Gold Drops!

It was a small shuttle that landed in low Earth orbit, parachuting from a transport ship in low Earth orbit to a helipad near the capital of Nostramo.

Compared to the various Hive City of Nostramo, there are fewer vehicles traveling here, and the buildings and population are also somewhat sparser—as one of the few "airports" near the capital, this place has always been the residence of wealthy families and clans.

But who exactly is this person who can travel to and from the planet's surface in a luxurious Aquila Shuttle?

With a hiss, the engine shut down, and the cabin prepared for transporting senior personnel opened.

Empty.

The car was completely empty; no one got out.

Just as if opening a hatch to allow air in, after a brief pause, the crew in the cockpit closed the hatch and restarted the engine.

The shuttle didn't stop at all; with the roar of its rocket engines, it flew back towards the transport ship in near-Earth orbit.

Don't ask why this thing, which looks almost exactly like a modern airplane, can fly around in a vacuum.

30K aerodynamics, kid.

"They've left?"

The family's informants were hiding in the shadowy alley, and he couldn't comprehend what he was seeing.

What did those Imperium mean by sending an empty shuttle down?

He recorded everything he saw, and after confirming that no one was following him, he quickly walked out of the alley and hurried into the crowd like a passerby.

He had a strong sense of counter-surveillance, but he forgot one thing.

—Look at the top of your head.

Above the black reliefs on the towering roof crouched the man whom the Nostraman feared most.

Night Haunter.

Guided by the illusion, he returned to Nostramo.

Perhaps even he himself often asked himself whether the fear he had left behind on Nostramo would last, and whether all of this was really as he had hoped.

Although all these questions were Curze the moment he saw his family dare to use underhanded methods to monitor Imperium officials riding the shuttle.

But he still suppressed the murderous intent rising in his heart.

For the sake of greater justice, he decided to let the two henchmen off the hook for the time being.

Unexpectedly, after only a few months of his absence, the entire Nostramo had already begun to forget the fear in their hearts.

It seems that I haven't killed enough.

Curze thought to himself, filled with self-reproach.

In the future, he must wipe out all those corrupt bureaucrats and damned family forces, and show them, and all the Nostraman, what they will face after losing their fear!

Future future!

He clutched his forehead in pain, as if something was exploding inside him.

Curze saw it!

He saw the infinitely distant future, and the present where infinite possibilities still exist. The endlessly surging tributaries of time converged, and then separated to form new streams.

Endless changes may be unfolding before his eyes.

He attempted to kill corrupt bureaucrats and their families, displaying their broken and gruesome corpses high above the ground.

Or, the Scouring could be carried out on the entire Nostramo, eliminating everyone connected to the corrupt upper class.

But no matter what choice he ultimately makes, the outcome seems to remain unchanged.

Nostramo will always be there after he leaves.

This period can be long or short, ranging from decades to just a few months.

No matter how many times he killed the Night Haunter, it was useless.

Unless he truly abandons the Great Crusade and dedicates himself entirely to punishing criminals on the land of Nostramo.

Otherwise, once he leaves, the entire planet will return to its usual state.

In his visions of the future, he also attempted to manage Nostramo through agents.

However, it won't be long before these agents are corrupted by power and money, becoming the family's white gloves, seizing huge amounts of benefits for them.

Then

Thump.

Nostramo burst into bloom like fireworks.

—It seems that everything is always ended by such an Exterminatus.

This was the ending of Nostramo in the illusion he saw.

It seems that no matter how many times Curze tried, the result was always the same: he was taken away by a single Exterminatus.

And that one difference... wait! He really found it!

In the endless illusion of transformation, Curze found a particularly strange tributary—from above, this tributary of the future seemed to have been strangely altered because of someone who would never appear in the present world.

Is that Kasgar?

He could sense that this entity, which had made some kind of dirty Warp deal with his father, seemed to be causing some irreversible effects on the world.

Curze tried to observe and try to think.

Ultimately, he saw the future under the influence of Kasgar, and he wanted to know what exactly happened in that future.

By separating himself from the mists of the Warp, he finally saw everything.

Those were two strangely dressed Bat-Man.

Curze: "?"

He really is a strangely dressed guy.

Whether it was Curze or the three thugs they were facing, at this moment, their thoughts were the same.

What is this thing?

After Kasgar and Sevitar finished introducing themselves, they both confidently raised their heads.

Standing at two and a half meters tall with sculpted muscles, he appeared like two towering black towers in front of the three thugs, his black bodysuit making him look like a giant black tower.

Anyway, no one has ever actually seen what the Night Haunter looks like, so what's wrong with Kasgar dressing up as one?

