8. Walking with the Shadows

It's raining.👌🐲 ùЖ.paw 😳☯

Tujea doesn't really like rain, but he can only accept it now.

While still on the cargo ship, before even landing, he overheard the crew talking about Litatera. They described this planet, which almost became part of the Sol System, Hive City a world with frequent rain and a very long rainy season.

This is not a good thing for them.

Imagine this: a voyage takes at least six months. During those six months, you're crammed together with a dozen or so smelly, rough men. You can't sleep well, you can't eat well, and you have absolutely no privacy.

Then, finally one day, this torment ended.

Once the ship docks, it begins trading and rest, and the captain generously provides a full month's leave. During this time, the captain is free to seek out women or men, and can also gamble, fight, and drink heavily.

As long as local laws allow it and you can guarantee you'll return on time, you can indulge yourself to your heart's content. No one will criticize you, and the first mate or captain won't beat you with sticks, tear up your homemade playing cards, take away your gambling money or cigarettes, and then force you to clean toilets.

As a result, it started raining in Litatera. A cold, incessant rain. Clothes never dried, shoes remained constantly wet, and toes would swell inside boots, potentially leading to amputation if one wasn't careful.

The ceilings of taverns and inns dripped constantly, making it impossible to sleep at night without a blanket, and the raindrops pounded against the windows, creating an unsettling noise.

Even going out the next day with dark circles under your eyes requires caution, because there are often pale, bloated corpses lying face down in the streets. Yes, some residents always choose to live in low-lying or deep places—don't worry about the reasons, they will die anyway, and nobody will care.

A wonderful holiday can turn into a utterly tasteless torment during the rainy season.

"It's natural rain."

A voice sounded above his head, Tujea interrupted his wandering thoughts, controlling his urge to look up. Raindrops fell from the sky, landing on his hat and shoulders, and quickly sliding down.

The jacket, which sold for only five Imperium coins, was made of a synthetic material that prevented raindrops from penetrating the surface and wetting the lining. For him, this was a good thing.

He's already had a rough night; if he were to have to fight for his life in his soaking wet clothes in just ten minutes, he would be even worse off.

Why aren't you speaking, Investigator Tujea?

Tujea said without looking up, "Because I hate rain."

"Oh? Why?"

Tujea was silent for a moment, then raised his head and said, "I thought I was the investigator. Do you even need to investigate something like this, sir?"

Astartes, who called himself Zel, seemed to chuckle softly. Tujea finally raised his head and looked at him, somewhat surprised that he would laugh.

Then he noticed that Zel's goggles seemed to be less bright now, and something else—even though he was standing right next to him, Tujea still couldn't hear a single breath.

It was like a Ghost. The investigator thought, a chill running down his spine.

Zel spoke softly.

"I'm just curious. But essentially, you and I are no different now. We're both investigators, only my authority is slightly broader than yours. Therefore, I don't think you need to call me 'sir'; we're colleagues."

"Cooperation?" Tujea asked.

His surprise was turning into astonishment.

"Yes, cooperation," Zel said nonchalantly. "On a grand scale, this is another collaborative effort between the Adeptus Arbites and my Chapter. On a smaller scale, it's a small collaboration between two investigators to uncover a conspiracy."

"Actually, my original orders were simply to continue protecting you and leave you a trace when appropriate to test your vigilance. But what you discovered tonight has touched upon something else, so I must reveal myself."

Tujea remained silent for a few seconds. He paid no attention to the second half of Zel's sentence, but was particularly concerned about the first half.

"You often cooperate with the Adeptus Arbites?"

"Yes." Zel nodded, but didn't explain further, and quietly left the spot.

As planned, Tujea raised his gun and began to aim.

Two seconds later, accompanied by a gunshot, searchlights immediately shone from the dark walls of the Moran Family's city, illuminating the spot where Tujea had stood. He, however, had already retreated into the dark alley and gently pulled the trigger.

At the same time, a muffled sound vaguely reached his ears, followed by a very distinct shout.

"What is that?!"

The searchlights quickly receded into the distance, gunfire erupted, and piercing screams echoed from the city walls. One by one, the searchlights went out, leaving only a faint moonlight.

Tujea crouched down and nimbly made his way to the alley entrance, where he saw several security guards with their backs to him. The guns in their hands were pointed at the sky, looking wet and dangerous in the rain.

If it weren't for that sound, they probably would have already silently reached the alley entrance and pointed their guns at Tujea. However, some opportunities, once lost, will never come again.

Another scream rang out. Gunfire erupted, but the screams never ceased, and muffled thuds continued unabated, spreading from the city wall to the blast door.

The Moran Family's security guards fearfully pulled the triggers, gunfire flashing as they briefly revealed a tall, dark figure time and again.

A gunshot, a burst of gunfire, and an approaching dark figure seemed like a natural law, a cruel and ruthless law that, once it appeared, would inevitably bring slaughter.

The heavy armor worn by the security guards was useless against this Shadow; they were either twisted in the neck or kicked in the spine. An atmosphere of fear began to spread in the darkness. They continued to fire, but this only brought faster and more deaths.

Tujea withdrew his gaze and slowly raised his gun.

The security guards standing not far from him were stunned. The flash of the gun did briefly illuminate one side of the dark figure, but it moved too fast, and they could only see a fleeting afterimage.

Thus, their one-sided pursuit of the truth destroyed their reason; they simply could not understand why their companions could be completely wiped out in just a few seconds by something they couldn't even see.

Tujea didn't actually understand either; he just knew exactly what he should do.

He pulled the trigger.

A bullet whistled from the chamber and embedded itself deeply in the back of a security guard's head. It couldn't go any further; the heavy helmet prevented the Catachan MK3 bullet from penetrating any deeper.

