Servants

After being rescued, Yao En collected his reward from the captain.

Although he had performed terribly when facing the mutant spiders and had never fired at the enemy, as someone who could suppress Psychic Power merely by approaching a Psyker, he still received a higher reward than everyone else.

Forty Throneys.

Just by tagging along and slacking off, Yao En earned more money than the other soldiers made in a month.

"Stay in touch." The captain stuffed the Throneys into Yao En's pocket. "I shouldn't be sticking my nose into your business, but I advise you not to donate the money to the Servants, and don't hang around them too much. If the lower hive and Underhive ever become connected, the Ecclesiarchy might burn you to death."

"Okay." Yao En smiled and nodded.

"All right, let's go, boys." The captain beckoned to the others and led them out of the passage.

After returning to New Kato, Yao En did not go straight home. He first spent ten Throneys on a piece of jewelry from a craftsman, then took the remaining money to a tavern tucked away in the southern corner of New Kato.

When Yao En excitedly pushed open the door, he saw everyone in the tavern staring at a screen.

The screen was playing footage following Logistics Machines.

The Logistics Machines gathered everything usable from the battlefield, including the corpses of Rebel soldiers.

A Logistics Machine unhurriedly approached an Aberrant. After detecting that it was still alive, it slowly extended a mechanical arm, killed it, and absorbed its biological tissue into its shell.

The footage gave off an eerie sense of calm. No matter what the Logistics Machines did, they were never hurried. They calmly gathered materials and killed enemies.

Calm. Cold...

The footage played over and over, yet no one present showed the slightest impatience. They watched with great seriousness, as though they were studying.

Yao En cautiously walked to the tavern bar, placed thirty Throneys into a donation box labeled "Servants," then watched the footage seriously alongside everyone else.

Only after everyone had watched attentively for two hours was the footage turned off. An officer came out from behind the bar and asked the crowd, "What have you learned from it, my brothers and sisters?"

He wore a Planetary Defense Force uniform, and the scars on his face proved that he had once fought in an extremely brutal battle.

"We should learn from the Logistics Machines. At all times, we should remain rational and calm. We should not be angry, joyful, or sorrowful."

Everyone answered in unison.

This had long been a standard question with a standard answer. The people present had watched Logistics Machine footage countless times and had answered the officer's question just as many times.

"We are the Legion Commander's Servants," the officer proclaimed loudly. "Though he has never acknowledged it, he is, as a matter of course, a god."

"I have seen fortresses rise from the ground through the great power he wielded."

"I have seen him create these machines that provide us with supplies."

"I have also seen him unleash fire and lightning on the battlefield, blasting the rebels who surged in like a flood into scraps."

"I am a company commander of the 47th Regiment. I have personally witnessed many miracles."

After the officer spoke those words in an icy, indifferent tone, the people present did not erupt into cheers or applause. They merely nodded coldly while doing their best to suppress their excitement.

Among the Servants, everyone was taught to emulate the cold indifference of the Logistics Machines, to restrain and suppress their own emotions.

This was because the officer who founded the Servants, along with some people in the city, believed Qin Mo to be a god, and that god had created the omnipotent Logistics Machines.

These people believed that Logistics Machines were not merely providers of food and fresh water, but teachers as well. People ought to learn from them, becoming as cold and emotionless as they were, and carrying out any order unconditionally.

"Share your insights," the officer ordered as he sat down.

"I was saved today," Yao En said excitedly. "When I was in my most desperate predicament, two messengers descended from the sky and saved me."

Upon hearing that, everyone present looked at Yao En with envy.

"Restrain your emotions," the officer reminded him with a frown, then added, "I understand how you feel. When my comrades and I were trapped inside a building by the rebels, the god and his messengers suddenly appeared and turned the tide in an instant. Even though no one in our regiment had sent a distress signal, they still came."

"Sorry, I only joined recently..." Yao En hurriedly suppressed his excitement and joy, maintaining as much cold indifference as he could.

"It's all right, brother. People must learn and grow." The officer nodded and did not continue criticizing him.

That tolerance and kindness made Yao En happy, because only here, among these people, did he not have to feel inferior beneath the disgusted, disdainful gazes of others.

"We should have died, actually." The officer rose to his feet and coldly swept his gaze across everyone. "The people of Kato had been forgotten as before, while our army was carrying out a foolish offensive plan. We lacked supplies, and we faced the rebels' repeated encirclement. We should have died."

"But we were saved by countless miracles."

"In our darkest hour, the Logistics Machines supplied us with food, weapons, and equipment. Whenever we fell into trouble, all it took was one request, and the messengers would arrive within three minutes."

"The messengers are chosen warriors. Wearing creations of the god, they can annihilate vast numbers of rebels in an instant. Together with the god, they saved all of us."

After hearing those words, Yao En nodded in agreement along with everyone else.

At the time, Kato was under siege by the rebels, who had already captured half the city.

After the god and his messengers descended and turned the tide, Yao En fought alongside the god. He had thought the god would find him repulsive, but unexpectedly, not only had he not been despised, he had received encouragement and protection.

Yao En still remembered fighting on the city's main road when he encountered a Rebel tank. Terrified, he clutched his head and dropped to the ground. Then he heard the tank cannon fire, but after the shell struck him, it did not explode. It did not even pierce his body. Like a soft worm, it landed on him and slid away.

The god came over. He unleashed lightning and shattered the tank, then extended a hand toward him. "Get up!"

Although a long time had passed since the Defense of Kato, Yao En dreamed of that scene every night.

"Yao En, come with me later." The officer interrupted Yao En's recollection. "You are a lucky man. After I reported all your circumstances, the god said he wanted to see you."

"Really?!" Yao En was overjoyed.

"Restrain your emotions."

"Yes, sorry."