He had too much to carry.
So Renault lent him a trolley.
---
Li Qinwu stopped by a nearby shop and stocked up:
Over ten pairs of work boots.
Ten bottles of cooking oil.
A small packet of sugar.
Total cost—over 1,200.
---
Then he began the trip back.
---
The moment he left the safer zones—
Eyes followed.
---
Too much cargo.
Too exposed.
---
A swarm of underhive rats trailed him from a distance.
Watching.
Measuring.
Waiting.
---
Li Qinwu noticed.
Of course he did.
---
"…I need subordinates."
---
Doing everything alone was inefficient.
And dragging supplies through hostile territory?
Undignified.
---
By the time he reached the outer edge—
And stepped into a metal pipeline—
The tension snapped.
---
Over a hundred rats surged forward.
Weapons drawn.
Knives.
Steel rods.
Even crude firearms.
---
They rushed into the darkness—
---
But Li Qinwu had already acted.
---
A gas grenade landed at their feet.
---
Hiss—
---
Toxic fumes erupted instantly.
---
Chaos.
---
Coughing.
Screaming.
Panic.
---
Some shoved others aside—
Some lashed out blindly—
Some simply collapsed.
---
Within seconds—
They were fighting each other.
---
Li Qinwu didn't even look back.
---
A flashlight tied to the trolley.
A steady pace forward.
---
Calm.
Unhurried.
---
He reached his hideout.
Opened the door.
Closed it.
---
He inhaled deeply.
---
The damp, stale air filled his lungs.
---
"…Home."
---
---
He sorted everything.
Then—
Upgrades began.
---
Power line rerouted.
Water purifier connected.
Filtration, fermentation, and distillation systems integrated.
Pipes installed.
---
Water Purifier: Level 1 → Level 2
---
New function unlocked:
Brewing.
---
Recipe:
5kg grain or potatoes
10g sugar
1 yeast
Time: 12 hours
Output: 1 bottle (~500ml) moonshine
---
Li Qinwu washed potatoes from previous stock.
Loaded ingredients.
Started production.
---
Then—
He turned to the Emperor's Shrine.
---
Incense lit.
Cooking oil placed.
Production initiated.
---
Training followed.
---
Weighted movement.
Repetitions.
Endurance.
---
Three hours.
---
Sweat soaked his body.
Muscles burned.
---
He checked his stats.
---
No increase.
---
"…Makes sense."
---
Growth wasn't instant.
Even systems had limits grounded in reality.
---
Still—
He recalled something.
---
In games, upgraded hideouts enabled training boosts.
Simulated improvement.
---
He filed the thought away.
---
After cleaning up—
He ate.
Then slept.
---
When he woke—
Darkness.
---
12 hours had passed.
---
The air smelled—
Sharp.
Alcoholic.
---
Production complete.
---
He picked up the bottle.
Moonshine.
---
He considered opening it—
---
But paused.
---
The shrine.
---
A bottle of holy oil sat there.
Incense burned out.
---
An idea formed.
---
"…Can alcohol be sanctified?"
---
He approached.
Collected the oil.
Relit incense.
Placed the moonshine inside.
---
Production: 24 hours
---
"…It works."
---
Expectation rose.
What would holy alcohol do?
---
He turned his attention outward.
---
Next mission.
---
Water Supply Lake.
---
Two objectives aligned:
Reno's recovery mission.
Rudolph's operation.
---
Efficient.
---
But—
A problem.
---
A Chaos psyker.
---
Confirmed.
---
Two PDF battalions destroyed.
---
Danger level—
Extreme.
---
Psykers drew power from the Warp.
A dimension of chaos.
Of daemons.
---
Using it—
Was like stealing from predators.
---
If noticed—
You were consumed.
Reshaped.
---
Some served humanity.
Others—
Fell.
---
Chaos sorcerers.
---
Unstable.
Corrupted.
Lethal.
---
Li Qinwu had never faced one.
---
"…Risky."
---
But the mission couldn't be abandoned.
---
"…Then I'll scout first."
---
Simple logic.
---
If death had no cost—
Information did.
---
He geared lightly.
---
Worn clothes.
Dagger.
Three holy breads.
Four energy drinks.
---
Then—
Deployment.
---
---
Psionicists
Deployment complete.
