Fu Qinghai was assigned to an empty room next to Ogedai's, previously occupied by a Fallen Space Marine.
A single private Rest Cabin was a very high level of treatment on a Warship; ordinary Crew members shared cabins designed for two to four people.
Fu Qinghai was roused early by Ogedai.
There is no concept of morning or night in space, but Fu Qinghai felt like he hadn't slept enough.
Sleepy-eyed, Fu Qinghai followed Ogedai down the bright, narrow Crew passage.
As they walked, Ogedai said, "According to the Legion's normal procedure, the few hundred boys of suitable age selected by the Storm Seer undergo several years of secluded training in the Legion's Astartes Monastery, and only the top few with excellent results are selected as candidates for Ascension Surgery."
Ogedai looked straight ahead with a serious expression and said, "I am not someone who likes to break rules or pull strings. Since no one is competing with you now, you must achieve the results of the past top three candidates from the Monastery before I will allow you to participate in the Ascension ceremony. Furthermore, Master Kunto has a method for accelerated cultivation of super Organs; I will not give you two or three years."
"Within one year, you must meet the prerequisites for Modification."
Fu Qinghai asked, "What if I don't qualify within a year?"
Ogedai turned his head and gave a grim smile, "Then I'll give you an Escape pod, throw you off the Starship, and you can swim back to Cheslatan yourself."
Fu Qinghai swallowed. He didn't know how many light-years Cheslatan was from here; swimming back in an Escape pod? That sounded plausible!
As they walked, the two arrived at a Sluice Gate marked with a danger warning sign.
Ogedai verified his identity, and the Sluice Gate opened.
Inside was a massive steel cage, surrounded by various clubs, staves, and the dark muzzles of ranged Weapons.
Ogedai shoved Fu Qinghai into the steel cage, then pressed a few buttons nearby, and the cage slowly closed.
Ogedai spoke calmly, "Setting: Lowest intensity level. Stop threshold: Minor Maiming."
"Activate."
As Ogedai's voice faded, an Iron Fist swept horizontally from Fu Qinghai's left side instantly.
"Bang!" Fu Qinghai screamed as he was sent flying sideways, hitting the side of the cage and bouncing back onto the ground.
"Complete. Minor Maiming." A completely emotionless electronic voice sounded.
Fu Qinghai was still groaning on the ground.
Ogedai's lips curled up in a smile, "Too weak."
...
In the Frigate's dining hall.
Ogedai and Fu Qinghai sat opposite each other. Ogedai had his Arms crossed, looking at Fu Qinghai in front of him, and said:
"Your stomach is still that of a normal person; you cannot ingest the specialized supplemental Food for Space Marines, but consuming extra stored energy is never wrong."
Fu Qinghai looked up from a pile of food on his plate, his face twisted in misery, "But I can't eat anymore, I'm stuffed to the gills."
"Keep eating. You stop when I say so," Ogedai's emotionless voice sounded.
The surrounding Mortal Crew members occasionally glanced over, whispering amongst themselves.
"I really can't eat another bite, it's stuck in my throat," Fu Qinghai said mournfully.
"Bang!"
Ogedai raised his hand and shoved Fu Qinghai's head into the pile of food; the plate and table trembled.
...
After that came day after day of devilish special training.
Training before Ascension focuses more on physical conditioning and the tempering of mental Will; skill-based training and tactical learning come more after Ascension. After all, Space Marines have nearly infinite lifespans; as long as they successfully ascend, they have plenty of time to learn military skills.
But even if it was just physical conditioning and tempering of mental Will, under Ogedai's intensity standards, it was still more than enough for Fu Qinghai to endure.
Under the constant high-intensity grinding day after day and month after month, Fu Qinghai's sense of time blurred, he couldn't perceive the passage of time, his memories became hazy, and he was gradually forgetting that he came from his previous life on Earth, forgetting that he was still in a Reincarnation World.
During this time, the voice from the Reincarnation World never sounded again.
Thanks to the Warhammer world's advanced medical technology and Master Kunto's occasional attention.
No matter how badly Ogedai tormented Fu Qinghai the day before, he would be Recovered Completely by the next day. However, the memory of the pain did not dissipate with the physical recovery; it remained branded in his mind.
Except for one brief Warp Jump after leaving Cheslatan's outer orbit, the entire Frigate had been traveling at "turtle speed" through the vast emptiness of space using its Sublight Engine up to this point.
The monotonous voyage also gave Ogedai plenty of time to torment Fu Qinghai.
