I am the Emperor of Humanity across the Multiverse

The teenage boys, ranging in height from 180 cm to 190 cm, were impressively muscular. Even though they wore loose green camouflage uniforms, their powerful physiques were unmistakable, each sporting a standard buzz-cut hairstyle.

Among them, the tallest and most muscular, gazed calmly at the base of the giant tree. Through his mask's display, showing live activity data and the date "06/06/2001," it was easy to recognize the boy as Garan Clovis, a middle school student from the Doom (movie) universe.

Despite being just a middle school student, Garan and his peers boasted physiques stronger than most adults, thanks to the genetic seed implants they received four months ago, originating from Leon. 

A week after the surgery, Garan had safely passed the observation period. Two months later, he had grown over 10 cm in height and gained 30 kilograms in weight. 

The genetic seed gradually and steadily enhanced every aspect of Garan's body. By this point, his physical capabilities were on par with the company's elite Inquisitorial soldiers who had received serum enhancements, and in some aspects, such as speed and endurance, he even surpassed them.

However, Garan's once-brown eyes had turned dark green, and his facial features subtly began to resemble Leon's due to the influence of the genetic seed.

Garan and his companions were currently in the dense rainforests of Pandora, a planet from the Avatar universe. 

On May 20th, half a month ago, Leon issued an order to the first batch of over 7,000 genetic seed candidates: "Complete three weeks of survival training in Pandora's wilderness."

Upon selection, the candidates immediately underwent the genetic seed implant procedure, and after the observation period, they were subjected to intense military training.

Thus, Garan and his fellow candidates were well-versed in the theory of wilderness survival.

But Pandora…

In middle school history textbooks, there was a brief mention of how the company opened the second space gate in 1994, connecting the main universe to Pandora, an Earth-like planet.

The textbook also covered the conflicts between the human traitor Jake Sully, the Na'vi, and the Zeroth Humanity.

However, even in elementary school, Garan and his peers had learned about Pandora's dangers through the internet—ferocious beasts that could withstand 7.62 or .50 caliber bullets and enormous carnivorous plants that feasted on these beasts.

Due to their young age and the strict regulations surrounding space gate travel, Garan and his friends could only learn about this mysterious exoplanet through news reports.

Now, they found themselves in the depths of this hostile jungle, preparing to ambush their "dinner."

Thud, thud.

Soon, a hammerhead titanothere appeared in their sights. This herbivorous creature, about 12 meters long and 6 meters tall, resembled a dinosaur from Earth.

"Roaaar!"

The titanothere, with its large "T"-shaped bone structure on its head, seemed to be lost and isolated, crying out helplessly as if trying to reunite with its herd.

Unfortunately for it, no similar calls answered. Instead, its loud cries disrupted the balance of the area.

Insects stopped chirping, bioluminescent poisonous flowers retracted their petals, plunging the area into sudden darkness and silence. Only the faint starlight reflected off the gas giant in the sky filtered through the dense branches, casting dim light on the damp soil and the hammerhead titanothere.

"Roaaar!"

Noticing the change in its surroundings, fear flashed in the creature's four eyes. 

As a native of Pandora, it instinctively knew the dangers lurking in the rainforest at night.

Looking around nervously, it quickly turned its massive body and began running on its six thick legs, attempting to flee.

But before the titanothere could put its escape plan into action, Garan and his group leaped down, launching their dinner hunt.

Two of Garan's companions slammed into the titanothere's back like battering rams.

"Rooaaar!"

The sudden pain caused the creature to bellow in agony. Although the impact wasn't enough to break its spine, it staggered, its six legs trembling.

Meanwhile, Garan and three other boys had already landed on either side of the titanothere.

Buzz—buzz—!

They brandished short swords about half a meter in length, emitting a sharp, piercing sound as they slashed into the titanothere's soft skin, which wasn't protected by its thick outer exoskeleton.

Squelch—!

Tearing flesh and cracking bone, the vibrating blades easily pierced the beast's body.

But Garan and the others didn't stop there. Instead, they accelerated their attacks, quickly severing the tendons in its legs and cutting its vocal cords, ensuring it couldn't move or make any more noise.

Thud.

In just a few seconds, the giant beast collapsed, struggling helplessly on the ground. Its blood splattered onto Garan and his companions' uniforms and masks.

Despite the gruesome scene, their expressions remained calm. They had clearly grown accustomed to death and killing.

Survival of the fittest is a universal law, whether in any jungle or any universe.

The moment Leon threw them into Pandora's jungle, he had made it clear: do whatever it takes to survive.

If any of them were unfortunate enough to die, it would signify failure and unworthiness to become true Astartes.

So, facing Pandora's man-eating rainforest, Garan and the others had gradually shifted from reluctance to kill to viewing it as a routine part of survival.

After all, they needed food, calories, and protein. With no logistical supplies, they had no choice but to follow the "edible creatures" list and hunt to survive.

Step, step.

Garan leaped onto the titanothere's head.

Seeing the fear in its eyes, he gripped his vibrating short sword with both hands and plunged it through the skull, destroying its brain and ending its misery.

The vibrating short sword they used was a special melee weapon designed by the research department for the company's warrior units, such as the Wolfkin and Nightstalkers, capable of penetrating heavy armor. Naturally, it had become the standard weapon for genetic seed candidates as well.

Next.

They skillfully skinned and butchered the beast, building a campfire and roasting the meat. Soon, the fragrant aroma of roasted meat filled the area.

After assigning two companions to keep watch, Garan and the others quietly removed their masks and tore into the crispy, tender meat, chewing and swallowing it quickly.

