Good News and Bad News

Tokman had never felt so threatened before. He could clearly feel four terrifying, disgusting gazes falling upon this tiny Dark Cells corridor. Those gazes were ancient and powerful, reminding him of the four indescribable, unimaginable Chaos Gods.

"Emperor above!"

The Adeptus Custodes could never be corrupted. These ultimate warriors, born to serve The Emperor, possessed unwavering faith. Even those traitorous Primarchs would have to feel ashamed before them.

Tokman hid among the crisscrossing steel beams, silently observing the ancient construct that seemed to have escaped. Its clothing was strange, but the fabric did not appear luxurious. It looked young, with pale skin and not a trace of solid muscle on its body. It reminded him of the decadent nobles in the upper levels of hive cities, with their equally frail bodies. Yet this target was not fat, and compared to ordinary residents of Terra, it looked considerably healthier.

Tokman watched with his own eyes as thick, disgusting Warp energy appeared from nowhere, clinging to the disguised individual like slick tentacles. The loyal Shadow Vault Custodian had silently activated the master-crafted power halberd in his hand. From what he had seen before, this likely meant a Warp rift was about to open—or that it was about to ascend into daemonhood. Such dense Warp energy was like facing a Chaos God directly.

Just as Tokman had prepared himself to die, that energy vanished out of nowhere. It disappeared completely, so thoroughly that no one would ever notice such immense power of the Chaos Gods had once existed here.

"What was that? What was that? Looks like my willpower's pretty damn strong. From now on, I can brag that I faced the corruption of the four gods head-on and came out unscathed like some kind of superhero."

A strange language Tokman had never heard reached him, yet he could understand its words. What blasphemous power—directly corrupting another's comprehension.

I can't wait any longer. I've already wasted three seconds. Tokman shot out in an instant, charging forward at terrifying speed without a sound. The black superhuman flew from shadows hundreds of meters away and crossed the distance in just over a second. Superhuman physical ability, combined with the finest power armor humanity could manufacture, had elevated these warriors' speed to an unbelievable level.

Lin Fan heard a deafening crash and instinctively turned around. A power halberd shining with a blue disintegration field was thrust straight at his head. He did not even have time to scream before it slammed into him! Watching the disguised individual's sluggish reaction, Tokman felt a flicker of doubt.

"Perhaps he specializes in psychic powers? But where is his psychic field? I can't sense anything."

In the blink of an eye, Tokman felt that something was wrong with his power halberd. With his superhuman vision, he saw it during the high-speed thrust: the instant the halberd struck the disguised individual's head, it began crumbling apart inch by inch. Tokman was utterly shocked. This master-crafted power halberd, which had accompanied him for thousands of years, had never suffered the slightest damage. Not even the blasphemous axes of terrifying Greater Daemons could leave a scratch on it in a clash. Yet now, it was as fragile as stained glass in a cathedral.

Tokman swiftly pulled back, twisting his body to adjust his balance. He planted his feet and sprang backward, while his other hand drew a golden bolt pistol from his waist, decorated with elaborate Aquila motifs. Bang! Bang! Bang! He fired several more shots at the disguised individual.

Lin Fan, who had just gotten to his feet after being knocked back by Tokman's power spear, was immediately struck in the face by several high-speed rounds. A cloud of black smoke enveloped his head.

Lin Fan did not even know what had happened. Everything had come too fast. He saw something coming and instinctively shut his eyes. He felt something shatter against his face, then smoke obscured his vision. The corridor had already been dark as hell, and now he could not see anything at all. But the good news was that the whispers of the four gods had vanished, leaving his mind much quieter.

When Tokman saw that his bolts had no effect on the enemy, he was no longer in a hurry. He lowered his head and carefully inspected the damage to his weapon. The halberd's toughest disintegration field section had shattered, and the field could no longer be maintained. The boltgun mechanism at the spearhead remained intact, all thanks to Tokman's superhuman reflexes.

Tokman had no doubt that if it had been some reckless rookie who did not know how to withdraw his strength, the entire halberd would have shattered from end to end. Still, a halberd without its disintegration field was no different from one that had completely broken. Now Tokman merely stared at the enemy of unknown power, observing what it would do next.

