News from the Astropath

Damnable trolley problem.

The screams from the interrogation room had also ceased by then.

Ian walked out with a weary expression; using his psychic powers had taken a heavy toll on him, but he still held a special storage component in his hand.

"The souls of those who devote themselves to the Dark Gods are truly resilient under torture. Fortunately, I found something useful on him. I hope your tech-priest can decode the information inside. It'll be a bit fragmented, but it should still be of use."

Zesta, heavily modified with machinery, had even turned his brain into a mechanical one, which made things easier for Ian. After completely breaking his mental defenses, Ian used a special data extractor to pull partial data from Zesta's brain.

The price was Zesta's total death, but no one cared about that anymore.

Pavian stepped forward, took the data storage device, and walked over to the Thinker.

He inserted the storage device and began decoding. A flood of fragmented information appeared on the screen.

Reading data...

Agathos...

Providing weapons to rebels...

End of Dawn...

Searching for the Mongert Dynasty's treasury...

Little information, but crucial.

"End of Dawn... Holy crap, that thing showed up in my domain? I remember the cult behind it is the Word Bearers, right? Don't tell me there are a few cans hiding on my Capital World too?"

Though in the game, that Word Bearer was easily taken down by him, he didn't believe that here, a Chaos Space Marine would be so pathetic. There might even be more than one.

It seemed the chaos on his Capital World wasn't just about power struggles; there was a cult fanning the flames behind the scenes.

And that cult had the Dark Mechanicus supplying them with weapons.

The information also mentioned their target was his dynasty's treasury. What was hidden in that treasury?

"Captain Gao Yi! What did the information mention?"

"These bastards are targeting my Capital World. They're secretly arming the rebels, and a church called End of Dawn is stirring things up behind the scenes."

"End of Dawn?"

"Inquisitor Ian has heard of this cult too?"

"I have. These cultists have appeared in many places. They believe this world is doomed and can only be rebuilt through destruction. They're on the Inquisition's priority watch list! No wonder our Inquisition personnel on Agathos went silent."

Shutting down the Thinker, Gao Yi and the others returned to his flagship.

He found that fighting was the simplest part; the aftermath was the real test. He first asked Veil if he knew what was in the dynasty's treasury, but Veil didn't know either—only the Rogue Trader had access. But what could be so valuable that both the Word Bearers and the Dark Mechanicus had their eyes on it?

As they arrived at Omiron, the distance to Agathos became close enough for the Astropaths to communicate normally.

Gao Yi first had the Choir of the Stars contact Jey at the Landing Port. Fortunately, the Warp between the two points was relatively stable, allowing the information to be transmitted intact.

But when Jey heard that she needed to find a way to gather food for 40 million people, her first reaction was that it was simply impossible...

The Landing Port itself was a place short on food. The only way to gather that much was to purchase it from elsewhere.

"The Rogue Trader's demands are really tough. By the God-Emperor, food for 40 million people for two months... It's a good thing Lord Gao Yi trusts me with this task."

Looking at the message from the Astropath, Jey sighed helplessly.

"Boss, food for 40 million people—there's no way. Where are we supposed to find that much grain? We usually deal in smuggled goods. Who would've thought we'd need to buy food one day? We don't even have the channels! And how would we transport it? With our broken-down cargo ship? It doesn't even have Warp travel capability!"

Jey's subordinates were already urging her to give up. She had only a little over two hundred people under her. Though well-informed, they lacked real power.

"No... I'm not giving up. Opportunity! This is an opportunity! Do you want to be rats of the Landing Port forever?"

"I don't want that either! I want to rise above, to become a noble! But we don't have the strength for it!"

"Yeah, we didn't before, but now it's different..."

"What do you mean by that?"

"See this? Lord Gao Yi Mongert hereby declares Jeyd Hadaly as the representative of the Mongert Dynasty at the Landing Port!

Before, we were just using his name on the sly. Now, we're legitimate!

Those we couldn't deal with before, we can now. To slight us is to slight the Mongert Dynasty.

And most importantly, he's given us the capital to negotiate with others!

A trading quota for 500 sets of CMC Combat Suits. You've heard about the deals the Navy and the Ecclesiarchy made with him, right? You know the value of these things. No one would be foolish enough to refuse.

Go! Notify all the major powers at the Landing Port—there's a big deal to be made!

We're no longer criminals. Now, I'm a loyal servant of the God-Emperor too! The Rogue Trader's representative!"

Jey's words stirred her subordinates into excitement. No one was born liking being a criminal. If they could, they'd wear fine clothes, enjoy power and good food. If this was real, they'd be leaping social classes. Miss this chance, and it might never come again...

"Do you really trust a gang leader from the Landing Port?" Veil felt Gao Yi was being too hasty in giving Jey such an important task. 500 sets of CMC—if she messed up, the Mongert Dynasty's reputation would be ruined.

"She's no ordinary gang leader. A legitimate noble descendant of the Empire, who came here from a distant star system and made a name for herself—do you think she's just anyone? I believe she can pull it off!"

"How do you know her background?"

"The God-Emperor told me!"

"Huh?"

"Has the Astropath on Agathos replied?"

"They have, but perhaps the Astropath there has also suffered losses, or there's interference from the Warp. The information is very fragmented—some good news, some bad."

"Start with the good news..."

"The good news is that the Upper Hive and the Throne District of Agathos are still in loyalist hands. The Hive City hasn't completely fallen yet."

"So the bad news is that the other areas are already out of control?"

"I'm afraid so... It's unclear how far the situation has deteriorated. The Astropath could only glean this much."

These shortsighted fools! The Dynasty's infighting should be limited to political struggles—they're manufacturing a war! No matter what, it's a loss for the Dynasty.

Still, Agathos has some stored grain. We must resolve this conflict as quickly as possible. If we drag it out, the problem will only become worse than on Omiron. The starving population we'll face won't be 40 million on Omiron—it'll be billions!

And what Jie Yi can help me with is only temporary. It doesn't solve the root problem.

"As long as it puts out the immediate fire, that's enough. Once things stabilize, the SCVs can rapidly repair this world. We have high-value goods—we can rely on trade to get through the gap while Omiron is being restored."

Gao Yi's plan was to retake Agathos as quickly as possible. Once he controlled his Capital World, he could also load the second phase of the game program.

But right now, Omiron was littered with the starving dead. Gao Yi realized that until the food problem was fully resolved, the system simply wouldn't count his mission as complete...

It seemed this kind of rule required the recognition of the planet's human population and a stable situation.

"One more thing—Inquisitor Ian said we need to report the possible appearance of cultists to the Inquisition."

"No! Say the Astropath needs rest after prolonged astropathic communication. If the Inquisition's fleet shows up, they won't care about fighting in a Hive City that isn't theirs! We can handle this ourselves!"

"Understood!"