Within two minutes, they had finished eating and rotated with the two on watch.

However, as Garan put his mask back on, he received a new order from the base:

"All candidates, hold your current positions. Company air transports will soon arrive at your locations to bring you back to base. Prepare to join the fleet and head to Zeroth Earth for the upcoming consolidation operation."

Consolidation operation?

They were just thirteen- or fourteen-year-old kids, and they were already about to participate in a large-scale military action?

Then again, considering they had been thrown into the jungle by their primarch to survive on their own and had killed countless fierce beasts with their own hands, maybe it wasn't so surprising.

"Hurry up and finish eating. The company will be picking us up soon," Garan reminded his teammates.

?

The two boys paused briefly, then quickened their already fast pace to finish eating.

Once they had donned their filtration masks, a twin-rotor assault aircraft, roughly the same size as the hammerhead titanothere, sliced through the branches blocking its path and landed not far from the group of "kids."

As soon as the UNSC Falcon transport had landed, two armed security personnel disembarked from the doorless cabin, keeping a vigilant eye on the surroundings.

One of them waved and shouted, "Crouch! Crouch! Get ready to board!"

Following the guard's instructions, Garan and the others crouched low and moved toward the aircraft, taking seats on either side of the cabin.

Once everyone was aboard, the guards retreated to their stations, manning the mounted guns.

The security guard who had called out to them patted the edge of the cockpit, signaling the pilot to take off.

The Falcon lifted off, carrying them out of the rainforest and flying northward toward the military base under the starlight reflected from the gas giant above.

"Hey, guys,"

At that moment, one of the other candidates, Ceres Muir, spoke over the comms:

"Do you think we'll be heading straight to the fleet after we get back to base?"

"Most likely."

"Damn, I've never been to space before," Ceres sighed.

"What, are you scared?"

"Not really. It's just strange to think that just half a year ago, we were all just students, and now we're becoming the space marines you see in the company's comics. Heh," Ceres chuckled.

"."

Garan remained silent, not joining the conversation.

But as he looked out at the beautiful Pandora rainforest and the massive moon overhead, he couldn't help feeling reflective as well.

When he and his grandfather had been imprisoned in Minova, his grandfather was the first to rebel against the UAC's corrupt soldiers, but he was also severely injured, barely clinging to life.

If Leon hadn't found his critically wounded grandfather and brought them to Mr. Samuel, who used supernatural methods to heal him, the outcome would have been...

Garan shook his head, banishing those painful memories.

So, when Atlas announced the details of the genetic seed candidate selection on its website, Garan's grandfather had

 fully supported his decision to become an Astartes.

Thus, he had passed the physical tests, undergone the observation period and military training after the surgery, and now sat in the Falcon, gazing out at the alien night sky.

Listening to his companions' discussions, Garan felt as if he were living in a different world altogether.

It didn't take long for the Falcon to cross the rainforest and approach the military base's outer perimeter.

Tall walls and electric fences protected the base from wild beasts, and every 100 meters, 30mm twin Gauss cannons stood ready to eliminate any intruders.

Looking toward the center of the base—

There was an enormous industrial city that could only be described as "massive."

A large shipyard occupied the eastern side, while the southern 3D printing factories constantly supplied parts to the shipyard. To the west were the airport, barracks, and other military buildings, while the eastern side housed residential areas, entertainment facilities, and schools for employees and their families.

After nearly a decade of development, the base's population had surpassed one million and currently stood at around 2.4 million.

Beyond its initial military function, this base had become an "extraterrestrial colony" carved out by Atlas.

After all, newborns on Pandora made up 1/20 of the population, and many employees and their families planned to stay long-term, avoiding prolonged separations from loved ones while continuing their work.

Moreover, the company offered financial subsidies for new births, indirectly encouraging a "more children, more prosperity" policy.

Before long, the Falcon landed on the airport tarmac.

Once the security guards gave a thumbs-up signal indicating they could disembark, Garan and his group unlocked their seatbelts and prepared to return to the barracks to pack their belongings before heading to the designated meeting point.

As they made their way, they noticed more and more Falcons arriving, dropping off other groups of candidates at the airport.

While Garan and the others were genetic seed candidates under Leon's command, their implants didn't solely belong to Leon.

The 7,000+ candidates were divided into seven "Cadet Corps."

Each Corps was assigned to a different genetic seed, belonging to a specific primarch.

Garan, Ceres, and their group belonged to Leon's personally named "Dark Angels" Cadet Corps.

The other six were:

Guilliman's "Ultramarines," 

Sanguinius's "Blood Angels," 

Horus's "Lunar Wolves," 

Magnus's "Thousand Sons," 

Dorn's "Imperial Fists," 

and Vulkan's "Salamanders."

Together, these seven Cadet Corps formed the company's first batch of mass-producible super soldiers. However, these 7,000 candidates, or "cadets," still needed four to five years of growth and the final transformation surgeries to become full-fledged Astartes.

Due to age restrictions and company regulations, the biological division hadn't yet produced enough genetic seeds for Fulgrim, Leman, Angron, or the infant Corax and Mortarion.

As Garan and the others returned to their dormitories and packed their belongings, several Atlas ships floated in low orbit above the base.

Various transport ships ferried supplies and personnel between the ships and the base.

The fleet, consisting of 16 ships, included 12 familiar Fides-class frigates and three Paris-class heavy frigates, one of the most common and fastest ships in the UNSC.

Serving as the fleet's flagship was an Epoch-class super-heavy cruiser over 1,100 meters long, capable of carrying 20,000 people along with numerous ground and air vehicles.

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