StarCraft: Tyranid Empire

Chapter 244 Egon Stetman

Although the official website of the local Wildlife Management Bureau states that dangerous large predators and venomous creatures in the area are maintained within "controllable" limits, Augustus and his men still took adequate protective measures.

In the inaccessible Terrador III, ruin hunters and poachers are far more dangerous than wild beasts and poisonous insects.

They spent more than ten minutes walking across a relatively flat mesa, passing through a forest of deciduous trees where a scrapped combine feller was parked, and arrived at a small town composed of masonry buildings.

The layout of this nameless town has an idyllic natural beauty, with scattered colonial huts crisscrossed by paths. The main walls of all houses are made of irregular colored stones and industrial adhesives, embellished with Beautiful pebbles from the nearby river.

Locals use limestone to build their roofs, so these houses with colorful walls and gray roofs have become the iconic landscape of this town that may have long been forgotten by the federal government.

Affected by the local hot and humid weather and the occasional sudden cold weather, the locals also built chimneys and fireplaces. Large exhaust fans and solar panels were installed on the top of the houses. The sound of the rotating fans was as common as the sound of the wind.

The streets of the town are paved with bricks and lined with nurseries fenced by wooden fences by residents. In front of every house are flowers blooming, filled with exotic local angiosperms.

There are approximately 500 to 1,000 residents living in the town. Each of them manages at least dozens of acres of farmland or forestry. At the same time, the quarrying industry is also one of the important economic sources of the local area. Almost all young people have to study. How to hunt and deal with dangerous and unusual local creatures and poisonous plants that are hard to guard against.

Life here is like Kehal IV more than a hundred years ago. The first colonists mainly made a living by planting. Advanced large-scale machinery and the vast land reclaimed brought ample food to the colonists. Generally speaking, the population of a colony will grow rapidly within thirty years, but as far as Augustus knew, the population of this town has remained at around a thousand since records began.

The complex and extremely dangerous natural environment may be the main reason for this problem. Some people have also reported that they never came out after walking into some ancient ruins. But on the other hand, nearby scientific research laboratories are still recruiting a large number of local people to work in the science city they built among the mountains, lakes and seas. As a result, the originally small number of local residents gradually began to rely on the largest scientific research institutions. The relocation of small and medium-sized cities where the station is established.

In these cities, cutting-edge technology from the core world of the Terran Federation has greatly improved the quality of human life. All cities in Terrador III are closer to university towns, and most of their residents regard scientific research as their only job.

In comparison, the residents of Terrador III still live a relatively primitive life. This place is far away from the hustle and bustle, but it has also been derailed from the development process of this world. Generally speaking, this is a paradise for those who are persecuted or who just want a quiet life, but for the local residents, this peaceful but mediocre life may not be a kind of torture.

Often, young people in Terrador III would choose to enter the city to find a way out. If these people have academic talents, then they may get an olive branch extended to them by the scientific research station.

The arrival of Augustus broke the long-standing tranquility of this remote town. The local residents are always wary of such outsiders. At first, some people came forward and asked Augustus to show his Terran Federation citizen ID card, and used an ID card reader to verify Augustus's identity. identity.

The Terrador system is not only a cradle that has given birth to a large amount of life, but also a paradise for pirates, smugglers and wanted criminals. Therefore, the people here are quite repulsive to unknown outsiders.

To this day, human scientists are still unable to explain the strangely strong magnetic field in some areas of the planets in the Terrador system, while others who blame it on the ruins of a lost civilization are accused of being ignorant.

The complex natural environment and the mysterious force field that can greatly disrupt radio signals have made this place a hiding place for those with evil intentions. The Tyran Federation Central Security Bureau also believes that there are hidden places on the inaccessible Terrador III and VIII. There is more than one rebel organization.

In the past, this kind of judgment might have just been based on speculation or defrauding some funds, but now, the biggest enemy of the Tyranid Federation, the Korhal Revolutionary Army, has indeed established large or small forces in these three galaxies in the Terrador system. Small base of operations.

"This is a good place with simple folk customs and cute little animals everywhere." After dismissing the small town police officer who came over for questioning, Renault put away his ID card.

"How can I say, where is the child named Ai Gong? We spent a lot of effort to realize that he is here." Renault said.

"It's too hot, humid and humid here. I want to go home." Hanak dejectedly brushed his wet red comb down, trying to make the hair on his head stand up again.

From the beginning, after arriving in the Terrador system, Augustus only said that his intelligence department had discovered a few talents, and then they ran all the way here.

Everyone knows that the marshal of the Revolutionary Army is eager for talents and appoints people based on their talents. He does not hesitate to visit the talents he values ​​​​and treat virtuous corporals. But that mysterious intelligence department is what others care about most, and the August National Security Council and the Umoyan United Intelligence Agency, our largest intelligence agencies, are also confused.

Augustus would not tell them that he was just doing something like collecting figures. He has been discovering in advance these talents who will shine in the future and making them available to him.

"Go forward, there is no house number here, but if you ask Steitmann, all the residents will know where he is." Augustus asked Reno and Harnack to calm down.

Augustus led his followers through the town to a brick hut at the end. Compared with other houses in the town, this house is much more modest.

"Today is the weekend. He doesn't have to go to school. He should be at home." Augustus walked to the door of the house with two floors and carefully observed the strange numbers, formulas and some simple drawings carved on the door panel, including some parts. And two stick figures, one big and one small.

"Dong dong——" The door is made of wood, with a combination lock but no doorbell.

