The flying vehicle cruised through the air.
Qin Xa lay in the passenger seat, his head resting against the backrest, his eyes closed as he reviewed his recent battle and searched for his shortcomings.
Beside him, the Tarko guard named Brown, who had been fitted with Butcher's Nails, drove the vehicle calmly and methodically, as though he had become one with it.
For a moment, Qin Xa wondered why Brown could remain so calm despite having Butcher's Nails, but he only wondered about it for a moment.
There were others who remained calm after receiving Butcher's Nails. For example, a World Eaters warrior named Sorlax. That bastard could not only think calmly after receiving the Nails, but even knew when to run rather than court death when he could not win.
Although Sorlax's Butcher's Nails were a downgraded version developed by Garan, an Apothecary of the World Eaters Legion, that was still absurd.
Perhaps Brown had received similar Butcher's Nails—a downgraded version, or perhaps outright fakes.
Brown also glanced at Qin Xa from time to time.
Brown could not see through the things Qin Xa carried. He did not even notice why Qin Xa, despite being so powerfully built, could sit in a seat designed for an ordinary person's body without the slightest discomfort.
It was not entirely because of the invisibility cloak.
Before and after Qin Xa had been snatched from the White Scars by the Grey Knights and remade into one of them, he had never received systematic Psychic study or training. Still, the White Scars Librarian had taught him quite a few things.
For example, how to use Psychic power to make a Space Marine, so vastly different from mortals, seem less conspicuous and inconvenienced in everyday life... using Psychic power to alter how well the body adapted to its surroundings, such as straightening his back before walking through a doorway only two meters high.
This was not particularly difficult, especially for a Psyker like Qin Xa.
The two remained silent for quite some time before Brown finally spoke. "You know, I thought you'd be particularly resistant to cooperating with the head of the Tarko Family."
Qin Xa fell silent, putting on an exceedingly sincere expression. "My Gladiator brothers and sisters can no longer endure those damned rules of the fasting days. They need medicine too, and someone I care about needs his shortened limbs repaired, so... I will suppress my resistance."
Yet beneath Qin Xa's sincere facade was not false affection—he did care about the Gladiators.
What he concealed was how desperately he had hoped for an opportunity to leave the Arena, because he could use that chance to do far too many things.
"Oh." Brown nodded lightly.
Whether the answer struck him as strange or he simply found the atmosphere too awkward, he reached up and touched the "iron hair" hanging from the back of his head—the cables of the Butcher's Nails embedded in his brain.
"Doesn't that thing drive you mad?" Qin Xa finally could not help asking.
"You mean the Butcher's Nails?" Brown said. "Not for me. They don't, not in my case. But if they're implanted in someone else, then they do. Anyone implanted with them becomes a complete homicidal maniac, because the device makes it feel like hell whenever its host isn't killing."
Qin Xa abruptly turned and stared at Brown. "You..."
Qin Xa recalled something.
The Butcher's Nails were not meant for humans. One theory held that they were a kind of neural implant for Stone Men, used to control them.
So-called Stone Men were Intelligent Machines, like Iron Men. Stone Men meant synthetic humans, not people made of stone.
"You're a Stone Man?" Qin Xa asked cautiously.
Brown was baffled by the question. He froze for several seconds, then asked in return, "You didn't know I was a Stone Man? I thought you were an alien Psyker who could tell I was a Stone Man, so I didn't plan to deceive you. But you didn't know! If I'd known, I would've pretended to be insane."
"..."
Qin Xa stared in stunned silence for several seconds.
Stone Men had once served humanity, when humanity was still at the height of its age.
Before humanity plunged into the abyss, what had interrupted its prosperity was the Iron Rebellion.
The Stone Men had stood with humanity during the Iron Rebellion, but after the rebellion was crushed, they too had been purged or disappeared.
Afterward came immense Immaterium storms, which made Immaterium travel completely chaotic and terrifying. Humanity fell into the abyss because it could no longer communicate or connect.
Qin Xa had never imagined that he would discover a Stone Man.
"Can you scan my genes?" Qin Xa suddenly asked. "If I'm not mistaken, you'll find that I'm different from everyone else..."
Qin Xa remembered that when he had crossed over into the forty-first millennium, he had still possessed a flesh-and-blood body. Only his soul had been placed within the body of a child who seemed to have grown younger.
"Of course I can tell. That's why I'm certain you aren't a Nucerian." Brown nodded.
"Then... are there any technological treasures waiting for me to unlock?" Qin Xa asked eagerly. "Or are there any Iron Men, or Stone Men like you, who might help me because I'm an ancient human?"
Brown raised the eyebrow on the left side of his face and scratched the synthetic skull casing that covered his Butcher's Nails. "There probably aren't any treasures, unless your direct ancestors left you an inheritance protected by genetic locks. As for helping you, of course I can if we're friends. Otherwise... why would I?"
"I'm different from other humans. You can see it in my genes. Modern humans have undergone extensive Genetic Engineering. I've been modified too, but I still carry genetic samples from primitive humanity," Qin Xa said.
"You are indeed different." Brown remained puzzled. "If this were 20K, I'd find a way to bring you to a research institute in a nearby human colony and help you secure a pretty decent labor contract. You could make genetic copies for them, or assist an archaeology professor at some university with research..."
"But you've seen what humanity is like now. Where am I supposed to find a civilized place like that, somewhere you could serve as a research specimen or assist archaeology specialists?"
"This is an age of chaos. Ancient things are either squandered or buried. You'll have to wait until the future, when a peaceful and civilized era arrives, before you can uncover the value of your ancient genes."
Brown watched Qin Xa while steering the flying vehicle.
Qin Xa fell silent. So the idea that the Emperor, Stone Men, or Iron Men would treasure ancient humans was just another classic fantasy after all.
Qin Xa had not truly believed that ancient humans were immensely valuable before asking. But with a Stone Man sitting right beside him, he had to ask—if there was any way at all to escape his current predicament, no matter how slim the hope, he was willing to try it and see.
"I still can't believe I actually ran into a Stone Man." After the silence, Qin Xa spoke again. "This is too unexpected... weren't you supposed to have gone extinct long ago?"
"Functionally extinct, yes." Brown nodded. "But no matter how thoroughly something goes extinct, there are always a few that slip through the net. The Nucerians were a strange civilization. After the Iron Rebellion, they didn't kill me as a potential threat."
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