Warhammer: Saving Humanity Begins with the Resurrection of Horus

Page 30

Chapter 41 Saving Private Gawain (Part Two)

The third floor of the meditation building wasn't very large. With the combined efforts of Lynch and his colleagues, they completed the cleaning task in one hour before the official break.

Looking at the clean floor in front of him, the colleague let out a long sigh of relief. Then he found a place to sit down and began to wait silently for the servo skull to ring, signaling them to come downstairs and assemble.

Lin Qi silently picked up the bucket and mop and walked towards the stairs without saying a word.

"Wait, what are you going to do?"

A colleague noticed Lin Qi's actions and couldn't help but ask him a question.

"Go down and help."

Lin Qi's answer surprised his colleague, who clearly hadn't expected such a response.

Lin Qi ignored his reaction and went straight to the first floor with the bucket and mop. Then, just like on the third floor, he began cleaning the floor.

Horus's voice did not appear, which meant that he had not yet successfully located Gawain's position.

Lin Qi walked through a long corridor, encountering several people responsible for cleaning the first floor. They seemed a little surprised by Lin Qi's appearance, but didn't say much.

After all, having one more person to do the work, although it contradicts the allocation of the servo skull, reduces their own workload.

"Wait a moment."

Lin Qi paused for a moment while mopping the floor, but quickly resumed his work. He simply stopped moving forward and began scrubbing a particular tile in front of him with great force, as if it were covered in some stubborn grime.

"I can't stay in one place for too long; there are surveillance cameras here."

"One minute is enough."

Horus responded to Lynch, then looked at the black wooden door in front of him, engraved with strange patterns, and without hesitation, walked straight through it.

Behind the door was an extremely dark space; an ordinary mortal would certainly not be able to see anything inside.

However, Horus, as a soul, did not have this problem. With the blessing of psychic energy, his eyes easily pierced through the darkness and saw every detail in the room.

But after he saw it clearly, he fell into a deep silence.

Taking a deep breath, Horus quickly left the room and returned to Lynch's side, telling him that he had successfully found the room and the basement where Gawain was being held.

A hint of excitement flickered in Lin Qi's eyes. They had completed the first step of their plan. The next step was to find a way to sneak into the basement and successfully rescue Gao Wen.

"But there's a problem."

"what is the problem?"

"There are people in the basement. They are cult members, six in number, and their idol is the Prince of Pleasure."

"...Was Gawain seriously injured?"

"These injuries are acceptable for a member of the Imperial Guard. If you use your psionic powers to help him heal, he should recover quickly and regain basic combat abilities."

"That's fine. Everything else is minor. The Imperial Guards' mental fortitude won't be broken by some kind of torture."

Lynch breathed a sigh of relief. He had been startled when he heard Horus say that there was someone in the basement, thinking that Eric had failed to hold off the think tank member who had captured Gawain.

It turned out they were just six cult members who believed in Sinister descent, and were likely sent by that think tank to interrogate Gawain.

Thinking about it, it makes sense. Among the four evil gods, if Slaanesh's followers claim to be second in tormenting people, then no one can claim to be first.

Using them to try and pry open the enemy's mouth is indeed a good idea. Lynch himself had used it before, and he hadn't actually done it yet, but he achieved his goal by making a verbal threat.

If the target wasn't a member of the Imperial Guard, they might actually be able to pry open his mouth.

But the thought of Gawain being surrounded by six Slaanesh followers for so long...

Lin Qi felt a chill run down his spine. He could only say that the Imperial Guard was indeed worthy of the name. If it were him, he would probably have cried out like a bastard in the first instant.

He unconsciously increased the force with which he mopped the floor, and his heart began to grow anxious.

Rescuing Gao Wen as soon as possible is both the original objective and a key point in the current plan. However, there is another aspect: getting him out of his misery as soon as possible.

Time passed slowly; a Terran hour is neither a long nor a short time. Soon, as the Servant Skull emitted its piercing bell sound once more, the ten-person team gathered at the Meditation Tower and, guided by directions, began their journey towards the canteen.

Lin Qi took a deep breath and, while following the group forward, began to plan his next move.

He only had a short Terra time. After successfully rescuing Gawain, he had to get back to his dormitory before the end of his lunch break. Only in this way could he avoid attracting the attention of Huron and his forces and allow the subsequent plans to proceed smoothly.

However, from this perspective, his time is somewhat tight.

Therefore, we must speed things up.

The group of ten entered the cafeteria and then dispersed to collect their food. Lin Qi looked around, then stepped into the corner restroom.

The cafeteria's restrooms are not separated by gender; they consist entirely of individual cubicles with partitions.

Lin Qi entered one of them, closed the door, and took a deep breath. The rotten, slightly foul-smelling air entered his mouth and nose, gradually stabilizing his condition.

A faint white light began to flicker in his eyes, and spiritual energy gradually climbed upwards from the soles of his feet, eventually spreading throughout his body and pulling him completely into the shadows beside him.

This is a psychic technique that Horus recently taught Lynch, allowing him to conceal himself in shadow and remain undetected. Compared to the tricks Lynch used in the past to reduce his presence, this technique is far superior in both effectiveness and applicability.

This gives Lin Qi more confidence and control over his actions now.

Emerging from the stall, Lin Qi pressed himself tightly against the wall. He quickly emerged from the restroom, completely unnoticed by the others who had entered during that time; at most, they were puzzled by the sudden breeze around them.

Lin Qi strode out of the cafeteria and began to proceed along the thorny path, following the route he remembered.

The crowds gradually thinned out along the way, and Lynch even encountered a few Astartes along the way. However, they were completely unaware of Lynch's passing and strode past him.

Ten minutes later, Lynch successfully arrived at the meditation tower.

"Horus, show me the way."

