Reasons and Gifts

The warehouse gate groaned open.

The crew members who had been kneeling in prayer to the Emperor looked up in unison, seeing the man who had just left return.

Lu Jin carried a frail mortal on his back, rushed into the warehouse, set him down gently, and shouted to those around him, "Doctor!"

A crew member immediately ran out with a medical kit and examined the injured man's condition.

"His spine is broken." After the check, the crew member looked up at Lu Jin and said.

Lu Jin recalled how this man had lunged at the enemy's back, only to be flung off... He must have broken his spine when he was thrown.

He sighed helplessly, sitting down on the ground to catch his breath.

The others knelt near the bodies, mourning in silence.

Among those who had fought alongside Lu Jin earlier, eight walked toward him, while four carried a weapon, setting two heavy arms down slowly beside him.

No one had retrieved these weapons, so they brought them.

Lu Jin looked at the Chainaxe and the Power Hammer.

These were two-handed heavy weapons designed for Space Marine use.

Why did they feel heavy to him?

Because he wasn't wearing Power Armor, nor did he have a power pack or mechanical servo-joints to assist him.

Yet he could still wield them.

Lu Jin recalled the situation during the fight, then summarized a trait of the power he had gained:

The target of killing and extraction differed, and so did what he obtained.

For instance, since he had been killing Greenskins all along, the power he gained focused on enhancing his body's toughness and brute strength.

"Angel."

As Lu Jin pondered, a boy stepped out from the crowd, gently took Lu Jin's hand, and pointed at the body.

"Can you close my father's eyes?" The boy stood looking up at the seated Lu Jin, his childish voice pleading, "Please, Angel!"

The ship's tradition held that if an Angel of the Emperor closed the eyes of the dead, the deceased would be guided by the Angel to the Golden Throne.

To have one's eyes closed by an Angel was an honor for the dead.

Navigator Onaas looked at Lu Jin. She was the only one present who could confirm that Lu Jin was not a Space Marine, because her third eye saw no enhanced organs or Gene-seed within him.

But the others, including Carly, though some knew Lu Jin's modification had failed, seeing him still alive and kicking, and even stronger, could only assume the surgery had ultimately succeeded—under the blessing of the omnipotent Emperor.

"Alright."

Lu Jin stood and walked to the deceased.

The surrounding crew members all crawled nearby, forming a circle, holding various Ecclesiarchy talismans or faith symbols, closing their eyes, and murmuring the Emperor's litanies.

"Brave one. May your soul return to the Golden Throne." Lu Jin said as he reached out and closed the corpse's eyes.

Then he added silently in his mind: But I only wish you peace.

People looked up at the ceiling.

As if the dead soul had left its shell, drawn by the Emperor's light into the paradise the Ecclesiarchy proclaimed.

Only Lu Jin knew the dead's true end.

That the soul would enter the Warp, shattered by its fragility, ceasing to exist in any other world.

But for mortals, this was undoubtedly a good thing... the most complete rest.

Just then, the gate suddenly opened.

The mortals instinctively huddled together.

Lu Jin stood and looked toward the door.

Surrounded by a group of Space Marines, Huron stepped into the warehouse.

As the Space Marines aimed their guns at the mortals, Huron swept his gaze across the vast warehouse, taking in the nearly ten thousand crew members gathered there without seeming crowded.

"Brave and clever."

The Maelstrom Lord's eyes settled on Lu Jin.

"I thought you were a brute, a red savage devoted to the Blood God."

"Or a fool with too much naive kindness."

"But every choice you made was the best one for you in that situation—balancing what you wanted and what you needed."

As he spoke these words, Huron's tone was remarkably relaxed and gentle, as if talking to a friend.

Lu Jin remained silent. He didn't care about Huron's assessment of him.

"Now I want to hear some truths." Huron suddenly sat down on the ground, crossing his legs, his modified body letting out a low whine with the movement.

The Red Corsairs Space Marines still kept their guns trained on the crew, while more Space Marines entered the warehouse behind them, carrying not weapons but barrels filled with food.

Among them was an Apothecary who walked over to the one who had just died in the Arena, opened a case, and pulled out a mechanical spine, then began the implantation surgery.

Lu Jin frowned slightly and slowly sat down cross-legged.

"You're not really a Fierce Angel, and I even doubt whether you're an Astartes at all." Huron spoke. "Am I right?"

After a moment's thought, Lu Jin nodded.

"You don't even know Ninos's real name, and odds are you don't know anyone else's either, because there's always a certain detachment in your eyes."

"And if you don't even know their names, why do you want to save them?"

