Modification Complete

"They are the warriors I am most proud of, willing to sacrifice themselves for me. They are like pure ore that I send into the furnace of war, tempering their will and bodies into tempered steel. I will clothe them in indestructible armor and equip them with peerless weapons. No plague or disease shall harm them. They will learn the arts of war and master divine ingenuity, becoming invincible. They are my bulwark against terror, the defenders of all humanity. They are my Space Marines, and they shall know no fear."

--The Emperor

Fu Qinghai opened his attribute panel in his mind.

Name: Fu Qinghai (True Name)

Reincarnation ID: 60731920

Race: Space Marine (Bio-engineered Human)

Height: 237cm

Weight: 281kg

Ability: Tony Stark Electronic Backup (17% Completion) Bound to Brain

Reincarnation Equipment: None

Assimilation Points: 990

World Anchor: X1

Reincarnation Lives: X2

His race had changed from human to bio-engineered human.

He did not know how long he had been unconscious in the incubation tank. Just as he was about to ask Kunto, who was standing nearby, he saw Ogedei and Talal hurrying over.

Seeing Fu Qinghai sitting perfectly fine on an iron crate, covered in sensors, Ogedei breathed a sigh of relief.

"How is it, Master?" Ogedei asked first.

"He has mutated," Kunto said calmly, carefully observing the data displayed on the workbench screen.

"Uh..." Ogedei was stunned.

Hearing this, Fu Qinghai also turned to look at Kunto.

Kunto knew what Ogedei wanted to ask, so without waiting for him to speak, he explained directly:

"I don't yet know the nature of the mutation, but I am certain that his gene-seed has mutated."

Kunto's meaning was clear: he had informed them of the mutation, and it was up to them to decide whether to include the gene-seed Locke would produce in the future into the White Scars gene-seed repository.

Kunto added, "Do not worry, all his physical indicators are normal; he can become a qualified Space Marine."

In the long process of passing down gene-seed through generations, mutations were not uncommon. Some were benign, granting the warrior special abilities others lacked or making them more prominent in certain aspects, but most were detrimental, such as the Blood Angels' hereditary diseases, the "Red Thirst" and the "Black Rage."

Some mutations had obvious side effects, such as those in the Mantis Warriors, a successor chapter of the White Scars. They would sometimes fall into a state of extreme selflessness during slaughter, where their eyes and minds were filled only with the perception of combat. Their reaction speed would become so fast it was almost like having precognition, allowing them to predict every move of the enemy in advance, slaughtering them with precision and mowing them down like grass. However, the flaw was that they could not distinguish friend from foe while in this state.

This combat state was an ability possessed by the White Scars Primarch, Jaghatai Khan, but the Khan did not suffer from the side effect of failing to distinguish friend from foe. He could enter this state at will and withdraw just as easily, which was why Jaghatai Khan was ranked among the top three in terms of individual combat power among the Primarchs.

Ogedei asked, "Is it because of the accelerated cultivation?"

Kunto said, "I am not certain, but I suspect so."

Ogedei nodded slowly and said, "Understood, Master."

Kunto said, "You may take him now."

Ogedei bowed slightly and said, "Thank you for your efforts during this time, Master. On behalf of the White Scars, I offer you my respects."

On the way back with Ogedei and Talal, the mortal crew members they passed were all surprised to see Fu Qinghai, who was massive and draped in a linen robe.

After the boarding action, there were only seven Space Marines left on the frigate Dagger. For a frigate, that was actually quite a lot, and the crew knew every single one of them, so they were surprised to see an extra one today.

Crew members who had seen Fu Qinghai before were even more shocked, because a year and a half ago, when they last saw him, he was just a tall, thin kid following behind Ogedei.

That's right, a year and a half ago.

To be precise, Fu Qinghai had lain in Kunto's incubation tank for exactly 15 standard Terran months.

A year was enough to make a short-lived human from Earth feel like a lifetime had passed.

But for humans in the Warhammer 40K universe, who were accustomed to long interstellar voyages, it was far too short.

Ogedei sat in his wheelchair with a tense face, but Talal, who knew his old friend's personality well, knew what he was thinking.

It was too fast, far too fast!

At first, the two of them didn't know why they were escorting the Biologis Kunto Anastasio to Mars.

Space Marines had heard of the Biologis's great name and importance.

But why so many Space Marines were sent to hide on a single frigate, detached from the main fleet for the escort, neither of them knew.

Now, they both had a rough guess.

The mere fact that Kunto had created a Space Marine in just one year was enough to shock them, and would shock the entire Imperium.

Both Ogedei and Talal had gone through the complete promotion process.

Beyond the two or three years of selection, a normal Space Marine required many more years to complete the promotion process. The transplantation of the nineteen superhuman organs was done one by one; they had to wait for one organ to fully develop before the next could be implanted.

Some candidates get stuck for a full decade at the final step of the Black Carapace after receiving the Progenoid Gland.

The two of them did not know that in order to accelerate Fu Qinghai's development, Kunto had utilized numerous secret technical methods of the Adeptus Mechanicus and consumed rare potions he had treasured for many years; this was a one-of-a-kind, non-replicable effort.

"How many Biologis are there in the entire Imperium? It's impossible for every Apothecary to participate in the ascension process of a Space Marine," Talal said abruptly as they walked.

Ogedei knew what Talal was talking about, and the burly man with the shaved head nodded slowly, agreeing with his companion's assessment.

Ogedei said, "You don't need to tell me; I know that even if you added up all the Apothecaries in the entire Legion, they might not be as capable as one of Master Kunto's little fingers—if he even still has such things."

"Or perhaps, Kunto used many technical methods on Locke that, from a cost perspective, shouldn't have been used on an ordinary Space Marine," Ogedei added as a possibility.

Talal was stunned, wondering what technical methods could possibly be more expensive than the manufacturing process for the Imperium's elite Space Marines. Then, a possibility crossed his mind:

"Are you talking about the Adeptus Custodes?"

Talal did not understand the enhanced assassins of the Officio Assassinorum, nor did he even understand the organization itself; the only thing he could think of that possessed more advanced manufacturing technology than Space Marines was the Emperor's personal guard, the sentinels of the Imperial Palace—the Adeptus Custodes.

He then immediately asked, "But what is his purpose in doing this?"

Ogedei shook his head.

The two of them would soon know the answer.