The standards for selecting Space Marine candidates vary among Legions. Some Legions prefer a battle royale where the last one is eliminated; others set a specific Giant Beast as the assessment target.
Fu Qinghai could sense that Ogedai had an obsession; recruiting Neophytes on the Frigate did not conform to the rules of the Imperium or the Legion. Therefore, he hoped Fu Qinghai would be outstanding enough to prove that his judgment was correct.
Unknowingly, four months passed.
Training Cage.
Fu Qinghai stood in the center, wearing only training Shorts, completely naked and covered in scars.
Head down, back hunched, gasping for breath.
"Beep—Lowest intensity level, one hour, complete."
The emotionless electronic voice sounded overhead.
Ogedai, outside the Training Cage, watched the exhausted Youth and smiled with satisfaction.
He hadn't told Fu Qinghai that the Training Cage was an auxiliary training device specifically designed for Space Marines, and even the lowest intensity level was unbearable for a Mortal.
Mortals were absolutely forbidden from entering the Training Cage. The past Space Marine Ascension selections did not include a training phase within the Training Cage; those so-called top candidates from the Astartes Monastery had never entered a Training Cage before their Modification Surgery.
It wasn't that Ogedai deliberately wanted to torture Fu Qinghai to death; it was simply that the Frigate's conditions were rudimentary, lacking the specialized training facilities found in the Astartes Monasteries. He could only adapt to the situation and try putting Fu Qinghai into the Training Cage.
He hadn't expected him to actually persevere.
The tall Taral had silently appeared beside Ogedai at some point, and they both watched Fu Qinghai gasp for breath inside the Training Cage.
"Master Kunto says he is ready. Is this child ready?"
Ogedai chuckled lightly, "Very good."
The Afu-headed strongman, still seated in his wheelchair, continued, "This kid's baseline physical condition is quite good. He hasn't been contaminated by Radiation, has no miscellaneous old injuries, and no strange drug addictions."
"That is quite rare for a Youth from the slums of the Lower Hive."
Ogedai narrowed his eyes and said, "The most crucial thing is, despite his usual playful demeanor with me, he actually endured all this training. His tolerance for pain, his mental Will... I don't know what Locke is thinking, but I know something is supporting him, something I cannot comprehend."
Taral offered no comment, saying lightly, "Every person who can become a Space Marine has very strong Will."
Ogedai grunted twice, "He has talent in other areas too; you will see later."
As for Fu Qinghai, slumped in the Training Cage gasping heavily, although he was only a few meters away from Ogedai and Taral, he couldn't hear what they were saying.
His black hair was soaked with sweat, hanging over his forehead.
His ears were ringing; he couldn't hear anything, his entire mind was dizzy, and he could barely think.
Having just been released from the endless saturation Attack from all directions, Fu Qinghai was now nearly exhausted.
This was his longest recorded session.
After resting for a long while, Fu Qinghai finally looked up at Ogedai outside the cage.
Ogedai nodded, signaling that he could come out.
Fu Qinghai stood up unsteadily and followed Ogedai out of the hatch.
Four months of high-intensity training had pushed Fu Qinghai's body past its limits.
Every Organ and component in the human Body has a different lifespan.
Excessive training and use cause them to be overly consumed.
Wrestlers and soccer forwards are more prone to developing Alzheimer's after retirement, similar to the knees of sprinters, the elbows of tennis players, and the ankles of basketball players.
However, neither Ogedai nor Fu Qinghai worried about this issue.
Because once the Ascension Modification Surgery begins, these problems will ultimately be resolved.
Space Marine Modification Surgery is not merely the modification of artificial biochemical Organs.
Modification using artificial biochemical Organs appeared as early as the barbaric technological era of the Human warlord conflicts on Earth. Various uncontrolled Gene technology developed wildly, leading to all sorts of modified warriors fighting fiercely on Terra.
However, only the Emperor, leading his Thunder Warriors—an unstable early Version of the Space Marines—conquered and unified Earth.
It is rumored that the Space Marine Gene modification technology originated from a bargain between the Emperor and the Chaos Gods of the Warp, rather than simple technological invention and innovation.
Moreover, legend says the Emperor ultimately tricked the Chaos Gods. No one knows what promise the Emperor made to the Chaos Gods, but he did not fulfill his promise.
As a result, the Chaos Gods, through an accident, exiled the blueprint for the Space Marines—the incubation pods for the twenty Primarch embryos—to the far corners of the Universe.
