Vacation Plans

Returning to the familiar city, Chen Xi drove Li Jingyi home, but instead of returning to his own residence, he headed straight for the club.

As the club's soundproof door opened, a familiar scene came into view.

Unpacked miniatures lay scattered across the massive sand table, while the air carried the distinctive mingled scent of turpentine, paint, and old books.

Gutierrez was wrestling with the smoke-emitting components of a Space Marine Dreadnought, while Mai Mai and Twilight were fiercely arguing over star map data at a terminal nearby.

"Seventeen, you're back?" Gutierrez looked up, dark circles prominent beneath his eyes. He casually tossed his tools aside and rubbed the stiff back of his neck. "How was the trip to the Imperial Capital? I heard the parade was quite a spectacle."

"Breathtaking," Chen Xi replied succinctly.

He walked over to the sand table, his gaze sweeping over the simple layout simulating the Medusa Sector and the areas surrounding The Final Forge Plaza. "How are things over there?"

"Not good." Mai Mai answered irritably, pointing at a section of red-highlighted data on the terminal screen. "Reconstruction in the eastern district of Orbit Forge City is forty-seven percent behind schedule. While the purge of the Emperor's Children remnants is largely settled, their scattered resistance has been unusually stubborn. There have even been counterattacks by new mutants and fanatical cultists.

"The casualty figures for the newly deployed Astra Militarum don't look good either. The soldiers' morale needs a boost."

Twilight added, "High Sage Belisarius Cawl has pressed us three times already, asking when we can proceed with the next stage of research on Female Fulgrim... or rather, that 'newborn Primarch.'

"He wants to conduct deeper research on the 'newborn Primarch,' especially to understand how the Emperor's power purified Chaos and fused the essences involved.