Veil walked up to Gao Yi's side, leaning in close to whisper in his ear.
"Captain, everything is ready. The families of the selected soldiers have served the dynasty for generations, and they are reliable."
Gao Yi nodded silently.
"Scott, set aside what you are doing for a moment. I have some matters regarding the lower deck that I'd like to ask you about."
"Right away, Captain!"
Hearing Gao Yi's call, Scott had no idea that danger had arrived. He walked briskly from the corner thinker toward Gao Yi.
Yet just as he reached the walkway right in the middle of the bridge, the soldiers wearing combat suits suddenly made their move.
They rushed forward and instantly clamped down on Scott's arms, then shoved him straight to the ground. Even though Scott was a battle-hardened soldier with a degree of genetic enhancement, mortal physical strength still appeared vulnerable before combat suits.
Next, several gun muzzles were aimed directly at Scott pinned to the ground. This sudden change caused the crew on the bridge to let out gasps of alarm.
"In the name of the acting captain, I hereby place you under arrest, Scott! Everyone else, clear the bridge first!"
Scott, pinned to the ground, was still struggling.
"Why?! What did I do wrong, Captain? Didn't you say punishments would wait until after the riot ended? Master of Discipline Veil, please put in a good word for me! I've served the dynasty for so many years, why are you treating me like this?"
"Put in a good word for you? It's rich of you to know you've served the dynasty for so many years. The dynasty brought you up from the lower deck, granted you wealth, bestowed upon you honor, and even made you the master of discipline of this flagship, but what did you do? Aren't you clear about that in your heart?"
"I am loyal! I didn't do anything!"
"Then why did you conceal your trip to the bottom hold with Lord Ludwig? What on earth is the thing you two were looking for?" Veil was truly furious. His loyalty to the dynasty even surpassed his loyalty to the Imperium, and even surpassed his faith in the God-Emperor.
Yet Scott's actions before his eyes made him feel unforgivable.
"You don't have to talk now, but I'll make you speak soon enough." As Veil spoke, he unhooked the chainsword at his waist and prepared to walk toward Scott. He intended to dismantle Scott's limbs first anyway, as long as he could still talk.
Meanwhile, Scott's previously agitated expression instantly turned cold.
Looking at Veil's expression, he knew that no matter how he explained or concealed it, it was useless. Veil and this detestable acting captain had already concluded that he had done these things.
"Gao Yi. It's all you. It's all the fault of these suddenly popped-up soldiers by your side. Originally they had no chance at all to counterattack to the lower deck, and I wouldn't have been exposed!"
Scott's expression began to twist as well.
Hearing Scott admit it, Veil angrily wanted to step forward and take matters into his own hands, but Gao Yi stopped him.
"Veil! Calm down. The most important thing is to find out from his mouth what is hidden in the bottom hold, and where the Rogue Trader went!"
Gao Yi also stepped down from the captain's seat and walked toward Scott.
Yet just as Gao Yi stepped down the stairs, he sensed something was wrong. Gao Yi discovered that his exhaled breath had actually condensed into water mist, and the temperature across the entire bridge began to drop abruptly.
Scott, held in place, was muttering something with his head down at that moment, so softly that even the soldiers nearby could not hear it.
However, Gao Yi, whose awakened psionic perception power was terrifyingly exaggerated, heard it crystal clear.
"O gods of Chaos... I hereby sacrifice my soul to you..."
Along with Scott's murmuring, a surge of psionic energy welled up from his body.
The soldiers restraining Scott were astonished to find that the brand-new power armour on their bodies actually began to decay at an extremely fast rate. When they wanted to pull their hands away from Scott, it was already too late; the decay rapidly spread upward along their arms, and not just the combat suit, but even the flesh beneath began to wither and rot.
Then a psionic shockwave spread outward into the surroundings. This sudden impact caught the surrounding soldiers off guard, and the machine gunners wearing CMC combat suits also crashed to the ground. Only the marauders were able to steady their footing, but the powerful impact still caused the soldiers inside to experience a turbulent rush of blood. A layer of psionic shield also appeared around Scott.
"You're a psyker?!" Veil blurted out in shock. Scott had actually concealed his identity as a psyker all this time? And for so many years, there hadn't even been a single psionic backlash?!
Free from restraint, Scott raised his arm and aimed it at Gao Yi.
A destructive force rushed toward Gao Yi in an instant. Scott smiled a very ferocious smile. The sacrifices he had made in the past and sacrificing his soul to the unknown existence in the warp were what had traded for this power. In his mind, the image of Gao Yi being instantly torn apart by his psionic power had already appeared. As long as Gao Yi died, then his own death would be worth it.
"Captain, watch out!"
Veil wanted to push Gao Yi out of the way, but how could he possibly be faster than psionic energy?
Watching the psionic spell hurtling toward him, Gao Yi's face also paled in shock.
Damn it! I dropped my guard!
Gao Yi tried his utmost to shift his body, but he was still a fraction too late.
The psionic spell imbued with destructive force slammed directly into Gao Yi.
Just when everyone thought Gao Yi was a dead man, unbelievably, the power sufficient to tear adamantium apart failed to cause any damage to Gao Yi at all.
"How is this possible!" Scott stood frozen in place. Having obtained powerful psionic power through sacrificing his soul, he seemed at that moment to see a monster possessing countless tentacles behind Gao Yi, and that monster was devouring all the psionic energy he unleashed.
Moreover, this appearance was precisely Gao Yi's projection within the warp—the appearance of the Xel'Naga among the stars.
Scott felt the opponent devour all the surrounding psionic energy clean to the last drop, yet that monster still did not know satisfaction; the entity had its sights set on his soul.
How could this be even more demonic than a demon?
"My warp projection allows me to ignore psionic spells?! More uncontactable than the uncontactable?!" As the psionic energy was thoroughly devoured, this wave directly netted Gao Yi one thousand psionic crystals.
Wasn't this much faster than farming mobs?!
"Monster, you're not human. What on earth are you?!"
Scott could not help backing away; in his eyes, Gao Yi was now simply more terrifying than a Chaos God.
And Veil looked at all this in shock as well.
"My lord! What on earth is going on here?"
"The God-Emperor protects me!"
Just as Scott wanted to flee, the soldiers had also recovered their footing.
The marauders aimed the quad launchers in their hands at Scott.
A full twenty quad launchers unleashed a saturation bombardment on Scott.
Instantly submerging Scott in the blaze of fire.
The deafening explosions continued relentlessly until Gao Yi told them to stop.
As the smoke and dust cleared, Scott's psionic shield had long since been blasted to pieces, and his entire body was covered in unsightly wounds. It was clear he was not going to make it.
The heavily injured Scott could no longer speak a single word, coughing up large mouthfuls of blood.
Gao Yi walked toward Scott. Veil wanted to block him, but he was astonished to find that Gao Yi's speed was startlingly fast; he didn't even have time to stop Gao Yi before Gao Yi had already approached Scott.
Unawares, as the purified warp power grew more and more abundant, Gao Yi's physical fitness was also upgrading in sync.
Not only had Scott sensed the hunger of Gao Yi's warp projection, but Gao Yi, as the master of the projection, felt this sensation even more palpably. He leaned down and arrived by Scott's side.
As he approached Scott, that soul already corrupted by the Chaos Gods also turned into nourishment for Gao Yi's projection.
As this evil soul was devoured, a massive amount of memories belonging to Scott also appeared within Gao Yi's mind.
Before you continue