A Deal

On the seventh floor of the Water Pattern Monitoring Station, in the innermost room, Li Qinwu sat facing the Psyker.

The Psyker held a Holy Biscuit in his hand, nibbling at it like a chick pecking at grain.

Each bite took only the tiniest shred of starch from the Holy Biscuit, which he would then savor for ages. If even a crumb fell to the floor, he would kneel down and lick it up, making Li Qinwu's eyelids twitch.

After Li Qinwu gave him the Holy Biscuit, the guy had lost control of his bowels after just one bite—both kinds. Anyone unaware of the situation might have thought the biscuit contained some miraculous powder.

Still, Li Qinwu could understand. This guy was obviously an unregistered Psyker who had never been discovered by the Imperium government.

His self-control was poor, his mental strength was poor, and he had no idea how to systematically control Psychic Power. That made him extremely easy prey for daemons.

Just look at how badly he had mutilated himself. His mind had clearly been wrecked by daemons. Then there was his deathly pale skin and pointed fingernails—his body had undergone some mild mutation as well.

For someone like him, Chaos Corruption had surely exceeded the charts long ago—thirty or forty percent, maybe forty or fifty.

Yet one bite of that Holy Biscuit had directly reduced his Chaos Corruption to zero. Given that feeling of bliss, losing control of his bowels out of respect was hardly surprising.

Seeing that the guy apparently did not intend to kill him, and that he had no idea how long the Psyker would take to finish that biscuit, Li Qinwu thought of the guns on the rebel corpses downstairs and spoke up.

"Say, buddy, are you planning to kill me or not? I mean, if you're not killing me, I'll be going. I won't disturb you anymore."

The biscuit-eating Psyker froze, then suddenly leaped over and hugged him.

"No!!! Don't leave!!! Please stay by my side!!! I'll do anything for you!"

He had been terrified senseless by the daemons. The Chaos Whispers gave him not a moment's peace, and now that he had finally found a way to silence them, he would never let it go.

Li Qinwu rubbed his chin.

"Anything, huh?

"But you don't have anything that can keep me here, do you? No car, no house. It's nowhere near as nice as my cozy little home in the Lower Hive. The people there are kind, cute, and gentle, and they talk nicely too. I love it there!"

With that, Li Qinwu tried to leave. But the Psyker had already resolved not to let him go and used Psychic Suppression to restrain him.

When Li Qinwu found that he could not move, he mocked him. "You think this can keep me? Please, even if you forcibly take my body, you'll never get my heart!"

What did it matter if he was some incredible Psyker? If Li Qinwu smashed his head into a wall and killed himself while he slept, how was he going to save him?

The Psyker's expression changed again and again. That was right—he needed to keep this mysterious man's heart. Otherwise, what if he ran away while the Psyker slept?

Should he find a dog chain and leash him up?

No, that was not reliable. He still needed to keep this man's heart!

After a brief hesitation, the Psyker squatted down and began unfastening Li Qinwu's belt.

Li Qinwu's expression changed drastically as he shouted, "Wait a damn minute! We can talk this out! Actually, I know how to deal with those Daemonic Whispers!"

The Psyker froze for a moment, then continued unfastening his belt.

"Let me repay you first."

"Repay my ass! Get the fuck away from me!"

After a struggle, Li Qinwu told him about the Holy Oil and preserved his innocence.

The moment the Psyker heard about Holy Oil, his eyes lit up.

"Give... give it to me! Give me the Holy Oil!"

Li Qinwu smiled. "Easy there, buddy. I'm a businessman."

He rubbed his fingers together at the Psyker.

"Trade me something for it."

The Psyker looked utterly confused.

"Trade something?"

Li Qinwu shrugged.

"That's right, trade something. I have as much Holy Oil as you want."

"Then... then what do you want? Take whatever you want. You can take anything here!"

Perhaps the Psyker had been tortured for too long. He spoke somewhat childishly and with unusual bluntness.

