Rebel Psyker

"With your word, I'm relieved." Qin Mo nodded in satisfaction, then prepared to lead Grey and the others to the other positions.

"Please wait." A soldier suddenly stepped forward and called out to Qin Mo.

Qin Mo slowly turned around. "What is it?"

"Is it useful for us to hold this place?" the soldier asked.

The moment he spoke, everyone present looked at Qin Mo, waiting for his answer.

It was a question that most of them wanted to ask but did not dare to, and now some hotheaded fool had asked it.

After all, the offensive plan had completely fallen through. The soldiers still holding the remaining positions were not doing so out of bravery or loyalty, but because they had no other path left.

"Of course it's useful." Qin Mo nodded. "If you hold your position a little longer, I'll have more time to assess the other positions. Then I'll gather all the surviving soldiers, clear the rebels out of the lower hive together, and walk out of the lower hive in victory."

At first glance, the plan seemed feasible, but Qin Mo's later words were overly optimistic. No one present truly believed that everyone could still make it out of the lower hive.

But just like their reason for still holding their positions, they had no other choice. This was their only lifeline.

"How did we end up like this..."

"Emperor, please tell me."

"Who the hell made the offensive plan? Were we dragged into some conspiracy by the nobles of the upper hive and the Spire District?"

Some of the soldiers began to complain.

Seeing that things were going badly, the officers immediately prepared to draw their guns and execute a few people, but Qin Mo stopped them just as they reached for their weapons.

Qin Mo merely watched the soldiers wail and complain with cold eyes. He knew that carbon-based lifeforms had limited psychological endurance. These people were already on the brink of collapse, and forcibly suppressing them would only backfire.

They were not opposing the continued defense. They were only complaining that the offensive should never have been carried out and cursing the stupidity of certain people in the Hive City. They were simply venting.

After the soldiers had complained themselves out and gradually quieted down, Qin Mo said, "Finished howling? Then get back to defending the fortress. Even if the chance of us fighting our way out of the lower hive and then beating the Governor senseless is less than one in a thousand, we still have to try."

At that, the exhausted soldiers got up and headed into the fortress.

Everyone looked hopeless, but they truly did not want to wait to die. The hope of surviving and settling the score afterward became their source of strength.

The officers gave Qin Mo grateful looks before heading toward the fortress as well.

Qin Mo led Grey and the others toward the next target position.

Late at night.

Fifty kilometers west of the fortress occupied by the 47th Regiment.

Amid a cluster of abandoned buildings, a group of people huddled inside a relatively intact single-story house to rest.

Qin Mo was not resting. He was using flames to charge a battery. Grey was not resting either, as he sent out a drone to search for nearby positions.

"Are you sure the military map says there's a position here?"

"What else would it say?"

"I haven't scanned anything."

Grey looked utterly baffled. He had used the drone's life-scan function many times, changing locations with every scan, yet he still could not find the position marked on the map.

And the lower hive was dark day and night. If they relied on the drone's camera to search, who knew when they would find it.

"Can't scan it?" Qin Mo stopped what he was doing and looked up at Grey. "Then switch to thermal imaging."

"How do I switch again?"

"Use your mouth. I specifically designed an audio pickup system for the Power Armor so people like you could operate it without trouble."

"Fine, fine, I know. Thermal imaging mode."

After circling around with the drone in thermal imaging mode, Grey found the position.

Before the war, this area had been a gathering place for lower-hive gangs and fanatics, and the position was located at the very center of that district.

"Not bad for a place defended by four regiments." Through Grey's view, he could see many people still moving around the position. They were not fighting the rebels, but building fortifications.

"Let's go." Qin Mo stood and headed toward the position.

"Aren't we bringing them?" Grey asked.

Qin Mo did not answer and simply kept walking. Grey glanced at his resting comrades, then at the Sentinel Drone standing watch. After confirming that they would not be in danger, he followed Qin Mo.

That position was not under attack anyway. They would just go over, meet them, watch Qin Mo perform his creation magic, and then get on with whatever came next.

In Grey's expectations, this would be the easiest mission yet.

The position was located in a plaza surrounded by high-rises. It had once been a black market where lower-hive gangs traded smuggled goods, but now only Planetary Defense Force soldiers stationed there remained.

Everyone silently reinforced the position until two streaks of flame appeared in the dark sky above, making them look up.

Bang! Bang!

Qin Mo and Grey landed at the same time.

When they saw that the two newcomers wore Power Armor, the people at the position stopped looking around and continued with their work.

There were even civilians at the position.

These civilians could not fight, but they were helping the Planetary Defense Force build fortifications or carry heavy weapons.

Among those heavy weapons, there were only a few Stubbers. Most were energy weapons.

"Look..." Grey tugged Qin Mo's arm, gesturing toward the left.

One soldier held a bowl while another carried water, and together they tended to a civilian who had lost both legs.

Orderly and methodical. That was Qin Mo and Grey's impression of this position.

"So many people, so many weapons... Your plan will definitely work!" Grey said excitedly.

"Mm." Qin Mo nodded.

His indifference suddenly caught Grey off guard. "What's wrong with you?"

Qin Mo did not answer. He did not even know what was wrong himself. He only felt an inexplicable discomfort.

A physical discomfort.

It was like someone with an extreme aversion to filth walking into a public dry latrine.

Qin Mo himself could not explain why. He simply felt inexplicably sickened and disgusted.

"I want to make a napalm bomb with an enormous blast radius." Qin Mo gritted his teeth. "Blow this shithole apart."

Hearing those words filled with baseless hatred, Grey suddenly thought of Psykers losing control. "Are you using Psychic—"

"I'm not a Psyker!" Qin Mo snapped angrily.

"Fine. Still, I think this is pretty good." Grey stepped forward and slowly walked ahead.

Straight ahead, a female officer was hurrying toward them. After stopping, she swept her gaze over Qin Mo and Grey in delight, unable to suppress the excitement in her voice. "You... are you the Marshal's Guard?"

"No. We're just ordinary soldiers, not the Marshal's Guard," Grey answered honestly.

"I thought the Marshal's Guard had arrived. I thought all of us were saved..." Obvious disappointment appeared on the female officer's face. "Are you here seeking shelter? In any case, we're short on manpower right now. You're welcome to join us."

Grey turned to Qin Mo, waiting for him to explain.

But Qin Mo gave no response. He lowered his head, and his Power Armor began to tremble.

"What's wrong?" Grey hurried forward to support Qin Mo.

Qin Mo slowly raised his head. Grey then discovered that Qin Mo's faceplate had already been heated red-hot. Holes of varying sizes quickly burned through its surface, and blazing flames poured out through them.

Grey was horrified. He instantly realized Qin Mo was using his power. He was about to unleash flames and burn the people here to death, just as he had reduced enemies to ash in every previous battle.

"This place... has fallen..." Every time Qin Mo opened his mouth, flames poured from it. "She... she is... she's a Rebel Psyker!"