Chapter 44: The Fellow Traveler from Chaos

"Missing? That shouldn't be possible..." Wang Ming strode toward the ship's command room.

The doors to the command room slid open, and Wang Ming entered. The crew members working inside immediately rose and saluted him with the Eagle gesture.

"Captain Leandro, what exactly is going on?" Wang Ming gestured for the crew to resume their duties, then turned to Captain Leandro Ferreira.

"Sir, one of our crew members disappeared on the lower deck. During today's routine patrol, he vanished in the A08 storage bay on the lower deck. His fellow patroller saw him enter the bay, but he never came out. The security squad went inside, but found no trace of him," Leandro Ferreira reported in detail.

"Neither alive nor dead—this has the hallmarks of Chaos," Wang Ming mused inwardly.

"Increase the frequency of security patrols. Each squad must be accompanied by two Astartes. Activate the ship's life detection system to search for the missing crew member," Wang Ming ordered, first tightening security, then deploying the life detection system to locate the missing man.

"It's almost certainly the work of Chaos," Wang Ming concluded as he returned to his quarters, opening an online discussion with the other travelers through his personal datapad.

[Online Communication Channel]

Hu Jin: "Boss, this is definitely a Chaos incident."

Wang Xiaofa: "Boss, have you forgotten the plot? Chaos always stirs trouble at times like this."

Chen Tao: "Boss, the warp storm is raging right now. The Great Rift has opened, and those four in the warp will certainly try to stop the Primarch from returning to Terra."

Wang Ming: "What should we do now?"

Li Weihua: "How about a full ship inspection?"

Wang Ming: "Let's do that. We'll deal with the Chaos issue first, then consider the rest. While the Astronomican still burns, I'll try to reach Terra as soon as possible."

The online meeting ended, and the comprehensive inspection of the ship began under the guidance of the travelers. With its thirteen-kilometer length, the "Imperial Truth" was a daunting challenge to search, but the travelers painstakingly examined every shadow, determined to root out any hidden Chaos daemon.

In the treacherous tides of the warp, a colossal eye fixed its gaze on the "Imperial Truth" as it sailed through the void. The terrifying entity that had marked the ship let out a bizarre laugh, its body writhing with endless transformations.

"Change, change, all change is good, all change is beneficial."

On the lower deck of the "Imperial Truth," two travelers led several mortal soldiers on patrol. As they reached a supply bay stacked high with food, a man draped in a deep blue cloak emerged from behind a crate, dragging an unconscious man, appearing suddenly before the patrol.

The blue-cloaked man's hands glowed with psychic energy—clearly a Chaos infiltrator aboard the "Imperial Truth."

The two travelers immediately raised their bolt guns, aiming at the blue-robed figure; the mortal soldiers behind them followed suit with their las-rifles.

"Wait!" Suddenly, the blue-robed man dropped the unconscious body and raised his hands in surrender.

The travelers were taken aback. Moments before, seeing the psychic glow in his hands, they had been wondering how to kill him. Now, his surrender left them utterly bewildered. Nevertheless, they secured him with a psychic inhibitor under their watchful eyes.

"Damn, what rotten luck," the blue-robed man muttered as he was escorted to the cell reserved for psychics. Though his words seemed innocuous, he spoke them in Chinese, which immediately drew the travelers' attention.

"King over all, tiger below the heavens!" one traveler tested him.

The blue-robed man paused, then replied with joy.

"Pagoda subdues the river demon!"