It definitely has the momentum.

But it seems that mere presence wasn't enough to convince these three guys.

"No, you, you are not Night Haunter."

One of them stepped forward and said.

Perhaps it was because Kasgar and Sevitar's appearances were so bizarre that the three guys didn't feel much fear at all.

Just by looking at their physiques, these two men could easily twist their heads off.

But I still don't feel any fear.

Perhaps it's because they're both not very bright.

"No?"

With a slightly lowered head, Kasgar's eyes were fixed on the daring thug beneath him.

"Have you ever seen the true face of Night Haunter? What gives you the right to think I'm not Night Haunter?"

"I don't know. But first of all, Night Haunter isn't a Black man."

As he spoke, he pointed to Kasgar's chin, which was covered by the Bat-Man mask.

"The skin color of the Nostraman is like this."

As he spoke, the thug pointed to Sevitar next to Kasgar.

You can tell from the skin on their chins that the real Nostraman were all that pale.

Kasgar isn't considered black.

But compared to the deathly pale skin of the Nostraman, almost anyone with even a little bit of pigmentation on their skin would be called a black person.

In other words, almost all Imperium could be called "Blacks" by the Nostraman.

"What did you say?!"

Kasgar was furious.

"This is discrimination!"

"Sai Omega Night Haunter, tell me, in Nostramo, what should be the sentence for racial discrimination against others!?"

"I don't know. As far as I know, the Night Lord has never executed anyone for this kind of issue."

"Tsk."

Kasgar curled his lip.

"I can't believe it! Omega Night Haunter, even you discriminate against me?!"

"No, no, no, I didn't mean that at all. Please don't misunderstand. I mean, I also have many Imperium friends."

"Have you two had enough fun?"

The thug who came out looked helplessly at the two strangely dressed big guys who were saying things he couldn't understand in front of him.

Pure drama queen.

His words carried three parts sadness, three parts helplessness, and four parts embarrassment.

The guy who had been cornered earlier had already taken the opportunity to escape without a trace.

If we can't find any good hostages today...

"Of course not, dear citizens of Nostramo."

Kasgar laughed as he grabbed the guy who dared to rush forward and provoke Night Haunter by the neck with a speed that thugs could never imagine.

"We came for you."

His tone suddenly turned icy.

What had previously seemed like a joke now sounded particularly terrifying.

Perhaps they weren't very bright, but their strength was always undeniably real.

Then, Kasgar gently lifted him up from his neck.

He couldn't breathe.

"Quick! Run!"

The remaining two thugs then realized that the other party was not joking at all.

Whether or not it was Night Haunter is another matter, but the opponent's methods and strength are by no means inferior!

Run!

He didn't even care about his companions, and immediately ran towards the street ahead, where the streetlights were shining brightly.

There, countless pedestrians and passersby come and go.

Once you enter a well-lit area, the other party won't dare to risk exposing their identity to arrest you!

Whatever you do, please don't chase after us!

As the two thugs ran for their lives, they kept praying.

As long as he can set foot on the bright streets of the Hive City, the other side will have no way to catch him!

It's getting closer, very close!

Although they didn't know why there was no sound from the two self-proclaimed Night Haunter behind them, this was exactly what they wanted!

Whatever you do, don't chase after them! Whatever you do, don't chase after them!

They were just a few steps away from bursting out of the dark alley—

Looking at the bustling street right in front of him, he had never felt his heart beating so fast.

At this moment, his mind was completely focused on running, as if he had already stepped one foot out of the shadows of that alley.

"Go."

With a light command behind them, a sound of wind breaking and a gust of air that was beyond their comprehension swept past the thugs' ears.

With unimaginable speed, the Night Haunter arrived beside the two and, with an unstoppable force, flung them back along with the momentum of their escape.

Accompanied by another almost silent wail, passersby continued their hurried pace.

In Nostramo, everyone has their own things to do.

No one would care about what was happening in the dark alleys of this Hive City.

While being flung back into the alley, the thug saw the other person's face.

That was one of the men whose skin was as pale as Nostramo's. What did he call himself again?

Omega Night Haunter?

When his mind was completely blank, he couldn't help but think this way.

The two thugs fell to the ground, or more precisely, at Kasgar's feet, with a loud crash.

Although Sevitar had only recently undergone Space Marine modification...

As one of the first Space Marine selected by Curze through rigorous screening, and a promising candidate particularly favored by Curze, Sevitar was already a well-known young fighter in the local Hive City before being selected.

