In Feiyi's parents' house.
Feiyi was crying, weeping profusely, yet still helping Fu Qinghai pack his luggage.
"Why won't you take me with you, why?" Feiyi pouted again, tears dropping one by one.
Fu Qinghai sighed helplessly, "Didn't I tell you? I'm going to war, not traveling. People die in war."
Faced with the crying of such a beautiful darling, Fu Qinghai felt at a loss, unsure how to comfort her.
"Why would I take you to war? You don't know how to fight, you can't even beat Cedric and the others, you still need me to protect you," Feiyi said, pouting and sobbing.
That stings, little sister... But I, Fu Qinghai, am not what I used to be; I have gained the recognition of the Space Marines.
Fu Qinghai watched Feiyi desperately stuff clothes into the box, as if this could mend the regret of parting with him, and quickly stopped her:
"Enough, enough, you don't need to stuff any more; I'm not moving house."
Hearing this, Feiyi put down the box in her hand, turned around, entered her parents' cultivation room, and came out holding a pot with a menacingly clawed alien plant.
"Take this Potent Bloodthirster Fern with you too. I remember you love eating its fruit the most."
What the heck... Didn't you always cut things up and I ate whatever you cut? When did I show any particular preference?
Fu Qinghai was speechless and quickly walked over to take the plant from Feiyi's hands and set it down.
He cupped the girl's cheeks, running his fingers through the strands of hair near her temples, looking directly into her eyes.
Feiyi's originally bright eyes were now somewhat red and swollen, tears wetting her long eyelashes, causing her to develop 'saggy' under-eyes from crying.
"When I'm gone, you must protect yourself well," Fu Qinghai said softly.
"Mm..." Feiyi, whose face was being held by Fu Qinghai, hummed through her nose, the girl's warm, moist breath puffing onto Fu Qinghai's face.
Fu Qinghai lowered his head, his lips lightly brushing against Feiyi's crystal-clear, soft lips—a fleeting touch, gone as soon as it landed.
The girl's eyes widened, her cheeks instantly flushing crimson.
Although the two were intimately familiar, this was truly the first time they had kissed, and Feiyi immediately became flustered.
Fu Qinghai, however, remained calm, helping Feiyi tidy a slightly curled strand of hair near her forehead.
He said calmly, "Wait for me to return."
With that, he picked up the box on the ground, turned around, and left.
"Alo!" Feiyi's shout came from behind him, "I put Mom's necklace in the box."
Fu Qinghai did not turn back, raising a hand to signal that he had heard.
…………
Unlike his previous Reincarnation Life, this Reincarnation World granted Fu Qinghai richer and deeper memories.
Memories concerning Feiyi.
This made it impossible for him to participate with the detached, bystander mentality he had in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Fu Qinghai could step outside the thought framework of this world, even when facing beings as powerful as the Space Marines, and think of solutions based on the origins of the Warhammer 40,000 official novels.
But when facing Feiyi, he could not treat her as an NPC from a game or a novel.
She was a person of flesh and blood, and that flesh and blood was rooted in Fu Qinghai's heart.
Fu Qinghai chose not to bring Feiyi aboard.
Firstly, Ogedai had not informed Fu Qinghai that he could bring others. Secondly, the White Scars would not wander aimlessly in the Universe; once they set off, they were bound to seek trouble with other Traitor Legions, possibly heading to Terra for the decisive battle between the Loyalists and the Traitors. Fu Qinghai could never let Feiyi participate in such life-risking endeavors.
Fu Qinghai said he would return, but in this chaotic era of severed transport and broken communications, no one could guarantee anything or make any promises, especially since Fu Qinghai was strictly speaking an Outsider from Beyond the Universe.
Cheslatan was currently one of the few havens in this burning Galaxy. This haven would be left for Feiyi.
Fu Qinghai appeared before the Stormbird, carrying his box.
Facing him were two figures, one tall and one short, waiting for him.