Augustus didn't get a response at first. He patiently kept knocking on the door for more than ten seconds until people outside could hear the sound of something breaking in the house.

"Who's knocking?" After a while, the door opened from the inside, and a boy with messy, greasy black hair poked his head out of the gap in the door. He seemed to have just woken up, looking bleary-eyed.

"Ah, it's you." Egon Steitmann stared at Augustus' feet wearing field army infantry boots, and then looked up - he was even too short, probably not more than five feet tall. , so much so that he looked like a dwarf in front of the tall Augustus.

Among the Tyranids of this age, he was either malnourished and stunted or had some disease.

"No, it's you." He finally reacted after seeing the people standing behind Augustus.

"who are you?"

Stetman's voice is high-pitched and thin, but considering he's still a kid who hasn't yet reached the age of voice change, that's not surprising.

"I am Augustus Mengsk, Marshal of the Korhal Revolutionary Army." Augustus said with a smile.

"Hello - is this a self-introduction?" Stetman is not very good at talking to people: "I am Egon, Egon Stetman. My dream is to become a member of the Terrador III research field. The most famous scientist. Although you may not believe it, I am indeed a genius...I am still very confident in myself."

"Oh" Augustus smiled: "I know. I also know you are a genius."

"Oh, thank you. That's right, Augustus Mengsk." Stetman was proud of Augustus's approval.

"I had heard of the name. Two merchants who claimed to be from the Sons of Korhal told me that a man named Augustus Mengsk would come to me soon. I spent a long time on the revolution they spoke of. What it is – maybe I don’t really understand it, but it’s not a big deal.”

"What did they tell you? About that part about me." Augustus' voice was quite gentle.

"They say you are the greatest freedom fighter and hero, or the savior and savior of mankind. I say that such a person cannot exist. He is a saint, not an individual." At this time, Stetman noticed that there were many The person was staring at him, and he realized that he had never spoken in front of so many people. The sudden nervousness made him feel short of breath.

"Uh-why-I didn't mean that-of course-" Stetman sadly found that he suddenly stuttered and started gibbering uncontrollably.

"Abba, Abba, Abba, Abba——"

"This is too bad." He said to himself sadly, trying to find every explanation to prove that he was not a loser who always talked and talked when he was nervous and always immersed in his own world when he spoke. A mildly autistic person, but he ate expired canned pickled fish yesterday and was out of sorts today.

"Yes, that's right."

Steitmann didn't realize he had said what was on his mind.

"Don't be nervous, relax kid." Augustus gave Stetman a gentle smile: "I will wait patiently for you to finish."

"Believe in yourself, Agon, you can do it."

"Well, I think I should invite you to come in and sit down. This is an old earth proverb that my father once taught me. It probably means that whoever comes is a guest." Aigon opened the door of his home and invited August They were all waiting for someone to come in.

"Your father?" Augustus did not get this part of the report. In fact, investigations into Steitman point to a sad fact.

"I haven't seen him for a long time. Occasionally I still mention him. I always remind myself that I won't mention him again in the future."

Augustus wanted to stroke the boy's head, but was somewhat hesitant when he reached for the oil on his hair. Steitmann quickly ran into his bedroom, causing Augustus to miss the opportunity.

Guests originally expected Stetman's home to be somewhat messy, but the actual situation was much better than they imagined. There are many electronic components, cables and electronic and electronic integrated boards on several lame tables, including silver wheels of unknown purpose.

"What is he doing?" Renault looked at the parts on the table: "It looks like these things were picked up from somewhere."

"I'm working on some kind of deflection field generator, trying to create a movable plasma shield force field." Stetman took out several packs of cigarettes, tea leaves and dusty glasses from his bedroom. He was clearly pleased that someone was interested in his research—even though that might not be the case.

"So have you succeeded? I remember Rory Swann's engineering team is also studying this thing, but this thing seems to use psychic energy." Augustus said.

"Not yet, maybe I haven't used 'psionic power'. What is that?" Stetman has recovered his confidence from the blow just now, and he speaks to himself so smoothly and without mistakes. And felt lucky: "But I did repair a few discarded toasters and weather forecast robots. This is not an easy task. I only found out after I disabled the boss. You want to know how I solved the voltage problem. Is it a problem?"

"No, thank you." Augustus took a deep breath.

"We have more important things to do now. You should know the purpose of my coming here: we are here to take you away from Terrador III."

"I know about this." Stetman knew that he always spoke without thinking, always saying whatever came to his mind, but he could never change it. Privately, Steitman would blame this on the influence of his missing father.

"When are you leaving? I mean, I'm ready. Marshal Augustus, I think I should call you sir now. The Sons of Korhal said you would let me come directly into the lab," he said.

"That's right," Augustus said, "I will give you far more than you can get on Terrador III."

"How did those two Sons of Korhal merchants convince you?"

"Then they gave me ten bags of rice, each bag weighing fifty-five pounds, sir," Steitman said, "and I wanted to do something for other people."

"Of course, each of them is a very good person." Augustus smiled and said: "If you have packed up, then let's leave quickly."

"I think I have to check to see if I have taken anything?" Stetman walked back to his bedroom on his own: "Can I bring the game console I repaired?"

"Of course." Augustus waved his hand: "I never said you can't do that."

"Eh - uh - little brats, I hate brats the most." Hanak rolled his eyes. He spoke in a very low voice, unlike his usual loud voice. His experiences over the years had given this irritable and rude Shiloh boy some understanding of the ways of the world.

"Why does he talk so much nonsense?"

"You were a brat once," Reno said, choking Harnak.

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