50: Chapter 50 I envy the lovebirds, not the immortals.

On Li Yu Planet, many Hive Cities are under construction.

This planet was previously infested by Genestealers and also suffered from Orks.

Colonizing this planet was quite difficult, so Acting Governor Cassius had to hire many armed squads to regularly clear out hidden Orks or Genestealers across the planet.

Talos Vane was one of the mercenaries, and he had been doing it for quite some time.

The pay for this job was good, and Talos even had the financial means to run his own "Hunter" squad. Of course, most of the workers under him were clones of Cheng Yu.

Today, the Hunter squad had just cleared out a fairly large Ork nest. Everyone was tired and hungry, so Talos ordered them to rest in place and cook a meal.

"Boss, I heard you were a senior staff officer in the Astra Militarum before... Why not seek a position in the military? With your command level, you would definitely be highly valued!"

A Hunter Cheng Yu asked while gnawing on jerky.

"Sigh..." Talos lit a cigarette. "In a landing campaign, hundreds of thousands or millions of soldiers are thrown onto the planet's surface to fight Greenskins or Tyranids / Tyranids, and they are wiped out just like mowing grass."

"A virus bomb, a vortex torpedo—what does it matter if you're a Primarch or a Governor? You'll still be blown into ashes all the same."

He took a deep drag, inhaled into his lungs, and blew out a huge smoke ring. "If you don't want to die like that, you have to find another way to live."

"That's true. Military life is hard, and the rules are strict. It's not as fun as being a mercenary, where we can eat meat and drink industrial alcohol to our heart's content!"

The Hunter Cheng Yu clones all expressed their agreement.

After eating, some of the Hunter Cheng Yu clones chose to take a nap to recover their energy, but more of them gathered together to play a card game called "legends of the three kingdoms."

Talos wasn't interested in this little toy at first, but after watching it often, he started to like the game now too.

His favorite role was the Renegade in the eight-player army battle mode—it was thrilling.

The feeling of toying with everyone, including himself, was like drinking fine wine to Talos; he was intoxicated by it.

Talos was also increasingly appreciating the False Cheng Yu, who was actually able to come up with such mini-games to brainwash his own clones.

It allowed these clones to unknowingly develop various habits—decisive in killing, stubborn, insidious, cunning, or slow-witted.

Although these habits were not all necessarily virtues, in this rotting galaxy of the 41st Millennium, virtues were not necessarily worth praising, and flaws were not necessarily worth despising.

...

"It should be this person."

The agents of Thirteen Offices used the process of elimination in the foreign immigrant database to find the file on Talos Vane.

This man was originally Drake's adjutant, but he was not Drake's direct subordinate. Instead, he was recommended by the Inquisition when Drake was reporting for duty on Terra a few years ago.

Furthermore, after he submitted to the Imperial Court, he did not demand any benefits at all and instead chose to start his own business in the colony.

Although mercenaries earned a lot, it was a very hard and unstable profession where you didn't get paid if you didn't work, and it was hard to even find a partner.

Because of all this, Talos's level of suspicion was extremely high.

But this man had no psychic talent. On this point, the former Ecclesiarchy priest Cassius was very certain. Cassius had a set of family-inherited skills that could confirm a person's level of psychic talent; Talos was definitely an ordinary person.

"Supervisor, this man must still have an accomplice with extremely strong psychic powers. We cannot move against him for the time being."

At Thirteen Offices headquarters, the Chiliarch Cheng Yu of Li Yu Planet was reporting to Palace Attendant Cheng Yu.

"Not bad, you have improved quite a bit."

Palace Attendant Cheng Yu pinched his orchid fingers. Half of his pale face was hidden in the shadows, and the expression on the other half of his face made it impossible to tell if he was crying or laughing.

"Thank you for the praise, Supervisor."

Chiliarch Cheng Yu grinned foolishly.

"Still calling me Supervisor?"

"Tha... Thank you for the praise, Godfather!"

Chiliarch Cheng Yu was overjoyed and immediately lay on the ground, using his sleeve to wipe Palace Attendant Cheng Yu's shoes.

"Hehehe... His Majesty regards me as a confidant, so I must handle matters with sincerity and share His Majesty's worries."

"I... I implore Godfather to show your son the right path!"

Chiliarch Cheng Yu cried and howled with tears and snot, "Son... I want to advance so badly!"

"As for Duke Iron Fist, that stupid wife of his is a breakthrough point... You, ah, you, you are willing to put in the effort, but you are too prone to getting stuck in a rut. Sometimes, the solution to a problem... lies outside the question itself."

"Thank you for the guidance, Godfather! Thank you for the guidance, Godfather!"

Chiliarch Cheng Yu kowtowed so hard it shook the ground, but Palace Attendant Cheng Yu had long since drifted away, disappearing into the shadows.

...

In the Imperial Palace, Main Body was cuddling with his beloved concubine, Lady Istvaan.

The main body was wearing a blindfold, waving his hands around, playing a game of "Don't let me catch you, or else..." with Vera.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty~~"

"I'm right here~~"

"Come and catch me~~"

The two of them flirted and lingered for a while, but Lady Istvaan suddenly started becoming sentimental.

"My beloved concubine, why are you melancholy?" Main Body asked, confused.

"Your concubine is sad, your concubine is afraid. 'Grace fades before beauty withers, tears stain the handkerchief, dreams remain unfulfilled.'"

Vera, the former Inquisitor, didn't know what kind of palace intrigue novels she had been reading recently, but she had already started worrying about falling out of favor in the future, even though she was the only one in the harem right now.

"My beloved, do not worry. Even if there are three thousand beauties in my harem in the future, you will still be the most special one. You are, after all, my first woman."

The emotionally inept main body said something emotionally inept.

Vera turned away in a huff, pretending to cry. "When is Your Majesty planning to take in more concubines? Your concubine should prepare to move to the Cold Palace early."

"Eh, my beloved, why go so far? I have no such plans in the near future. The nation has just been established, and everything is waiting to be done. How could I have the energy for that?"

"Hmph." Vera still pouted, but her expression looked a bit better.

"Your Majesty, today's reports have arrived."

The one speaking was not Palace Attendant Cheng Yu, but Second Attendant Cheng Yu. Palace Attendant Cheng Yu was very busy now and could no longer be on duty by the main body every day.

"Hmm, my beloved, read them to me."

Main Body still hadn't taken off his blindfold; it seemed he was planning to continue the "game" just now after finishing the reports.

...

Second Attendant Cheng Yu took advantage of Lady Istvaan still cuddling with the main body and quickly snatched away one of the secret reports.

Just kidding—if Lady Istvaan were to read the memorial he was hiding behind his back, Third Attendant Cheng Yu would be the one on duty here tomorrow.

"Subject Dukaria respectfully reports: This subject will be married at the beginning of the next Terran month. I request His Majesty to send an envoy to inspect."

When Vera read the memorial, her voice wasn't affected anymore; there was a seriousness to it like a former Inquisitor working diligently, which sounded quite... charming.

"Granted." Cheng Yu caressed her face... and then...