The tall one was a towering warrior clad entirely in armor; the short one was Ogedai, seated in a wheelchair.
The massive Stormbird could carry fifty Fully Armed Space Marines, yet besides the pilot, only one person came to greet Ogedai returning to the Warship.
Fu Qinghai discerned the White Scars' current predicament from this small detail—a severe shortage of personnel.
It made sense. The White Scars, numbering just over fifty thousand at their peak, might be stretched thin after a few high-intensity civil wars. In contrast, the Ultramarines had three hundred thousand at their peak, backed by the highly productive and populous Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar, allowing them to fight wars of attrition without personnel shortages, perhaps even increasing their numbers.
How wary was Warmaster Horus of Roboute Guilliman, the Primarch of the XIII Legion? Regarding the Vth Legion Primarch, Chaghatai Khan, whose allegiance might not be secured, Horus's choice during the conspiracy of the Rebellion was to use his authority as Warmaster to dispatch the White Scars to a remote star system to deal with the remnants of the Greenskin Orks. This was essentially sending the White Scars away, ensuring that regardless of Chaghatai Khan's decision, he could not return to the core regions of the Imperium of Man in a short time, thus not affecting Horus's subsequent layout.
As for the Ultramarines, Horus and the Traitor Legions set one trap after another, aiming not only to annihilate the Ultramarines' fighting strength but also to destroy the regenerative capacity of the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar. The Thirteenth Son and his massive Ultramarines Legion were truly the Warmaster's greatest hidden threat.
Ogedai smiled faintly as he watched Fu Qinghai approach them.
Fu Qinghai walked up to the two, and it was clear Ogedai was very satisfied with Fu Qinghai's choice, but he said nothing.
He merely said lightly, "Let's go," then turned and boarded the Stormbird, pushing his wheelchair.
……
The Stormbird took off. The cabin was exceptionally turbulent, accompanied by deafening noise. Fu Qinghai secured himself tightly in his seat, gripping the safety belts on both sides with all his might.
Putting aside the hazy memories of departing from the Levianthan Hive City, this was strictly speaking Fu Qinghai's first time flying into space. He was so nervous his toes were curled up, his face pale.
Ogedai and the tall Space Marine, however, sat quietly in their seats as if nothing were happening.
These seats were specifically reserved for fully armored Space Marines; they were very spacious. Fu Qinghai sank into one like a quail egg in an eagle's nest.
As the Stormbird accelerated, the immense G-force made Fu Qinghai breathe rapidly, feeling dizzy.
"Oh!" At this moment, Ogedai slapped his forehead, as if just remembering, and stood up, pulling a tube with a Respirator from behind Fu Qinghai and stuffing it over his face, saying with a grin, "Forgot you're a Mortal, my bad."
With the Respirator clamped over his mouth and nose, Fu Qinghai couldn't speak, but the look in his eyes told Ogedai everything—
You totally did that just to get back at me for electrocuting you!
It was fortunate that Fu Qinghai was a Space Man in this life; otherwise, in his previous life, not just anyone could become an astronaut.
The Stormbird successfully reached the Warship docked in Space Orbit.
When the Stormbird stabilized and the hatch opened, the busy Boarding Deck came into Fu Qinghai's view.
Bright lights illuminated the entire deck, which was bustling. The ground crew members busy on the deck were all ordinary people like Fu Qinghai, wearing white and red crew Subdue uniforms, but no other Space Marines were visible.
The rumbling of tow tractors passing by and the creaking of lifting cranes filled Fu Qinghai's eardrums.
Fu Qinghai took one last look back at the scene outside the Boarding Bay. Beyond the hazy glow of the Void Shield was a massive, ochre-colored planet—that was Cheslatan.
The Boarding Bay slowly closed.
Fu Qinghai followed Ogedai and Taral into the Warship. Crew members they passed along the way stopped to salute them.
The Status of the Space Marines was evident.
Ogedai settled Fu Qinghai into his single Rest Cabin, then headed to the Bridge with Taral.