Li Qinwu said, "How about you teach me Psychic Power?"

The Psyker wore an expression of pure, clear stupidity.

"Psychic Power? What is Psychic Power?"

He did not know what ability he himself was using, which fit the Warhammer 40,000 setting, where humanity was practically illiterate across the board.

Li Qinwu said, "Those superpowers you use. Teach me, and I'll help you get rid of the Daemonic Whispers."

The Psyker's face changed drastically.

"No, no, no!! Don't learn it!! Don't learn it!! It will make you see hell! It will let daemons crawl into your head!! It's evil power!!"

He shouted wildly, and the horrific wounds across his body split open, spraying blood.

Li Qinwu folded his arms across his chest.

"Buddy, try using your Psychic Power now. Are there still any daemon whispers?"

The Psyker did as he said. With a casual wave, he blasted a huge hole through the nearby wall, as though it had been struck by a large-caliber shell.

"Huh? They're gone? They're really gone!"

The Psyker's power came from the Warp. Put simply, Psykers stole energy from the daemons' home and released it into the real world.

If your mind was not strong enough and you used it too often, naturally the daemons would notice you and slowly corrupt you.

That was exactly what had happened to this Psyker. Whenever he consciously or unconsciously used Psychic Power, the Daemonic Whispers grew louder. Eventually, it felt as though hundreds of daemons were dancing in his head.

But now, they were gone. No matter how he used Psychic Power, the Daemonic Whispers were gone!

"Ahahahahaha!!"

The Psyker immediately went mad, repeatedly raising his hand and unleashing Psychic Blasts that left the surrounding walls pitted and cratered.

Without the daemon whispers, he could completely control this superpower. Did that not make him invincible?!

Well, he had never seen an Astartes and had no idea what a colossal entity the Imperium was. He thought killing a hundred or so ordinary people made him invincible.

He looked at Li Qinwu, and greed gradually appeared in his eyes.

Li Qinwu narrowed his eyes. "Teach me Psychic Power. Next time, I'll come back and bring more food like this."

He took another Holy Biscuit from his bag and tossed it to the Psyker.

The Psyker caught the Holy Biscuit, his eyes gleaming with an inexplicable light.

He had only just regained his senses, so he had seemed a little dazed at first. But some time had now passed, and his thoughts were becoming more active. He could begin thinking about bad things, such as...

Li Qinwu smiled. "I know what you're thinking. You can try.

"But let me tell you this: I'm the only person on this planet who can deal with the Daemonic Whispers. You'd better think carefully about whether you want to do what's in your head."

Li Qinwu understood exactly what this guy was thinking. This was Warhammer 40,000, after all—darkness was the tone of the entire world. This bastard had probably already imagined the whole package: imprisonment, coercion, torture, and the rest.

Li Qinwu did not care. At worst, he would die. If he died, then next time he would bring a hundred kilograms of explosives and blow the guy to pieces from over a hundred meters away!

The Psyker hesitated even more. Should he completely control the man before him and make him provide food that could resist daemons?

But he did not dare. If this man was truly so unyielding, what if the Psyker forced him and he refused to give him that Divine food even unto death? Would the Daemonic Whispers not return?

His mind was muddled again, a complete tangled mess.

Seeing how conflicted he was, Li Qinwu said, "I have three bottles of Holy Oil, about 450 milliliters, hidden somewhere only I know.

"If you teach me how to use Psychic Power, I'll give them all to you. How does that sound?"

Desire flashed through the Psyker's eyes.

"Fine, give them to me! Give them all to me! I... I'll teach you how to use Psychic Power!"

Li Qinwu nodded, told him to wait there, and headed downstairs. But after only two steps, he looked back and saw the Psyker following closely behind him.

"What are you doing?"

The Psyker stared at him fixedly.

"I'm going with you."

Having finally found a way to deal with the daemons, how could he possibly let go so easily?

Li Qinwu's eyes flickered, and he smiled. "Fine. Follow me."