Disturbance

"Intentionally turned off the field?" Li Wei's voice dropped extremely low, carrying a trace of imperceptible coldness as he quickly retreated back into the shadows deep within the cell.

The cold metal walls transmitted a hint of chill that spread up along his spine, making him instantly a bit more awake.

Li Wei squatted in front of the cell's electronic lock, keeping his breathing extremely light.

The alarm sounds in the corridor grew louder and louder, escalating gradually from the initial muffled thuds until they were now a piercing buzz that made his eardrums ache.

Even more bizarrely, the whispers of the Warp penetrated the walls, carrying a decaying aura that made the air thick and heavy, and every breath felt like inhaling tiny dust particles.

That Alpha-level Psyker who relayed messages through the servitor was not lying -- the fluctuations of the Gellar Field were growing increasingly violent, and coupled with the sabotage, the ship's electronic security system was being crazily eroded by Warp energy, becoming extremely unstable.

The electronic lock in front of Li Wei, which normally would have been an indestructible entity, had the logic circuitry inside its core disrupted by the invisible psychic whispers at this moment, its red indicator light flashing frantically, casting a flickering reflection on his tense face.

He carefully inserted that piece of plastic into the cooling gap beside the lock cylinder.

He did not know how to pick locks, but he knew "interference". Pressing his palm against the cold lock disk, he released his Void Field at full power.

Normally, physical-level electronic locks of this kind were completely unaffected, but now, the lock was filled with chaotic psychic static, and his Void intervened like a basin of cold water poured into boiling oil.

"Zzzzt!" A harsh sound of current came from inside the electronic lock, the psychic attachments were instantly "dispelled", and the logic circuitry short-circuited and rebooted.

With a soft "click", the heavy restrained metal door popped open a crack.

Li Wei took a deep breath and pushed the door open to step out.

The red emergency lighting was like beating flames, dyeing the entire corridor into a deep crimson. On the walls and the ground, there were splattered bloodstains and mutilated limbs everywhere, and the originally neat passageway was now in complete disarray.

Several corpses lay strewn across the ground: some were Psykers wearing gray prison uniforms with the marks of the Restraint Collar still lingering on their wrists, and others were fully armed guards whose Power Arms were covered in gruesome cracks, their helmets fallen aside to reveal wide-open eyes that refused to close in death.

He had no time to hesitate. His gaze quickly swept across the ground, and he soon locked onto a dropped Shock Baton.

That was the guard's equipment; the black grip still retained a warm touch, clearly its owner had just died not long ago.

Li Wei bent down to pick up the baton, which felt heavy in his hand. He pressed the switch, and the tip immediately emitted blue electric arcs accompanied by a "crackling" sound. Although its power was far inferior to a Chainsword and it could not deal fatal damage, in this kind of close-quarters encounter, it could at least serve as a deterrent and a temporary paralyzing tool—better than nothing.

"Alpha-level Psyker..." Li Wei identified the direction, and according to the hint from the servitor corpse, the bottom-tier detention block was at the very lowest level.

He did not choose to hide -- on this ship, hiding would only lead to being slowly devoured. Only by finding that madman who dared to sabotage the field would there be a glimmer of survival.

Li Wei gripped the baton tightly and stepped into that corridor filled with ghostly wails and howls.

His silhouette was drawn very long in the red light—lonely, yet absolutely lucid, every step planted solidly and firmly.