Tujea wasn't surprised; it was to be expected, as there was a reason why heavy armor was so expensive.

The security guard who was attacked yelled and turned around, then began firing wildly. His companions followed closely behind, like toy soldiers who had been activated, and began to pour bullets into the empty street.

Moonlight and raindrops mingled on them, the dampness carrying with it an overwhelming stench of blood. Unaware that something was lurking in the darkness.

Tujea leaned against the wall of the alley and began to count down silently. About two seconds later, all the gunfire suddenly stopped, and the world returned to silence.

He lowered his gun and walked out of the alley. A large amount of blood mixed with rainwater meandered down his boots.

Tujea looked up and saw the last security guard who was still standing stagger and fall down, his body facing Tujea, but his head twisted behind him.

A dark figure stood beside his and his companion's corpses, flicked his hand lightly, splattered blood, and disappeared into the raindrops.

He turned away without a word. Suddenly, the rain curtain shattered, and Tujea squinted, feeling the swift and terrifying wind. His throat bobbed involuntarily several times.

The blast door was lowered again.

Tujea walked forward and bent down to pick up a shotgun from the ground. The moment he held it, he felt a sense of relief—thankfully, the Moran Family wasn't wealthy enough to equip these security guards' weapons with biometrics, otherwise he probably wouldn't even be able to use these guns.

"How is it?" a voice asked from the darkness.

"What?" Tujea asked stiffly.

From a collaborator's perspective, do you think I'm qualified?

Zel's voice, a mocking laugh, came from above him. Tujea looked up and saw that he was hanging on the very edge of a searchlight, staring down. Blood began to flow from his right hand, which was gripping the searchlight, and mingled with the raindrops as it hit the ground.

A chill ran through Tujea. He forced down the fear that had arisen for no apparent reason, lowered his head to examine the shotgun in his hand, and spoke again, his voice now calm.

"Forgive my bluntness, but I have never cooperated with you. I don't have a proper standard of judgment, and in fact, I have never heard of any precedent for the Adeptus Arbites cooperating with the Space Marine Chapter."

"This is actually a good thing for you, Investigator," Zel replied softly.

He released his grip, landing behind him, splashing rainwater, and disappeared into the darkness once more.

Tujea tried to spot him in the darkness, but to no avail. He stood there for a full half minute, his eyes aching from staring, but still couldn't see a single Shadow. Helpless, Tujea had no choice but to step over the lowered blast door.

As soon as he entered, the raindrops vanished instantly, firmly kept outside by the independent ecological dome. Tujea took off his hat, shook it, and began to gaze and observe his surroundings.

In the dim light of the nightlights, the first thing he saw was a luxurious main avenue paved with marble, about twelve meters wide, enough for any vehicle to pass through.

The lush greenery on both sides of the road dazzled his eyes. He turned his head and found that each patch of grass, fence, or tree had its own independent cultivation system, and he didn't even know the names of these plants.

Their leaves, neatly trimmed, stared coldly at the poorly dressed stranger in the darkness. A breeze blew by, and Tujea silently put on his hat and continued on his way.

That's how it is in the Hive City; there are always places that are more magnificent than palaces.

He walked along the marble road for about twenty minutes, the gunshots continuing to come from ahead, turning into a rhythmic percussion in the night.

One after another, heavily armored corpses lay scattered on the road or among the greenery. The Autocannon and watchtowers hidden among the trees had been completely destroyed, and the perpetrators had even managed to prevent them from catching fire.

The meadow remained just a meadow; it did not transform into a raging inferno.

Tujea stared at these things in disbelief, then walked stiffly to the end of the road.

At this moment, bathed in bright light, rows of luxurious mansions are neatly arranged atop an artificial mountain. They all have uniform white exteriors, are impeccably clean, and appear exceptionally elegant.

A suspension bridge, not yet lowered, connects the marble road where he stands. Below, the water roars. Tujea looks down and sees a shimmering expanse. He looks up again at the mansions, as if he were looking at a deliberately secluded town.

He squinted, shook his head, and felt a sense of unreal absurdity.

He thought he would probably never get used to these luxuries and what they represented. To him, these houses seemed to be surrounded by a hazy halo, so bright it made his eyes bulge.

Tujea sighed involuntarily. The lights that had illuminated the town suddenly went out, and darkness descended instantly. At the same time, the suspension bridge slowly lowered itself.

A voice came from behind him without warning.

Let's go.

Tujea whirled around, his shotgun already instinctively raised in his hand.

His movements were too fast and too hasty; the gun barrel awkwardly struck a piece of hard steel, Mars flying from the intense friction, and a tall, dark figure briefly appeared for a moment.

Tujea had no time to pay attention. He lost his balance and took several steps back, about to fall, when a hand reached out from the darkness at just the right moment, grabbing the handguard of the shotgun and gently helping him maintain his balance.

The investigator, panting heavily, wiped the cold sweat from his brow before speaking, "By the God-Emperor, could you please not do this?"

"I didn't do anything, I was just reminding you."

"I almost fired!"

"This level of firepower cannot penetrate my Power Armour."

Tujea's eye twitched. He glanced down at the shotgun with its damaged barrel, pursed his lips, and tossed it aside. Without a word, he pulled the revolver from his jacket, turned, and walked onto the suspension bridge.

"Of course, friendly fire is infuriating, no matter which side it is on." Zel swept past him like a gust of wind, leaving behind a half-smile. "I'll be more careful, Investigator."

Tujea remained silent, gripping his gun tightly, sweating profusely in the comfortable, temperature-controlled environment created by the ecological dome.

He has chosen to stop thinking.