A genius unparalleled on the entire Nostramo Prime, even without the Gene-seed modification of the Astartes, he was capable of taking on a hundred opponents single-handedly.

Moreover, these were two thugs who had no will to fight.

"Done."

As if treating some kind of animal, he slowly walked back, kicking the two guys lying on the ground groaning in pain as he did so.

"Indeed, your speed, power, and accuracy far exceed my expectations."

"Even without further training, your skill level will not be inferior to any Astartes recruit."

Satisfied, Kasgar turned to look at the man he was holding by the throat, his face filled with terror.

Despair filled the other person's eyes.

"No! You... you can't kill me!"

"Under Nostramo's current laws, this is merely intentional assault and robbery; we are not guilty of murder!"

"You should obey the law, great Night Lord!"

"Really."

The guy who called himself Alpha Night Haunter nodded.

"But unfortunately, we are Night Haunter."

This time, it was Omega who spoke.

The Night Lords will show no mercy for any evil, not even the slightest one.

The thug knew this—a few months ago, the Night Lord often transformed into Night Haunter to broadcast executions live, and the heart-wrenching screams of the victims remained fresh in his memory.

Trembling like a leaf under the fear of the unknown.

"But."

With a snap, Kasgar released his grip, letting him fall back to the ground.

"I'll give you one minute of mercy—tell me, you... hiss, the Sawtooth Gang, how many of you are there, and why are you robbing passersby?"

"Ahem, if I told you, how could I possibly escape death?"

"Are you negotiating with the Night Haunter?"

Kasgar laughed, a chilling laugh.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!"

"It's all because of the higher-ups; they forced us to do this!"

"The guy who controls this neighborhood is sent by a higher-ups! He said we have to pay money to redevelop this neighborhood, but not only has the money we were given gone, he wants us to pay him all of it!"

"Didn't we receive money many times before? Why didn't you save any?"

"I deposited it! How could I not deposit it! But after they stopped for a while after collecting the money the first time, and seeing that they weren't punished, they started to escalate their actions!"

"They repeatedly demand money from us under various pretexts, and when we don't have the money, they threaten us not to pay taxes. This is a heinous crime, and the Night Haunter will come to punish us!"

It sounds a bit like Tithe and Inquisition, which makes sense.

"We have no choice but to go back to our old ways if we can't afford to pay."

"Oh? The old ways?" Kasgar raised an eyebrow slightly. "So, you did this before?"

"I... I was just using a metaphor! Sir, it was just a metaphor!"

"We really have no other choice! If we don't pay taxes, we'll be killed by the Night Haunter; if we try to rob someone, we'll be killed too. Either way, we're going to die. We have no other option!"

"They forced us into this! They forced us into this situation!"

As he spoke, the man burst into tears, utterly humiliated.

"Really! I would never dare to do it again! My lord, I can tell you any information you want!"

Please, please don't kill us!

"The moment you commit a crime, the judgment of the Night Haunter has already begun."

"No one can save you."

Kasgar's words were as cold and despairing as the Night Lord himself.

"But I can give you a choice—"

"Choose.?"

The petty thug, who had already fallen into despair, had a sliver of hope rekindled.

It caught fire, but not much.

He knew the methods of the Night Haunter; most likely, it would force him to choose one of countless torture devices before he died.

"One, you can choose to die now."

As Kasgar spoke, he held up one finger.

"Two."

"We would like to invite you to participate in something that will be very interesting for the future of the entire planet."

"I want you to risk your lives for me, for ten days."

"Ten days later, after we have executed that corrupt official, you will die."

"Otherwise, I won't care how much tax he collects from you. No matter how much, you'll have to pay it."

After saying that, Kasgar put his hands behind his back.

Faced with their only glimmer of hope, the three thugs looked at each other in bewilderment.

Live on! There is still hope for survival!

Even if it's only for ten days, they will seize any possibility as long as they can survive.

"We are willing! We are all willing! Sir! We are willing to serve you!"

"May I have your name?"

"Kazan, my lord."

"My name is Kazan."

Nostramo is a common name; people from the lower classes with little education don't pay much attention to naming.

"Okay, Kazan." Kasgar reached out and pulled him up from the ground.

"No need to call me sir, I am Alpha Reph, I am Alpha Night Haunter."

I almost blurted it out.

"If you really don't dare to call me that, just call me Big Brother."

"This is your second brother."

"And my first task for you," Kasgar said, extending his finger again, "Is to gather here at the same time one day from now."

Do you understand?

"Clear!"

The crowd dispersed.

In an almost frenzied manner, the three survivors ran wildly in all directions in ecstasy.

In their vision, they became tiny black dots and eventually disappeared under the streetlights.

