The lowest levels of the Hive City on Planet Ende.
Twenty billion people resided here, enduring a standard of living lower than that of the Dalits in ancient India. Yuki even suspected that life as a Dalit would have been somewhat better than that of these Hive dwellers.
"Back to the bottom again, I see."
Yuno showed a hint of disdain. From the very beginning, she had disliked the people here. While she held little affection for any organic entity, her aversion to these low-level denizens was even more pronounced.
"Yuno, according to the logic of human society, I can't just walk into the Spire or the Mid-Hive. A powerhouse rising from the Underhive is actually a better way to operate."
"If you want to increase the difficulty for yourself—fighting Chaos cultists, Death Cultists, and countless xenos and gangs—I have no objections," Yuno replied.
Yuki nodded. He stepped through the filth of the Underhive. The slums of Ende were not much different from those of Start; hanging corpses were still visible everywhere, displayed as grim symbols of gang authority.
"What do you plan to do?"
"I'm going to start from the Underhive. There's less surveillance here and an abundance of biomass. I can use these resources to upgrade my body and build my own power base. Conquering this planet won't be easy."
Yuno casually touched a nearby corpse, absorbing a finger's worth of blood. "I thought you would struggle more with this. Do you feel no discomfort about conquering this planet? It will lead to many deaths."
"Don't worry about me, Yuno. I'm not that fragile. Besides, I should be on your side now, shouldn't I?"
"Thank you, my love."
Yuki noticed they were being watched. It was expected; a decently dressed person appearing in the Underhive was an anomaly in itself.
"Hey! Young man! You're a fresh face. Where'd you come from?"
"I'm new. I don't know which big shot I should pay my respects to yet."
"Interesting. You've been wandering my turf for two days with your companion. Are you augments? I haven't seen you rest once."
Yuki maintained his politeness. It was a form of respect he believed should be shown to both enemies and friends alike.
A man emerged from the crowd: Raziel. He was the controller of this district, a man who considered himself "charitable"—he was quite happy to give his enemies a full stomach of corpse-starch before executing them. Yuki had heard an anecdote from a black-market dealer while gathering intel: once, a man who offended Raziel was fed thirty pounds of corpse-starch before his execution, literally stuffing himself to death.
Raziel looked at Yuki with curiosity, sizing up his body. "You look like you came from the Upper Hive."
"You're not the first to say that, Mr. Raziel. I'm looking to start a grand venture here."
"A grand venture? You really aren't from the Underhive. People down here don't have the luxury for such thoughts."
Yuno notified Yuki via their psychic link: There are over two hundred people nearby, all armed. Mostly small-caliber stubbers? They have explosives and plenty of blades.
Yuki asked Raziel, "Raziel, how do you think I should go about starting this venture?"
"First, you have to survive. For now, that doesn't seem to be an issue. Then, you need to find a suitable patron—someone like me. You crawl through the dirt and risk your life; if you can still breathe after all that, you might earn some status. But climbing higher than that? That's where it gets difficult."
"That takes too long."
"Only labor gives value to our lives," Raziel said, sounding remarkably like a populist entrepreneur.
"In that case, let me give it a try. Do you need more hands?"
"That depends on your own skill. Some places are too chaotic for any gang to manage—for instance, that abandoned factory over there. You could try your luck."
"You're giving it to me?"
"If you have the strength to take it."
After Yuki and Yuno left, Raziel remained silent for a moment. He looked at a subordinate nearby, who was too terrified to meet his gaze. Suddenly, Raziel knocked the man down with a punch and began stomping on his chest frantically.
"What the hell am I paying you for? Those two just walked in here like they owned the place!"
This was the core of his gang's territory; strangers were never supposed to get this close.
"And they came right up to me! He acted like he was just passing through, but that woman kept staring at me! Dammit, were those even human eyes?"
The two had infiltrated deep into his territory without a single report from the scouts he had posted at every entrance. What was their deal? Were they assassins trained by the Spire nobles? Physically, there were no signs of cybernetic enhancement, so they likely weren't from the Adeptus Mechanicus.
He took a deep breath of hallucinogenic dust—the finest indulgence in the Underhive. As his mind began to drift aimlessly, he decided to test them.
"Ade, that place is just a slum, technically my territory. See what he does. Give him some trouble, but don't use my name."
His brain felt empty. Before falling into a stupor, he suddenly pointed at the corpse on the ground. "Send him to take the fall. Didn't one of our distribution points get raided recently?"
...
With "permission" from Raziel, Yuki led Yuno to the abandoned factory. It had once been a small corpse-starch processing plant with a large basement and warehouse—perfect for their base of operations.
"How many days does that guy have left?"
"I'll kill him once I've settled in here."
Yuki felt no moral burden. Raziel was a monster, and in the world of Warhammer, "good people" were a rare breed. Those who tried to be saints usually ended up on the Golden Throne.
Since Yuno had promised him a brand-new, customizable fleet, Yuki had to do his part for the Swarm. In truth, he was already a Tyranid himself.
Yuki stepped into the factory. It contained over a dozen shacks. The stench of waste made Yuno shut down her olfactory senses. Sensing strangers, the residents peeked out. Seeing Yuki and assuming he was a powerful figure, they immediately knelt.
"Well, Raziel told me there's no overseer here. I'm taking over. I might need some help—are you willing to work?"
The residents' gazes instantly turned suspicious and guarded.
"I suggest you don't try anything. I can offer you better treatment. Say... twelve hours of work? And enough corpse-starch to fill you. How about it?"
"Conditions that good must be a lie! Remember the kids who were tricked away years ago? There are only two of them! Let's get them together!"
Yuno laughed. Yuki only felt embarrassed.