"..."
Zhou Ye stared blankly at Asmodai. The Interrogator-Chaplain's eyes were now filled with a lucid stupidity, a look even more exaggerated than that of a modern university student. Such a pure, unadulterated Asmodai.
Joy.
Zhou Ye forced himself to remain composed and not burst out laughing.
This was a secret. Zhou Ye recalled that only Ezekiel seemed to know the truth. But the Chief Librarian wasn't a raving fanatic, so he had kept it to himself, not telling Azrael. Now, seeing the most fanatical of them all, Asmodai, wearing this expression, Zhou Ye almost lost it.
Then...
"As you wish."
Zhou Ye descended from his command throne and walked over to Asmodai. The Interrogator-Chaplain willingly lowered his mental defenses, and then...
---o---
"Asmodai, what did that Lord say to you?"
A group of Inner Circle members surrounded Asmodai as he emerged from the chamber.
"Regarding the explosion of Caliban, all who remained on the warships were loyal. The Lion will return within a century, and at that time, all will be left to his judgment. This is also the will of the Ancient Aldrich."
"Hooo..." The Inner Circle members let out a collective sigh of relief. If the Ancient had declared that the green-armored ones were also traitors, then, without a doubt, the Dark Angels and all their successors would have erupted into another civil war.
"Then what about those Fallen Angels? They are currently with the Ancient."
"Fallen Angels? FALLEN ANGELS!"
To their surprise, Asmodai trembled upon hearing those words. The sealed memories quickly resurfaced in his mind—the truth of Caliban's destruction.
Abba, abba, abba...
Asmodai instantly reverted to a state of dementia.
Zhou Ye had sealed his memory, but not completely. What was Asmodai's trigger? The Fallen Angels, of course. The moment they were mentioned, he would fly into a rage. So, Zhou Ye had installed a valve on his memory. Whenever he was about to descend into fanaticism, triggered by the words "Fallen Angels," the memory would flood back, instantly overwhelming him.
Then, once the fit passed, he would return to normal. Zhou Ye simply refused to believe that his own peerless wisdom couldn't cure Asmodai's fanaticism.
The method to fully release the memory was also simple: either hear the words "Fallen Angels" without going into a frenzy, or find the Lion and tell him, thereby releasing the pressure.
In that instant, the immense sense of wrongness and terror once again filled Asmodai's mind. His eyes, once twisted and maddened by fanaticism, reverted to a state of lucid stupidity. Then, just as quickly, he returned to normal, becoming stern and noble, like a true knight.
"What are you doing? The transport to take you back is ready."
Aldrich walked over, looking with some confusion at the now incredibly noble Asmodai.
"Ancient, are you not returning with us?" one of the Inner Circle members asked with a hint of hope.
"My mission is not yet over. This Lord has his own calling. It is not yet time for me to return. I have already set the course for your aircraft; it will take you there now," Aldrich said slowly. He had no reason to go back, and he did not want to leave this Chapter.
"Ancient... what about those Fallen Angels?"
Abba, abba, abba...
As the words entered his mind, Asmodai's eyes once again turned wild. Then they quickly switched back to that lucid stupidity, and then his expression became noble once more. Aldrich shot him a quizzical look. What was wrong with this successor? He seemed to be cycling between fanaticism, lucid confusion, and a Zen-like calm. He was starting to worry about Asmodai's mental state. Did this man have some serious illness?
"They are of the Six Wings who descended to Caliban with the Lion. They were thrown into the Warp by Caliban's explosion and have been hunting those Orks with that little Raven Guard for who knows how long. Their loyalty is beyond question. When you return, tell Azrael to place any Fallen Angels you have captured into stasis fields. Wait for the Lion's return, and let THE! LION! DECIDE!"
He bit out the last few words with gritted teeth. The Inner Circle members shrank back, not daring to press the issue. This Dreadnought would probably be the only one in the entire Dark Angels chapter who could legitimately chew out the Lion.
"Yes, we will relay the message."
What else could they do? They had already fought in black armor and been seen by the Black Templars, Flesh Tearers, and Ultramarines. And Zhou Ye had warned them: if they pulled any more of their usual nonsense, he would broadcast their little secrets to the Astronomican himself. Plus, they now had fragments of the Blade of the Laer, which needed to be transported back immediately. They also had to inform the Chapter about the Lion. No doubt this was the work of Tzeentch's little minions. They weren't sure if they could even find the Lion, and they dared not force the issue. As the prophecy said, if they acted rashly, it could cause problems for their Primarch.
As for the century Zhou Ye mentioned, he didn't care. If it came down to it, he'd find an opportunity to go to the Rock himself and just resurrect him. And it wasn't just the Lion; if he could go to Macragge right now, he could probably get Guilliman back on his feet.
Of course, Zhou Ye wouldn't dare travel through the Warp now. The reason was simple. He had thoroughly pissed off Nurgle, Slaanesh, and the Golden Fiend. If he dared to set foot in there, he was pretty sure the outcome would be grim.
After speaking, Aldrich slapped a one-time-use teleport homer onto each of them. They vanished from the Hyperion and reappeared aboard a Thunderhawk that Zhou Ye had left parked nearby. The homer had sent them across dozens of light-years via the Star Rail, depositing them near Quintus Hive. Because they had no idea what was happening outside, they had no clue that they had just crossed such a vast distance in the blink of an eye.
---o---
"Next up is fixing Rylanor. Ah, whatever, I gave them the STC templates. They can fix him themselves. First, I'll deal with the Raven Guard. He's a good man."
