Animal carcasses were scattered across the underground repair station, arranged in crude patterns like ritual components. Blood pooled in corners, mixing with the stench of decay. The entire place reeked of rot and something far worse—something… wrong.
Li Qinwu stepped forward and slapped the Silent One on the shoulder.
"Hey. What exactly are you doing?"
The Silent One slowly lifted his head. His eyes locked onto Li Qinwu—deep, hollow, unsettling.
"I am probing the mysteries of this world," he said softly. "Observing the future. Conducting psychic divination."
Psychic power.
In this universe, it was both a gift and a curse—capable of unleashing devastating force, or tearing open the veil of reality to glimpse fractured futures within the Warp.
Li Qinwu kicked aside a mutilated carcass, then casually slung an arm around the Silent One's shoulders.
"Can you at least try to look less like a Chaos cultist?" he said. "You're one bad day away from getting purged by a random Inquisitor."
He glanced around at the symbols, the blood, the decay.
"This world is already insane enough. No need to make yourself look like you've pledged allegiance to Chaos."
The Silent One stared blankly at him.
His scarred face, half-healed and cracked, combined with the dim light and grotesque surroundings, made him look less like a scholar—and more like something that had already crossed the line.
Li Qinwu sighed.
Hopeless.
He dragged the Silent One outside, forcing him into fresh air, then tossed him several pieces of consecrated bread.
"Here. Anti-corruption rations. As promised."
The Silent One's eyes lit up instantly. He accepted them carefully, almost reverently, storing them close to his chest.
Li Qinwu continued:
"I'll be back in a few days. Keep using Warp exposure on me. I need to strengthen my resistance."
The Silent One nodded and sat cross-legged.
"Prepare yourself. I will begin."
He raised his hand.
Warp energy began to leak into reality.
---
Pain.
Not physical—spiritual.
Li Qinwu felt his soul being scoured, as if dragged across a blade. A thin fracture opened before him—beyond it lay the Immaterium.
The Warp.
Endless. Chaotic. Alive.
And watching.
His resistance surged as the energy washed over him. His mind strained—but held.
Then—
A voice.
Low. Amused.
Hungry.
> "Ah… that soul again."
Something stirred in the Warp.
A presence reached toward him—vast, predatory. A clawed hand stretching through immaterial space toward the flickering flame of his soul.
> "You return. Seeking power, perhaps?"
The voice coiled around his thoughts.
> "Serve. Spill blood. Offer skulls. And power will be yours."
Li Qinwu's response was immediate.
"Who are you?"
The entity laughed.
> "I am a servant of the Blood God. I kill in His name. I was seen once by Him—and blessed."
A Bloodletter.
A lesser daemon of Khorne.
Li Qinwu paused… then said flatly:
"Oh. So just a grunt."
Silence.
Then—
Rage.
The Warp trembled.
> "INSOLENT WORM—"
The daemon lunged.
Li Qinwu didn't hesitate.
"Radiance."
He shoved the consecrated bread into his mouth.
Golden light erupted from his body—pure, blinding, absolute. It burned through both flesh and soul, forming a radiant barrier.
The Emperor's protection.
The daemon's claw touched the light—
—and screamed.
Warp essence recoiled violently, as if burned by divine fire. The presence shattered and retreated into the Immaterium.
Gone.
---
The energy vanished.
The Silent One staggered backward, drenched in sweat, staring in shock.
"He… forced it back…"
Li Qinwu stood still, breathing heavily.
For a moment, reality overlapped.
The material world… and the Warp.
He could see both.
Then it faded.
---
He opened his system panel.
His eyes sharpened.
Energy: 20
Warp Resistance: 30
Psychic Resistance: 30
Psychic Proficiency: 30
But more importantly—
He could feel it.
His soul.
A flame, flickering within the Warp.
And now… he could see it.
Control it.
Move it.
A faint grin formed.
This was the first true step.
Not survival.
Not exploitation.
Power.
Real power.
---
He exhaled slowly and looked at the Silent One.
"I'm heading back."
He paused, glancing at the station.
"And clean this place up. I might start using this area for storage. Try not to make it look like a Chaos shrine."
The Silent One nodded silently.
Li Qinwu turned, stepped onto the ventilation platform—
—and vanished.
---
For a long moment, the Silent One stood still.
Then his expression darkened.
He had withheld knowledge.
Warp techniques. Psychic methods.
He had planned to control the flow of information—to remain useful.
Necessary.
But now—
Li Qinwu didn't need him.
Not really.
And soon…
He might surpass him completely.
---
Li Qinwu reappeared inside his hideout.
He dropped his equipment and immediately got to work.
The components were all there:
Chemical purification unit
Temperature regulator
Mixing and sedimentation system
Core elements of a crude—but functional—medical station.
He dismantled, reassembled, rewired.
Metal clanged. Circuits sparked.
Then—
Ding.
Hideout upgraded: Medical Station Lv.1.
Li Qinwu's eyes lit up.
Eight production slots.
Simultaneous synthesis.
Efficient.
Practical.
Deadly useful.
---
He reviewed the system:
Low-grade materials from poison needles.
High-grade materials from stimulant compounds.
Outputs:
Strength injectors
Endurance boosters
Combat-grade medical injections
Hemostatic agents
Surgical kits
Even regenerative compounds
Primitive by Imperial standards.
But here?
This was advanced technology.
---
Li Qinwu inserted eight poison needles into the system.
Processing began immediately.
Twenty minutes.
Efficient.
He nodded.
"Good."
---
A knock came from the door.
His hand moved instantly to his pistol.
He stepped forward, opened the viewing slit—
Xiaodao.
---
Li Qinwu exhaled slowly.
Things were moving.
Fast.
Too fast for most people to keep up.
But not for him.
The medical station was running.
The grain deal with the rebels was secured.
Weapons would flow out.
Resources would flow in.
Now—
It was time to build the next piece.
The brewing operation.