Necrotech Scarab

Just as Tucker had said.

The Khalid Family, which controlled the entire planet, was secretly entangled with the cult in the Underhive!

Alvin stared hard at the handsome young man in noble finery, standing beside the Hadley Planetary Governor atop the luxurious hovercar.

It was him—the one who had sponsored the Iron Hammer Gang in the Underhive and used his psychic powers to take Alvin's predecessor's life.

Stay calm. I have to stay calm. Alvin forced down his anger, repeatedly reminding himself to keep his cool as he looked away from the young man.

But just then—

The young man on the hovercar furrowed his brow slightly.

His five senses, greatly enhanced by his psychic powers, had allowed him to sense a trace of "killing intent" from the crowd for just an instant.

He turned to look at the dense throng on the street to his right. But with the crowd packed so tightly together, he couldn't immediately pinpoint the source of the "bloodlust" he'd sensed.

"Rashid, mind your manners."

The Hadley Governor lowered his voice and spoke slowly. "You should look straight ahead and display the dignity of our Hadley Family, not gawk around like an untrained commoner. The other families will laugh at our manners."

"Sorry, Uncle Garken."

Rashid replied softly, immediately withdrawing his gaze and resuming his stern posture, eyes fixed straight ahead.

"Good. Do your duty, and don't forget your mission."

Governor Garken Hadley stared straight ahead without looking at Rashid. A trace of authority colored his voice. "Until the true heir comes of age, you must shoulder the responsibilities and duties expected of a worthy heir. You must not make a single mistake."

"Yes, Uncle Garken."

Maintaining his noble bearing, Rashid made his promise in an airy tone. "I swear before the Emperor that I will give my life to shield the true heir from every danger."

The two exchanged no further words, and silence fell between them.

Outside, however, the parade had reached its climax, the crowd's excitement surging.

The Planetary Governor's luxurious car drove along the immaculate, broad avenue, with the Losel Planetary Defense Force marching behind it.

Judging by their marching and equipment, Alvin could tell that this was an elite force!

No wonder they were considered a reserve force for the Astra Militarum.

But that only deepened Alvin's unease. If this force ever sided with the cult, they would all be meeting the Emperor Lord before the Imperium's reinforcements arrived.

"Once I get back, I'll tell Father Aruman about this. Then we can decide what to do."

Alvin took one last, deep look at the dignified young man on the car, as if trying to etch his face into his memory.

Then he quietly slipped away from the crowd watching the parade.

Following Father Aruman's instructions, Alvin went to the Baron Restaurant at 105 Fernand District.

A Grox Steak and a bottle of Amasec cost 800 crowns in total: 200 crowns for the steak and 600 for the Amasec.

After reflecting on how someone else's single meal could cost almost three months of his wages, Alvin decisively gave up on trying the Grox Steak.

For 200 crowns, he'd rather eat Energy Bars!

With the remaining 200 crowns in his pocket, Alvin looked up at the time. Since sunset was still a long way off, he decided to visit the Black Market in the Mid-hive.

There were Black Markets all over the Nest City. It was nothing unusual. After all, many of the goods traded there were contraband from the upper levels, so law enforcers tended to turn a blind eye. As long as nobody got killed, they generally didn't crack down too hard.

After asking around, Alvin found Marens District.

Unlike the Underhive, which was generally filthy, rundown, and chaotic, the Black Market in the Mid-hive was much cleaner and tidier.

Perhaps because of the "celebration," there were very few people at the Black Market today. He could see only a dozen or so scattered vendors.

As usual, Alvin disguised himself. After wandering around twice, he stopped at a stall that had caught his interest.

A small, finely crafted censer with intricate openwork carvings caught his eye.

When Alvin picked up the censer, the Navigator System's assessment immediately appeared before him.

[Item detected: Blessed Censer (Old)]

[A censer blessed by an Ecclesiarchy Priest. Little incense remains inside. While burning, it greatly reduces the likelihood of attracting the attention of Warp Daemons.]

[Energy provided: 0 units]

Oh, not bad! This was a real treasure!

Alvin's eyes lit up. With a censer blessed by an Ecclesiarchy Priest, he could greatly reduce the risk of Warp corruption when using his psychic powers in the future.

"How much for this?" he asked the vendor.

"Three thousand crowns."

The vendor was clearly a bounty hunter, with a rust-red longblade and a firearm hanging from his waist. He'd named an outrageous price right off the bat.

Alvin sneered at the price and put the censer back. "All right, keep it for yourself. See you."

With that, he stood and walked away without even trying to haggle.

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

The vendor called after him, an awkward smile on his face. "I was just throwing out a number. How about 800 crowns?"

"One hundred."

Alvin turned to the vendor and slashed the price down to the bone.

"Hey, do you have any idea what you're looking at?" The vendor grew so exasperated that he raised his voice. "This is a censer blessed by an Ecclesiarchy Priest! Look at the craftsmanship! One hundred? Dream on!"

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

Alvin paused and gave the vendor a teasing look. "The most important thing is the incense ash inside. There's barely a fingernail's worth left in yours, and you still have the nerve to ask for 800?"

"Uh..."

The vendor looked as if someone had grabbed him by the throat. His face reddened, but he stubbornly insisted, "Even if there's only a little left, it's still a censer blessed by an Ecclesiarchy Priest!"

"Then keep it and use it yourself."

Alvin turned away again, ready to leave.

The Blessed Censer was valuable, but setting aside the pointless fine craftsmanship, the most important part was the incense ash inside.

That was what protected against Warp corruption. As for the alloy censer with its openwork carvings, that was just the Ecclesiarchy's usual tradition. It was nice to look at, but otherwise useless.

Sure enough, Alvin had barely taken three steps when the vendor panicked and called out, "200! 200 crowns. I can't go any lower!"

Alvin turned around and frowned. "150 crowns. I'll take it if you agree. Otherwise, keep it."

"Fine, fine. I guess it's my loss. Take it."

The vendor acted as if he'd taken a huge hit, speaking with a pained expression. "It's been sitting here for ages and nobody wanted it. I might as well let you have it cheap."

There was no way he was losing money. Alvin knew the man was just putting on an act.

Aside from Psykers, practically nobody would want this thing. The censer was covered in dust, too. It was obvious that it had been sitting there for a long time, which was why Alvin had driven the price down so ruthlessly.

Suddenly, something odd caught the corner of Alvin's eye.

The object was pitch-black, shaped like a palm-sized, semicircular metal device, and patterned with dark green markings. It looked as if it had only recently been dug out of the ground.

"What? Interested in this?" The vendor noticed where Alvin was looking and grinned. "Let me tell you, this is a real treasure. I lost more than ten brothers getting my hands on it. You can have it for 300 crowns."

Alvin frowned and picked it up. Its assessment appeared before him.

[Item detected: Necrotech Scarab (Fine - Damaged)]

[A creation of the Necrons, used to repair Necron devices. It can break down almost any substance into energy, but the scarab inside the device has completely shut down after its long slumber.]

[Energy provided: 0 units]

Alvin's mind went blank. He was practically dumbstruck.

Could this be real? He'd thought that the Nachmund Gauntlet and the cult lurking nearby already made this a Hell-level start.

Did the Emperor Lord think the difficulty wasn't high enough? If a Necrotech Scarab had been dug up in this blasted place, didn't that mean there was a dormant Necron tomb nearby?!

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