Every Space Marine has their own independent Rest Cabin and Armory aboard a Warship, regardless of Military Rank.
Fu Qinghai, staying in Ogedai's Rest Cabin, felt somewhat bored.
The room was too simple and too clean, containing almost no personal belongings, let alone entertainment facilities.
There was only a small box, but Fu Qinghai didn't want to rummage through someone else's things casually.
After sitting stiffly on the Chair for a while, Fu Qinghai thought: Although I don't know the internal Management regulations on the Warship, I'm so familiar with Old Ogedai, it shouldn't be too much to check out his Armory.
Then he got up and headed to the Armory.
As soon as he pushed the door open, a massive green Head came into view, startling Fu Qinghai.
It was a giant Head three times the size of an ordinary Adult's Head. Its rough, thick Skin was an unnatural grayish-green, likely treated with some chemical agent. Two pairs of thick white Fangs curled up the upper lip. Sparse hair grew on the top of the Head. Even in death, it maintained a ferocious, baring-teeth expression from life. Glimmers of bloodthirsty desire remained in its shriveled red eyeballs, staring straight at anyone entering the Armory.
So Ogedai liked to keep battle trophies in the Armory.
This was an Ork, one of the Four Great Scourges of the Warhammer Universe. Before the rise of the Eye of Terror and the Tyranid invasion, they were once the primary scourge of the Galaxy.
Orks are a peculiar Greenskin Organism; they have no gender and are a semi-Fungus, semi-animal intelligent life form. They reproduce asexually using Spore mushrooms. Any flake of skin shed by an Adult Ork can develop into an Ork Tribe on a suitable Planet. Their social structure is relatively simple compared to Humans, but they are cruel, warlike, chaotic, and extremely aggressive. Coupled with their unparalleled reproductive capability across the entire Galaxy, they were once a major hidden threat to other intelligent Races.
The first victory parade involving all Legions after the Imperium of Man launched the Great Crusade was in 544.M30, held by the Emperor to commemorate the defeat of an Ork Warlord named 'Urak Ugluk the Great.' This Ork Warlord had unified most of the Ork Tribes in the Galaxy and conquered the vast majority of the Galaxy's regions. All Astartes Legions participated in this protracted Doomsday War against the Ork Empire. Both the Emperor and the later Warmaster Horus personally fought on the front lines.
This was the 'Ullanor Campaign,' which laid the foundation for the Imperium of Man to unify the Galaxy. It was also after this war that the Emperor promoted Horus Lupercal, the Primarch of the XVI Legion, the Lunar Wolves, to 'Warmaster,' making him the supreme commander of all armed forces of the Imperium of Man except the Adeptus Custodes, while the Emperor himself returned to the underground Laboratory of the Imperial Palace to conduct his secret experiments.
In other words, after dealing with the Ork Empire, the Emperor believed the remaining Great Crusade could be handled by Horus, while he attended to matters he deemed more important.
This indirectly proves the might of the Orks.
Although the Ork Warlord was defeated, vast numbers of Orks were slaughtered, and large tracts of land were purged, Orks were still scattered across every corner of the Galaxy, including Kandax, the remote star system the White Scars Legion was ordered to clear out this time.
Due to the Orks' semi-plant, semi-animal nature, the main advantageous Ork Race's body size is not fixed within a range like Humans. Orks can continue to grow throughout their entire lives; generally, the more powerful an Ork is in Combat Power, the larger its physique. This body size is also directly related to its Social Status. The strongest Ork Warlords were even taller than Primarchs, with one Ork being comparable to a Knight Titan. Judging by the size of the Head in Ogedai's Armory, it was at least a 'Warboss.'
Ogedai single-handedly slew a Warboss? If he hadn't killed it solo, he probably wouldn't have been embarrassed enough to hang it on his wall.
