Necrotech Scarab

As expected, just as Tark had said.

The Khalid Family, which controlled the entire planet, had intricate ties with the Underhive cults in secret!

Alvin stared intently at the luxurious hovercar. Standing beside the Hadley Planetary Governor was a handsome young man clad in ornate noble attire.

This was him. He had funded the Iron Hammer Gang in the Underhive and used Psykana to take the life of Alvin's previous incarnation.

Calm, I must remain calm. Alvin suppressed his rage, constantly telling himself to stay calm, and tore his gaze away from the young man.

But, just then.

The young man in the hovercar frowned slightly.

His senses, amplified to the extreme by Psykana, allowed him to detect the "killing intent" emanating from the crowd at that very moment.

The young man turned his head towards the dense crowd on the right side of the street, but the vast sea of people made it difficult for him to pinpoint the source of the "killing intent" immediately.

"Rashid, mind your manners."

The Hadley Governor beside him spoke in a low voice, "You should be looking straight ahead, showing the majesty of our Hadley Family, not looking around like an untrained commoner. It will make other families mock the etiquette of the Hadley Family."

"Apologies, Uncle Garken."

Rashid responded softly, immediately withdrawing his gaze and resuming his stern, forward-looking demeanor.

"Very good. Do your duty and don't forget your mission."

Garken Hadley, the Planetary Governor, looked straight ahead, not at Rashid at all, and his voice carried a hint of authority. "Until the true heir comes of age, you must bear the responsibility and duties that a qualified heir must possess. There can be absolutely no mistakes."

"Yes, Uncle Garken."

Rashid maintained his noble bearing and lightly gave his assurance, "I swear to His Majesty the Emperor, I will use my life to shield the true heir from all risks."

There was no further exchange between the two, and silence fell upon them.

Meanwhile, the parade outside had been pushed to a climax by the crowd.

The Planetary Governor's luxurious vehicle drove along the spotless, wide avenue, followed closely by the Losel Planetary Defense Force.

Judging by their marching steps and equipment, Alvin determined that this unit was definitely an elite force!

No wonder they were considered reserves for the Astra Militarum.

But this, in turn, deepened Alvin's worries. If this force were to turn towards the cult, they would likely all meet the Emperor Lord before the Empire's reinforcements could arrive.

When I get back, I'll tell Priest Aruman about this before making a decision.

Alvin cast a deep glance at the noble young man in the vehicle, as if trying to etch his appearance into his memory.

He quietly withdrew from the crowd of spectators.

Following Priest Aruman's instructions, Alvin arrived at the Baron Restaurant at 105 Fernand District.

One Grox Steak and one bottle of Amasec cost a total of 800 Krone. The Grox Steak was 200 Krone, and the Amasec was 600 Krone.

After lamenting that a single meal there cost nearly three months' salary, Alvin decisively abandoned the idea of tasting the Grox Steak.

For 200 Krone, he'd rather eat an Energy Bar!

Clutching the remaining 200 Krone, Alvin looked up at the time and found that sunset was still a ways off. He decided to visit the Black Market in the Mid-hive.

It wasn't unusual to find Black Markets anywhere in the hive cities. After all, a portion of the goods traded in the Black Market were mostly contraband from the upper echelons, so the Enforcers mostly turned a blind eye. As long as no lives were lost, they generally wouldn't be too strict.

After asking around, Alvin found the Marens District.

Unlike the generally dirty, messy, and chaotic Underhive, the Black Market in the Mid-hive was noticeably cleaner and more orderly.

Perhaps due to the "celebration," there were very few people in the Black Market today, with only a dozen or so individuals setting up stalls.

Alvin disguised himself as usual and browsed around for a bit before stopping at a stall that piqued his interest.

A small, exquisitely crafted censer with intricate hollow carvings caught his eye.

As Alvin picked up the censer and held it in his hands, the Navigator System's appraisal result immediately appeared before his eyes.

