"Inquisitor…," the Poison Spider Gang boss retreated repeatedly.
Horatio had a replica of the Rosarius on him. Although he wasn't an Inquisitor, possessing this item was equivalent to meeting an Inquisitor.
The Poison Spider Gang boss gasped, clearly understanding that at this point, saying things like 'I didn't recognize your eminence' or 'Please overlook my transgression' would be useless.
"I have a pharmaceutical factory with a lot of equipment. As long as you can get the drug formula, you can produce medicine. Oh, you don't have to worry about raw materials; I have a Packages industry, and the things inside can be used to produce combat drugs. It's very profitable. As long as you let me go, these industries are yours."
The Poison Spider Gang boss's mind raced under the instinct for survival.
Although he didn't know why, since this Rosarius holder had seized his brothel, it meant this black-haired youth must be interested in his other industries.
Horatio's face was grim as he stepped forward, the enormous, black maw of his bolter pointed at the vermin's face.
"I will find the location." Horatio's finger rested on the trigger, the hammer eager to strike.
"And! And! I also know a piece of information you might be interested in."
"Speak."
"Can you forgive my previous defiant actions?"
Horatio was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Yes."
"Sometime soon, a cargo ship will dock at the PW-P-15 Megaport Freight Zone, smuggling a batch of military equipment, even Meltas, from inside."
[Meltas? What would a gang want with that?]
"How do you know?"
"To facilitate smuggling, the gangs here now buy in bulk. We also ordered dozens of them."
"When exactly?!"
"Early next month, about ten days from now! Roughly."
"What's the ship's name?"
"I don't know the ship's name, but it's from Lucius."
[A cargo ship from Lucius… and it has Meltas. Someone wants to cause big trouble.]
Horatio narrowed his eyes.
"Sir, you are a man of your word. Please spare me."
[+ Addictive Psychedelic Drugs Detected +] Horatio heard Louise's report. He looked at the square, linen-wrapped packages stacked in the warehouse.
"I can forgive your previous defiance, but now it seems you have added another capital offense."
Bang!
A gunshot, and scorching flames erupted from the barrel, like a leaping fire dragon.
"Ah! Ah! Ah ah ah!"
The scarred man was engulfed in flames, screaming and frantically swatting at his body, rushing backward like a headless fly. He didn't run far before stumbling forward, sliding several meters, and lying on the ground, burning fiercely. In a short while, he became a charred corpse.
[+ The Emperor's Flame will Purify All This +] Louise issued the clear-out order.
Whoosh—
Fully armed, Lydos wielded a promethium flamer, unleashing the Emperor's wrath upon the warehouse. As a naval engineering specialist, proficient use of flamers was part of his curriculum, especially in confined ship compartments. Both the high temperature of the flames and the rapidly depleted oxygen were fatal to the Emperor's enemies.
Horatio leaned against the vehicle, watching the crimson flames burn higher and higher. The flames shot through the mottled shed roof, the steel bars gradually melted, and the main structure began to collapse piece by piece.
Suddenly, police sirens blared behind him.
Horatio turned his head indifferently. Hive City Law Enforcement armored vehicles sped toward him, their roof-mounted turrets aiming heavy stubbers at Horatio and his vehicle.
"You rioters, raise your hands! I'll count to three and then open fire! Three! Two!"
Horatio calmly straightened his body, facing the approaching armored vehicle, the crimson Inquisition insignia swaying on his chest.
Screech—
The Hive City Law Enforcement armored vehicle screeched to a halt. The lead vehicle swerved sharply, causing the following vehicles to crash into each other in a chain reaction.
[+ This is Military Intelligence Command, I am Captain Sterling. Eliminate those who took dirty money. No survivors are needed for this operation +]
[+ Gale One, copy that +]
The Imperial Navy pilot, hovering in a Valkyrie Fighter, targeted the crashed armored vehicles on the ground. A series of parameter codes mapped onto his combat helmet.
'++ Locked ++'
The red lock frame instantly turned green.
The pilot pressed the red button, and a volley of high-explosive rockets poured out from the multi-barrel rocket pod.
Bang bang bang!
A series of massive explosions kicked up a cloud of dust. The shockwave lifted Horatio's coat. The armored vehicle's turret was blown high into the air, and a severed, charred arm landed beside him.
The Poison Spider Gang thus mysteriously vanished without a trace. No one knew what had happened, and not even a single corpse was found.
Some speculated it was gang infighting, others that they were eliminated by a larger gang, and still others that they had provoked the Adeptus Arbites and were rooted out.
All speculations perfectly avoided the Imperial Navy.
Under Horatio's arrangements, the Labor Union took over the Poison Spider Gang's factory and its associated industries, discarding high-value but unneeded assets like casinos and brothels for other gangs to seize. This prevented the Labor Union from becoming the sole beneficiary, avoiding giving those with intentions an opportunity to trace all clues.
The underground intelligence network was recovering at an incredible speed. Every laborer nearby could potentially be Horatio's informant or indirectly provide him with information.
Some long-ignored issues by the planetary government gradually surfaced. He needed to connect these clues one by one to investigate the conspiracy of the Chaos Gods / The Four Gods.
—
"What else is needed for the intelligence network to be sustainable?"
"Work and raw materials are currently sorted, although our formula can only produce simple, primary medicines, there is one problem." Deacon Jonathan explained to Horatio, who was inspecting the pharmaceutical factory.
Horatio looked at the spacious pharmaceutical factory. The workers had spent several days cleaning it thoroughly. Coupled with the existing sterile rooms and machine tools, in terms of environment, it met the Imperial standards for civilian pharmaceutical factories.
The workshop had already begun pre-production, with workers in sterile suits operating instruments inside.
"Even if we produce medical bandages and disinfectant alcohol according to regulations, it's now extremely difficult to obtain production qualifications from the Guild Alliance. It requires both connections and this…"
The deacon made a money-rubbing gesture: "Or should we try forging? Otherwise, these products can only be sold at low value on the black market. The intelligence network cannot always rely on you to fund it; it must be able to operate independently."
Horatio quickly considered the channels.
This qualification is essentially a production license. With this license, the planetary government allows the factory's products to circulate on the market.
However, there isn't just one type of license. There are those issued by the planetary government, by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, by guilds, and also by the Ecclesiarchy and the Astartes Cult.
Some licenses are equivalent to production qualifications, while others are equivalent to tender documents. The core issue is the sheer number and the complete lack of standardized criteria.
[The 40K universe's unique brand of super administrative nonsense, the kind even Guilliman couldn't save. This is the Imperium.]
Given this, he had two things to do next: obtain a license from one party and establish a stable supply and demand channel.
Suddenly, Horatio had an idea.
"Give me a few samples of the produced items."