Zeke walked through the door.
It was a makeshift office, yet Guilliman maintained his signature style. Aside from a few trinkets not yet cleared away, it was minimalist, devoid of any opulent decorations. Only essential furniture remained to ensure basic functionality.
Guilliman stood there, observing Zeke, cross-referencing obtained information to select the rhetoric that would best align with Zeke's mindset.
Zeke pulled out a chair and sat down, picking up a toy from the desk to fiddle with.
It was a miniature model of an Ultramarine; judging by the weight, it was made of metal.
Not bad. Zeke stowed it into his backpack.
Guilliman's eye twitched. The rhetoric he had just constructed collapsed instantly.
In his conception, this human warrior who traveled thousands of miles should be an unadulterated hero.
Now, it seemed the situation had changed.
"Um," Zeke spoke first, "about me stealing your morning pajamas... you don't mind, right?"
Morning pajamas? Guilliman immediately understood Zeke was referring to the Armor of Fate brought by Cawl.
"That is what you deserve," Guilliman said.
He had asked Cawl: if he were resurrected using the Armor of Fate, he would have to rely on the armor to move, which was equivalent to wearing invisible shackles.
Zeke's precious item, however, had solved this problem directly.
"May I ask," Guilliman looked at the Golden Apple and Enchanted Golden Apple in Zeke's hand, recalling the Totem of Undying that led to his resurrection. "Why are all these precious items capable of saving countless lives... golden?"
The color gold always reminded people of certain things.
"It's just a coincidence." Zeke's answer was within Guilliman's expectations.
It seems I overthought it. Guilliman nodded, then pointed to the Nether Portal outside the window, asking the question he cared about most.
"Nether Portal, Portable Webway, call it whatever you like. As you surmised, it is a teleportation gate."
Zeke nodded. Guilliman exhaled, forcing himself to remain calm.
"These are nothing." Zeke pulled a Blueprint from his pocket.
The Blueprint had been in his hand for a long time; it was time to unleash its true potential.
The crafting materials for a Blueprint were just a piece of paper and blue dye. He had made dozens more and spread them out before Guilliman.
Guilliman picked up the leftmost Blueprint. His palm was larger than an average person's, so the Blueprint looked like a small card in his hand.
The Blueprint depicted dozens of Nether Portals of various sizes, with the corresponding materials written beside them.
"You're smart, you should be able to guess what this is, right?" Zeke picked up a small Dreadnought model from the table.
As he played with it, his hand "slipped", and it accidentally fell into his backpack.
Guilliman flipped through the Blueprints. The next page showed an Enchanted Golden Apple Manufacturing Plant, again with the corresponding materials listed.
Guilliman knew what this was for. "Similar to the Mechanicus's STC automated construction templates?"
"You could understand it that way, but if you ask me, this is much more useful than an STC."
Zeke looked at Guilliman. The usage of this thing called a Blueprint was simple: as long as you had the materials, you could build the corresponding object.
"Actually, I wanted to promote this long ago." Zeke sighed.
"The threshold for using this is very low. As long as there are materials, anyone can use it. I could totally print tens of thousands of Blueprints and distribute them to every planet."
"But..." Zeke straightened his posture.
"I once asked Archmagos Cawl if he could share the manufacturing blueprints for a Titan with me. The result was Archmagos Cawl rejected it instantly."
"Those Mechanicus Forge Worlds capable of building Titans... let alone sharing blueprints, if anyone dared to leak even a little relevant information, being executed and having their body destroyed would be considered a good ending."
Zeke didn't quite understand them. Shouldn't knowledge and technology be used to solve problems?
Give me the Titan blueprints, and as long as there are resources, I can build you a Titan Legion.
Perhaps the interests involved were too great, and some people were not happy to see it happen.
If he rashly pushed his Blueprints, he would surely meet the same fate. The Blueprints were not meant for the selfish desires of a few.
Zeke pushed aside the Blueprints on the table and pointed to the Enchanted Golden Apple Manufacturing Plant.
"Take the Enchanted Golden Apple for example. It can raise the dead and regrow flesh on bones. Are you sure some High Lords of Terra won't monopolize these things, label them as the 'Emperor's Gift,' and decree that only the most pious believers—meaning themselves—can enjoy them?"
Guilliman listened to Zeke's words without saying a word. This human was right.
After all, during the years of his slumber, they had done such things more than once.
"If it gets worse, and someone takes the Blueprint to Chaos, then it would be even more disastrous."
Blueprints could be permission-locked, but Zeke didn't know if someone granted permission who then fell to Chaos could still use them. So, he simply combined the two risks to sound the alarm for Guilliman.
Sometimes, a gift given too cheaply is not a good thing.
When everything is within easy reach, who will cherish it? His gifts were not cheap street trash.
If you want the Blueprint, you need both money and the right attitude. Otherwise, no deal.
Zeke wanted to trade the Blueprints for one thing: the entire planet of Mars, including everything on it.
Mars was the headquarters of the Adeptus Mechanicus, crowned with titles like the Temple of Technology and the Vault of Knowledge. Its value was unquestionable.
Directly stating this demand would be too outrageous. Zeke was merely guiding Guilliman step by step, waiting for him to jump into the trap.
"A pity, a pity," Zeke shook his head while taking the Blueprint from Guilliman's hand.
Then, scooping his hands together, he gathered all the Blueprints on the table into his arms and put them away.
Now, Guilliman was truly anxious.
Nether Portals, Enchanted Golden Apples, Blueprints—covering the three major fields of transportation, supply, and construction.
This was exactly what this teetering Imperium urgently needed.
Guilliman realized the person before him was a collaborator, and he was the one who urgently needed to collaborate. He needed to show sincerity.
"I, Roboute Guilliman, Lord of Ultramar, promise you that what you described will absolutely not happen."
Guilliman announced solemnly.
The promise of a Primarch carried significant weight.
Is the Imperium worth saving?
This was an extremely difficult question, and Zeke threw it to Guilliman.
Guilliman gave his answer.
But that wasn't enough. Zeke conversed with Guilliman for a while, outlining some frameworks.
The meeting lasted for a long time. With only some details left to discuss, Zeke excused himself first.
When only one person remained in the conference room, Guilliman clearly realized he could not limit his vision to Ultramar.
He decided that once everything was ready, he would invite Zeke to accompany him to the cradle of humanity, Terra. There, he would show Zeke his greatest sincerity.
During the Siege of Terra long ago, he had failed to arrive in time.
But this time, with a chance to save the Imperium right in front of him, Guilliman was determined to seize it.
After a while, the door opened again. Zeke stood outside with a serious face.
"What happened?"
Zeke walked up to Guilliman and smiled awkwardly. "Forgot some things here."
Then he swept all the remaining Blueprints on the table back into his possession.
Subsequently, Zeke ran off in a flash.
–
In front of the Enchanting Table.
An Ultramarine pointed at his helmet.
"What does this Curse of Binding mean?"
--
Man seriously why does webnovel has a limit of only 3 Powerstones per account?