To be able to single-handedly slay a Warboss, Ogedai's strength before his legs were cut off was unfathomable... To be fair, although the Vth Legion was small in number, the White Scar Warriors generally had strong one-on-one combat capabilities. Their Primarch, Chaghatai Khan, was himself a master swordsman of profound skill.
Fu Qinghai stroked his chin and muttered inwardly: It's just that, Old Ogedai, this habit of yours isn't great. Cutting off Fangs or ears is fine, but how many Heads can your Armory fit if an Ork Head takes up so much space?
The Armory wasn't large. Besides this Ork Head, there were other body parts from alien Races Fu Qinghai didn't recognize hanging on the wall as souvenirs. This fondness for preserving enemy Materials might stem from certain combat customs within Chogoris culture.
It also showed that Ogedai was indeed a veteran soldier who had seen many battles.
Fu Qinghai wasn't very interested in Xenos taxonomy; what attracted him more were the other items in the Armory.
In the corners were scattered Armor polishing powder, maintenance oil, fiber rags, and on the Weapon racks, Bolters of various models, Power Mauls, and—
A complete set of MKIV Extremis Pattern Power Armor.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Fu Qinghai reached out to stroke the finely polished and well-maintained standard Power Armor, making clicking sounds with his mouth.
As the standard equipment for the Space Marines, the protagonists of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe, the appearance of Power Armor is highly recognizable.
First are the two enormous Pauldrons, which can be considered a hallmark of Space Marine Power Armor. This makes the Space Marine wearing the Power Armor look very broad and imposing, and the large surface area of the Pauldron is where Space Marines paint their Legion-specific livery and insignia.
The Pauldrons are large for a reason. Besides the thick Ceramite layer, the various servo-systems built inside the Pauldrons are crucial for the Power Armor's normal operation.
Compared to armor from other sci-fi IPs, the Warhammer 40,000 Power Armor, which emphasizes defense, is undoubtedly a bit bulky in appearance compared to the skin-tight suits worn by Iron Man or Batman. This is also why many fans jokingly call Space Marines "Tin Cans."
But contrary to their ferocious and massive appearance, Space Marines wearing Power Armor are not clumsy; on the contrary, the Power Armor makes the already far superior Astartes even more agile and fast than Mortals.
The powerful Power Armor, constructed from Ceramite and Plasteel, allows Space Marines to advance toward the enemy through a barrage of fire.
This fearless bravery led many armies of lost Human civilizations to collapse directly when facing the charge of the Space Marines during the Great Crusade to reclaim the Human homeworld.
After all, no one can fight an enemy impervious to blades and bullets.
Domed Helmet: Dual-eye Ocular Lens, Respirator grilles arranged diagonally symmetrically, and the Face protrudes outward.
Power Pack: Exhaust ports are spherical, directed backward; this design intends to provide balance, stability, and Propulsion for the Space Marine in zero-gravity environments.
The design of the Arm Plates, Leg Armor, and Chest/Abdomen Armor features cleaner, smoother lines compared to previous generations of Power Armor. The layering of plate armor has been eliminated, the Armor is more integrated, and exposed cabling is reduced, with almost no rivets.
The MKIV Fourth Generation Power Armor can be called the true new generation Battle Armor of this era.
The MK1 Thunder Pattern was the original Power Armor for warfare within Earth's Atmosphere; the MK2 Crusade Pattern was the first fully sealed, integrated Armor, designed for the Great Crusade, but it still had many shortcomings in actual use; the MK3 Iron Pattern was merely an enhancement of the MK2's defense at the cost of mobility, with little overall change, suitable for specific Legions skilled in defense or specialized assault units within a Legion; the MK4 Extremis Pattern, however, was the new generation Battle Armor optimized by the Adeptus Mechanicus of Mars, learning lessons from previous Power Armors and integrating technology from newly conquered worlds.
