Once Viper acknowledged his ancestor, he certainly proved quick on his feet.
In less than two hours, Seth Knight was following him up out of the Underhive sewage pipes, which reeked of pungent ammonia.
If not for the sheer number of mutant creatures lurking inside the pipe, Seth felt he could have cut the travel time in and out of the Hive City down to under half an hour.
Overhead hung sewage-yellow exhaust clouds.
Judging by their hue, a single breath would knock at least three years off a person’s lifespan.
Beneath their feet lay reddish-brown scorched earth littered with bomb craters and radioactive waste—no place meant for human habitation.
*Fucking hell.* Not a shred of environmental awareness.
After sending Viper on his way, Seth brought up his system panel.
A pile of junk left behind from his previous “hundred-roll draw” flickered across his retina.
His gaze locked onto three cards emitting a faint blue glow.
[Rare Blue Card: Painted Skin Card (Binds 1 set of biological data)]
[Effect: Locks onto a target to perfectly replicate their face, voiceprint, irises, and even presence.]
Viper had mentioned that the main Mid-hive elevator was currently locked down tight by the Heavily Armored Enforcers.
Force his way through?
Too much hassle, and it would dirty his power armor.
He was a “law-abiding” soldier of the Astra Militarum, a “dyed-in-the-wool” Living Saint.
When convincing people with virtue, one had to deliver physical salvation, pull the weeds up by their roots, and leave zero loose ends.
He didn’t want to get hit with the Sector Governor’s most wanted warrant before he even accomplished a single real task.
The optimal solution right now, of course, was to catch some blind high-ranking Planetary Defence Force officer outside the Hive, steal his skin, and swagger right up the elevator.
That way, he wouldn’t waste time, and he could even freeload off the officer’s female relatives.
Wouldn’t that be sweet?
What man wouldn’t love a deal like that?
*BOOM!*
Just as he crested two wasteland dunes, deafening artillery fire shattered the air.
The scorched soil vibrated beneath his feet.
The firefight was right in front of him.
Target acquired!
Ahead lay a ruined position pieced together from steel wreckage.
On the left were well-equipped PDF regulars in crisp uniforms.
On the right were ragged insurgents wielding crude homemade guns and industrial laser welders.
Crimson las-beams, high-caliber armor-piercing rounds, and crude RPG rockets trailing black smoke intertwined midair to weave an impenetrable net of death.
A pretty intense fight.
And this level of immersion was way more thrilling than any IMAX blockbuster.
With a thought, Seth activated his tactical visor, quickly scanning the entire field.
[Scan complete: Both combatant factions consist of unranked mortals.]
[Note: Eliminating such units yields no gacha point rewards.]
Well, good thing he had saved up 1,111 draw chances.
Burn them all in one go right now?!
Not a chance!
Who knew what kind of cursed tier his gacha luck buff was currently stuck in?
Rolling the gacha was a sacred ritual.
At the very least, he needed to bathe, light incense, take a bubble bath, get a full spa package, and top it off with maximum dramatic flair before pulling!
*Fucking hell!*
The fools fighting to the death in front of him were all small fry, not even up to the level of a Greenskin Nob.
No EXP.
No drops.
Working for free?
Absolutely out of the question.
He looked around and picked a prime “VIP viewing spot” high up on the ruins with an excellent field of vision.
From his system inventory, he pulled out a white card—[Extra Large Bucket: Snail Noodle Flavored Popcorn].
He grabbed a handful, stuffed it into his mouth, and savored the crunch.
Seth settled into spectator mode.
A short moment later, a very eye-catching target appeared on the main PDF position a hundred meters away.
A major wearing a gold-trimmed cloak stood arrogantly atop a Chimera armored transport, waving his sword and barking orders.
Taste in clothing aside, he was only slightly less handsome than Seth himself.
Seth switched on his long-range audio receiver.
*This isn’t eavesdropping.
This is pre-battle intelligence gathering.*
“Sir, several scavenger civilians are trapped in the crossfire over in the left-wing ruins,” reported an adjutant.
“Civilians? The Emperor has no need for useless trash,” the officer sneered.
“Initiate indiscriminate saturation fire immediately. I want that area leveled right now!”
“Understood!”
Six twin-linked heavy autocannons mounted behind sandbags rotated their barrels simultaneously, aiming their pitch-black muzzles right where Seth was standing.
The three Underhive scavengers cowering at the very bottom of the ruins peed their pants in sheer terror.
Seth suddenly felt like his popcorn didn’t taste so good anymore.
The scavengers below clutched their heads and screamed, “Hey, brother up there! Get down! Do you want to be turned into paste?!”
Seth glanced down at them, ignoring their cries, and tossed the remaining popcorn—bucket and all—right onto their faces.
“Dakka-dakka-dakka-dakka-dakka—!”
A metal storm instantly tore through the air.
A torrential downpour of heavy armor-piercing rounds shredded reinforced concrete like rotten wood, and dense gunpowder smoke and fiery blasts swallowed Seth whole.
Under such a saturation barrage from heavy autocannons, even a light armored vehicle would be turned into a sieve.
Merely flesh and blood wouldn’t leave behind a single intact bone.
And yet, before the smoke even cleared, several round, specialized smoke grenades arced gracefully out from the center of the bombardment zone.
*Sssshhh—*
Thick, yellow smoke instantly enveloped the entire PDF frontline position.
“W-What kind of biochemical gas is this?!”
The front-line PDF soldiers broke down instantly, coughing violently as they scrambled desperately for gas masks.
The insurgents fared even worse; smelling the bizarre, eye-watering stench of sour river noodles, some directly threw up yesterday’s dinner in their trenches.
Aboard the armored command vehicle, the PDF officer turned green.
He felt his battlefield authority had been subjected to unprecedented, extreme humiliation!
“Dammit! This has to be Warp sorcery conjured by those heretics!” the officer snarled through gritted teeth.
Shedding his flashy gold-trimmed cloak, he jumped down from the command vehicle.
He was going to use his bolt pistol to personally blow this trickster bastard to pieces!
“Giving you a thumb’s up—rushing over to deliver your skin?” Seth licked his lips hungrily.
A Vibranium Shield formed out of thin air in an instant!
The officer had just crept into a blind spot beneath the ruins and raised his gun to aim at Seth when—*whoosh!*
Before he could squeeze the trigger, an armored palm clamped down like an iron vise over his face.
Without a single fancy move, Seth delivered a brutal backhanded slap!
*CLANG!*
The officer’s expensive ballistic helmet exploded into a shower of shrapnel!
His nose collapsed, blood covered his face, and his brain rang violently.
Like a dead dog, he was hoisted straight off the ground by Seth’s single hand choking his throat!
An instant kill.
“I’ll be borrowing your face,” Seth sneered.
[Painted Skin Card: Activated.]
He patted his brand-new face.
The texture felt completely real, the disguise flawless.
VIP identity secured.
Now, he couldn’t wait to go home.