"Oh my god, what the hell is all this? Did some pipe explode or something?" The startled, joking voice left Tokman at a loss. Was this an act, or had it really not noticed him?

Lin Fan waved away the smoke in front of him and looked around. His clothes and the ground beneath his feet were covered in unknown metal fragments. He could faintly smell the pungent odor of burnt gunpowder, but unfortunately, the surroundings were pitch-black. He could not see a thing.

"Did something just attack me? A hive gang?" Lin Fan was trying to figure out what had attacked him. It seemed he had not been hurt at all, which filled him with delight.

"I thought I was just a poor Gretchin who'd had his toes stepped on, but instead I faced the corruption of the four gods and survived an ambush without a scratch! Amazing! I'm beginning to understand everything!" It seemed heaven was still merciful. Although it had sent him to this godforsaken place, it had also given him an awesome cheat. He still did not know exactly what this cheat could do, but it definitely offered absurdly high protection.

With that thought, Lin Fan relaxed instead, humming a light tune under his breath.

"Hey! Buddy, stop hitting me. Could you come out and let me see you?"

Hearing this, Tokman decided to communicate with the fellow, stabilize the situation, and wait for reinforcements. If it ran around recklessly, it might release the other dark entities.

Lin Fan heard the heavy sound of metal clashing from the darkness. He widened his eyes and looked over, but still could not see anything.

"This is way too messed up. Would it kill you to install some lights? Can you come a little closer? I can't see you."

The tense atmosphere instantly became awkward. Tokman could not understand this bizarre train of thought. He hesitated over whether to take a few steps forward. From his perspective, he was already obvious enough. At such close range, there was no reason for the enemy not to notice him. He had even deliberately made noise to reveal his position and distance. If an Adeptus Custodes on a mission committed such a violation, it would be enough to earn a reprimand and confinement for further training.

Lin Fan sighed and cautiously felt his way toward the sound, muttering curses about the terrible corridor design and ridiculous lighting.

After feeling around for a while, he finally touched something hard, smooth, and cold.

"Why does this wall have curves? What kind of shitty design is this?" Lin Fan felt upward and found that the wall was not so smooth after all. All sorts of bumps made it unpleasant to touch. Only when he looked up did he see two small lights glowing faintly red.

Just as he was about to follow the lights and keep feeling around, words he could not understand came from above.

"Enough!" Tokman grabbed the strange fellow's arm with one hand. His enormous metal fist gripping that ordinary arm was like grabbing a chopstick. The veins on Tokman's forehead throbbed. The blasphemous sensation of having his armor stroked filled him with rage.

Logically, if he gripped something in anger like this, he should have crushed it into a thin sheet. Even sturdy Adamantium could be twisted into a knot. Yet this frail, slender arm gave Tokman the feeling that it could not be destroyed, as though he were gripping his own master-crafted power halberd.

Under Tokman's shocked gaze, Lin Fan slowly but irresistibly pulled his hand free from Tokman's grasp. This stirred Tokman's competitive spirit. He immediately poured all his strength into his left hand gripping the arm. The veins on his face bulged from the strain, and his teeth clenched tightly.

Lin Fan did not feel that force at all. He simply pulled his hand free with ease and stared blankly at the "wall" before him.

Black armor was adorned with intricate, magnificent patterns. A tall helmet bore a red crest, its shoulder plates outlined with golden ornamentation, while red lenses gleamed with dangerous light.

Lin Fan was so excited he nearly jumped up. This was one of The Emperor's Golden Corn—the Adeptus Custodes. This black corn was a Shadow Vault Custodian guarding The Emperor's mysterious little black vault. So he had just been attacked by a Shadow Vault Custodian and was completely fine. His defense was practically invincible.

Facing the panting Tokman beneath that helmet, Lin Fan extended his hand and smiled. "Hello, Shadow Vault Custodian."

A Purifier Terminator. Couldn't find an image of a Shadow Vault Custodian.