However, such a test also reminded Li Ang that while the knowledge in his mind was theoretically protected until he personally created it, once he did, the concept of that item could then spread normally within the Warhammer Universe.
This result forced Li Ang to use his golden finger more cautiously: he kept his human brain, ensuring that the knowledge stored in his head would not be 'assimilated' and disappear due to modifications; for weapons and equipment he had personally created, he strictly controlled the circulation of manufacturing knowledge, at most leaving behind production lines whose principles were difficult to reverse-engineer; finally, he also had to carefully 'research' blueprints, avoiding the direct replication of some subversive designs into the Warhammer world.
Although this last point could be temporarily ignored, as he hadn't yet acquired enough knowledge to replicate those blueprints that could truly change the Warhammer Universe's pattern—but looking at designs like Warp drives or stargates, how could he not set principles for himself early to prepare for the future?
Knowledge should be spread, and truth should be proclaimed, as his past life's experiences had told Li Ang. But today was different from the past; although Li Ang's reasons for hoarding knowledge differed from those Tech-priests who wanted to monopolize knowledge to climb the ranks within the Adeptus Mechanicus, the outcome was ultimately the same.
In a universe like a cesspit, no matter your initial intentions, this world would eventually turn everyone into the same. Even if Li Ang harbored the ideal of changing this universe, everything's foundation was to first gather knowledge within Warhammer as a basis.
Thus, his actions were no different from ordinary Tech-priests. And as the designated method for 'technological advancement' within Warhammer, Li Ang naturally became infected with the two major hobbies of Tech-priests—stealing and grave robbing.
Leveraging his understanding of the Warhammer Universe and the unique era, Li Ang secretly plundered many ruins and successfully escaped during a time when Chaos was dormant, the Necrons were still sleeping, and the Aeldari were not active.
But as the saying goes, if you walk by the river often, you're bound to get your shoes wet. During an exploration, Li Ang unexpectedly learned of Fabius Bile's hiding place, and a greed for the precious experimental materials and forbidden biological knowledge in the old 'Chinese doctor's' hands arose.
Knowing this history, he was aware that it was a critical period for Abaddon to consolidate his forces, suppress various Chaos Warlords, and prepare for the Second Black Crusade. Li Ang believed that if he snatched it and ran, he could successfully escape before the old 'Chinese doctor' called for aid and Abaddon arrived.
Who would have thought that Abaddon, fresh from continuous campaigns, would see him and his mechanical Craftworld as a juicy morsel delivered to his mouth and personally lead the pursuit of Li Ang?
His previously infallible past-life intelligence network had instead become a burden, dragging Li Ang down. Now, with his mechanical Craftworld destroyed, Li Ang, struggling to navigate the Warp currents in an escape pod, was also reflecting on his actions.
"It's not entirely bad news," he concluded to himself. "My actions can influence the decisions of key figures, causing them to make choices not originally in the plot due to my involvement. This indicates that some developments are not predetermined, and this universe can indeed be changed by me."
Fate is an elusive thing. Legend says that Tzeentch had already decreed everyone's end in his Book of Fate. Li Ang, who had only been dabbling before, now personally verified that this statement was false, a fact that undoubtedly invigorated the fate-skeptic Li Ang. But before influencing the fate of others, he had to first grasp his own and survive the tumultuous waves of the Warp currents.
The terrifying, shifting faces of demons surged upon the precarious membrane of the Gellar Field. Realizing that the Gellar Field was about to fail to maintain the veil between reality and the Warp due to lack of energy, Li Ang reluctantly pulled cables from his body, injecting his stored energy into the Gellar Field.
He was an Untouchables; demons would not be interested in him. But this was the demons' home turf. If the Gellar Field collapsed, Li Ang felt sure these demons would not mind tearing both him and his ship to shreds.
Miniaturized Warp drives and Gellar Fields sounded like miracles in technological history. Such 'miracles,' of course, like energy shields and solar axes, were products Li Ang had directly 'borrowed.' But unlike weapons, while miniaturized Warp drives were more technologically advanced, their practicality was almost nil.
Using miniaturized blueprints from starcraft, a work with many similarities to Warhammer, and the mature Warp drive manufacturing technology in Warhammer, Li Ang effortlessly replicated starcraft's faster-than-light engine, which even a small shuttle could carry, into the Warhammer world as a Warp drive. But after building it, Li Ang awkwardly discovered that faster-than-light travel in the two worlds was not at all the same level of difficulty.
Warp travel in Warhammer requires tearing open the veil between reality and the Warp, maintaining a Gellar Field to preserve reality within the unpredictable Warp, and also Navigators to guide direction with psychic powers within the Warp. These three things, plus the energy they require, meant that any ship wanting to carry them all could not be too small.
