An emergency summons: all low-level cadres of the former Duolai Gang—now the Yuki Gang—rushed to the corpse-starch processing plant with their subordinates. They had brought their elites.
The fact that Yuki now controlled the district most skilled in manufacturing human-derived products had struck fear into everyone's hearts. When Yuki demanded their presence once more, they arrived prepared for a desperate, life-or-death struggle. Furthermore, the surrounding gangs were beginning to stir. If Yuki were truly mad enough to try and liquidate everyone, a massive gang war would ignite. They weren't afraid of casualties; in fact, the more people died, the more they could establish their own prestige.
"These people are truly irritating," Yuki thought.
The terrain around the factory was unfavorable—flat and surrounded by slums. If a fight broke out, it would be impossible to cover all fronts. Moreover, the Ecclesiarchy officials hadn't left; they were still observing, which meant large-scale psychic powers were strictly off-limits. He couldn't even showcase physical feats that were too superhuman.
Despite these heavy restrictions, Yuki had called these anxious men here because he was confident.
On their way, the challengers saw the corpses of gang members who had been killed; their heads and arms were impaled on metal rods, forming two rows of "trees" to welcome their arrival. There were few residents around, which was highly abnormal. In the Underhive, when everyone's equipment was roughly equal, numbers were everything. Population served as weapons, shields, rations, and bargaining chips. Almost all important figures lived in densely populated areas, yet Yuki's base was eerily quiet. There weren't even guards visible.
Moving further in, they saw leather-like decorations, ornaments made of flesh, and spinal columns used as pendants. These sights made even these hardened veterans of blood and slaughter feel uneasy. A striking crimson line was painted on the ground, seemingly as a warning.
"Don't worry! No matter how tough Yuki's people are, they can't kill us all!" shouted a small-time boss in his fifties, who considered himself quite a master. "We'll make Yuki pay for killing the other leaders!"
Before the echo of his voice died down, Yuki's voice drifted from above their heads. "Are you all so eager for battle?"
He was sitting on a protruding iron plate, with Yuno holding an umbrella beside him.
"Yuki ! You're a man of no word! Chris followed your instructions to the letter, yet you still killed him! What are you trying to achieve?"
"He didn't respect me, so I wanted to see what ability he had to justify that disrespect. As it turns out, he lacked the qualifications. Why? Do you all want to try your luck too?"
Yuki could sense several sniper rifles already aimed at him.
"Let's talk. You just said I can't kill you all. That's true; killing everyone would be difficult. But killing a third of you is no problem at all."
"Then bring out your men! Let's spread out our ranks and see what you've got!"
"Who said anything about everyone fighting? I'm too lazy to clean up if too many die. Pick five hundred men—any weapons allowed. Let's see if you can kill me."
Five hundred men?
The crowd looked at each other in disbelief. Is this guy insane? Does he think he's an Astartes? One man against five hundred? Only a Space Marine could possess such power.
Finished speaking, Yuki jumped down as if hopping off a low wall. From a height of over ten meters, even a tossed corpse wouldn't have landed as lightly as he did.
"Those who don't wish to challenge me, retreat behind that red line and stay away."
Yuki pulled a rifle from his waist. "I'll count to three."
The people with even a modicum of status retreated rapidly. They had brought only a few confidants, leaving the bulk of their forces outside. They had known this was a "Hongmen Banquet"—a trap—from the start, but they were confident they could fight their way out. In reality, they were only a hundred meters from the factory entrance, which was wide open.
Within seconds, Yuki charged.
"Don't panic! This man can't possibly break through our guards!"
"Hard to say!"
In the blink of an eye, Yuki was in front of the man who had spoken, a savage grin on his face. He smashed the man's skull with the butt of his rifle.
Yuki could have easily crushed it with his bare hands, but why use a rifle butt? It was a simple cover-up. Yuki wore a set of heavy armor resembling that of the Adeptus Arbites, giving the impression of a small suit of power armor. He also consciously suppressed his speed to avoid displaying a terrifying, unrealistic power.
Having once been human, he understood how fragile humans were—both physically and psychologically. They couldn't fully trust each other and were always suspicious. More often than not, those with weak wills were led by those with strong ones. It was the same here. These men dared to resist Yuki not because they hated him, but because they believed their leaders could defeat him. And those so-called leaders believed they could win simply by uniting, which was essentially a misplaced trust in each other's strength.
Yuki found it hilarious. True strength of will is built upon true physical power. Just as he was now crushing the beliefs of these pathetic humans along with their bones.
Kill! They scattered. Kill! They lost the courage to resist. More fleeing leaders were cut down.
Abnormally, those who didn't flee immediately were spared, as if Yuki were intentionally avoiding them. Realizing this, the first clever individual immediately ordered his men: "Stop! The enemies are right in front of us—those traitors who dared to resist Mr. Yuki !"
Many were just trying to survive and were willing to submit as long as their lives were spared. They had risen up because Yuki hadn't guaranteed their safety as promised, but Yuki had just proven through action that he would allow them to live. As for those who fled, it was too late. Those wishing to prove their loyalty to Yuki needed them as offerings.
"Lord Yuki ! We are eternally loyal!"
Standing on high, Yuno watched this farce. She had some new ideas; perhaps she could use these little tricks when conquering planets in the future. However, she had other tasks to attend to—tasks assigned by Yuki.
"I could have scrambled their brains with my power, yet he wants me to only interfere with their perception. You truly are spoiled, my love."
The Ecclesiarchy officials lacked the ability to even realize their perceptions were being manipulated by the Hive Mind's will. From a distance, though they couldn't see the specifics inside the factory, they knew something foul was occurring.
Yuno idly flipped through their minds and discovered a rather surprising piece of news.
"A psychic prophecy reveals a threat of Chaos corruption in the Underhive."
Chaos in the Underhive wasn't a surprise, but for it to trigger a psychic prophecy meant even Yuno had to take it seriously.