Surprise? Shock!

In the dim corridor of the warship, only every few segments did a lamp emit a cold, white light.

Ogedei, pushing his own wheelchair, walked side by side with Talal along the steel gallery.

"I want to give that boy a chance at promotion," Ogedei said, looking straight ahead and getting straight to the point.

"I figured as much." Talal was not surprised by Ogedei's words. "But doing so does not conform to the Legion's rules, nor does it comply with the laws of the Administraturm."

Talal continued, "Not to mention he is not from Chogoris, but from a hive world we have never even heard of. According to the rules, he must first undergo training and assessment at the Quanzhou Monastery. He would need to stand out among numerous candidates to earn the opportunity to become an Astartes."

"Oh, right," Talal remembered something and added, "Before the surgery, he must also undergo a political vetting by the Administraturm; that is also an indispensable step."

Talal said in a serious tone, "Let me be blunt, Ogedei. You are an Astartes Captain; this is not a matter under your purview, nor is it within your jurisdiction."

Ogedei shook his head slowly and said, "No, Talal, the situation has changed."

"How long has it been since we lost contact with our homeworld? Have you seen any new recruits added to the fleet? Yet our warriors are sacrificing themselves constantly!"

"Talal, my brother, let me tell you straight: the era has changed. This is not a localized rebellion; this is a war sweeping the entire galaxy. This is the rebellion of the Warmaster Horus!"

"The entire Imperium has descended into chaos. No one cares about the damn Administraturm, no one cares about our sacrifices, and no one cares how many White Scars are left, except for us!"

At this point, Ogedei's tone was already very agitated. His eyes were red as he said:

"If you are going to talk to me about the Legion's rules, then I will tell you: if The Khan were on the Dagger, he would certainly support my decision."

"Furthermore," Ogedei calmed his agitated tone and said, "the warships of the Sons of Horus have already fled to a remote, savage world to seek supplies. You can see it too—now that this war has dragged on, the traitors' supplies are running low. If we don't replenish our own ranks, how can we participate in the upcoming battle for the Sol System?"

Hearing this, Talal remained silent for a long time.

The corridor fell quiet, with only the sound of their footsteps remaining, forming a sharp contrast to the storm-like argument from just moments ago.

Finally, Talal shrugged and said helplessly, "Fine, fine. Ogedei, you know I've been persuaded by you again."

Hearing this, Ogedei curled the corner of his mouth slightly and said:

"Besides, I saw something different in that child's eyes. I have a premonition that he will bring us a surprise."

The cabin door opened slowly, and Ogedei pushed his wheelchair into the lounge.

As soon as he entered, he saw Fu Qinghai sitting on a chair, cradling a bolter in his arms, the muzzle pointed directly at him.

!?

Ogedei was stunned.

For an Astartes, a bolter was a weapon that could sometimes be held with one hand, but for Fu Qinghai, it was simply too large. He had to hold it in his arms with both hands, as if he were clutching a massive grenade launcher.

"What are you doing? Be careful not to blow yourself up," Ogedei said, looking utterly bewildered.

Fu Qinghai gave a cold smile, pointed to a silver coin on the bed, and spoke: "What is this?"

Ogedei looked at the silver coin, frowned slowly, and said, "A silver coin. What about it? Do you know what this is?"

"This is a token of the Lodge. You surely know what role the Lodge played in the internal strife of the White Scars, don't you, Khan?"

The confusion on Ogedei's face deepened: "Why do you know about these things?"

"You don't need to worry about that. I know many things—like why you have a complete set of Mark IV power armor, and why you are not traveling with the main Legion fleet."

As Fu Qinghai spoke, he thought to himself: I'll bluff you first. If you're a traitor, I'll blow you away with one shot, then go on a rampage on the ship. I'll kill as many as I can, and once I earn enough reincarnation points, I'll commit suicide. I still have one life left anyway.

Setting aside the fact that the reincarnation world had assigned him to the Emperor's faction, Fu Qinghai had extremely high standards for the independence of his own emotions and thoughts. In his previous life, he had looked down upon those who indulged in the pleasures of certain drugs; he had a "mental cleanliness" obsession. If he were to become a fanatical believer whose thoughts and emotions were manipulated by the Chaos Gods, he would rather die.

Thinking of the bizarre "playstyles" of the Slaanesh daemons described in the novels, Fu Qinghai couldn't help but shudder.

He gripped the handle of the gun tighter. He would never fall into the embrace of Chaos, even in death!

Ogedei raised his hands, signaling Fu Qinghai not to be agitated, and said:

"That set of power armor was a trophy I captured from the Sons of Horus. I have another set that was damaged on Cheslatan. We are not traveling with the Legion fleet because we have another mission; the specific details are military secrets, and I cannot tell you. As for that silver coin..."