The Imperium had not been without attempts to miniaturize Warp drives, but after advanced miniaturization technology led to even more ships getting lost and corrupted, the Imperium and the Adeptus Mechanicus simultaneously shelved this concept. Realizing that some things, even if they could be built, didn't necessarily mean they could be used, Li Ang likewise tossed his experimental shuttle into the Truth's warehouse.
However, fate played a trick. This shuttle, abandoned by Li Ang, was now his only hope, and he was truly experiencing all the incompatibilities of this escape pod within the Warhammer setting.
"Insufficient energy reserves…" Li Ang felt a little helpless, watching his energy index steadily drop.
The miniaturized Warp drive itself couldn't store too much energy. Li Ang had initially estimated he only needed to make a short, clearly plotted Warp jump, which theoretically could be done even without a Navigator. But Warp travel not initiated from a Mandeville Point ultimately dragged him into the Warp currents.
He didn't know where the Warp currents would throw him, nor when they would throw him out. He could only sequentially deactivate the equipment on his body, allocating his energy to the ship's equipment to prolong the time as much as possible.
"Whoever published that paper saying Warp travel stability is related to mass, if I get out of here alive, I'll skin him." Li Ang still retained the heightened aggression of a human: "With this little mass, it can still get caught in Warp currents. Where is the stability in that?"
Time was meaningless in the Warp; his energy reserves became his only metric. He first deactivated the weapon systems on his body. After some time, he deactivated various computing systems. Later, he even stopped maintaining his Warp observation equipment. But even so, Li Ang, with only enough energy to sustain basic life, still saw no hope of exiting the Warp.
He stared out of the cabin with his bare eyes, seeing nothing but the treacherous and ever-changing turbulence of the Warp, and a faintly visible, cold sun hanging high in the Warp.
There was no more energy to maintain the Gellar Field. Li Ang clearly knew his fate—even though he never believed in fate.
Perhaps this was the end of his life, but more than regret, Li Ang felt a sense of relief. He stopped supplying energy to the Warp drive, instead lowering the Gellar Field and re-concentrating the last of his energy on himself.
"At least, I held on as a human until the very end." Li Ang's blade fell, severing a demon's head. Facing the surging demons, he firmly raised the plasma gun in his hand. "There is no Emperor here, no omnissiah! But individual resolve never borrows from external things! Let me show you, the true greatness of humanity!"
The solar axe in Li Ang's hand suddenly burst into light, forcing all the surrounding demons back. But this was the Warp, and the demons, fighting on their home ground, were not in a hurry to completely destroy Li Ang. With sneers or mockery on their faces, they crowded around Li Ang, like cats toying with a mouse, turning killing into a cruel game.
But suddenly, their expressions changed from playful to terrified. A cold light, not emanating from Li Ang, enveloped the area. The demons shrieked, scrambling to escape in panic.
Enveloped by this power, Li Ang also felt the sense of void belonging to the Warp gradually lessen around him. A long-lost sense of reality, unique to the real universe, filled his senses. But he did not feel relaxed because of it; on the contrary, another sense of falling due to gravity made his heart leap into his throat. He hurriedly clung to the edge of the escape pod's hatch, and what met his eyes was a pale blue planet that would only appear in the real universe.
This was good news, but even without calculations, Li Ang already understood that he and the escape pod were within the gravitational capture range of this planet and were accelerating downwards towards it. Realizing what had just happened, he widened his eyes and began to curse: "By the Emperor's balls, this old geezer threw me…"
The friction of the atmosphere ignited the escape pod's armor and swallowed Li Ang's voice. Everyone on this planet looking up at the sky at that moment noticed his brilliant meteor.
—Including a group of warriors, two and a half meters tall, with human appearances. Their physiques were similar to Astartes, but they were not wearing the iconic power armor. Although there were obvious signs of modification on their bodies, various vital parts were barely covered with crude metal and animal hides, making them look uncommonly desolate and disheveled.
"Lieutenant Amidell, some of the brothers saw it very clearly. They reported it was a small spacecraft, only the size of a Stormbird, falling towards the planet. It's currently unclear if the spacecraft is human-made, but it's the only piece of technology we've seen since arriving on this planet."
The person called Lieutenant Amidell nodded: "I know. We cannot give up this opportunity regardless. But since it's a technological creation, if there are survivors inside, they will definitely have the ability to resist. If we want to leave the planet, we must go all out."
