255: Chapter 256 The Think Tank Chief's Decision

Aside from the players who followed the Carcharodons Chapter to experience the wild life of a Great White Shark, there was a small group of players who preferred a dark, assassin-like aesthetic and chose to board the shuttle of the Death Spectres Chapter.

This group of players boarded the ship, traveled through the Warp for several days, and finally successfully arrived at the secret homeworld of the Death Spectres Chapter—Occludus.

This was a massive Tomb World shrouded in darkness year-round!

Beyond the various tombs on the surface, there was no trace of any life.

At this moment, in the war room of the Occludus monastery.

Chief Librarian Asio of the Death Spectres Chapter was resting his hands on the edge of the sand table.

His eyes, which emitted a faint blue glow due to long-term use of psychic powers, were currently fixed on the Third Company Captain standing opposite him, Captain Roshiam.

After listening to Captain Roshiam's detailed one-hour report, the Chief Librarian, who was usually as composed as a mountain even if the world collapsed around him, fell into a long, deathly silence.

"Brother Captain Roshiam." Chief Librarian Asio's voice was deep and hoarse, carrying a hint of undisguised disbelief.

"Are you saying that in the backward, fringe region on the outermost edge of the Ghoul Stars, a loyalist regime called the Spark Alliance has suddenly appeared out of thin air?!"

"And furthermore, their leader... can actually directly unleash the golden flame blessing of the Great God-Emperor? And according to your investigation, he has already displayed such miracles twice in public without any restraint?!"

Captain Roshiam stood where he was, his tactical helmet already removed. His Adam's apple bobbed, his dry lips moved slightly, and he struggled to utter a single word: "Yes!"

Chief Librarian Asio took a deep breath and continued to press him: "According to your report, not only did they not perish in the Tyranid infestation, but they also demonstrated a fairly complete and massive level of industrialization?"

"They might even possess multiple long-lost, ancient STC templates? They can even mass-produce high-end, cutting-edge equipment that even we, a formal Astartes Chapter, do not have?!"

Upon hearing the Chief Librarian's relentless questioning, Captain Roshiam merely moved his lips. He wanted to explain something, but in the end, he remained silent.

He turned his head and signaled to one of his trusted battle-brothers accompanying him. The battle-brother understood immediately and turned to walk out of the war room.

Less than half a minute later, he returned carrying a heavy, sealed metal weapon case marked with the torch emblem of the Spark Alliance.

Under Chief Librarian Asio's puzzled gaze, Captain Roshiam stepped forward, entered the password, and with a "click," unlocked the weapon case. The lid popped open.

Inside lay a heavy individual weapon with a sleek design, its barrel covered in intricate cooling coils and energy circuits!

The moment Chief Librarian Asio saw the weapon clearly, his pupils constricted sharply! This was a heavy Volkite blaster!

This kind of terrifyingly powerful energy weapon, which used lost technology—Chief Librarian Asio had only seen it once in his long life, when he made a pilgrimage to Terra and saw it in the hands of the Custodes guarding the Imperial Palace!

And now, this legendary antique weapon was brand new, packed casually in a box just like an ordinary Bolter!

Chief Librarian Asio swallowed hard, glanced at the weapon, and then looked up at Captain Roshiam.

"Not only that, Chief Librarian." Captain Roshiam continued to drop bombshells. "According to my observations, they may also possess various unfathomable biological technologies, possibly even forbidden Xenos technology!"

"Under their command, not only can they endlessly produce, like an assembly line, a type of clone with extremely formidable combat power that fears no death; they can even use the flesh and remains of the Tyranids to build biological war bunkers!"

"The most outrageous part is! They relied on this army of mortal clones to forcibly board and fight their way through the hive ship, successfully slaying the Norn Queen that commanded the swarm!"

Captain Roshiam took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth: "Everything I have said, I saw with my own eyes. It is absolutely true! There is no exaggeration whatsoever!"

After receiving such a definite answer, the Chief Librarian of the Death Spectres, who possessed powerful psychic abilities and managed all the Chapter's classified intelligence, felt his brain momentarily go into chaos and short-circuit.

The volume of information in this report was simply too massive! It was large enough to overturn the existing power structure of the entire sector!