[Item Detected: Blessed Censer (Old)]
[A censer blessed by an Ecclesiarchy Priest. Residual incense within is scarce. During burning, it can greatly reduce the risk of being noticed by Warp Daemons.]
[Energy Provided: 0 Units]

Yo, not bad, this is a good item!

Alvin's eyes lit up. A censer blessed by an Ecclesiarchy Priest would greatly reduce the risk of Warp corruption when he used Psykana in the future.

"How much for this?" he asked the stall owner.

"Three thousand Krone."

The stall owner, clearly a bounty hunter with a rusty longsword and firearm at his waist, quoted an exorbitant price right off the bat.

Upon hearing the quote, Alvin sneered and placed the censer back on the stall. "Alright, you keep it then. Goodbye."

With that, he got up and left without hesitation, not intending to haggle at all.

"Hey, wait, don't be in such a hurry!"

At this moment, the stall owner behind him called out to Alvin, a sheepish smile on his face. "I was just talking nonsense. How about 800 Krone?"

"One hundred."

Alvin turned to look at the stall owner, his price cut as sharp as a blow to the ankle.

"Hey, do you have any eyes?" The stall owner, agitated by the low offer, shouted, "This is a censer blessed by an Ecclesiarchy Priest! Look at the craftsmanship. One hundred? You must be dreaming!"

"A censer blessed by an Ecclesiarchy Priest is very precious, but..."

Alvin suddenly paused, looking at the stall owner with amusement. "The most important thing about this is the incense ash inside. You only have a fingernail's worth left in this censer. You still have the nerve to sell it for 800?"

"Uh..."

The stall owner suddenly felt like his throat was choked. His face turned red, and he forced himself to say, "Even if there's only a little left, it's still a censer blessed by an Ecclesiarchy Priest!"

"Then you keep it for yourself."

Alvin decisively turned around again, about to leave.

Blessed censers are indeed precious, but aside from the meaningless exquisite craftsmanship, the most important part is the incense ash within.

That is the crucial material for resisting Warp erosion. As for the alloy filigree censer on the outside, it's purely a tradition of the Ecclesiarchy, useful only for its appearance.

As expected, after he took three steps, the stall owner panicked and quickly called out, "200, 200 Krone, I can't go any lower!"

Alvin turned back, frowning. "150 Krone. If you agree, I'll take it. If not, you can keep it."

"Fine, fine, fine. Consider me unlucky. Take it."

The stall owner put on a show of having suffered a great loss, saying with a pained expression, "No one wanted this thing for so long. I'll just sell it cheap to you."

Losing money? Impossible. Alvin knew the other party was just putting on an act.

This item, aside from Psychics, would basically be unwanted by anyone. Moreover, the censer was covered in dust, clearly showing it had been sitting there for a long time, which was why he was pressing the price so hard.

Suddenly, Alvin's peripheral vision caught sight of something that looked a bit strange.

It was pitch black, shaped like a palm-sized semicircular metal device, with dark green patterns. It looked like it had just been dug out of the earth.

"What? Interested in this?" The stall owner saw his gaze and chuckled. "Let me tell you, this is a good item. We lost more than a dozen brothers to get this. If you want it, it's 300 Krone."

Alvin frowned and picked the item up. The appraisal result appeared before his eyes.

[Item Detected: Necrotech Scarab (Fine - Damaged)]
[Necron construct, used to repair Necron devices. Can decompose virtually any matter into energy. However, during its long slumber, the scarab within the device has completely shut down.]
[Energy Provided: 0 Units]

Alvin's mind went blank; he was utterly stunned.

Are you kidding me? I thought the Nachmund Gauntlet, coupled with the surrounding Cults, was already a hellish start.

Does the Emperor Lord think the difficulty isn't high enough? Digging up a "Necrotech Scarab" in this cursed place means there's a slumbering Necron tomb?!

Brothers, I can only manage two updates at most during the new book period for monthly votes, but I'll do four after it's officially released. I have plenty of drafts~ So, I'm begging you, my lords, for some monthly votes. Tomorrow is the last day before it's archived. Help me boost the readership!