Rogue Trader

Late at night, Gao Yi stared at his computer screen in boredom.

"Is it really this hard to make a good game these days? If you can't innovate, just stitch things together! As long as it's fun, that's fine!"

He looked at the various game icons on his desktop, but none of them sparked any interest.

"I'm only twenty years old. Have I already developed electronic impotence at such a young age?"

Gao Yi said powerlessly.

Clinging to a final shred of hope, Gao Yi opened a gaming forum once more.

However, as he waited for the page to load, he noticed his screen beginning to flicker. The webpage, along with the game icons on his desktop, dissolved into clusters of garbled code.

"Did I get a virus? I didn't even download anything sketchy!"

Before Gao Yi could even reach for the restart button, his computer screen erupted in a blinding flash of white light.

Feeling his consciousness slowly drifting away, the only thought in his mind was:

"Did I just encounter the epilepsy-inducing side effects mentioned in those game warnings?"

Gao Yi felt his soul depart from his body, instantly plunging into a bizarre, kaleidoscopic vortex of space.

Within this tunnel, he seemed to see a garden of decay, a labyrinth constructed of crystal, a world of fire dominated by a massive brass throne, and a magnificent palace from which constant moans and wails echoed.

Seeing these scenes, Gao Yi almost burst into tears. How could he not know what this represented?

As Gao Yi passed by, the masters of these demonic realms seemed to notice something, casting their gazes toward him.

"Nurgle, Tzeentch, Khorne, Slaanesh... I just finished playing Space Marines 2. The internet said that if you agree to the game's terms of service, you're actually going to 40k to work for the Emperor—it wasn't just a meme, it was real? Don't do this to me!"

As he delved deeper, Gao Yi saw a pitch-black, frigid sun. That cold sun seemed to grow exceptionally piercing, and he reached the end of the spatial tunnel.

"Pain... so much pain..."

Gao Yi opened his eyes and found himself inside a solemn hall.

Unknown energy conduits and inscriptions covered the walls of the chamber.

A massive influx of memories flooded Gao Yi's brain, causing a splitting headache.

"I... I am Gao Yi Mongert... a captain of the Mongert Rogue Trader Dynasty tasked with exploration. Am I here to participate in the assessment for the Rogue Trader heir?"

Gao Yi, currently absorbing the memories of this body, tried to stand up, but a sharp pain in his abdomen caused him to collapse to the floor instantly.

He looked down at his stomach. Bright red blood was gushing out. He lifted his shirt and was shocked to find a massive, gaping hole in his abdomen.

Staring at the gruesome wound, Gao Yi was stunned. The intense pain nearly caused him to lose consciousness, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"What happened? What kind of hellish start is this? I'm going to die the moment I arrive?!"

Feeling his life force slipping away, Gao Yi panicked. He didn't know if dying here meant true death, but he looked around and found he was alone in the hall, with nothing in sight that could help him.

Relying on his memories, he picked up the Sonic Array Communication device from his pocket, but it only emitted chaotic static. No matter how he called out, there was no response.

His severe injuries left him unable to even stand.

Massive blood loss caused Gao Yi's consciousness to blur. Just as he thought he was about to breathe his last, a voice echoed in his mind.

Entering Warhammer world.

Current Psionic Crystal balance: 1000

Select game program to load (0/1)

Once the host controls an entire planet, a second game program may be loaded.

A long list of options appeared in the loadable game menu, all of which were games installed on Gao Yi's computer.

"DOOM, Stellaris, StarCraft, Stellaris, Space Marines 2, Warframe, Warhammer Fantasy, Warcraft, Titanfall," and so on.

Looking at the mountain of options, Gao Yi's brain couldn't process the information. He only cared about saving his life! A phrase flashed through his mind.

"The Medic is here~"

"Just StarCraft! Whatever! Save my life first!"

Gao Yi immediately selected StarCraft II.

StarCraft Module loaded.

Shop opened.

SCV: 50 Psionic Crystals

Marine: 100 Psionic Crystals

Medic: 200 Psionic Crystals

Reaper: 200 Psionic Crystals

Looking at these options, Gao Yi didn't hesitate to redeem a Medic.

As the Psionic Crystals were consumed, a Medic wearing a white CMC-405 light Combat Suit slowly materialized from a ghostly silhouette into a physical form amidst a flash of white light.

"Terrans can use Protoss warp technology? You can play like this?"

As soon as the Medic fully arrived in this world, she immediately began emergency treatment on Gao Yi.

"Don't move! Your wounds are severe!"

A female voice came from a Combat Suit. She raised the medical device in her hand and released a green beam toward Gao Yi.

As the beam hit, a massive number of Nanites entered Gao Yi's body. They released an anesthetic with no side effects, and Gao Yi immediately felt the agonizing, heart-wrenching pain vanish. Following that, these Nanites began repairing Gao Yi's body at an incredible speed.

Both his internal organ damage and external wounds were healing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Watching this scene, Gao Yi felt it was incredible. He knew that a game was ultimately just a game; if he were truly in the StarCraft universe, a Medic's treatment could not be this simple, as Medics were equipped with many surgical tools. However, under the influence of some unknown rule, the Medic's treatment produced the exact same effect as it did in the game.

"If it's really like this, then the Terran Barracks, Heavy Factory, and Starport recruitment buildings are also similar to those in the game. Doesn't that mean a single Barracks is equivalent to an STC construction template from the Adeptus Mechanicus?"

Gao Yi realized something; this was the true power of the loaded game template. He didn't need to consider reality, as it presented the actual in-game effects directly. Of course, this still required further verification from Gao Yi.

Under the treatment of the young Medic, his fatal injuries were healed, and Gao Yi climbed up from the ground.

Only after recovering did he have the energy to properly observe this hall and organize the new memories in his mind.

From those memories, he knew this hall was where the Mongert Family's most sacred Trade Warrant was kept. The surrounding energy conduits and inscriptions were things his Mongert Dynasty had spent generations paying a huge price to have built and reinforced with anti-psyker and anti-Chaos technology by Priests of the Ecclesiarchy, Tech-Priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and even Inquisitors of the Inquisition.

The owner of this body had only been able to enter because he possessed the bloodline of the Mongert Family.

This hall existed within the dynasty's flagship Voidship, the Golden Ram. He had come here to undergo an assessment; the dynasty was searching for an heir. He didn't know who had attacked him, but it was clear that the culprit did not want him to pass the assessment.

And those who wanted to kill him were still outside the hall.

Gao Yi walked curiously toward the Trade Warrant.

A massive, ancient piece of parchment was housed within a small Stasis Field, ensuring it would not suffer any damage from the passage of time.

"I hereby declare, in accordance with my will and the true contents of this document, that I appoint this individual as the bearer of the Trade Warrant. Become a paragon of humanity, never yielding in the face of adversity, and carving a path forward through the darkness."

"A real Trade Warrant. I'm actually one of the heirs."

To be honest, aside from almost dying right at the start, he could accept this identity. At the very least, he hadn't become an IG soldier or some unlucky wretch in a Hive City. Furthermore, if he truly became a Rogue Trader later on, having this Trade Warrant would remove many limitations, allowing him to perform actions that would normally be deemed heretical without being hunted down by the Inquisition.

After all, according to the Trade Warrant, a Rogue Trader could make contact or even trade with xenos, provided it did not endanger humanity.