"First, determine the approximate crash site, then bring our power armor over. Even without power backpacks now, the defense provided by the power armor is enough to withstand general attacks." Amidell skillfully commanded: "If the enemy's firepower is weak, then have the brothers wear the power armor and advance using their bodies to move the power armor. If the enemy's firepower is fierce, then use our numerical advantage to surround them, and we'll make further arrangements based on the situation."
The aide-like person nodded in assent. He called over a few people and began to move the stacked power armor. The dusty power armor saw the light of day again after being wiped clean by several people. It was an ancient MK2 Crusade pattern power armor, its bullet-ridden and claw-marked chest plate silently speaking of its extraordinary nature. And on the left shoulder pad, a large Roman numeral Ⅱ was prominently displayed, almost worn away, yet still striking.
Chapter 3: Emergency Landing
As a transmigrator from the scientifically enlightened M3 era to the barbaric and ignorant M32 era, Li Ang naturally did not believe in the Emperor's doctrines. But after being helped by Huang Lao Han just now, Li Ang began to ponder whether the one sitting on the Golden Throne was a human or a god.
If he truly was still human, why didn't he understand the principle of helping someone all the way, seeing them through to the end?
Could it be that after miraculously escaping death in the Warp, he would instead be smashed into a meat patty in the real universe?
Thanks to the incredible material strength of the Warhammer world, the escape pod, after passing through the dense atmosphere, was completely unscathed except for some blackening on its armor plates. However, this ship, which was never designed for atmospheric flight, clearly did not conform to aerodynamic aesthetics, and the plasma engines, reduced in size to accommodate the miniaturized Warp drive, could not provide the immense power needed.
Li Ang did his best to make the plasma engines provide downward thrust, even injecting his own energy into the engines to overload them, but the downward momentum showed no signs of abating.
Seeing that the ship could not be saved, Li Ang could only open the hatch, use the mechanical claws on his body to fix himself to the outside of the ship, and begin to dismantle the plasma engines and Warp drive in mid-air.
This was a race against time, but fortunately, Li Ang, who usually spent his time grave robbing, was no stranger to such tasks. With steady hands and feet, he dismantled the Warp drive without various auxiliary equipment and directly connected a plasma engine to himself. As the ship was about to crash, he jumped from the ship, carrying the Warp drive, and simultaneously ignited the plasma engine.
The exhaust flames from the plasma engine burned away the red robes that signified his Adeptus Mechanicus identity and melted Li Ang's mechanized lower body. Fortunately, the engine's power was sufficient for this weight, and with Li Ang's careful adjustments, he successfully landed on the ground with the plasma engine on his back.
He raised his hands, intending to cheer for his successful crash landing, even though no one was watching, but his half-melted legs clearly didn't support such an idea.
Before he could even raise his hands, his unsupported legs gave way, sending him tumbling headfirst to the ground.
However, this clearly didn't dampen Li Ang's spirits; the elation of escaping death made him want to roll over and laugh uproariously at the sky.
But as he rolled over, his body turned sideways, allowing him to see his surroundings, and he keenly noticed a fact: his crash landing had not been unwitnessed.
His half-melted legs temporarily incapacitated Li Ang, but that wasn't a reason to sit idly by.
Li Ang subtly activated his energy shield, and a plasma pistol quietly slid out from under his wrist.
He set down the Warp engine he was holding, pretending to deal with his lower body, and used the light from his upper robe and welding torch to conceal the plasma pistol charging under his wrist.
Just as Li Ang appeared to be diligently tending to his legs, a Bolter was silently pressed against the back of his head.
"Don't move," Li Ang heard the man behind him say in Low Gothic.
"Before you threaten someone," Li Ang said, completely unafraid, his wrist twisting like a juggler's, the fully charged plasma pistol under his wrist aiming directly at the man behind him, "I suggest you first give serious thought to your own head."
"You think one plasma pistol can kill me?"
"It's not just one plasma pistol.
Are you doubting a Tech-Priest's contingencies?"
The man snorted, "I'm not afraid of sacrifice."
"Some people always see themselves as brave and fearless heroes; they yearn for sacrifice, yet they never consider how much value their sacrifice can truly bring."
Li Ang gestured with his mouth towards the rustling bushes ahead, where the man's companions were likely hiding.
"Instead of being at loggerheads with me here, why don't you give up the idea of capturing me and cooperate with me as equals, seeking a different future for you and your companions who are also trapped on this planet?
Or are you going to all this trouble to sneak up behind me just to die with me?"
The man behind him was silent for a moment; Li Ang could hear his heavy breathing.
A moment later, he felt the Bolter against the back of his head being moved away.
"You're very clever, Tech-Priest."
The other party's voice betrayed no emotion: "Whether it was your self-rescue during the crash or your current negotiation, both make me feel that you are extraordinary."
