Inside a small villa, adorned with a touch of ancient Terra Baroque style, yet exuding the unique simplicity and practicality characteristic of a colonial outpost.
Fu Qinghai, dressed in simple clothes, sat on a reddish-brown classical sofa, while a servant poured him a cup of black tea.
“So, Little Locke, you’ve come to see me about that spaceship too, haven’t you?” Sitting opposite Fu Qinghai, Calvin was a brown-haired middle-aged man in a loose Imperial official uniform.
His stubbled face was etched with fatigue, and he leaned listlessly on the sofa, legs crossed, scrutinizing Fu Qinghai.
“Yes, the deaths of Sidrick and his group have spread throughout the outpost, and I presume you, sir, are aware of it,” Fu Qinghai looked directly at Calvin.
“I want to know, sir Calvin, what exactly is inside that spaceship?”
“What’s in there…” Calvin took a swig from a wine bottle, “I don’t know how to describe it… Little Locke, have you ever witnessed a battle between angels?”
Calvin stared intently at the coffee table in front of him, his gaze unfocused, his face contorted in an expression that was a mix of fear and helplessness.
“Those angels you look up to, those demigods walking among men, the Human Empire’s indestructible guardians, could they also fall and betray? Would they also have a day of infighting? By the Throne above, I have never witnessed such… such…”
Then, he gave a self-mocking laugh, “Heh heh, well, what am I telling you, a child who grew up in the slums, all this for?”
“There are people alive in there, aren’t there?” Fu Qinghai ignored Calvin’s rambling and asked directly.
“Yes, you’re right, there are people alive.” Calvin grabbed the wine bottle and took another deep gulp, as if only alcohol could soothe his shaken worldview.
“I’ve thought it over. When everything is over, someone will come to the outpost. We just have to wait. Whoever it is, they will rule this outpost, or perhaps destroy it, who knows.”
Calvin waved his hand wearily, saying, “That’s not something you need to worry about, Little Locke.
This is probably your first time feeling the direct light from a star since you came to Cheslatan. Enjoy it, keep eating the outpost’s free rations, and stay away from that spaceship.”
“This is my final advice to you.”
Calvin was right. Locke, who had lived in the Lower Hive, had always experienced artificial lighting from the Hive’s electricians’ guild and had never known what it felt like to be bathed in starlight.
“Sidrick… what a bunch of reckless Lower Hive maggots…” Calvin, seemingly a bit muddled from drinking, muttered softly.
“Alright, sir, I’ll take my leave.” Having obtained the information he sought, Fu Qinghai said no more, politely stood up, and departed.
Outside the villa, Fei Yi leaned against a jet bike, waiting for Fu Qinghai, her long, straight legs strikingly prominent.
Seeing Fu Qinghai emerge, she quickly asked, “How was it, A Luo? What did Calvin say? Did he tell you anything?”
“He didn’t say,” Fu Qinghai replied with a serious expression, mounting the bike, “But he might as well have.”
… … … …
The dim yellow light cast long, dark shadows of the room’s furnishings onto the earthen-yellow concrete walls.
This was Fei Yi’s home, a house much larger than Fu Qinghai’s single room, with three bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom.
After Fei Yi’s parents died of illness, they left a small inheritance for the little girl.
This included the house with a small second-floor attic, a Li Want Cyclone-V mini jet bike, some furniture and home appliances, a pile of sampling and analysis equipment, and a stack of alien plant data.
She was not poor, far better off than Fu Qinghai, a pure proletarian, as even that single room was not Fu Qinghai’s private property, but merely provided by the colonial outpost for his residence.
The colonial outpost’s nights were dry and cool.
In the kitchen, Fei Yi, wearing one of her mother’s grey linen sundresses, was meticulously slicing a plate of Cheslatan alien fruit, like a dutiful young wife.
The dress hung a bit loosely on her slender shoulders, her budding chest creating a slight outline beneath the dress, and a glimpse of milky white skin beneath her graceful arms added a touch of allure to the quiet room.
Fu Qinghai had no mind to appreciate this scene.
He leaned back against the sofa, sitting cross-legged and barefoot on the living room carpet, frowning in thought, weighing the pros and cons.
One thing he could almost certainly confirm was that the crashed spaceship was not only a warship, but it also carried Astartes!
Calvin was an administrative official from the Departmento Munitorum who had followed the expeditionary fleet, not some naive Hive City commoner.
Lazor could call anything he couldn’t understand “demons,” but what Calvin could call “angels” could only be one type of being—
Space Marines.
These humanoid biological weapons, developed by the Emperor based on the twenty Gene-Seed Fathers, also known as Astartes monks, were massive in stature, infinitely powerful, fought fearlessly, possessed exquisite killing skills, and had extremely formidable combat power.