---
Location:
Northern trenches.
---
Li Qinwu checked the sun.
Late afternoon.
---
Then—
The map.
---
"…30 kilometers?"
---
Far.
---
Too far.
---
Then—
Another realization.
---
Both missions—
Same location.
---
Water Ripple Monitoring Station.
---
"…So that's where it is."
---
Likely—
The psyker's base.
---
He paused.
---
Options?
---
None good.
---
"…Let's see it first."
---
He started running.
---
Thirty kilometers—
For him—
Manageable.
---
Every 3 kilometers—
Energy drink.
---
Fatigue vanished instantly.
---
Lungs cleared.
Muscles refreshed.
---
"Ridiculous…"
---
He made a mental note.
Stock more later.
---
He ran from day into night.
---
Time:
~2.5 hours.
---
No encounters.
---
Lucky.
---
The war itself—
Stagnant.
---
PDF vs Rebels.
No decisive advantage.
---
If this continued—
Collapse was inevitable.
---
The governor would retreat.
Hide in luxury.
Await judgment.
---
The rebels—
Lacked firepower.
---
And above them all—
The Imperium.
---
When the fleet arrived—
Everything would end.
---
---
Li Qinwu reached the lake.
Nightfall.
---
He took position behind a large rock.
Observed.
---
The lake—
Massive.
Endless.
---
But the target—
Was close.
---
500 meters ahead.
---
Water Ripple Monitoring Station.
---
Seven stories.
Half submerged.
Sensor arrays extending into the water.
---
Light.
---
Seventh floor.
---
Dim.
Candlelight.
---
Occupied.
---
Li Qinwu consumed a holy bread.
---
Divine State activated
---
Energy +5.
Perception enhanced.
Chaos resistance active.
---
He focused.
---
That room—
Contained the psyker.
---
His heartbeat accelerated.
---
Plan:
Wait.
Observe.
Infiltrate after lights out.
---
He slowed his breathing.
Let the environment settle.
---
Then—
A thought.
---
"…Could I become an Astartes?"
---
The Emperor's Angels.
---
Genetically modified super-soldiers.
---
Three meters tall.
Enhanced organs.
Extreme reflexes.
---
Near-immortal.
---
But—
Age mattered.
---
At nearly thirty—
He was already disqualified.
---
And beyond that—
Selection.
---
Strict.
Rare.
---
He exhaled.
---
"…Shame."
---
Astartes didn't die of age.
Only war.
---
Combined with his system—
True immortality.
---
"…Too bad."
---
Then—
---
Something changed.
---
Cold.
---
The air.
---
Silence.
---
The insects—
Gone.
---
The ground—
Frozen.
---
Then—
---
Presence.
---
A gaze.
---
Cold.
Ancient.
Predatory.
---
Locked onto him.
---
Instinct screamed.
---
Danger.
---
"Not good—!"
---
He tried to move—
---
Nothing.
---
His body—
Did not respond.
---
"…Psychic suppression."
---
Complete restraint.
---
Invisible force.
---
Like hundreds of hands pinning him down.
---
Then—
Sound.
---
Grass shifting.
---
Behind him.
---
Slow.
Deliberate.
---
Approaching.
---
Stopping.
---
Close.
---
A voice.
---
"…A little mouse…"
---
Distorted.
Unstable.
---
"…came to keep me company?"
---
Laughter.
Broken.
---
Force lifted him.
Turned him.
---
He saw—
---
A man.
---
No—
Something else.
---
Scalp torn open.
Flesh missing.
Face carved with deep, vertical wounds.
Some punctured completely through.
Saliva leaked from exposed cavities.
---
No ears.
No nose.
---
Wires—
Driven through his torso.
Hundreds of punctures.
---
A body—
Destroyed from within.
---
"…The voices…"
---
The man trembled.
---
"…so loud tonight…"
---
He grabbed his own hair—
---
Tore.
---
A strip of scalp came free.
---
Blood ran.
---
Li Qinwu understood instantly.
---
Self-inflicted.
---
Warp-induced madness.
---
An unstable psyker.
---
A beacon in the Warp—
Drawing attention.
---
Daemons whispered.
Endlessly.
---
Breaking him.
---
Corrupting him.
---
Until—
Nothing remained.