"I merely trust my own technology and value, and besides, you threatened me first.
I just want an equal footing for communication."
Li Ang shrugged, deactivating the energy in his plasma pistol: "We've been talking this long, and I still haven't seen you.
To show some sincerity for cooperation, shouldn't you stand in front of me and let me see you?
You know, my legs aren't very convenient right now."
The other party didn't speak, but Li Ang heard footsteps.
Soon after, a tall figure stood before Li Ang; he was two and a half meters tall, and the shadow he cast when standing in front of Li Ang almost completely covered him.
Li Ang immediately noticed the signs of modification on the other party's body and the regularly arranged pre-reserved interfaces.
The unexpected situation made him widen his eyes and exclaim in a low voice, "Astartes?"
Li Ang had done many analyses before, envisioning many scenarios: the other party spoke Low Gothic, indicating he was part of the Imperium or had once been; the other party could approach him silently, indicating he had received standard military training; the other party's steps as he walked towards him were not light, indicating he was an armed individual who had undergone some biochemical modifications to increase his weight… But all these conditions combined still didn't lead Li Ang to think the other party was an Astartes.
However, upon seeing the person himself, Li Ang immediately understood the reason for his misjudgment—the other party wasn't wearing the power armor that Astartes almost never took off, only using some armor plates seemingly removed from power armor and animal hides to cover his vital areas.
The difference in weight led Li Ang to misjudge the situation, but the other party's attire also instantly made Li Ang aware of his predicament.
"How long have you been trapped here?" Li Ang asked with a smile.
The man remained stone-faced and silent; he was clearly not surprised that Li Ang could identify them, and he clearly had no intention of answering Li Ang's question.
Li Ang didn't mind, pressing on, "What, even if you don't plan to say anything else, you should at least introduce yourself, right?
Getting to know each other is the basis for further cooperation, isn't it?"
"Amidell." The man opposite paused slightly, and Li Ang caught a subtle change in his expression: "Belonging to the Thirteenth Legion."
"Oh, the Thirteenth Legion…"
Li Ang drew out his words, and combining it with the other party's change in expression, Li Ang had some idea of the other party's true identity.
"My name is Li Ang, an ordinary Tech-Priest."
Amidell seemed to have sensed something from Li Ang's demeanor.
Despite cautiously revealing his identity, he couldn't figure out how his two simple sentences had given away something amiss to the other party.
All he could do was compose himself, close his mouth, and wave over two of his brothers, motioning for them to carry Li Ang away.
"No need to trouble yourselves," Li Ang said, raising a hand to refuse them.
"As long as I cut off the irregularly melted parts of my legs, I'll regain basic mobility."
There were no chaotic sigils, which Chaos cultists loved, on the other party's bare body, and combining this with his self-identification, Li Ang speculated that the other party was either an old guard unwilling to accept the Legion's disbandment, or a renegade Chapter that followed neither the Imperium nor Chaos.
While these two types weren't as dangerous as Chaos cultists, they were clearly not overly friendly.
The value of a Tech-Priest could certainly ensure his safety in front of them, but merely being safe wasn't enough; he needed to ensure he wasn't at their mercy.
"We don't have much time for you to fix yourself slowly here," Amidell said, still stone-faced.
"Dangerous things are abundant on this planet, and your crash attracted more than just us."
"?" Li Ang looked up, surprised, "Are there native forces on this planet?"
"No, only beasts."
"Only beasts? If there are only beasts, how come you haven't killed them all…"
"Roar—!"
Before Li Ang could finish his sentence, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted from the jungle.
The sound was clearly distant, yet it was incredibly penetrating.
Li Ang didn't even see any birds startled into flight; on the contrary, many birds were so terrified by the sound that they plummeted to the ground.
Li Ang peered in the direction of the sound, but only saw another unarmored Astartes emerge from behind the jungle, reporting to Amidell: "Approximately five kilometers away, rapidly approaching us!"
Amidell nodded slightly.
He immediately ordered the two original Astartes to lift Li Ang, and Li Ang, who could already faintly feel the ground shaking, no longer objected.
The group systematically sprinted away from the creature.
"What exactly is that thing?" Li Ang, being dragged along the ground by the two Astartes, leaving a trail of sparks, asked Amidell, "Not only is its roar so loud, but it can make the ground tremble from five kilometers away?
What kind of beast could be that massive?"
"Soon we will cross an open area; you'll know when you look back then!"
The facts proved Amidell was not exaggerating.
The colossal creature behind them was indeed relentlessly pursuing their group.
Shortly after Amidell and his two dozen brothers rendezvoused in the open area, a monster covered in brownish-yellow scales with grey-blue stripes, triangular ears, and a pair of webbed forelimbs burst out of the bush.
