[Navigator: Alvin] [Race: Human] [Faction: Imperium of Man] [Occupation: Scavenger] [Anchor World: None] [Remaining Energy: 0 units] [Remaining Source Power: 0 units] [Current Status: Searching for an accessible Anchor World]
When Alvin opened his eyes again, thick industrial fumes filled the air, carrying a pungent stench of rot that seemed to shoot straight into his skull.
After a brief spell of dizziness, Alvin began coughing violently. His throat and lungs burned with searing pain, and he could not help giving a bitter smile. "It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury back to frugality."
It had only been ten short days, yet this body was already struggling to adapt to the harsh environment of the Underhive.
Once he had mostly adjusted to the side effects of the environmental change, Alvin finally had time to observe his surroundings. They seemed more or less the same as before he left, with hardly any major changes.
Of course, the Underhive's environment might simply have been too terrible, and since he lived in an exhaust discharge zone, it was genuinely impossible to see any changes.
"I wonder how much time has passed in the main universe during this trip."
As Alvin pondered, he lowered his head and looked at his tightly clenched right hand. A vial of azure-blue medicine lay quietly in his palm, and he could not help sighing in relief. "Once the temporary Compound V wears off, I'll inject the permanent Compound V. That way, nothing should go wrong."
Before injecting the permanent Compound V, he planned to stay in the "doghouse" and go nowhere.
After all, who knew what dangers he might encounter outside in an Underhive where traces of heretical cults had appeared?
Alvin's life creed was simple: never do anything risky.
Second, he wanted to sort through the spoils from this trip. Aside from the permanent Compound V, he still had one vial of temporary Compound V and several gold bars.
Alvin weighed the gold bars, which were roughly ten grams or so, and looked troubled. "Hopefully, this stuff will be of some use."
In theory, gold was considered a precious metal and was essentially a universal currency in human society.
But in the Warhammer Universe, he was not so sure.
The Imperium of Man spanned a vast territory, covering nearly the entire galaxy. Its planets numbered in astronomical figures. No matter how rare gold was, it should not be in short supply.
But considering the level of technology in The Boys, he genuinely could not think of anything else that could serve as a toll to get through.
As for products from the 20K era, Alvin had considered them, but...the risks were simply too great!
Whether weapons, food, industrial supplies, or anything else, the consequences of exposure would be unimaginable. Who knew whether it would attract the attention of some unknown entity in the Warp?
So Alvin could only keep narrowing down his options. In the end, he settled on gold—a metal that, although relatively rare, would not cause any trouble.
"Ultimately, I'm still too weak."
Alvin sighed softly. If he were a Planetary Governor or had been born into some noble family, he would not have to worry about these problems.
The old ancestors' words could not be ignored: a commoner was innocent, but possessing a treasure made him guilty.
An unconnected, powerless scavenger from the Underhive could be crushed to death with ease. Until he possessed sufficient power and influence, he absolutely could not expose the existence of the Navigator System!
Suddenly.
The crude iron-sheet house was kicked down from outside!
As Alvin stared in astonishment, he saw a familiar face. A diagonal scar split through the man's brow and lips, and his entire face was twisted into a ferocious mask of fury. It was none other than the scum from the Blood Axe Gang!
Well, well. He had actually come knocking on Alvin's door!
Was this what they meant by refusing to take the road to Heaven and forcing their way into Hell?
The scar-faced brute stared at the dazed Alvin with a vicious grin, assuming the boy was too frightened to move. "You little brat, you're pretty good at hiding. You made me look for you for ten whole days!"
"T-Ten days?"
Alvin was slightly stunned. So time passed at a one-to-one ratio between the two worlds.
"It's all because of you, you little bastard, that I lost face!"
The scar-faced brute gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead. His sinister, savage gaze seemed ready to tear Alvin apart and swallow him whole. "I'm going to chop you into pieces, one slash at a time!"
As he spoke, he drew a knife stained with who-knew-how-much blood. Its blade had been dyed blackish brown, and its edge was chipped.
"You little bastard, scream to your heart's content. Wail. Regret everything!"
The scar-faced brute loomed over him and raised his arm, his eyes gleaming with cruelty as he brought the knife down.
His face flushed as though filled with blood, and dark veins bulged grotesquely. He yearned for and anticipated the sight of blood, almost as if he could already hear the little bastard's screams beneath the blade—see him weeping, shrieking in terror, and dying in agony between pleas for mercy and despair.
Clang!
The sound of metal striking metal rang out!
The chipped knife struck Alvin's shoulder, but the imagined spray of blood and agonized screams never came.
It was as though the blade had struck solid steel. The force traveling along it left the scar-faced brute's hand trembling violently, and the knife nearly flew from his grip.
Only a moment ago, the scar-faced brute had been immersed in the thrill of imagining Alvin's slaughter. In the next instant, reality yanked him back.
He stared in disbelief, his eyes wide with astonishment. "W-Why? What kind of sorcery did you use?"
"Sorcery? Brother, your faith isn't very pure."
Alvin's smile grew gentler as the power of Psychic Power quietly surged. "This is the Emperor Lord's blessing, you idiot!"
"Fuck you—"
The savage scar-faced brute was thoroughly enraged by Alvin's attitude and swung his knife again.
But at that very moment, telekinetic force born from Psykana Power directly enveloped the scar-faced brute and twisted his entire arm apart!
Crack!
Amid the crisp, horrifying sound of breaking bones, the scar-faced brute's entire right arm was twisted into a grotesque knot.
Shattered bones mixed with flesh. The agony instantly brought the scar-faced brute back to reality. His pupils shrank to pinpoints, and fear twisted his entire face.
"Ah—"
Before he could scream, the scar-faced brute felt as though something had lodged itself in his throat.
Alvin gazed at him gently and raised one finger to his lips. "Shh. Keep it down. It wouldn't be good to disturb anyone else."
"Mmm! Mmmmmm!"
The scar-faced brute struggled in terror, wanting to escape from this "demon."
But he had barely taken half a step when his right leg was crushed. Flesh and shattered bone sprayed everywhere, and he collapsed to the ground without support.
It hurt. It hurt so much!
Snot and tears streamed down the scar-faced brute's face. Unable to speak, he could only stare at Alvin in terror, silently begging him to spare his life.
"You want to live?"
Alvin read the scar-faced man's thoughts and asked with a friendly smile.
"Mmm! Mmmmmm!!"
The scar-faced brute nodded frantically, the pleading in his eyes intense and abject.
"Then, when other people begged you for mercy, did you ever spare them?"
Alvin did not consider himself a good person, much less a paragon of morality. But at the very least, he did not slaughter people for no reason.
Everyone living in the Underhive was scum, but there was a difference between them. Some people did what they had to do to survive, while others did it purely to satisfy their desires.
Alvin belonged to the former. The scar-faced brute and the Blood Axe Gang belonged to the latter.
Even scum differed from scum.
Hearing those words and seeing the coldness in Alvin's eyes, the scar-faced brute finally gave up completely.
The pleading in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by madness, hatred, resentment, regret, and countless other emotions flooding his heart.
If only he had killed this little bastard back then. How had things come to this?
He hated Alvin!
"Don't look at me like that."
Alvin's gaze was icy as he looked at the scar-faced brute and spoke softly. "At least I'm willing to give you a quick death, aren't I?"
As his voice fell, Psykana Power surged!
A suffocating telekinetic force enveloped the scar-faced brute. Then, beneath his terrified and horrified gaze, it crushed him directly into a mass of flesh.
Alvin took a deep breath and turned to look outside. "Next is the Blood Axe Gang."
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