According to Grosse's interrogation records, the abnormal decrease in the supply of corpses in the Lower Hive area was directly linked to a rapidly rising gang in the Bottom Nest called the Hand of Redemption.
The rise of this mysterious organization was quite legendary—they initially had some secret connection with the infamous Blood Oath Society, and Blood Oath Sisters were often seen in the slums under their control.
These Sisters not only provided medical services to the residents of the Bottom Nest but, even more astonishingly, they displayed extraordinary abilities to reverse mutations.
According to eyewitness testimonies, many Mutants contaminated by radiation began to gradually return to normal after receiving treatment, their deformed tissues recovering.
This almost miraculous healing ability earned the Hand of Redemption an almost fanatical following among the Mutants.
Large numbers of Mutant warriors voluntarily joined, quickly becoming the core armed force of the organization.
With the covert support of the Blood Oath Society and the combat power of the Mutants, the Hand of Redemption's influence spread like wildfire from the Bottom Nest upwards, eventually impacting the power dynamics of the Lower Hive.
However, strange things began to happen.
All gangs that came into conflict with them inexplicably turned from enemies to friends, joining the gang alliance they established.
This bizarre spread of peace led to a sharp decrease in gang warfare, and coupled with the medical intervention of the Blood Oath Society, battle casualties plummeted.
This was the key reason for the shortage in the Pale Guild's corpse supply chain—while natural deaths remained stable, the death rate of gang members, their primary'source of goods,' significantly decreased.
After the Blood Oath Society's rebellion erupted, the Inquisition's swift crackdown did indeed cripple the Hand of Redemption's network in the Lower Hive.
However, this organization maintained its complete structure in the labyrinthine Bottom Nest—its intricate tunnel systems and harsh environment made the Adeptus Arbites's clean-up operations extremely difficult.
Even more ironically, when the Inquisitors finally had time to investigate the Bottom Nest, they discovered that this dark area, marked as 'unregulated territory' on official maps, had already developed a disturbing new order.
And their current deep dive into the Bottom Nest was merely a belated attempt to mend the fold after receiving Arbitrator 32's alert about abnormalities in the corpse black market.
"Things seem clear now, so our next target is this gang?" Gutierrez had not interfered with 32's interrogation, and only after she reached her conclusion did he ask about her next steps.
"No, you go investigate the other matter; I'll stay here and investigate this gang," 32 quickly divided the tasks with Gutierrez, showing great interest in the Bloodfinger Gang: "The Bloodfinger Gang has also been affected by that gang connected to the Blood Oath Society. I want to see exactly what kind of influence they've been subjected to.
Moreover, by controlling this gang, we'll at least have a base of operations in the Bottom Nest. Although these people are just gang members, they are still a fighting force."
Hearing 32's words, Gutierrez simply nodded silently, not asking further questions.
He understood the capabilities of 32, the Mechanical Sage, too well.
If 32 truly got serious, everyone in the Bloodfinger Gang would likely be converted into combat Servitor, their combat power even rivaling a squad of Defense Force.
Since 32 had taken over the investigation, he saw no need to interfere further, so he left the scene with his Kill Team.
The Legal Department Special Agent stood aside, his expression shifting between light and shadow.
On one hand, he felt deeply humiliated.
A gang that should have been firmly controlled by the Adeptus Arbites had quietly slipped from oversight, which was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the authority of the law enforcement agency.
On the other hand, he was full of confusion: why had these gangs suddenly become so abnormal?
"According to Adeptus Arbites intelligence, although the Lower Hive was somewhat affected by the Blood Oath Society's rebellion, overall order did not collapse," the Special Agent tried to keep his tone professional and calm, but his gaze couldn't help but glance at Grosse, whom 32 was dissecting: "Gang conflicts are still ongoing, and casualty figures haven't shown any abnormal fluctuations. We truly haven't discovered any obvious anomalies..."
However, 32 ignored his explanation. Her mechanical bionic eye gleamed coldly, and her scalpel precisely cut open Grosse's chest. She responded nonchalantly, "The corruption of Chaos is never ostentatious; it silently erodes hearts, especially these dregs living in the Bottom Nest with no faith.
They don't even realize they've been contaminated, only perceiving those deformities as ordinary mutation symptoms."
As the dissection deepened, 32 quickly found traces of Chaos corruption within Grosse's body.
She examined his internal organs and bones, muttering softly, "The corruption starts from the blood..."
Despite having lived in a radiation and pollution-filled environment for a long time, Grosse's body was already riddled with mutated tissues, but 32 still keenly discerned the characteristics of Chaos erosion.
After confirming Grosse's corrupted state, 32 skillfully re-stitched him, then placed him into a specially made blackstone containment box.
Such boxes were typically used to imprison dangerous Psykers and contained stasis fields capable of suppressing any abnormal activity.
However, before completely sealing Grosse, 32 still extracted a blood sample for research.
These blood samples, after leaving the host's body, still maintained a strange vitality, slowly wriggling and aggregating like some independent life form.
32 stared at the wriggling blood threads in the test tube, showing a very interested expression. This was clearly not an ordinary mutation, but corruption from Chaos.
However, she also couldn't determine which faction's corruption it was.
If it were Tzeentch, then this person should have grown bird feathers.
But it's hard to say if the Tzeentch faction wouldn't set up a trap to ensnare other factions, just for the sake of a grand scheme.
If it were Nurgle, he should have rotted by now.
Father Nurgle / Nurgle is the God of Life, but Nurgle's plagues will equally corrupt everyone into a putrid mess of flesh and excrement.
The remaining two factions are both possible, but Slaanesh likely wouldn't be interested in the trash of the Bottom Nest. The Dark Prince prefers the pleasure-seeking nobles of the Upper Hive.
Because the extreme emotions produced by nobles are far greater than those of ordinary people in the Bottom Nest.
As for Khorne, in everyone's eyes, Khorne is more focused on brute force, but for veteran Warhammer fans, Khorne simply dislikes schemes and Chaos sorcery, which doesn't mean the Khorne faction won't use them.
It's still the same principle: if you personally chop off heads and offer them to Khorne, Khorne is naturally very pleased; but if you blood sacrifice the Blood God by tricking people into donating blood, the dog-headed ones won't refuse.
"So is Khorne behind this? According to the clues provided by Alex and Ahriman's investigation, everything points to Khorne," 32 fell into thought, unsure if this was the answer.
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