"You let them go?"

"They weren't scared at all; they were just let go like that?"

Sevitar asked, almost accusingly, "You don't really think these Nostraman will keep their promises once their fear is gone?"

As Nostraman, he knew the locals' character best.

Greedy, shameless, insane, and utterly without scruples. It can be said that only a fanatic like Curze, who disregards all consequences, could turn the humans on this planet back into humans.

If it were any other Primarch, Nostramo would always have been utterly crushed by the Exterminatus Order.

On this planet, there are probably only a handful of people who are truly worth saving.

Including Sevitar himself.

He didn't believe he had any hope of being saved.

"This is a classic question, and I know that the Nostraman are indeed very bad."

"You're right, Sevitar."

"But have you ever considered who drove them to this point?"

As he spoke, Kasgar gently placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Family members oppress the lower classes, corrupt bureaucrats exploit them, and powerful gangs devour each other, surviving by eating their own people. To survive, the Nostraman will stop at nothing."

"Or rather, only those who abandon morality can survive in the bottom of Nostramo."

"The problem has never been about human nature, Sevitar."

"It's like torturing someone relentlessly and then asking them why they hate themselves so much, or whether it indicates a violent tendency. Your questions will only get you the results you want."

"You mean—you want to transform the entire Nostramo in just a few days?"

"Commander, you must be insane! There are billions of people on Nostramo. Even the Night Lord couldn't save this utterly corrupt land. How could you possibly—?"

Sevitar retorted loudly in disbelief.

When the other party pulled out the bodysuit, Sevitar thought that this guy must have lost his mind and suddenly gone crazy.

But he never expected that Kasgar would be so mentally challenged!

"Even the ugliest mutants, I've seen the Ninth Legion reshape them into blonde beauties and handsome men."

Beneath the Bat-Man mask, Kasgar revealed a standard smile.

"But it has nothing to do with Nostramo, that's impossible, unrealistic! Even Lord Curze couldn't do it!"

Sevitar originally thought that although Nostramo was a piece of shit, Curze's methods could at least intimidate these scoundrels for a while through fear.

But after he accompanied Kasgar to the landing, Sevitar fell into utter despair regarding Nostramo.

Several months.

After only a few months, everything on Nostramo began to return to its original state.

They're all back.

The old village, the old village is back!

It would be better to have Lord Curze launch a rocket and send them all to heaven!

"Curze? That's a topic worth discussing. Tell me, what do you think of Curze?"

"To be honest."

Kasgar asked, as if changing the subject.

"I think he's pretty good. With him around, Nostramo was able to return to normal, and my childhood was able to be spent peacefully."

"But he also killed a lot of innocent people, didn't he? Don't you think it was wrong of him to kill innocent people?"

Yes, but—

Sevitar answered with a hint of anxiety, as if he were eager to hear Kasgar speak ill of Curze: "But without him, even more people will suffer!"

"He's all alone. What else can he do to get hundreds of billions of bastards to listen to him?"

"He doesn't have the energy to educate those bastards one by one; fear is enough for him!"

The Space Marine's reverence for the Primarch was never an exaggeration, and this was further amplified by Sevitar's own deep admiration for Curze.

It's hard to find another legion commander besides Sevitar who has served as a legion commander for the Primarch for so long with such dedication and absolute loyalty.

"You're right, Sevitar."

Kasgar did not refute the other party, "Time is tight and the task is heavy, so Curze's fear is indeed an effective means."

"But that's also the problem—when a person dies, their policies end. After Curze leaves, those who feared Curze will show their fangs."

"Even as you just heard, they use the name of Night Haunter to scare other people as a tool to exploit them for paying taxes."

Curze can use fear, then the Nostraman will learn to use it against others.

After the Night Haunter's disciplinary measures failed, this terrifying system will become the best tool for the upper families to exploit, dragging Nostramo back into the abyss.

"If Curze can truly manage an entire generation and completely correct the prevailing atmosphere, Nostramo's future will be full of hope."

"But if he can't do it, what can we do?"

Sevitar added, his gaze fixed on the busy vehicles and pedestrians beneath the streetlights ahead.

"Bring the Night Haunter back to everyone on Nostramo."

As he spoke, Kasgar confidently pointed to the emblem on his chest: "I am Alpha Midnight Tour—"

"Hiss, wait a minute."

Kasgar felt as if he heard some kind of sound.

"Who's there! Come out!"

Kasgar crouched down and growled at the dark rooftops behind him.

"What happened?"

There's something there.

Kasgar, his face grim, climbed up the roof from one side and darted from one side of the roof decoration to the other.