That is a story for later.
What needs to be explained here is: Space Marine Modification Surgery is different from general biochemical Organ modification.
In a sense, it is indeed an Ascension of the life level.
...
In a dim, small compartment, there was a table and two Chairs.
Fu Qinghai sat upright two meters away from the table, while Ogedai and Taral sat in front of it.
"Ahem..." Taral coughed lightly to clear his throat and said, "According to the normal process, an official from the Departmento Munitorum should be conducting your Political Review now, but we..."
Ogedai directly raised his hand to interrupt Taral and said:
"No need for formalities. I am not interested in your life experiences in the Lower Hive, and I only have one question for you, Locke."
"Why do you know about the internal Rebellion within the White Scars Legion?"
After asking, Ogedai stared intently into Fu Qinghai's eyes.
Fu Qinghai thought, *It's finally here.*
The internal strife within the White Scars Legion was known to the entire Legion. The Expeditionary Fleet included not only Mortal Crew members affiliated with the Imperial military but also Chroniclers from various worlds. They were Civilians and did not understand military discipline or secrecy regulations, but that did not mean the Information about the White Scars internal conflict had spread everywhere.
Communication across the Warhammer 40,000 Universe was already difficult. Space Marine Legions could only maintain sporadic contact through the fragmented words of Astropaths. When would Locke, an Underhive Scum, get to enjoy Astropathic Communication services? Moreover, as soon as Horus initiated the Rebellion, the Chaos Gods in the Warp stirred up Warp Storms, cutting off almost all Astropathic Communication in the Galaxy.
That day, since Ogedai failed to trick anything out of him, Fu Qinghai knew this Space Marine would definitely press him for the source of his Information, he just hadn't expected him to be so patient, waiting until now to ask.
Fu Qinghai took a deep breath and said:
"I dreamed it."
"You dreamed it?" Ogedai and Taral asked in unison.
They were clearly unprepared for this answer.
"Yes. Believe it or not, I saw it in a dream, and I firmly believe what I saw in my dream."
He spoke without hesitation, not caring if they believed him.
Ogedai and Taral frowned and exchanged a look, seeing the same thought in each other's eyes.
A Psyker?
Both Ogedai and Taral thought of this simultaneously.
There are many types of Psykers, and the Prophecy Type is one major category.
Ogedai said gravely, "You brat, you better be honest and stop playing games. This affects whether you can participate in the Ascension."
Fu Qinghai shrugged, leaned back in his chair, and fell silent.
He looked like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.
"Prophecy can see fragmented images of the future. Do you think this counts as Prophecy?" Taral asked, turning his head.
"If he is a Psyker, things get much more complicated... involving the Black Ships, Navigator Families, the Psykana Academy, the Legion Librarium..." After listing them, Taral began muttering to himself while stroking his chin.
"..." Ogedai knew what Taral was implying. After a moment of silence, he said:
"When Locke boarded, did our Navigator say anything?"
Taral replied, "That's exactly what I was going to say. If Locke had a Psykic Talent, Vanriel would have spoken up long ago."
Ogedai asked, "Could it be because he is only a Navigator apprentice that he couldn't tell?"
"Who knows," Taral pouted.
Affected by the Warp Storm, this Navigator hadn't been useful for a long time, preventing the Short Sword from making any Warp Jumps, forcing it to travel only at Sublight speed.
Communication and transport in the Imperium of Man rely heavily on the Warp. Human Psykers are mutated Humans capable of communicating with Warp Energy. Psykers are unwelcome in most Imperial territories because they are dangerous and uncontrollable, but two types of Psykers are exceptions: Astropaths communicate with all Planets and Fleets within the Imperial Territory, while Navigators use the Third Eye on their foreheads to see the light of the Astronomican on Terra, guiding Fleets through the treacherous Warp.
Seeing the two chatting openly in front of him, Fu Qinghai remained silent.
To maintain one lie requires countless others; the more you say, the more mistakes you make, and the further you stray.
The history of the White Scars Legion came from a novel he read in his previous life. For his current self, it was like a dream; saying he saw it in a dream was not wrong.
After discussing for a while and asking a few more questions about Fu Qinghai's dreams, Ogedai made up his mind to proceed with the original plan.
He declared decisively, "Forget those damned bureaucratic organizations. It's still uncertain whether Locke has a Psykic Talent or not. This kid is ours now. We'll discuss the matter of Psionics when we rendezvous with Lord Yesugei later."
This simple Political Review meeting concluded.
............