After sending the fanatics away, Zhou Ye found the Super Raven Guard. He wasn't worried about Rylanor's condition. For the convenience of repairs, Zhou Ye had equipped each of the Armed Puppets with a set of STC repair templates—the same ones he had traded with that grease monkey. A set of four was more than enough. When they were used up, they could just get more from New Aestia.
So...
"My Lord, His Majesty's power is fading quickly."
When Zhou Ye found the Super Raven Guard, the warrior was sitting in a corner, staring blankly.
"Come with me."
Zhou Ye led him through several corridors to a massive chamber. A brand-new Contemptor Dreadnought lay quietly on a slab. Zhou Ye had just whipped this one up. It would have been a real pain to replicate the details of a ten-thousand-year-old Dreadnought, and there was no need for it, so he just made a new one.
"My Lord, this..."
"See this sarcophagus? I forged it from a special material I found in the Warp. It has unique properties that can suppress your mutation."
BZZZZT...
As he spoke, Zhou Ye produced a chainsword, much to the Raven Guard's sweaty-palmed horror.
"I..."
"Corax has been absent from the Imperium for ten millennia. The Imperium is now in a precarious state. We need the Raven King's strength. You are the only one who can persuade him to return."
Zhou Ye had already strapped the Raven Guard to a surgical table and was calculating how much wetware to preserve.
"I..."
"Child, do you not desire glory? The glory of banishing Fulgrim and destroying the Greenskin Battle Moon?"
"Err..."
"Rest assured, my plan is perfect. Besides, that thing can't hold you. You can break free whenever you wish. And with your regenerative abilities, you will quickly return to your normal state. The only price is that the original mutation will continue. Alright... I'm going to administer the anesthetic. Wait, I didn't prepare any anesthetic. Ah well, physical anesthesia it is."
With that, Zhou Ye knocked the Raven Guard out with a single punch. Then, like a deranged serial killer, he sawed off the warrior's four limbs and stuffed him into the Dreadnought.
Soon...
"See? Isn't this much better? As long as the sarcophagus is intact, you can stay in here. And you are now the most complete Dreadnought in our Chapter."
Looking at the Raven Guard, Zhou Ye nodded with satisfaction. To avoid suspicion, the other three Dreadnoughts had about the same amount of organic tissue preserved: the brain, spine, heart, and gene-seed, not much else. Rylanor's body was a bit more complete, but only the parts above his heart, and his cranium was shattered. But it was all plausible. This one, however, was the most complete, even if he had been turned into a human torso.
Zhou Ye felt a little like a monster, but it wasn't a big deal. Of course, if the Raven Guard Chapter ever heard that he had such a Dreadnought, they would probably move heaven and earth to trade for it.
"..." The Raven Guard looked at his new Dreadnought body, feeling a bit numb. A deep weariness from his very soul washed over him, and he fell into a deep sleep. He had fought those Orks on the Battle Moon for an untold number of ages. Now, with his mutation suppressed, he felt a profound sense of relief, and he fell asleep right there in front of Zhou Ye.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
Zhou Ye shrugged, very pleased with his own wisdom. He had administered both physical and mental therapy to the Super Raven Guard and Asmodai simultaneously. He was very satisfied.
"Take him away. We have another Dreadnought."
Seeing the Raven Guard being wheeled away by the Armed Puppets, Zhou Ye nodded in satisfaction. He could see the soul-deep exhaustion in the warrior. As a being who was now, in a way, a daemon with a physical body, his lifespan was not an issue. But he had been fighting for too long. Although time flowed differently in the Warp, so it hadn't truly been ten thousand years, it had been at least a thousand.
"All that's left is to clean up the miscellaneous junk in the Space Hulk and then gradually separate the materials. I estimate it will take several years, but no matter what, I got the Rogue Trader Warrant. This plan was a great success."
Looking at the warrant in his hand, Zhou Ye was extremely pleased. Who dared say his plan hadn't succeeded? He had gotten the Rogue Trader Warrant he had set out to get.
"Next is to change the signature. Whose should I use? Guilliman's won't work, it'll blow my cover. The Lion's won't work either... Should I use Sanguinius? But that guy isn't completely dead either. Wait, why do I have to use a Primarch's? I'll just use Lemont Icefang! That guy is with the Space Wolves now. And even if the Wolf Pack finds out, they'll just have to accept it."
With that thought, Zhou Ye decisively signed Lemont Icefang's name. A Rogue Trader Warrant with a ten-thousand-year history was complete.
He then returned to New Tillius and began to process and dismantle the Space Hulk. The so-called Genestealers, Slaaneshi daemons, and Orks inside were no match for him. He had already dealt with the most dangerous elements; now was the time to reap the rewards. Once all this was done, his strength would take another great leap forward.
---o---
While Zhou Ye was happily counting his gains, back in the skies above Quintus Hive.
"Where's the Primarch? Where did they go?" Chris asked, a bit lost, as the Space Hulk was sucked back into the Warp.
He now knew what the so-called artifact was: the Blade of the Laer in Fulgrim's hand. But that thing had been destroyed by the Lord. Although the Lord had recovered most of the fragments, he had still left a piece for him. With this fragment, he could finally hold his head high among his colleagues. You see the Iron Hands? Do they have something like this?
But the problem now was that with the disappearance of the Space Hulk, the Primarch had also vanished, leaving only the empty starry sky. He had stopped thinking about Apothecary 010 Omega; that person was clearly working with this Primarch.
"Find the Lamenters!"
And so, Chris quickly found his next target.
---o---