Led by Grosse and the Bloodfinger Gang, 32 and Gutierrez finally arrived at the Bottom Nest through the complex pipes and underground passages.
This area was already outside the architectural structure of the Hive City, but because it was located at the bottom of the Hive City, it was called the Bottom Nest.
For most Hive Cities, the existence of the Bottom Nest was more akin to a city's underground sewage pipes or landfill, and even some areas of the Bottom Nest were simply spaces hollowed out from the bottom of the Hive City, or located on the outer layer of the Hive City's foundation.
This area was mainly composed of abandoned industrial zones, collapsed pipelines, rusted metal frameworks, and illegally expanded slums left over from the early construction of the Hive City or before its completion.
After all, the Imperium never directly started a planetary-level super project like a Hive City on a planet. In most cases, a Hive City would only begin to be built on a planet after it had developed to a certain extent and could afford the cost and burden of constructing one.
Generally speaking, because Hive Cities are too large, their bottom parts will cover original industrial facilities, mining areas, and even the city itself.
For example, Rostov. If Alex were to build a Hive City on Rostov II, without re-selecting the site, he would expand on the basis of the existing city.
And the current city might be partially demolished, but more often it would simply be buried directly under the Hive City.
If some people who have been left behind utilize this part of the building, which is buried in the deepest part of the bottom layer of the Hive City, it will gradually form a Bottom Nest settlement.
The living conditions here are extremely harsh. Not seeing the sun all year round is a minor issue, because due to its location at the bottom of the Hive City, one can basically bid farewell to things like fresh air and clean water.
The food and water that can flow down from the Hive City are waste products that have been recycled countless times.
Moreover, because the Bottom Nest strictly speaking does not fall within the scope of the Hive City, it does not even have air purification and water purification facilities like the Lower Hive.
In other words, here you can't even drink the most basic filtered water, nor can you breathe air that has undergone at least basic filtration.
All that exists here is severely polluted industrial exhaust and toxic wastewater, as well as almost ubiquitous radiation leaks.
At least after 32 stepped into this area, her reform counter never stopped, the only difference being from high-frequency short beeps to continuous long beeps.
So she simply turned it off; anyway, for a Tech-Priest, radiation was not a problem at all.
And for the Astartes that Gutierrez brought, it was even less of a problem; although their Phobos pattern Power Armor was lightweight, it still had complete protective capabilities.
It just wasn't as exaggerated as the Gravis pattern heavy armor, which was comparable to Terminator armor in defense, but it had no problem at all with resisting the harsh environment and radiation of the Bottom Nest.
As for the Legal Department Special Agent who came down with them, he was also wearing a completely sealed Power Armor, which could effectively isolate radiation and air pollution.
"Respected sirs, this Bottom Nest settlement is jointly controlled by three gangs. Our Bloodfinger Gang only controls a part of this settlement, but if you have any needs, please feel free to speak up. As long as our Bloodfinger Gang can do it, there will be no second thoughts!" Grosse fawned over 32 and Gutierrez, having already seen that these two were the key figures.
32 and Gutierrez exchanged glances, and after discussing in their communication channel, 32 spoke to Grosse: "Find a place. We need to settle down first and not alarm anyone else."
"I understand. The Bloodfinger Gang has a warehouse nearby that can provide a hiding place for you for a while." Grosse immediately understood, explaining the situation to 32 while quickly leading the way.
The other members of the Bloodfinger Gang quickly scattered to drive away the Mutants and other Bottom Nest residents living nearby.
You obviously can't expect the humans living in the bottom layer of the Hive City to look like people. Those who can fall to the Bottom Nest are either aggressive gang members or citizens who have been exploited by the Imperium to the point of being unable to survive, but still have some ability to escape to the Bottom Nest.
None of these people are simple, because ordinary people cannot survive in a place like the Bottom Nest for more than 12 hours.
They are either taken away to be made into raw materials for Rejuvenation Potion, or they become a source of corpse starch after all their value has been squeezed out.
Of course, this also includes Mutants who are not accepted or tolerated by the official laws of the Imperium.
Although Imperial law stipulates that Mutants with a moderate degree of mutation can have legal status in the Imperium, they are usually highly discriminated against.
Even Psykers are discriminated against within the Imperium, let alone ordinary Mutants.
Although Imperial law allows them to exist, and some who meet the standards can even join the Astra Militarum, this does not obscure the fact that they are only second-class citizens in the Imperium.
So many Mutants fled to the Bottom Nest, forming Mutant settlements here.
Although life was a bit difficult, without the heavy tithe and discrimination of the Imperium, Mutants could at least survive.
(This kind of Mutant is already considered to be of a relatively mild degree, at least they still look human.)
The Bottom Nest settlement where 32 and his group were located had already developed into a town of considerable size, and most of the people living on the streets were Mutants with varying degrees of mutation.
"How many people live in this town?" 32 asked Grosse. They had already arrived at the warehouse Grosse mentioned.
Several Astartes proactively took control of the high ground and key positions around the warehouse, concealing themselves in the shadows and monitoring every movement in the surroundings.
"Respected sir, there are about 30,000 people in the town, a quarter of whom are Mutants. There is a Mutant settlement nearby, and some of them come here to make a living." Grosse explained in detail, and then smiled bitterly at 32 with a hint of helplessness: "Living in the Bottom Nest, most people don't really care about Mutants. As long as the mutation isn't too severe, generally no one cares.
After all, making a living in a place like the Bottom Nest, caring about such things usually doesn't mean much."
Although Grosse's answer was somewhat understated, 32 could still feel a kind of bitter helplessness in his words.
"What is the strength of your Bloodfinger Gang? What do you do for a living?" 32 looked at Grosse, intending to start with this Hive gang.
"The Bloodfinger Gang mainly relies on smuggling. We get energy bars and nutrient paste from the Lower Hive, transport them down, and sell them to others, which earns us a lot." Grosse didn't mind revealing these operations of the Bloodfinger Gang to 32: "In addition, we also mine some ghost crystals from the Bottom Nest. This stuff is truly top-tier valuable goods!"
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