"You are right, I did participate in the Lodge. Although I don't know how you found out, the Lodge did indeed play a very dishonorable role in that turmoil. But not everyone who participated in the Lodge chose to betray the Great Khan, did they?"

Ogedei looked into Fu Qinghai's eyes and countered: "Based on these things alone, how do you judge that I belong to the traitor legions?"

"Or is it that you still hold a grudge about me eating human flesh?"

Yeah, I still can't confirm it based on these things alone. I wanted to bluff Ogedei to see if he would panic or get angry after being exposed, but he is so calm... Fu Qinghai pondered for a moment and said:

"Then look up and shout three times: 'Horus is a big idiot!' 'Chaos is full of big idiots!'"

Ogedei was almost amused to the point of anger and said speechlessly, "Why would I do such a childish thing?"

"Click!" The sound of the bolter being cocked.

"Horus is a big idiot!" "Horus is a big idiot!" "Horus is a big idiot!"

"Stop hitting... I was wrong, I was wrong, seriously, stop hitting..."

"Damn it, and here I was thinking about giving you a chance at promotion. You brat, I really misjudged you..." Ogedei picked up Fu Qinghai with one hand, scolding him while slapping him.

"You're barely the size of a flea and you dare to threaten people with a bolter? If I hadn't stopped you, the recoil would have torn your arm off the moment you pulled the trigger!"

The strength of an Astartes was immense; with just a few restrained slaps, he had already left Fu Qinghai bruised and swollen.

The Warrior Lodge is a form of organization and a phenomenon that exists commonly within many Space Marine Legions.

Space Marines use secret tokens to gather, communicate, and bond privately, transcending ranks, companies, and even Legions; this form of association is the Warrior Lodge.

On the positive side, an expeditionary fleet is a relatively closed space. Space Marines participating in the Warrior Lodge semi-anonymously (masked but without voice modulation) helps strengthen brotherly bonds among colleagues, allows them to occasionally vent and complain, say things that cannot be said in formal settings, and relieve the stress of prolonged combat. In the Warrior Lodge, there is no distinction between recruits and officers; everyone communicates as equals, which helps new warriors integrate into the Legion quickly.

Once any military force grows to a certain scale, it is highly likely that such private organizational forms, detached from rank hierarchies and chains of command, will emerge internally. Analogous to Earth in his past life, it is somewhat similar to the CC Clique Central Club of the Nationalist Army... (mistake).

The Emperor himself and the Administratum have strictly forbidden the Warrior Lodges of the Space Marines. Some Primarchs of the Legions have adopted a tacit attitude toward the Warrior Lodges, while others have firmly opposed their existence.

However, during the early stages of the Horus Heresy, the organizational form of the Warrior Lodge played a very negative role. Within the Sons of Horus and the White Scars, traitorous Space Marines used the Warrior Lodges to collude in private, spread rumors, express views completely contrary to the official Imperial stance, and plot rebellion.

And that silver coin in the private small box of Ogedei was a very typical token of a Warrior Lodge.

Finally, Ogedei put down the bruised and battered Fu Qinghai and said irritably:

"Clean up your face and come with me to meet someone."

Fu Qinghai followed Ogedei deep into the warship.

Compared to the brightly lit bridge, the light here was dim. Except for a simple white light overhead, the surroundings were shrouded in darkness, with only a few crimson warning lights on the walls reminding everyone that this was a restricted area for ordinary crew members.

At the end of the corridor was a heavy gray steel gate, with yellow and black striped warning signs on its edges.

They had reached their destination.

Fu Qinghai noticed that guarding the gate were not crew members in White Scars uniforms, but two tall and sturdy robots.

These bipedal robots were painted deep red, with thick limbs and massive three-fingered power fists at the ends of their arms. A shoulder-mounted cannon protruded from their left shoulders, and the robots stood twice as tall as Ogedei.

The guards were not crew members but Castellan Robots... Fu Qinghai immediately began to ponder; there was likely a big shot from the Adeptus Mechanicus inside.

The robots' short, thick, pot-lid-like heads turned toward Fu Qinghai and his companion. Their cold faceplates scanned the two of them before turning back.

"Hiss—" The steel gate slowly opened.

As he passed the two behemoths, Fu Qinghai couldn't help but turn his head to look. On the deep red shoulders of the robots was a white painted emblem—a circular gear with a skull in the center.

From Mars, the headquarters of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

PS: The Chen brothers' central club has no similarity to the Warrior Lodge; this was just a bit of a joke.