28: Chapter 28 Actually, I've been a part of Chaos for a long time.

The Greater Daemon of Slaanesh was always one to listen to advice; she immediately transformed into a beautiful, long-legged, older sister figure from Cheng Yu's imagination, which he found very satisfying.

"Actually, I have long been a part of Chaos!"

Cheng Yu laughed wickedly, purple energy rising on his face, "I also greatly admire His Highness, the Prince of Pleasure. I wonder what kind of assistance that great one can provide me?"

"Whatever is requested, nothing shall be denied." The Greater Daemon of Slaanesh really didn't leave any room for negotiation in her speech.

"Then I want to rule the galaxy for fun first."

"You are dreaming."

"Tch... Then send me an Empress who loves me more than anything else first." The Emperor was displeased.

"Let's talk about ruling the galaxy instead," the Greater Daemon of Slaanesh said, "This is a treasure my master has prepared for you."

It took out a human-skin mask as thin as a cicada's wing.

"If you want to sell cheap trinkets, we have a free trade market at our base."

"What cheap trinkets? This is a human-skin mask that can change one's appearance. This is no ordinary mask; it was crafted by my master personally. Try it on and you will know," the Greater Daemon of Slaanesh said.

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Pleasure is neither male nor female and is full of guile. You cannot just take things from Him. While it may seem beneficial on the surface, there may actually be malicious intent behind it," a clone nearby advised Main Body.

"Can you whisper a little quieter? I can hear you," the Greater Daemon of Slaanesh said.

"It's fine. If He wants to trap me, He will definitely give me some sweetness to taste first. I will eat this sugar-coated pill first and see what happens."

Main Body put on the Slaaneshi human-skin mask without hesitation.

Tens of billions of clones, including the original, changed simultaneously. Their previously uniform appearances began to develop all sorts of differences.

The longer the clones had existed, the greater their changes in appearance.

For example, the leader of the Iron Fist Clan, Cheng Yu, began to look like a decadent, middle-aged version of Cheng Yu—the kind who soaks goji berries in a thermos and takes sugar-free Liuwei Dihuang pills.

The leader of the Lie Gong Clan, Cheng Yu, became sharp-eyed with a cold expression, looking down upon the world with high spirits, like a fierce general from an ancient battlefield.

As for the original Cheng Yu, his appearance became the average of all his clones' appearances, looking... much the same as before.

Cheng Yu took a deep breath, walked two steps to the side, and pointed one hand at the sky and the other at the ground, "In the heavens and on earth, I alone am the honored one; because I am formless, I manifest all forms."

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long, long live the Emperor!!" All the clones suddenly cheered in unison, startling the Greater Daemon of Slaanesh.

"How is my master's little gift?" The Greater Daemon of Slaanesh grinned, "This mask can make it easier for your clones to infiltrate the human Empire. The appearance manifested by each clone is actually their deep inner perception of themselves."

"Your Majesty, you absolutely must not! You cannot accept a gift from Slaanesh; this must be a conspiracy of the gods of Warp!" Several clones accompanying the negotiation grabbed the original's legs tightly, pleading with tearful eyes.

"A conspiracy?" Cheng Yu frowned, then threw his head back and laughed loudly.

"The conspiracies of the Chaos Gods are as dense as the stars in the sky. Instead of guarding against them, it is better to embrace them. Ahahahahaha!"

Before Cheng Yu finished laughing, he suddenly lunged at the Greater Daemon of Slaanesh, saying with an expressionless face, "That's not enough... Are there any other good things? Bring them all out!"

"Are you sick in the head?!" The Greater Daemon of Slaanesh was startled by this neurotic fellow, "Other things require you to visit my master in person to obtain them."

"Oh... Never mind then." Cheng Yu dusted off his backside and prepared to leave.

"As a dignified ruler of a nation, are you really such a cowardly rat?!" The Greater Daemon of Slaanesh began using reverse psychology, even increasing the charm of the older sister figure.

"Wait, let me think about it." Main Body thought for a moment, "Can I send a representative?"

"What do you think?!"

"Then can... can I go after I take down the surrounding star systems? I don't mean anything else; I just really want to prepare a decent gift for the Prince of Pleasure."

"Remember what you said." The form of the Greater Daemon of Slaanesh slowly dissipated like light smoke, "Every gift that fate gives has its price marked in the dark."

Bang! The Necrons in the base raised their weapons and fired, hitting the Greater Daemon of Slaanesh square in the forehead.

"Damn it!" The Emperor was furious, "Who fired that shot? Who fired that shot?!"

"Cheng Yu, don't play dumb with me. It was definitely you! I saw you signaling the people behind you!"

The Greater Daemon of Slaanesh did not die, but it was not having a good time. The matter-disintegration capability of the Gauss weapons was effective even against pure energy beings; that thing was like a maggot on a bone, constantly dissolving the Chaos power on its body.

Just this one shot cost it at least several hundred years of indulgence cultivation!

"Who? Who exactly hurt my Chaos brother?!" Cheng Yu's angry appearance did not seem like an act, which made the Greater Daemon of Slaanesh think for a moment that it had misjudged him.

"In any case, remember... My master will collect the interest at the appropriate time." The Greater Daemon of Slaanesh laughed wickedly and began its slow, dissipating exit once again.

Main Body began signaling behind him again, and the Greater Daemon of Slaanesh quickly vanished with a "whoosh."

By the time he returned to the real world, it was already night. Cheng Yu had just returned to his bedchamber when he received news that Drake wanted to see him.

Cheng Yu took off his shoes, let his hair down, and pretended he had just crawled out of bed.

"Where is my beloved subject, Drake?"

"Your Majesty, I am here."

"My beloved subject, I haven't seen you in a long time; you've grown a beard."

"Your Majesty, I have always had a beard."

"..."

Drake had requested an audience late at night for no other reason than to apply for a trip home.

He had been out for some time and needed to go home to report that he was safe, otherwise his family might become suspicious.

"This..." Cheng Yu twirled his beard. He was worried that the other party would leave and never return, or even bring troops back to surround and annihilate him.

"I know what Your Majesty is worried about, but Your Majesty need not worry yet."

"Oh?" Cheng Yu became interested, "What do you mean by that, my beloved subject?"

That was about half a century ago. That year, in the upper levels of the Hive City, there was a light, artificial drizzle of apricot blossoms, and Drake had just joined the Administration...

"Stop there, get to the point, my beloved subject."

Simply put, when Drake was young and foolish, he had an affair with a married woman. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal in aristocratic circles.

But as luck would have it, his mistress later became corrupted, so the Inquisition would come to Drake's home every few days to search, turning everything upside down.

In other words, Drake had long since stopped wanting to hang around the Empire.

This trip back was precisely to sell off his family assets and bring his wife and children to defect.

"So that's why you were hiding the Sisters of Silence on your ship. That makes sense."