This is the bonus chapter for reaching 800 Powerstones.
--
Standing behind Darius Stanton, Vance's eyes swept over the crowd, eventually locking onto the auxiliary medical staff trailing behind Fabius.
Standing among them was a man wearing the white uniform of an Apothecary's assistant.
And hovering above his head was a black username: [Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe].
On that man's face rested the faintest, almost imperceptible trace of a... smug grin.
Vance's pupils contracted slightly.
A Chaos player.
A report.
A request for verification.
All the puzzle pieces slammed together into a crystal-clear chain of logic.
The Chaos players were terrified that Crimson Dawn was going to ruin their plans for Fulgrim's fall tomorrow...
So they struck first.
They were using Lucius's bruised ego and Fabius's scalpel...
To wipe out this five-hundred-man Iron Hands detachment.
Vance slowly balled his hands into fists at his sides.
--
Standing among the auxiliary medical staff, [Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe] was feeling... absolutely fantastic.
Is this what it feels like to control other people's destinies?
Hahahahaha...
He kept his head slightly bowed, but he couldn't force his grin down.
Heh.
That [All According to Plan] guy was way too conservative. Always obsessing over spreading rumors, staging fake heroic sacrifices, and setting up double-failsafe plans.
If you asked him, the most direct solution was obvious...
Just completely wipe out the Crimson Dawn players right here, right now.
Who cares if he's Paul Dawn? Who cares if he has 900 billion rep and over 10 billion Imperial Coins? On this planet, they were just an isolated, unsupported squad of five hundred men.
The Emperor's Children had six thousand Astartes here.
As long as he could prove they were fakes, Lucius would absolutely execute them on the spot.
If there was one thing Lucius couldn't stand, it was being ignored.
Especially being completely ignored in front of a massive crowd.
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe] sneered internally.
Hehehe,[All According to Plan], your strategies are way too weak.
Look at this god-tier play. I guarantee you didn't plan for this.
I just publicly outed Crimson Dawn and used Lucius and Fabius to completely wipe these five hundred obstacles off the board.
Now Fulgrim's corruption tomorrow is one hundred percent guaranteed!
He gave himself a massive mental pat on the back.
--
Tarvitz spoke coldly:
"Who reported this?"
"What is their evidence?"
"Who dares to arbitrarily accuse a brother Astartes company of being imposters?"
"They entered this system with our Primarch's explicit approval!"
His voice spiked again: "You accuse me of mutiny for harboring a supposedly fake Iron Hands company..."
"Does that mean you're also questioning our father's judgment?!"
Tarvitz was going straight for the throat, pulling out Fulgrim's name as an impenetrable shield.
The moment he said that, the faces of several Emperor's Children in the crowd instantly changed color.
Questioning an Imperial Primarch?
That was a crime far worse than mere mutiny.
Lucius's face grew even redder.
Damn you, Tarvitz. When did a straight-laced boy scout like you learn how to play politics this viciously?
"Insolence!"
He roared, his voice cracking slightly with sheer fury:
"Tarvitz! To protect a fake company, you actually dare to drag our father's name through the mud?!"
"You have completely lost your mind!"
He pointed a finger dead at Tarvitz's face:
"Whether they are imposters or not will be definitively proven the moment Fabius verifies them!"
"If they are real, why would they refuse?!"
Before Tarvitz could even formulate a response, Lucius had already snapped his head back to look at the auxiliary medical team.
"As for the whistleblower..."
His gaze landed on the mortal wearing the white uniform.
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe] instantly caught the cue. He took a deep breath and slowly stepped out from the crowd.
He cursed internally.
Fuck, Lucius is such a garbage teammate. He called me out way too early.
But he kept walking, stepping right out to the front of the formation where everyone could see him.
Hundreds of Astartes simultaneously locked their eyes onto the five-foot-seven mortal.
The sheer pressure...
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe] took another deep breath, hyping himself up in his head:
Hold steady, hold steady. This is your highlight reel.
He raised his head, his voice ringing out loud and firm:
"These Iron Hands are fakes!"
Tarvitz's brow furrowed even deeper.
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe] continued:
"The real Lord Gabriel Santar could not possibly be in this star system right now!"
"As for the evidence..."
He took a deep breath and channeled the psychic power he had bought from the System shop for 500 Imperial Coins.
[Rank D Psychic Ability: Somatic Sensory Perception].
A faint wave of psychic energy rippled out from him, extending like invisible tentacles toward the Iron Hands deep within the camp.
"They may have perfectly disguised their outward appearance..."
His voice echoed through the twilight:
"But my psychic talent allows me to sense that their internal organs lack the cybernetic augmetics signature to the Iron Hands. They are entirely composed of living flesh and blood!"
"Based on my understanding, almost every Iron Hands legionnaire undergoes extensive mechanical augmentation. There is absolutely no way an entire company of purely biological Astartes exists within their ranks!"
"Therefore, I conclude..."
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe] swept his gaze over the crowd, finally locking onto the cluster of silver-grey figures.
"They are absolutely a fake Iron Hands company!"
The entire Emperor's Children 10th Company camp, inside and out, fell utterly silent.
From behind Fabius, an Emperor's Children legionnaire wearing the robes of a Librarian slowly stepped forward.
He had his eyes closed, actively sensing the faint psychic ripples in the air.
A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and nodded:
"He is not lying."
His voice was perfectly calm, but the words were like a lit match dropped into a powder keg:
"His psychic ability does indeed allow him to perceive the internal anatomical structure of others."
The smile on Lucius's face was practically splitting his cheeks.
He looked at Tarvitz, his eyes overflowing with undisguised triumph.
"Well, Tarvitz?"
"The Librarius has confirmed it..."
"How are you going to spin this now?"
--
Next Bonus at 900 Powerstones.
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