The MK4 had just been introduced when the Horus Heresy broke out. During the planning phase of the Rebellion, Horus used his authority as Warmaster to order this Battle Armor to be prioritized for Legions with potential rebellious intentions, especially his own XVI Legion, the Sons of Horus. Consequently, in the early stages of the Great Heresy, it was difficult to find a complete set of MK4 Extremis Pattern Power Armor in the Loyalist Legions.
More common was the MK5 Heretic Pattern Power Armor, pieced together from various sources and hastily manufactured on-site.
Wait... Fu Qinghai narrowed his eyes. Why does Ogedai have the newest generation MK4 pattern armor?
Although this isn't the early stage of the Rebellion, and capture is possible, your Battle Armor is too complete. Others' captured gear is pieced together—an MK2 chest plate, an MK3 leg armor, an MK4 arm armor, welded together with rivets and connected with locks.
But this is a complete, factory-original set.
Fu Qinghai's suspicion flared up.
Ogedai... Could he possibly be a Mole?
Fu Qinghai thought again, but when he saved Ogedai previously, a prompt for gaining Assimilation Points appeared. If Ogedai was a Mole planted in the White Scars by a Traitor Legion, given my initial Faction, the Reincarnation World shouldn't have calculated Assimilation Points for me... Tsk, who knows how the Reincarnation World's rules work.
There is another possibility... Ogedai is not the Mole, but this entire White Scars Warship belongs to the Traitor Legions.
Hiss... Fu Qinghai's teeth ached. If that were the case, he was currently walking into a tiger's den, with little hope of earning Assimilation Points other than his own worthless life.
Shifting his gaze from the brand-new MK4 Battle Armor, Fu Qinghai looked at the Weapon rack nearby. Bolters and various shell types like Bolter Shells and Subsonic rounds were neatly stacked.
Weapons and ammunition kept together—Space Marines have significant privileges.
How to explain the MK4 Power Armor issue? Should I ask Ogedai directly, or test the waters first?
If Ogedai is indeed a Mole or a Traitor, he shouldn't have let me into his Rest Cabin; this poses a risk of exposure. His straightforwardness proves he isn't a Mole.
Or perhaps he thinks I'm just a Mortal who knows nothing and poses no threat, so revealing his identity wouldn't matter, and even if it did, he could crush me with one hand.
If Ogedai truly belongs to the Traitor Faction, why would he fight the warriors of the Sons of Horus? The enemy of my enemy is my friend is an eternal truth.
But I didn't witness him fighting the Sons of Horus myself. The fact that the White Scars and the Sons of Horus engaged in a fierce battle in this godforsaken place called Cheslatan is also a point of suspicion.
Moreover, the Rebel forces are not monolithic; for instance, the Alpha Legion's motivation for rebellion was different from that of other Traitor Legions.
Too many possibilities, too little Information.
Lost in thought, Fu Qinghai walked, almost involuntarily, toward the small box by Ogedai's bed.
It wasn't locked. Fu Qinghai gently opened the lid.
Among a pile of small objects, a silver coin lay quietly.
It was a silver coin engraved with the Imperium's Double-headed eagle emblem, possessing an ancient feel.
Looking at this silver coin, Fu Qinghai narrowed his eyes once more.
…………
PS: Blizzard's famous Orc race from Warcraft was reportedly inspired by Games Workshop's Orks. In terms of Timeline, Warhammer 40,000 predates the War series. However, concluding from this that Warhammer is the father of Warcraft, or that Warcraft plagiarized Warhammer, is unnecessary. As mentioned earlier, popular cultures constantly—to put it nicely, influence, borrow from, and pay homage to each other; to put it bluntly, they plagiarize each other. The Necron race in Warhammer 40,000 was originally called Chaos Robots. GW officially released the Necrons only after the 《Terminator》 series by Cameron became a global hit in '92, and many of their concepts and appearances were borrowed from the Terminator. Similarly, there are claims that the Tyranid race in Warhammer 40,000 borrowed its image from the movie 《Alien》.
Regarding these popular culture IPs, it is best to simply enjoy them without starting flame wars or establishing a hierarchy of superiority.