Lynn raised the binoculars again.
That woman stood up from beside the fire.
After she stood up, Lynn could see clearly that she was very tall, visually over 1.75 meters, with a well-proportioned frame and broad shoulders and back.
Standing there, she looked like a sword thrust into the ground.
She stood in place for a moment, then walked a few steps in one direction and bent down to pick something up.
Lynn adjusted the focus and saw that she had picked up a piece of wood.
It was probably to use as firewood.
Sure enough, she carried the piece of wood back to the fire, squatted down, snapped it in half, and tossed it into the flames.
The firelight flared up and then returned to its original brightness.
Her movements had absolutely no abnormalities.
She was not afraid of the light and not afraid of the fire; she showed no fanatical twitching or neurotic trembling like the cultists, nor the self-loathing or breakdowns commonly seen in mutants.
She was just a person, a person stubbornly struggling to survive in the apocalypse.
Lynn lowered the binoculars again.
He was a little hesitant.
Should he go down?
Should he make contact with her?
She was a Sister of Battle; if he could trust her, then he would have a teammate.
An experienced teammate who knew how to survive in this world and could fight.
But what if he couldn’t trust her?
What if she had already been corrupted or had become a mutant without sanity?
If he revealed himself and was discovered, he would be hunted by her, this secret base would no longer be safe, and he would have no place to shelter.
Lynn was very hesitant.
“System, do you think I should go down?” [Decide this question yourself.] “Can’t you just give some advice?” [Then observe a bit more; don’t approach rashly.
Her current state is unknown, so watch more, listen more, and wait for her to reveal more information before making a decision.] “Makes sense.” Lynn took a deep breath, raised the binoculars to his eyes, and continued observing.
The fire was still burning.
The woman sat back in her original spot, knees drawn up, hands resting on her knees.
Her eyes gleamed in the firelight—vertical, narrow pupils like those of some kind of predator, but her expression was very calm, a calmness bordering on tranquility.
Lynn watched her for a while, confirming she showed no signs of madness, and lowered the binoculars again.
He pondered.
That woman couldn’t detect him; he had binoculars and was separated by such a long distance.
He’d observe for a few more days.
He wouldn’t go today.
He wouldn’t go tomorrow, either.
Maybe the day after tomorrow.
Maybe in a few more days.
Play it safe.
He tightened the backpack on his back, touched the dagger at his waist, straightened his helmet, and then hunched over to quietly slip away from behind the cover.
Being cautious was never wrong.
In a massive cesspool like Warhammer 40K, only the most cunning could survive.
…
** …
Lynn carefully observed her for the next few days.
The woman didn’t leave.
During the day, she gathered firewood at the bottom of the Hive City, searched for supplies, and looked for water sources.
At night, she returned to sit by the fire.
Occasionally, she stood up and walked a few steps to stretch her limbs.
When she walked, her back was straight and her steps steady, lacking any of the sneaky, neurotic mannerisms of the cultists.
She found those thousand-year-old zombie meat cans that Lynn had thrown out.
And then she opened one and ate it without hesitation.
She ate it.
Ate.
Lynn watched in sheer shock.
Mother of God.
The physical constitution of people in Warhammer is truly badass.
It wasn’t like she was an Astartes whose stomach acid could dissolve anything, food or not.
She was just a mortal, yet she dared to eat a can that had been sitting around for who-knows-how-many thousands of years.
On the third day, she had a minor accident while making a fire.
Maybe some other materials were mixed into the firewood, creating exceptionally thick smoke that choked her into coughing a few times.
Lynn saw her fan the smoke with her hand, furrow her brows, and then change directions to relight the fire.
Her frowning expression was incredibly genuine—a face fully conveying “why is this garbage firewood so hard to burn,” exactly the kind of expression an ordinary person would have.
She would occasionally do some stretching exercises to check her physical condition.
Her movements were highly standardized and her rhythm steady; it was obvious at a glance that she had undergone rigorous training.
Lynn observed for several days before confirming that the woman showed no signs of Chaos.
“System.” [Yeah.] “Sisters of Battle…
aren’t they set up so that they wouldn’t betray their faith even if they die?” [Yes.
Their faith is sturdier than their flesh; the flesh can be destroyed, but the faith is unbreakable.] “Even if she’s mutated?” [As long as the brain isn’t mutated.] “You could’ve said that earlier.” [If you didn’t observe more, what if a new type of mutation had appeared?
But judging by her behavior these past few days, she indeed shows no signs of Chaos corruption.] The Imperium of Man represents extreme rationality, while the other four Gods actually represent madness; corruption cannot be hidden.
Lynn took a deep breath.
Steeling himself, he said, “Then I’m going in!” He had to take a gamble!
Give it a gamble, and turn a bicycle into a motorcycle!
Turn a Geely into a Lamborghini!
Lynn packed away the binoculars, stood up from the observation platform, and dusted off his leather armor.
He packed enough dry rations for five or six days into his backpack and filled his waterskin.
Then he checked his dagger, checked his shoulder pads and helmet—everything was ready.
A bit nervous, but acceptable.
Lynn marched down valiantly and spiritedly.
In the world of Warhammer 40k, trust is the most luxurious commodity.
He hoped this Sister Big Sister wouldn’t betray his trust!
Lynn walked to the very bottom level of the Hive City.
From here, further left was the cave system.
The woman’s location was on the right side of the cave system’s entrance.
Lynn stood in the shadows of the cave system and saw the fire the Sister had built in the distance.
The firelight danced in the darkness, like a small, stubborn, orange-yellow heart.
He didn’t step out immediately.
He squatted in the shadows for another five minutes, observing her movements.
The Sister sat by the fire, her knees drawn up, holding her last can of food.
Only a small piece remained in the can.
She ate very slowly, swallowing bite by bite, saving every single grain of food.
She was out of food.
This was her last bit of food, and she had stretched this final can out over three days.
There was no abnormality in her movements; there was no madness, no self-harm, and no sacrifices, and she even prayed to the Emperor every day.
Lynn took a deep breath and stood up.
He deliberately chose to approach her during the brightest time of the day, wanting her to clearly see that he wasn’t a cultist or a Chaos entity, but just an ordinary, sane, living person.
Lynn stepped out of the shadows.
He walked about twenty steps.
The firelight drew closer, and the woman’s silhouette became clearer.
The Sister heard the footsteps.
She raised her head, looking in Lynn’s direction.
Interwoven in the firelight and the grayish-white daylight, those vertical, narrow, reptilian pupils were exceptionally striking.
But her expression wasn’t the goosebump-inducing fanatical twist of a cultist; rather, it was a highly calm scrutiny.
Her posture shifted slightly, her body leaning forward infinitesimally, shifting her center of gravity to the balls of her feet, ready to explode into combat at any moment.
She rested both hands on her knees, curling them slightly into fists.
She had no weapons, but her fists themselves were weapons.
Lynn didn’t get too close, stopping about twenty meters away from her.
He had played the games and knew the Imperium’s unified term for a Sister of Battle was “Sister.” Lynn appeared before her during the brightest light of the day and spoke his first words of greeting to her: “Hello, Sister.” Actually, Lynn was quite vigilant too.
The spot he revealed himself at was right between the entrance of the underground cave and the Sister.
If there was something wrong with this Sister, he was ready to run at any moment.
Thaniel_a_goodchild.