They were the Emperor’s reliance for unifying Terra and further launching the Great Crusade to reclaim the ancient human colonies across the Galactic.
They were also the true protagonists of the Warhammer 40K Universe.
Over the past millennium, the Great Crusade was the main theme of the Human Empire and indeed the entire Galactic.
The Human Empire’s supreme leader, the Emperor, led his hand-crafted Space Marine Legions from Holy Terra, utilizing Warp navigation technology, steadfastly advancing towards the former human colonies lost during the Dark Age in the Galactic.
He simultaneously reclaimed these planets that once belonged to the Solar System’s human rule and sought out the Gene-Seed Fathers scattered throughout the Galactic by Warp powers, integrating them into the Space Marine Legions forged in the image of their respective genes.
And now, if the timer at the colonial outpost hadn’t been scrambled by a warp storm, Fu Qinghai was in the era of the Horus Heresy.
The Emperor had accomplished most of the Great Crusade’s objectives, elevating his closest Gene-Seed Father, Horus Lupercal, to “Warmaster,” to command all other Space Marine Legions and expeditionary fleets to continue the Great Crusade.
Then he returned to Terra, retreating into the Terra Palace’s basement to work on his secret project.
In a series of subsequent events, Warmaster Horus, gradually corrupted by the Warp Evil Gods, eventually launched a rebellion against the Emperor, plunging the entire Galactic into fire and chaos.
Loyalty and defection, rebellion and suppression of rebellion, were the themes of this era.
Fu Qinghai, whether actively or passively, would be drawn into this human catastrophe and could not remain aloof—the crash of a warship carrying Space Marines on Cheslatan was clear proof.
It proved that this war, where humans were fighting each other to the death, had even reached Cheslatan, an obscure and remote colonial planet.
“A Luo, come eat.” Fei Yi placed a plate of oddly shaped, purplish-red sliced fruit on the coffee table in front of Fu Qinghai, then sat on the carpet with her legs together, just like Fu Qinghai.
Fu Qinghai picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. It tasted a bit like passion fruit from his previous life on Earth, with a faint, strange fishy aftertaste.
Fu Qinghai suspected that Fei Yi might have cut up some alien plants that her parents had cultivated for research and given them to him to eat.
“I know what’s on that spaceship, Fei Yi,” Fu Qinghai said calmly.
“What is it?” Fei Yi leaned next to Fu Qinghai, eating her fruit in small bites, seemingly unconcerned about the question.
“Space Marines. Do you know about Space Marines?”
“Of course, I heard about them before I came here! The legendary invincible warriors, the Emperor’s super-soldiers, the Human Empire’s guardians.” Fei Yi rattled off a string of adjectives, then looked at Fu Qinghai strangely.
“Don’t treat me like some naive country girl, okay? You’re the Lower Hive kid.”
Space Marines were a household name within the Human Empire.
They were both the Emperor’s reliance for unifying Terra and the main force of the Great Crusade.
Although they were well-known, apart from the Auxilia who fought alongside Space Marines, not many ordinary people had actually seen Space Marines in person.
Most ordinary Imperial citizens’ impressions of Space Marines remained in legend.
After all, given the Human Empire’s massive population base and standing army, the number of Space Marines was not large; they were the elite of the elite.
Fu Qinghai ignored Fei Yi’s complaint and continued, “I suspect the Space Marines on that spaceship are fighting each other.”
“Oh?” Fei Yi finally showed interest. “Why would they fight each other? Did Calvin tell you that?”
“Calvin didn’t say anything; I inferred it from his words,” Fu Qinghai pursed his lips and said, “Calvin is in a very bad mood right now; he’s very pessimistic.
He probably has never seen two teams of Space Marines fighting to the death before, and this incident has greatly impacted him.
He hasn’t received any information from Terra or the expeditionary fleet for a long time, so he can’t make a judgment.
He’s decided to entrust the fate of the colonial outpost to the victor of the battle.”
“No matter who the victor is.”
“Then how did you deduce that, A Luo?” Fei Yi turned and took Fu Qinghai’s arm, her clear blue eyes fixed on him.
For some reason, even though the most informed colonial governor couldn’t make a decision, Fei Yi simply trusted Fu Qinghai, this poor boy from the Lower Hive, with an inexplicable trust.
“I don’t know either,” Fu Qinghai took a deep breath, “but I’ve decided to go to the spaceship’s crash site and see.”
“Ah? Don’t go! Why would you go? Didn’t you see what happened to Sidrick and his group?” Fei Yi became anxious upon hearing this, and as she spoke, she reached out to feel Fu Qinghai’s forehead.
