Chapter Ten: Niels

After Wang Ming had completed everything he could plan, he emerged from the underground tunnel with Fulgrim and the Imperial Guard, stepping onto the surface. He looked up at the Eye of Terror in the sky and made a rude gesture, raising his middle finger.

"Do you despise Chaos?" A voice suddenly appeared.

The three giants turned toward the source of the voice: a mortal wearing a hood, who was also gazing up at the Eye of Terror, suppressed by the Blackstone Obelisk.

"Who are you?" Wang Ming was puzzled by the sudden arrival of this person, for when he had come out just moments ago, there had been no one nearby.

"You may call me Niels." The man turned his head, meeting Wang Ming's gaze with calm eyes.

"Niels?" Wang Ming found the name somewhat familiar. After a brief recollection, he walked toward the man.

With a swift motion, Wang Ming knelt cleanly before Niels.

"Emperor, please have mercy on me! Let me go back!" Wang Ming knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face as he pleaded with Niels.

Fulgrim and the Imperial Guard were dumbfounded by the scene. A Primarch kneeling to a mortal and calling him Emperor?

"You can't go back. The space has been sealed since you arrived; there's no way to return." Niels looked at Wang Ming's tearful expression, amused and helpless.

"Oh." Learning he could not return, Wang Ming did not react much. He simply stood up and gazed at the Eye of Terror, pondering. After all, he had prepared himself mentally for this when he realized he had crossed into such a hopeless universe.

"Why was it sealed?" After some thought, Wang Ming asked Niels again. He had to understand the reason.

"To prevent the gods of the Warp from discovering your world." Niels also watched the Eye of Terror, which was steadily shrinking.

"I see. So why did you choose me to cross over?" Having learned why he couldn't return, Wang Ming now asked the Emperor why he had been chosen.

"I was originally seeking someone with leadership talent to cross over, but during the search, I saw you sitting by the roadside, crying like a kicked sprite. You were so pitiful that I tentatively gave you a chance to cross over, and surprisingly, you agreed immediately."

Niels explained to Wang Ming why he had been chosen.

"Damn it! How was I supposed to know it was 40K! You said before it would be a world with elves, orcs, and magic! This is false advertising!" Wang Ming shouted angrily at Niels, venting his sense of betrayal.

"No, elves, orcs, and magic—all are present in 40K, aren't they? Eldar are elves, Orks are orcs, and psykers are magic. I didn't deceive you; there truly are elves, orcs, and magic." Niels' face remained unchanged as he patiently explained.

Wang Ming: "……"

"Do you believe I'll defect to Chaos?"

"No, your soul bears a fragment of mine."

"……"

Looking at the Emperor before him, Wang Ming felt a headache so intense he nearly blacked out.

"So, what are you here for?" Wang Ming gave up debating with the Emperor and asked his purpose.

"I'm here to deliver something." Niels said, taking out a yellow orb of light.

"What is this?" Wang Ming took the orb and asked the Emperor.

"It's a fragment of what you call the system. Its artificial intelligence was blown apart by Tzeentch, and I only managed to recover the other half." As Niels spoke, the orb slowly merged into Wang Ming's body.

On Wang Ming's system panel in his mind, two new options appeared: "Recruitment" and "Marketplace."