now was different from the previous sensations of Warp influence—it didn't feel like he was being corrupted.
But to avoid trouble, he nodded in acknowledgment.
After surveying the area and determining that they seemed to be in the water tank array he had seen earlier, and confirming that the environment was safe for now, Zhang Ge signaled Sister Amilia to return and make the agreed-upon gesture, while he remained on guard.
The group quickly climbed the stairs upon receiving the signal and assembled.
After reaching the top, the commissar surveyed the surroundings and then lightly tapped the ground with the side of his chainsword as a signal.
This indicated that there was no spatial distortion here, and the geographical information and plans previously discussed could be directly applied.
This water tank array was far from the polluted mining sites and factories, located right next to the town mayor's residence.
This allowed the mayor to indulge in his traditional skill of embezzlement while keeping a distance from the grimy workers. On the other hand, it also gave him the opportunity to mingle with the various upper-hive transport teams that came to fetch water. Who knows, maybe one of those teams was backed by an upper-hive noble?
As for why there was a gang's tunnel exit near the heavily guarded mayor's residence? Well, of course, the mayor's officials had to eat too. As long as the gangs paid a certain protection fee, it was "tolerable" to let their water-stealing tunnels exist.
In fact, the mayor himself was quite pleased with this arrangement. If someone from above ever came to inspect the accounts or storage, he could conveniently stage a "minor accident," pin the blame on the gangs, and then have the security chief and those involved take the fall, allowing him to escape unscathed.
However, the mayor, who had amassed a fortune through this series of schemes, naturally began to indulge in unrestrained hedonism. Instead of waiting for someone from above to come, he was met with the Warp impact of the Great Rift. His already weak willpower was further eroded, and he became a plaything of the Chaos Gods.
And now, the tunnel of the gang rats, which the mayor had disdained to investigate, allowed the decapitation squad to bypass the tight defenses around the water tank array and reach this place, so close to their target.
But... this also meant they had entered a part of the operation that was not part of the original plan, which was precisely the danger of this mission—and what Zhang Ge was seeking.