Fu Qinghai pushed Fei Yi’s hand away and said, “I know, but I still have to go. I need to figure out what happened. I can’t leave my fate to others, sitting at home praying and leaving it to chance.”
The superstitious religious texts like the Emperor’s Holy Word, which were already secretly circulating within the expeditionary fleet, seemed not to have reached this remote colonial outpost yet.
So even if Fu Qinghai truly wanted to pray now, he wouldn’t find the tools or the object.
“But… but I promised Mom and Dad I’d protect you!” Fei Yi was truly anxious, and a glimmer of tears flickered in her large eyes.
It’s not certain who’s protecting whom… Fu Qinghai was speechless. He also took Fei Yi’s small hand and said, “I also promised your parents I’d protect you, and that’s not a contradiction.
The Galactic is cruel, Fei Yi. If I don’t find a way to pursue greater power, what will I use to protect myself and protect you? By you standing in front of me again and again?”
Faced with Fu Qinghai’s question, Fei Yi was speechless.
She wasn’t a delicate little princess raised in a greenhouse; even living in the middle levels of the Li Want Hive City, she still knew the cruelty of this universe.
They couldn’t live a carefree life in this small colonial outpost forever.
“What’s more, small-scale battles shouldn’t last this long; a victor should have been decided by now.
Why haven’t people from the colonial outpost arrived yet? Something else might have happened on the spaceship,” Fu Qinghai analyzed.
“I can’t conclude exactly what kind of change it is, but we can go and see,” Fu Qinghai turned to Fei Yi, his gaze firm.
… … … …
The next morning, before the sun had risen, in the faint light of dawn, the entire colonial outpost was enveloped in a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.
Fu Qinghai and Fei Yi had already packed their bags and set off.
The natural scenery of Cheslatan’s main continent somewhat resembled the American West in his previous life.
The jet bike sped across the desolate Gobi Desert, leaving a long trail of dust behind.
Occasionally, earthen-yellow weathered boulders and clumps of thorny bushes provided a sparse embellishment to the barren landscape.
Fu Qinghai sat in the back of the jet bike, holding Fei Yi’s slender waist tightly to prevent being thrown off by the bumpy ride.
The morning sun was not yet scorching, and both their heads and faces were wrapped in scarves, like desert nomads from his previous life, with only their eyes visible.
Fei Yi, who was driving, also wore a pair of brown wind goggles, looking very capable.
How to describe Fu Qinghai’s current appearance… Lawrence of Arabia.
A long pole-like object hung on the side of the bike; it was an electric stun spear, used by Fei Yi’s parents for exploring the wilderness, and currently their only weapon.
Sitting in the back seat, Fu Qinghai sometimes couldn’t help but think: this second life given by the Reincarnation World is really good.
Not only does he have a beautiful appearance, but he also starts with a beautiful childhood sweetheart companion and a rare gentle beginner village like the Cheslatan colonial outpost in the Warhammer 40K Universe.
Yet he still has to risk his life, practically disregarding the Reincarnation World’s good intentions.
This silver-grey Li Want Cyclone-V jet bike, manufactured in the Li Want Hive World, was already somewhat old, but it was still sturdy and durable.
Only the engine noise was a bit loud, and the vibrations were noticeable.
The original design’s maximum altitude was 3 meters, but Cheslatan’s gravity was a bit stronger than Li Want’s.
To conserve promethium fuel, the two only flew at a height of 1 meter above the ground, essentially flying close to the surface.
This was also why Fei Yi was driving the jet bike.
After all, a flying height of one meter still required dodging various ground obstacles, and the motorcycle was fast.
Fei Yi was also more familiar with this motorcycle, and Fu Qinghai hadn’t gotten a motorcycle license in his previous life…
Anyway, it wasn’t because Fu Qinghai chickened out and didn’t dare to drive.
The midday sun began to warm the Gobi, and Fu Qinghai and Fei Yi found a shady spot behind a large boulder to eat lunch, then got back on the bike and continued their journey.
From the colonial outpost to the spaceship crash site, even at the jet bike’s speed, it would take a day and a half to reach.
Provided they were going in the right direction.
There was no satellite navigation on the colonial planet. Relying on the outpost residents’ impressions and a compass, Fu Qinghai and Fei Yi corrected their direction several times, gradually approaching the spaceship crash site.
Along the way, they saw some scattered man-made objects on the ground, which should be parts from the spaceship.
As dusk approached and the spaceship was still far off, the two found a cave, a crevice between two large boulders, and decided to spend the night there.
Lighting an Ironhide promethium lamp, Fu Qinghai and Fei Yi spread out blankets on the ground, and without further talk, they slept in their clothes.