The Hive City on this planet had become much stricter since Noah's last visit, and it was only by relying on his powerful psionic abilities that he gradually made his way to the bottom of this Hive City.
He didn't go directly to the governor, but instead sought out the local gangs first.
While these individuals, by Noah's standards, deserved to die countless times and even face extreme punishment, they had indeed provided him with some assistance later on.
Many of the people currently with Noah had been gathered by these gangs; most of them weren't inherently evil but were simply forced into their circumstances by life.
Among the orphans they brought, many expressed their respect and affection for the gang members.
Having been here for over a year, Noah no longer viewed these gangs as he once did, as he had come to accept just how messed up this world truly was.
The gangs had long since buried the hatchet with Noah in the face of his weapon offensive.
It could be said that these gangs had long considered Noah their boss, and they owed their continued survival to him.
orks were no joke, and the Human Imperial rulers of the Hive City never cared about the people of the Underhive, so for these gangs, they could only struggle to survive in the cracks.
Every day, large numbers of orks assaulted the Hive City; if not for the gauss rifles and a small number of lasguns Noah had previously provided them, their Underhive would have long been overrun by orks.
Instead of the orks only being able to engage them in street battles as they were now.
Besides these weapons, their greatest reliance was on the few bosses protected by the mechanical soldiers Noah had dispatched.
Thanks to the combat power displayed by those advanced mechanical soldiers, the orks were unable to conquer the Underhive.
These gangs had also witnessed an ork boss charge towards their own leader.
Everyone had thought their leader was doomed.
But the mechanical soldier protecting their leader simply extended a hand.
And with a single slap, turned the ork into a pile of meat.
Such powerful combat ability, when displayed before these people, made everyone worship him as a god at that moment.
This was practically a demigod!
Even an Astartes might only reach this level.
Under the confluence of various factors, including Noah's weapons and the powerful combat demonstrations by the soldiers stationed around their bosses,
These gangs had collectively acknowledged Noah as their shared leader.
And the original gang bosses did the same.
When Noah appeared in the Underhive, he no longer concealed his figure, but allowed the gang soldiers to see him.
As Noah's figure appeared on the dim streets of the Underhive, the previously noisy black market instantly fell silent.
The gang members trading shoddy synthetic food, the scavengers huddled in corners, and even the brawlers, all stopped what they were doing.
"It's... it's the Lord!" a gang leader with a scar on his face suddenly knelt.
As if knocking over dominoes, people throughout the entire street knelt like a tide.
Their foreheads pressed against the ground, and even their breathing became cautious.
A few new hotheads hadn't reacted yet when the old timers next to them fiercely pushed their heads down to the ground.
Noah frowned. As a citizen of the federation, even after a year in this world, he still disliked such excessive reverence.
However, there was no time to correct it now; he would do so gradually later.
His psionics perception swept over the entire area, and after confirming there were no orks lurking, he walked directly towards the deepest shelter in the Underhive.
This shelter was voluntarily built by the people of the Underhive, housing most of the ordinary children and women from the Underhive.
Children and women were the future for continuation, but as for the elderly, there wasn't a single one inside.
In the Underhive, one simply couldn't live to old age; most people were gone by thirty or forty, and very few lived past forty.
At the entrance of the council hall, twelve gang leaders in patched-up armor were already kneeling in a row. Behind them were three hundred elite warriors, each equipped with a gauss rifle provided by Noah.
These weapons were polished to a shine, clearly receiving the most meticulous care from their owners.
"Lord, you've finally returned!" the oldest gang leader, Krass Hansen, looked up, his cloudy eyes gleaming with ecstasy. "Recently, the ork attacks have become more and more fierce, we..."
Noah raised a hand to interrupt his report: "I know all about it. You all stay here; when I return, I can send you another batch of weapons and equipment.
Besides that, I will also send you another batch of soldiers to cooperate with you in battle and hold your ground."
Noah approved and praised their actions of choosing to fight to the death under such a catastrophe, and also sending their children to the underground shelter.
The fact that they proactively brought the children into the shelter for protection made Noah feel that they still had hope and could be given another wave of support.
To put it bluntly, these people were all living difficult lives.
"I just came to check on your situation and confirm your status. I will arrange for the things you need to be delivered later. Now I must leave; hold this place."
Noah merely glanced around, then left after dropping that statement. His objective was certainly not these gangs; he was here to find the ruler of this Hive World, the group of people he had previously captured.
This time, he wouldn't be as reckless as before, directly having these guys all arrested; he had created an identity for himself.
A year had passed since he was here, and creating a noble identity for himself within that year was incredibly simple for Noah.
He had replaced an Inquisitor of the Inquisition, and one who was already a well-known Inquisitor on this planet.
He had swapped identities with someone, and as for that Inquisitor, he had directly fostered him in the undercity.
Ever since his genes were modified back, that fellow had been loudly proclaiming it a miracle of the Emperor there.
He was single-mindedly clutching that gene modifier and wouldn't let go.
Since he had taken his identity, Noah let him be.
With the identity of an Inquisitor, Noah smoothly passed through the checkpoints between the Midhive and the Upperhive; the PDF dared not intercept an Inquisitor.
As Noah passed through the giant gate at the junction of the Midhive and Upperhive, the PDF soldiers guarding it immediately straightened their backs. He wore the crimson robe stripped from the real Inquisitor, and the double-headed eagle emblem on his chest gleamed coldly in the dim light.
"Lord Inquisitor!" the guard captain saluted hastily, his voice distorted by nervousness. "Do you require a vehicle to be prepared for you?"
Noah merely nodded slightly, simulating the Inquisitor's characteristic cold tone with his psionics: "No need. The Emperor's will requires me to walk."
This sentence was like an inviolable decree; all the guards immediately retreated to both sides, not even daring to look up directly.
The air in the Upperhive was much fresher than in the Underhive, but it still carried a certain scent of decay. Along the wide streets, Gothic buildings soared into the sky, each spire adorned with holy statues.
The scenery of the Upperhive was indeed beautiful, but such a sight was bought with the blood and tears of the people of the Underhive and Midhive.
It wasn't the first time Noah had seen such a scene, but every time he did, he would shake his head.
This Imperium, this civilization, was somewhat too distorted; he truly found it a bit incomprehensible.
In the Terran Federation, even the Grand Marshal who commanded the entire Terran Federation only consumed ten times what an ordinary citizen did.
Born into a normal interstellar civilization, Noah truly found it difficult to comprehend the Imperium's extremely distorted political ecology.
His destination was the Governor's Palace. But as soon as he passed the third block, a squad of soldiers in silver-grey carapace armor blocked his way.
"Lord Inquisitor." The leading soldier removed his helmet, revealing a face modified with bionics. "The Archmagos of the Mechanicus requests an audience with you."
Noah narrowed his eyes. This was not part of the plan. But refusing an invitation from the Mechanicus might arouse more suspicion. He nodded slightly: "Lead the way."
The soldiers led him through several hidden passages, finally arriving at a hemispherical building. The large doors were covered in binary prayers, and the air was filled with a strange scent of incense mixed with machine oil.
In the center of the hall, a humanoid creature surrounded by mechanical tentacles floated in an energy field. As Noah stepped in, six mechanical eyes simultaneously turned towards him.
"Inquisitor." The synthetic mechanical voice carried a strange rhythm. "I hear you made a trip to the Underhive. How are things in the Underhive now, I wonder?"