"Chief Librarian." Captain Roshiam watched the silent Chief Librarian Asio and tentatively proposed his strategic vision. "Actually, I think... the existence of this Spark Alliance is not a bad thing for us. Instead of digging into their background, it would be better to let them continue to guard the outskirts of the sector peacefully."

"These clones are not only extremely powerful in combat, they can fully serve as a solid wall against the Tyranids and extraterrestrial threats. Furthermore, as long as we maintain a good relationship with them, they can provide our Chapter, which is perennially short on supplies, with large amounts of advanced weapon resources and mortal auxiliary troops!"

Chief Librarian Asio closed his eyes, which were glowing with a faint blue light, and leaned back in his chair. His brain began to run rapidly, weighing the pros and cons.

He thought for a long time, slowly opened his eyes, and said in a grave tone: "Captain Roshiam, you are thinking of this too simply!"

"Once the Inquisition—those mad dogs—find out about the existence of the Spark Alliance, whether it is the Ordo Hereticus responsible for investigating heresy, or the Ordo Xenos specialized in dealing with aliens, they will definitely swarm over like sharks smelling blood!"

"Forbidden cloning, suspected Xenos technology, unknown ancient STC, plus a rogue leader who can unleash miracles! These labels combined are enough to make the radical factions of the Inquisition furious!"

"I fear they would recklessly mobilize heavy troops and fleets from every sector, directly issue an Exterminatus order against that system, and completely wipe this uncontrollable potential threat off the map!"

Chief Librarian Asio rubbed his throbbing temples: "We dare not shoulder such a massive scapegoat that could trigger a civil war!"

"That leader..." Chief Librarian Asio changed the subject, his eyes sharp as he asked, "Based on your contact, what are his ambitions and personal capabilities like?"

Captain Roshiam stood straight and reported solemnly: "Following our covert intelligence investigation there, except for the core area of the underground Shelter which is most heavily guarded and we could not infiltrate, we have more or less figured out the situation of the other surface factories and the Hive City."

"I dare to stake my honor on the fact that this leader, who calls himself Dawn, definitely has significant ambitions!"

Captain Roshiam pulled up a piece of reconnaissance data. "Their shipyards and weapon factories are running at full capacity day and night! Everything they produce is weaponry and equipment that completely fails to meet the Imperial Tithe standards."

"Not only that, according to reports from my informants planted in their black market, they have recently even been using various channels to scout for and acquire technology related to Warp engines! Clearly, they want to build Void ships and expand beyond their system!"

Upon hearing this, Chief Librarian Asio's face, which had been tense the whole time, miraculously relaxed, and he even revealed a smile like that of an old fox.

"Want to expand outward? Have ambition? That makes things easy!"

Chief Librarian Asio tapped his fingers lightly on the desk. "Captain Roshiam, immediately draft a battle report in my name and send it directly to the Imperial Departmento Munitorum!"

"What should I write in the report?" Captain Roshiam asked, confused.

"Just write: Due to a full-scale invasion by the main fleet of the Tyranids in the Fringe Sector 2279, the local garrison's resistance failed. All Imperial worlds, Hive Cities, and populations in that region have been completely devoured by the swarm, and it has thoroughly become a ruin of dead stars!"

Chief Librarian Asio sneered. "Then send someone to secretly and subtly inform Leader Lin Li that we have covered for them and erased their records. He is a clever man; he will naturally know what to do next, and he will know how to repay our goodwill!"

Captain Roshiam was shocked after hearing this bold plan. "Chief Librarian, we are openly deceiving the Departmento Munitorum! This is a grave crime!"

"Rest assured." Chief Librarian Asio waved his hand. "As the watchers of this Death Sector, the Death Spectres nominally still hold the supreme military administrative authority over those remote regions. What we are doing actually carries little risk."

"As long as those bored fools in the Inquisition don't have nothing better to do than personally send someone across half the Galaxy to verify it. Who would care if a godforsaken fringe system is dead or alive? Moreover, with wars raging across the entire Empire, the bureaucrats in the Departmento Munitorum are already overwhelmed and have no time to look elsewhere."