Unfortunately, Kasgar saw nothing.

Is nobody here?

Perhaps some unknown wildcat slipped away from Nostramo's pipes?

Kasgar thought to himself.

The next day.

It was the same time and the same place.

This time, all three of the previous thugs were present.

They might have wanted to run, but given the infamous reputation of the Night Haunter— "Even if he knew Kasgar wasn't, Sevitar was very likely to be"—none of the three of them escaped.

If I don't run, I can live for a while longer. At least when I die, if the Night Haunter is satisfied, I can die a quick death.

If I run away, I guess I'll only be able to see myself on Night Lord's [Lover TV] live stream.

"Very good, you have all arrived here as promised."

"Next, come with us to take care of some business."

As he spoke, Kasgar lifted Kazan, who was standing in front of him, while Sevitar lifted the other two.

Let's go!

In an instant, Kazan felt as if he were flying.

The incredibly fast sound of wind cutting through the air, like flying, whistled past Kazan's ears, making it difficult for him to even open his eyes.

They could only rely on the faint light to judge their position.

Rapid displacement.

Even though only a few seconds had passed, he seemed to have moved hundreds of meters based on the light source, speeding across the entire rooftop of the Hive City.

Soon, he could no longer see the location of the Hive City he had been in.

"Right here."

After an unknown amount of time flying, Kasgar and Sevitar stopped in front of a building.

Although the exterior of the black Gothic building still follows the STC template of the past, the newly added intricate gold decorations on the exterior walls are enough to show the luxurious taste of the building's owner.

Good soil

Kasgar couldn't help but think to himself that this was the second most obsessed guy he'd ever been with painting everything in gold.

"Kazan."

"I am here!"

Seemingly preparing to take action, Kazan stepped forward to respond with extreme trepidation.

"What is my mission? Brother, I'm ready to act at any time!"

"Just guarding the door, or rather, I don't expect you to do anything."

"Just being alive is enough."

Kasgar certainly wouldn't expect three small-time thugs to do anything significant.

As for those tough nuts to crack.

Kasgar glanced at the several burly bodyguards in front of the mansion, then at Sevitar beside him.

The two understood each other perfectly.

"We came for you."

Emerging from the shadows, the two stepped through the void.

"Who?"

The bodyguards cautiously braced their guns.

The next moment, the lights shone on the two mysterious guests.

Two Bat-Man?

The slaughter at this filthy family mansion did not last long.

Two top-tier Space Marine, even though Sevitar was just a recruit at the time, his combat ability was already comparable to that of any Legion warrior.

With their combined efforts, the two quickly eliminated all the bodyguards in the official residence.

Including the person who is the target of this trip.

"The item is hidden."

As he spoke, Kasgar licked the blood of the dead family executive.

As Space Marine, analyzing the memories of their targets through their flesh and blood has always been one of Space Marine abilities.

"Here."

Kasgar twisted a hidden knob, then entered a string of numbers into the sealed box behind it, and finally completed the verification using the guy's dead fingerprint.

The cabinet was pulled open, revealing a room full of gold coins to Kasgar.

Gold coins are popping up!

These aren't ordinary gold coins.

Nostramo's monetary system differs slightly from that of the Imperium.

As the source of Adamantium, the highest-grade gold coins on Nostramo are naturally made of high-purity Adamantium. Wearing a full set of gold coins (if one can actually bear the weight) would almost make one immune to most of the Imperium's current individual weapons.

His ill-gotten gains alone were enough to arm at least ten Adeptus Custodes with armor.

It was money amassed in just a few months.

Damn it.

How much of the Imperium of Man's abundance of resources is truly due to scarcity?

How much of it is wasted in the hands of these damned insects?

If all this Adamantium could be melted down into armor for the Adeptus Custodes Guard, how many more worlds' inhabitants could be saved in battle?

Damn it!

Kasgar angrily kicked the executive officer's corpse.

Sometimes, you have to admire Curze's methods.

It may seem a bit cruel.

But once you know what dirty, beastly things these people have done, you might even feel that everything Curze did was a bit too conservative.

No wonder Sevitar was so supportive of blasting everything on this planet to smithereens.

(In the original story, it was also he who issued the Exterminatus for Nostramo.)

Enraged, Kasgar chipped a large hole through the desk, which was clearly made of fine wood.

"Big brother, what are we going to do next?"

After clearing the area, the three thugs who had been following behind him sneaked in.

What are you doing?

Kasgar pointed to the entire room of gold coins next to him, which was filled with hidden doors.

"Go, distribute all these gold coins to me."