The desolate surface of the Death World gradually fell behind as Osiris' escort frigate smoothly reached orbit and landed on the expanded landing pad of the wasteland workshop.
After this period of construction, the external appearance of the ancient ruins had completely transformed into a sturdy outpost, conforming to the tenets of the Omnissiah.
The original natural rock walls were extensively cut and leveled, then covered with thick adamantium composite armor plates, secured by massive rivets, and etched with continuous binary prayers and cogwheel holy symbols.
These defensive walls formed nascent, protruding bastions at key points, their firing slits hinting at the deep muzzles of heavy bolter arrays or melta cannons.
Four auto-turrets, modified to standard templates, stood like steel altars on the high ground.
Their bases were rigidly connected to the earth, and multi-spectral sensor arrays slowly rotated, scanning the wasteland, the Adeptus Mechanicus cogwheel insignia branded on their barrels still clear in the wind and sand.
Any unidentified life signal entering their destructive range would be met with a precisely calculated barrage of crossfire.
Inside the hideout, passages were widened to sacred standards, large enough for small combat vehicles or Dreadnoughts to pass through.
Arched ceilings were supported by intersecting metal trusses, from which hung servo-skulls with censer censers, their low binary chants mingling with the deep hum of the ventilation system.
The walls were completely covered; one side featured heavy energy conduits embedded in the wall, an ominous dark red glow emanating from beneath their protective grilles; the other side was a dense bundle of data cables, neatly secured in metal channels, their indicator lights blinking like stars.
Skitarii Corps soldiers in dark red robes patrolled the passages with perfect synchronicity.
Their footsteps echoed a unified rhythm on the metal floor, and the cold light from their optical lenses swept the surroundings from beneath the shadows of their hoods.
Reinforced bionic arms gripped standard-issue lasrifles or plasma weapons, their bodies also inscribed with prayers.
The air was a mixture of incense, ozone, and metal lubricant, the entire space permeated with the austere atmosphere unique to an Adeptus Mechanicus outpost, blending absolute rationality with mysticism.
Osiris' upgraded, more formidable and heavy dark red body moved through the passage, his slightly forward-leaning posture conveying the sense of carrying a furnace-like weight, and the power joints emitted subtle yet clear hydraulic sounds under load.
His crimson optical lenses swept over these construction achievements, not lingering.
The completion of these defensive works and infrastructure met expectations and was a testament to Sekhmet's execution, but it was not the core focus of his trip.
Behind him followed the "new products" brought back from Neksum.
They uniformly wore simple red apprentice robes, their heights and builds varying slightly due to differences in their base templates, but their eyes all held a nascent blankness and docility, the standard result of large-scale genetic modulation and basic memory implantation.
During the journey back from Neksum to the Death World, Osiris had utilized the ship's time to conduct initial training and basic memory implantation for them.
They now possessed the most fundamental knowledge and operational procedures within the Adeptus Mechanicus system, theoretically meeting the entry standards for apprentices.
Although they still appeared naive, their movements carried a hint of programmatic stiffness, and their eyes held a mixture of awe for the unfamiliar environment and confusion about their own purpose. Under normal procedures, they should have received longer systematic training and practical observation before officially assuming duties, but Osiris did not have that much time to waste.
For an Exploration Archmagos, training methods could be highly efficient.
He casually modulated a servo-skull, interfaced its database with a rigorous set of basic training protocols, and designated it as the temporary instructor and supervisor for this batch of newcomers.
Thus, upon arriving at the hideout, these freshly minted human resources were directly "thrown" into the area of the ruins that had been converted into a laboratory.
Under the supervision of the hovering servo-skull, whose lower jawbone constantly opened and closed, emitting low binary prompts, they would, like a driven flock, begin to familiarize themselves with the environment, perform the most basic equipment maintenance and data organization work, and simultaneously receive a cram-style, unquestionable further training.
Efficiency was the only rule demanded of them.
Osiris himself did not delay in the slightest, not even casting a second glance at the apprentices.
He went directly to the main teleportation chamber, located in the deepest part of the ruins and heavily guarded by a squad of fully armed Skitarii Corpss.
The upgraded energy core emitted a more stable and powerful pulse, and the dimensional teleporter's light steadily glowed under precisely adjusted parameter control.
A rift tore open in the spatial fabric, and that familiar, precisely controlled tearing sensation enveloped his heavy mechanical body.
Moments later, the unique scent of the workshop—a mixture of engine oil, coolant, and ozone—replaced the dust and holy oil aroma of the Death World.
He was back, back in the Cyberpunk World, the wasteland workshop.
_________
While Osiris was busy with his promotion to Archmagos, negotiating transactions, and planning warships in the Warhammer Universe, time also quietly passed in the Cyberpunk World.
The calendar turned from 2075 to 2076; Night City was still that neon-lit, perilous mega-nest, and on the surface, nothing city-shaking seemed to have happened.
However, for Maine's crew, entrenched in The Dump HQ, this period was far from unchanging; two new faces had joined the team.
First was a female netrunner named Lucy.
This white-haired girl, new to Night City and without support, had to make a living on the underground subway lines to survive in the city.
Using her impressive hacking skills, she quietly stole spare change from passengers' chip accounts.
During one such operation, her aloof demeanor, out of place with her surroundings, and her somewhat unpolished yet effective methods were noticed by Rebecca, who was also on the subway, heading to a "job."
Rebecca herself had come up from the streets and was all too familiar with this struggle for survival.
Seeing Lucy, looking like a cat drenched in rain, wary yet unable to hide her distress, a feeling akin to finding a stray animal in a junkyard arose.
Without much thought, she walked straight up to Lucy, not questioning or threatening, but rather with a somewhat forceful "invitation," pulling Lucy out of that dangerous and dead-end profession, almost forcibly "picking up" the silent girl and bringing her back to The Dump HQ.
After Maine and Dorio's subsequent cautious probing and evaluation, they determined that although Lucy was quiet, had a slight european accent, and her background was a mystery, her hacking skills were at least excellent, and her personality, once familiar, was not unpleasant.
More importantly, after Sasha and Kiwi were modified by the boss and their cyber warfare capabilities had already surpassed conventional netrunner realms, gradually shifting their focus to higher-level confrontations, the team indeed needed a skilled hand to stably handle routine network affairs.
Thus, Lucy naturally stayed and became a member of the team.