Chief Librarian Asio snorted. "Taking a step back, even if we are unfortunately caught in the future, I have plenty of excuses! After all, Warp storms are so frequent. When Astropaths transmit information, missing data and serious errors due to demonic interference—isn't that the most common and reasonable excuse in the Empire for dodging responsibility?"

Having handled this biggest political hidden danger and no longer needing to worry about accountability from the Inquisition, Chief Librarian Asio seemed to be in a great mood. He stood up and patted Captain Roshiam on the shoulder.

"Let's go, brother!" Chief Librarian Asio's eyes sparkled with intense interest. "Take me to the training grounds! Let me see for myself just how strong those mortal clones with psychotic tendencies that you brought back really are!"

Yuanwang Star System, underground core of the Fire Seed Shelter. By the time Lin Li received the message sent back by Captain Roshiam through secret channels, several more days had passed.

There was no helping it. The efficiency of cross-sector psychic communication via Astropaths was truly low. Due to Warp interference, the same encrypted message had to be repeatedly checked and confirmed by multiple Astropaths before it could be officially submitted, in order to avoid intelligence errors.

After reading the intelligence, Lin Li touched his chin and let out a long sigh of relief.

"This means that before long, in the official records of the Imperial Departmento Munitorum, the Yuanwang Star System and this vast surrounding area will nominally be a ruin of dead stars that has been picked clean by the Tyranids."

Lin Li leaned back in his chair. "This is actually great news. It has directly become a lawless land, and we don't have to worry about the Imperial fleet coming to forcibly collect that damn Tithe for now. We can finally advance our technology and mass-produce troops without any restraint!"

"But it also means that if a terrifying threat appears in the future, the Empire will absolutely not spare any reinforcements to support us. From now on, we truly have to rely on ourselves for everything."

Additionally, Lin Li thought of another thorny problem. "How should I give an explanation to Marshal Miller?"

As the supreme commander of the Adeptus Arbites for this jurisdiction, Marshal Miller's stance had actually always been very ambiguous.

He had not only given Lin Li a lot of help in secret previously but had even directly allowed the Spark Alliance to mass-produce various high-end weapons and equipment that had nothing to do with the Tithe.

If this indulgence by Marshal Miller were discovered by the Inquisition, it would absolutely be a serious crime of dereliction of duty, punishable by death under Imperial law!

However, this Marshal was not the type to see a good deed through to the end. He had repeatedly, in his capacity as the Imperial Adeptus Arbites, sternly reminded Lin Li that he must strictly control the Psykers appearing in the system and demanded that these dangerous individuals be screened and handed over to him for processing.

Of course, although Lin Li had established a strict registration and training management system for Psykers within Shelter, as for the matter of handing over Psykers, he simply let it go in one ear and out the other, acting as if he hadn't heard it.

Marshal Miller, however, did not take any excessive punitive actions because of this, and the two sides had maintained a strange, tacit understanding.

"This old guy is a smart man and a pure pragmatist. He realizes that as long as I am nominally loyal to the Empire, he won't do anything extreme."

Lin Li thought about it one last time. "After the current spotlight passes, I still need to find a suitable opportunity to have a frank and open talk with Marshal Miller. Laying everything out on the table will avoid any misjudgments in the future."

After making his decision, Lin Li glanced at his schedule and stood up, preparing to head to the large conference room on the surface. Very important guests were coming to visit today.

This meeting would directly determine whether the Spark Alliance's fleet could successfully venture out of this remote system.

Lin Li specifically styled his hair like an adult's and changed into a custom-made, classical formal suit. The style was similar to a black slim-fit suit on Earth, with a dark red decorative flower pinned to the left breast, making him look tall, straight, and spirited.

He arrived at the exclusive reception room, which looked quite high-end. Although this reception room did not have the ostentatious luxury of gold and silver typical of Imperial nobles, the interior decoration was very exquisite and tasteful.

Classical landscape paintings, vibrant potted plants, soft wool carpets, clean marble floor tiles, and the large crystal chandelier overhead emitting warm light—everything was arranged just right.

The reason Lin Li put so much effort into the arrangement was directly related to the guests arriving today.

Lin Li sat down in the main seat and waited for less than ten minutes. A series of slight and orderly footsteps came from outside the door.