Its overall appearance resembled an enlarged ancient pterosaur, but its body, about fifteen meters long, meant it could only crawl on the ground.
Its wide-open mouth and constantly dripping saliva undoubtedly showcased the monster's cruel and bloodthirsty nature.
The Astartes seemed familiar with the monster before them.
Amidell quickly began issuing orders: "Mark and lightly conceal the power armor.
Now we need to travel light.
My squad will take the Tech-Priest to the base, and the others will split into two teams to cover us.
Withdraw promptly after providing cover.
Each team gets two Bolters.
If anyone is about to be caught, shoot vital points with the Bolter to buy time.
Prioritize survival; do not sacrifice your lives to conserve ammunition."
The Astartes, receiving their orders, quickly split into two teams.
Li Ang seized the opportunity to hide the Warp engine he had dismantled from the ship along with his power armor.
During the concealment, Li Ang noticed that they were carrying disassembled MK2 Crusade pattern power armor without power packs, but the markings on the shoulder pads had been deliberately defaced, making it impossible to determine which Legion they belonged to.
Furthermore, their weapons and ammunition were severely lacking.
A squad of seven or eight men only had two Bolters, and ammunition was limited to just two magazines.
As for melee weapons, each person had one, but looking at the chainswords with numerous nicks and the dull power swords, Li Ang doubted if these melee weapons could even perform at thirty percent of their full power.
Clearly, these Astartes were already at their wits' end.
Although they were still extraordinary warriors even unarmed, looking at the monster before him—which he had never seen in reality yet felt incredibly familiar—Li Ang sighed helplessly, not believing that such Astartes could defeat it.
"Tigrex?" he groaned, trying to piece together his worldview, shattered once again after a hundred years in the Warhammer Universe, "Why is there a Tigrex here?"
PS1: The first Chapter's style is Monster Hunter, but those unfamiliar with Monster Hunter don't need to worry.
I will integrate Monster Hunter elements into Warhammer, and later try to give these things a reasonable explanation within Warhammer.
PS2: Regarding whether greater mass leads to more stable Warp travel, this is indeed the case.
Early lore explicitly stated that larger Warp engines (and thus larger ships) were more stable.
However, there were also inverse situations, such as making a Warp jump within a star system's gravitational pull before reaching Mandeville Point.
In such cases, the star's gravity field would intertwine with the large mass of the ship, causing the Warp lane opened within the star's gravitational range to become chaotic.
In this special circumstance, smaller ships actually had an advantage.
But this is very old lore that I dug out from GW's lore blocks, and I don't rule out that it might have been retconned by now.
This part isn't important; it's just to answer some questions.
Chapter 4: Monster Hunter Astartes
If this was a transmigration to the Monster Hunter world, then it would be a convenient escape from the cesspit.
But I'd only ever heard of the Warp traversing time, not worlds.
Considering who exactly threw him from the Warp onto this planet, Li Ang began to seriously contemplate the possibility that Huang Lao Han had played Monster Hunter thirty thousand years ago.
Li Ang hadn't yet recovered, but his act of shouting out the monster's name caught Amidell's attention.
He sought confirmation from Li Ang, "Tigrex?
Is that its scientific name?
Is this monster common out there now?"
"No, I just happen to know a little about it," Li Ang denied immediately.
"How many times have you encountered this monster?
What are its attack patterns?"
"Fifteen times.
Its attack patterns are very monotonous: either throwing rocks or roaring and charging at high speed, but its destructive power is astonishing.
Moreover, its defense is very strong.
Bolters can penetrate it but cannot cause enough lethal damage; instead, they provoke its ferocity.
Only by shooting vital points like its eyes can it be made to slightly back off."
Well, it's truly the original flavor.
"Haven't you tried weapons other than Bolters?
Like plasma weapons?" Li Ang raised the plasma pistol in his hand.
"We'd have to have them first."
Li Ang shrugged.
He signaled the two Astartes dragging him to slow down, then began to charge the plasma pistol in his hand.
The distant Tigrex was currently entangled with the two squads that had previously dispersed to attract its attention.
Taking advantage of the pause after the Tigrex's spinning tail swipe, Li Ang released the trigger in his hand.
The fully charged plasma gun muzzle erupted in a brilliant blue flame, and a ball of high-temperature plasma carrying an electric current directly struck the Tigrex's back.
With just one shot, the Tigrex howled in pain.
The spot where it was hit by the plasma weapon was seared into a noticeable large crater, as if a large chunk of flesh had been directly scooped out, and blood was oozing from beneath the charred scales.