"Okay, in the first corridor after you go in, there's a meditation room on the left with a portrait of Guilliman. There should be a mechanism there; once you open it, you can successfully see the passage to the basement."

Lin Qi nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.

In the shadows, Lin Qi looked up at the surveillance camera facing the entrance to the Meditation Tower.

The doors to the Meditation Tower don't have any electronic locks or anything like that; they're the kind of doors that can be opened by a gentle push from Astartes or by a forceful push from a mortal.

It's probably because no one expected anyone to infiltrate this place. After all, compared to the library, there's no important intelligence or valuable knowledge accumulated by Starclaw over the years here. And compared to the various private rooms, it's also difficult to encounter important chapter managers other than those in the think tank.

Perhaps this is why Huron and his forces decided to imprison Gawain here.

Lin Qi used his psionic powers to attach himself to the surveillance camera, weaving a fantasy onto the screen. At that moment, the staff on duty in the monitoring room, watching the screen in front of them, were completely unaware of anything unusual.

Lin Qi walked to the door in the shadows, then pushed it open with both hands, creating a small gap just big enough for him to pass through.

Once inside the meditation tower, Lynch began searching for the room, following Horus's directions.

Many oil paintings hang on both sides of the first corridor, most of which depict myths and epics circulating in the empire. The most exquisite of them is undoubtedly the painting of the Emperor's Expedition.

The emperor in the painting stands on a high platform, holding a blazing golden sword in his hand. He is clad in golden armor, while countless Astartes in power armor stand beneath him.

Lin Qi looked in the direction the longsword was pointing and, without missing a beat, met the gaze of a blond man wearing a laurel wreath.

Robert Guilliman.

At a single glance, Lin Qi recognized the person in the painting as the Lord of Macragge, whom he was searching for. And looking into those deep, light blue eyes, Lin Qi seemed to read a single sentence within them.

Yes, that's right, I'm right here, I am Robert Guilliman.

Coincidence? Anyway, thanks, King Hagi.

Lin Qi silently told himself this, then followed the same method to obscure the surveillance cameras in the corridor. Finally, he reached out, turned the doorknob, and pushed open the small door to the meditation room.

The chapter's servants didn't clean the interior of the meditation room, probably because the think tanks didn't want too many people to trespass on their meditation space. Lynch looked around and found nothing but bare walls.

This environment truly fits the theme of "meditation." It's completely empty except for the walls and the silent space. Probably no one would imagine that beneath this place are six Slaanesh devotees interrogating someone.

Lin Qi closed his eyes, and his psionic energy began to spread rapidly throughout the room, quickly constructing the entire room's structure in his mind.

Countless bricks and stones are stacked layer upon layer, and finally, in an inconspicuous place, under an inconspicuous brick and stone, a trigger mechanism is kept still.

Lin Qi opened his eyes again, walked to the inconspicuous brick, reached out and pressed it down.

The bricks were pressed, and the mechanism went from still to moving, a slight whirring of gears echoing throughout the meditation room. In the center of the meditation room, the bricks that made up the floor slowly began to fall away, revealing a dark passage leading underground.

Lin Qi stepped into the tunnel, a white light flashing in his eyes, and successfully saw the scenery in front of him.

The tunnel wasn't very long, only about ten meters. At its end was a dark iron door, from which came obscene sounds. Just listening to them was enough to make even a person with normal values ​​frown and wonder if there was something wrong with their ears.

"Quack! It's so stuffy!"

“Brother, look at him. This person... has maintained this expression from the very beginning, without showing the slightest emotion... How can I still be interested in continuing to stir things up with someone like this?”

"Hmm...you're right, this person is indeed very different. After all, according to Lord Salkota, this person is one of the most loyal and powerful lackeys of the False Emperor..."

"Then what do we do...? Look at that look in your eyes, it's disgusting..."

"What else can we do? After all, Lord Salkota gave a death order. We can't kill him, we can only continue to accompany him... Hmm? Someone's coming?"

A Slaanesh follower who was interrogating the Imperial Guard in the basement suddenly turned around, looked at the door lock that was slowly turning, and blinked.

Lord Salkota has arrived? So early today.

The Slaanesh follower was confused, but behind his back, the guards who had kept their heads down throughout the interrogation suddenly raised their heads, and for the first time, their eyes, which had remained indifferent from beginning to end, showed an emotional glint.

"Big brother, look! His eyes..."

Another Slaanesh follower noticed this and excitedly reported it to the one who had turned away. But as the iron gate slowly opened, revealing an empty passage behind it, he saw his elder brother's face first show confusion, then intense fear.

"There's a master here! Everyone, retreat quickly!"

"Huh?! An expert?!"

Before the remaining five Slaanesh followers could react, the shadows in the basement began to writhe as if alive. An invisible blade appeared in the intruder's hand and, with a swift swing, sliced ​​through the air, slicing open the five exposed, vulnerable necks.

"Heh..."

The five men collapsed to the ground almost simultaneously, all clutching their slashed throats in agony. Blood gushed from them, staining the ground a dark red as five pairs of eyes stared in disbelief.

"what!!!"

The only survivor was the Slaanesh follower whom the others called "Big Brother." He didn't know why he wasn't slit in the throat with his companions, but that didn't stop him from screaming in terror after witnessing everything.

Taking a step, the sole survivor staggered towards the basement entrance/exit. But before he could even touch the iron door, he felt a sharp pain shooting through his heel. Before he could react, his legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Do you want to solve it yourself?"

The Slaanesh follower trembled as he heard a strange male voice behind him. This amplified his fear, as if a venomous snake were hissing and flicking its tongue near his ear.

After all, killing his five companions without ever showing up and disappearing without a trace, like a ghost, would give any normal person a chilling feeling.