People Ought to Look Like People

A total of five suits of Adamantium Combat Suits were produced.

Gao Yi had them all painted black, otherwise they would have been far too flashy.

The insignia of the Golden Aquila was engraved on the chest, which was now a step that almost all combat suits underwent after rolling off the production line.

One suit belonged to Gao Yi himself, one to Veil, one to Damon, and the remaining two were kept for the time being, waiting for suitable individuals upon whom to bestow them.

Adamantium combat suits also began production, and these newly manufactured adamantium combat suits were used to replace the original combat suits of the rangers under Gao Yi's command, while the replaced combat suits were just right for fulfilling the navy's order.

Although the quantity was not particularly large, it was more than enough to arm ten companies of rangers.

The manufactured adamantium combat suits had also been verified; compared to the Astra Militarum carapace armour that was similarly blended with adamantium, these CMC-series combat suits were much sturdier.

As long as the visor was not directly hit, the sturdiest breastplate position could withstand continuous fire from several laspistols for a short time.

Equipped with a medic, they were simply like unkillable cockroaches.

If they had such equipment previously, Gao Yi even felt that without relying on himself, the rangers alone could have resolved the riots generated by the Warp.

And on the very day the Golden Ram was repaired, the warships promised by the Mechanicus were also delivered...

At this moment, Gao Yi stood on the bridge of the warship, looking out the viewport at two vessels docked not far from the Golden Ram.

One Sword-class Frigate named the Pioneer was fine; the entire warship also appeared brand new, and the Adeptus Mechanicus had clearly replaced its corresponding components for it.

As for the other warship, the sight of it made Gao Yi's eyelids twitch wildly.

Did these mechanical heads send me a pile of junk? How dare they cheat me? I just saw its engines stall twice, and even docking was such a struggle! Veil! Did you send anyone to inspect the internal condition of this warship?

On the bridge, Gao Yi cursed those tech-priests with the dirtiest words he knew in this life.

"Captain, I've inspected it. This warship is called the Sword Rain. It fought a battle against the Dark Eldar fleet, and was towed straight over as soon as the battle ended.

The Dark Eldar conducted boarding actions on this warship afterward, and the holes inside are what the boarding left behind, but the scene inside... sigh... God-Emperor above, I truly hope those crew members weren't in too much pain before they died, and I estimate it will take us quite a bit of time to clean up the inside of the warship.

The scene inside is simply too tragic... But perhaps because this group of Dark Eldar were solely focused on torturing those poor soldiers, they were wiped out by the Mechanicus's support fleet before they had time to destroy the important facilities inside. Therefore, although this warship looks very miserable, I've already inspected it; the warship as a whole is entirely intact, and the refitting promised to us is completely without issue.

With your SCV here, it shouldn't take long before it can sail again!"

Hearing Veil's words, Gao Yi also breathed a sigh of relief. Count those tech-priests as having a tiny bit of conscience.

During the period of waiting for the warships to be repaired, Gao Yi also experienced the hardships of being a leader.

At this moment, Gao Yi sat before the desk, scratching his head and tearing at his ears. Even though Veil had already helped him shoulder some matters, there were still plenty of things that required his personal attention.

However, one good thing after another did somewhat ease Gao Yi's mood.

Jie Yi's speed was fast; the Void Concordat's goods had almost been sold out, and this batch of goods had also brought Gao Yi generous profits. The Throne Cents acquired could completely compensate for the losses of the original exploration operation.

After all, the Void Concordat's warehouse gathered the goods of many people.

And these goods could also be used to purchase a large amount of living supplies.

Tantos, the King of the Landing Port, had also brought Gao Yi the shipworkers he needed. A full 50,000 people signed indentured servitude under Tantos's threats and walked toward an unknown future.

These 50,000 people would fill the three warships under Gao Yi's command. Although it wouldn't allow all three warships to reach full capacity, it was enough to achieve a normal operating level, and once back in the Imperium worlds, people belonging to the Imperium would be much more reassuring to use.

Norris followed the crowd, driven by the Landing Port guards, toward the Golden Ram.

Looking at the huge warship in the distance, Norris felt extreme anxiety in his heart. He had never left the Landing Port since birth, and he had once witnessed people being taken away just like today—those people never returned.

Following the tide of people, Norris saw those noble priests and the apothecary.

The guards roughly stripped off all their clothing, and the apothecary checked whether they were carrying any diseases on their bodies. Most importantly, they checked whether any mutations had appeared on their bodies.

The sound of a gunshot startled Norris. Not far away, a person whose body had undergone slight mutation had already been shot dead by the guards.

Looking at the dragged-away corpse, Norris felt numb as well. In the Landing Port, death was everywhere.

Norris saw the priest standing on the high platform.

The priest chanted prayers to the God-Emperor, telling everyone about to board the ship that the Rogue Trader was someone bestowed with a sacred mission by the God-Emperor, and dedicating one's life to him was dedicating one's life to the God-Emperor!

Entering the voidship to complete the tasks assigned by the Rogue Trader was a manifestation of loyalty!

Yet, listening to these words, Norris's heart felt utterly calm, even wanting to laugh slightly, but he did not dare to display even a trace of this emotion.

Once discovered, he could well imagine his own end.

He had once been a loyal believer of the God-Emperor as well, but the God-Emperor's prayers had not given him any return, while those nobles who fancied themselves protected by the God-Emperor and bestowed with a mission didn't treat their lives as lives at all.

In the Landing Port, everyone had heard of the Rogue Trader's name, but in Norris's heart, they were no different from other nobles.

Having completed all inspections, Norris boarded the transport ships that ferried them and entered the Golden Ram.

Norris had originally thought that upon entering the warship, endless labor would immediately begin.

The Rogue Trader's soldiers would beat them mercilessly to establish their authority; after all, this was something Landing Port guards frequently did.

Yet when Norris saw the soldiers on the ship hand him a free single-day ration of food and fuel cells, he was dumbfounded...

Moreover, this food was not that purely disgusting starch block, but rather something resembling bread made by mixing flour and starch blocks.

And just as Norris was standing in a daze, a medic walked toward him.

A crisp female voice came from the combat suit.

"Why do you have so many injuries on your body? Let me help you treat them!"

Under the effect of the nanites, Norris discovered that those chronic injuries of his were actually healing away slowly. At this moment, he felt an unprecedented lightness.

"You... who are you..."

"Me? My name is Connie, and I'm a medic under the Rogue Trader!"

Norris knew Gao Yi's name—it was precisely the Rogue Trader he was about to swear fealty to. In his heart, Norris suddenly felt that perhaps this Rogue Trader was somewhat different?

"Captain, you shouldn't be so generous to these shipworkers. You'll turn them into parasites who only know how to take!"

Veil was very uncomprehending of Gao Yi's actions.

"I'm merely letting them have a healthy body while they work for me, and didn't I listen to you and reduce the food rations originally meant to be given to them?"

"God-Emperor above, no Rogue Trader would be so extravagant as to want to provide them with bread made from flour every single meal! Starch blocks are enough to keep them alive; in the Landing Port, these people couldn't even manage to eat their fill originally!"

Yet, hearing Veil's words, Gao Yi slammed the table and stood up.

"Veil! I am the Rogue Trader! I can understand you, but how others do things is other people's business, and on my ship, I call the shots! People ought to look like people!"

Facing the roaring Gao Yi, Veil was also startled; he had never seen Gao Yi like this before.

He also realized his own mistake.

"Very well... I failed to position myself correctly. Please forgive my presumption... This is your warship."