Huron's question brought back memories for Lu Jin, just like back on Inquisitor Bena's ship, where he hadn't known anyone's name except for Damian's family.

When he felt he wouldn't stay long, he didn't build relationships.

It was the same when he was with the Fierce Angels.

"I don't know their names—that's a problem with my personality—but they treated me sincerely. They pulled me out of slavery, and they called me battle-brother before I even underwent the augmentation surgery."

Lu Jin spoke slowly.

"They deserve respect too. They call themselves angels of the so-called God-Emperor, yet they uphold the tradition of defending mortals."

"Before I lost contact with him, the Chapter Master ordered me to ensure the others survived, and that took priority even over clearing the Fierce Angels' name."

"If there's anything that bothers me about them, it's that they never asked if I actually wanted to become a Space Marine, and when I thought they'd fallen to Chaos, they didn't explain—just played riddles."

"The Chapter Master thought his Psionic Power would guarantee my surgery was a hundred percent successful, but it still failed."

Hearing this, Huron felt that the Fierce Angels Chapter Master really was that kind of person—always thinking he had everything under control, only for it to...

But what Lu Jin's words conveyed was—I want to save them.

"A meal's kindness must be repaid! And they've done far more for me than that." Lu Jin said. "If they're alive, I'll rescue them; if they're dead, I'll collect their bodies. And the Cunning Hounds Clan will have only one fate—to be wiped out by me."

Huron listened, looking Lu Jin up and down, then asked again: "Where does your power come from?"

"I don't know." Lu Jin said. "But it's definitely not from Chaos."

Huron nodded again. "If one day you find out your power comes from some world, some terrible entity, you should choose to end yourself, because that would be your best option."

Huron recalled the Chaos Space Marines he'd seen when he was still fighting for the Empire.

The playthings of the Chaos Gods.

Huron looked at his Apothecary.

The spine had been implanted. The dead man slowly opened his eyes, staring blankly around.

"Everything before was a necessary test. I didn't know your background, what influences you were under, or what kind of person you are."

Huron withdrew his gaze.

"Ninos... you'll have to wait for him to tell you his real name himself."

"Ninos saved me once. If he dies, I'll see it through to the end—no mercy."

"When I learned that the Fierce Angels' strike Cruiser had been raided, I was already planning retaliation. The Cunning Hounds Clan is on their way here."

"They made a deal with me before. Once I fulfill my end of it, I can do whatever I want to them."

Hearing this, Lu Jin immediately stood up. "When the time comes, send me to their—"

"I'll lend you a warband." Huron raised one finger, then a second. "And a strike cruiser."

Lu Jin was stunned and quickly asked: "What do you want in return?"

"A gift requires nothing in return." Huron said. "But this gift isn't given for Ninos's sake—it's only for you."

Lu Jin fell silent.

"Our Chapter Master is so generous!" A Star-Claw Veteran stepped forward and barked at Lu Jin. "Kneel and thank the Maelstrom Lord, the Black Heart King's mercy!"

"No." Huron shook his head gently. "At this point, there's no need to offend someone over formalities."

Lu Jin nodded, thinking at the same time.

Huron was a generous man, a tolerant one. Anyone who still believed in the Emperor could join the Red Corsairs, and he even accepted those called "Fallen Angels."

But everything was based on interest.

When the Black Heart King showed generosity and righteousness instead of cunning and betrayal, it meant he thought someone was useful to him.

As for generosity that demanded nothing in return—it was just a way to win people over.

"Once Aels wakes up, my deal with the Cunning Hounds will be complete, and then you can start your operation."

Huron slowly stood up, staring into Lu Jin's eyes, but said nothing more.

Aels was the name of the "Lone Wolf."

The veteran that Lu Jin and the Navigator had beaten into a vegetative state.

Lu Jin's face showed no emotion, but worry stirred in his heart.

"What's the rush?" Huron could still read Lu Jin's mood from subtle clues, like his breathing. "The thing I need to complete the deal is with Aels. Until I finish that deal, you can't do anything, because I can't let the phrase 'those who cooperate with the Red Corsairs get lured into a trap by them' spread across the Maelstrom."

"Fine." Lu Jin nodded.

Huron still silently stared at Lu Jin, as if issuing a warning: don't make a move until I allow it.

A few seconds later, he turned and left.

But as he walked away without looking back, he spoke a few words.

"Aels is a failed modification like you, but it's not just that he can't wear the Black Carapace."

"My Forge Master will forge equipment for you just as he forged equipment for him."

"This too is my gift to you!"