I summoned the Fourth Scourge in Warhammer

Chapter 95 Can men be this beautiful too?

Ruan Wenbo stood in a laboratory that emitted the distinctive smell of disinfectant and some kind of biological culture medium. The room's main color scheme was cold metallic silver and the transparent glass characteristic of scientific instruments. Several high-intensity lights hanging from the ceiling illuminated the entire space as bright as day, making even the fine dust particles floating in the air clearly visible.

Before him stood a massive, transparent glass tank, filled with amber-colored nutrient solution that shimmered with a faint light. Hobbes—the Chapter Master of the Martyrs Chapter—floated silently within it, like an ancient, sealed statue.

Even though he was still in a deep coma with his eyes closed, after being carefully cared for and cleaned by Redito's servants, his torn chest had been perfectly repaired by a piece of bionic plate with a metallic sheen. The edges were perfectly integrated with his own flesh and blood, making it almost impossible to tell that it was repaired later.

His face, obscured by dust and blood, was finally revealed: a sculpted, perfectly shaped face, handsome yet bearing the unwavering resolve of a seasoned warrior.

"Can men be this beautiful too?" Ruan Wenbo couldn't help but exclaim.

“Space Marines are the masterpiece of Om Messiah, so they are perfect in every way. As for their appearance alone, they are not handsome, but they are still powerful,” Redito said slowly from the side, his voice as flat as ever.

Ruan Wenbo withdrew his gaze and turned to Redito: "How long... will it take him to recover? And are there really no other Space Marines alive?"

“A warp storm that has been hit by a sudden storm, swarms of warp demons, and a combat barge that made a hard landing in the atmosphere,” Redito recounted methodically, each word like a cold hammer striking at the hope of survival, before finally asking, “How many people do you think could survive? Even if it’s Om Messiah’s masterpiece.”

Ruan Wenbo fell silent. Redito was right; the ship's fate was a veritable mass of disasters, and it was a miracle that Hobbes alone survived.

“As for how long it takes for a Space Marine in a state of suspended animation to awaken,” Redito picked up a data panel, which was covered with dense runes and complex charts, “According to previous records, it takes at least several years of recuperation, and if you’re unlucky, it can take double digits. The data I’ve collected also corroborates these records.”

Redito's mechanical eyes turned to Ruan Wenbo, the light seeming to brighten slightly, and he continued, "You wouldn't have asked such an obvious question before... What are you thinking?"

Those unfamiliar with Redito might perceive the sentence as sarcastic. However, Ruan Wenbo knew that the cyborg priest was simply uttering a simple question, devoid of any emotional connotation.

So he replied, "You know what I'm thinking."

Redito's mechanical eye flickered almost imperceptibly a few times, and silence spread through the laboratory, broken only by the faint sound of bubbles rising in the nutrient solution.

After a moment, he said, "No, no, the risk is still too great."

“Do you know what it means for an Inquisitor to think of a Space Marine chapter that has suddenly encountered a warp storm, leaving only its chapter leader, crash-landing on a planet that hasn’t paid taxes for decades and is highly likely to be in rebellion, and then rebuilding on that planet?” “You’re talking about the future,” Ruan Wenbo said gravely, “and we don’t even have the present. If the Greenskins find that battle barge and follow it to the hive… then nothing will be left here.”

Indeed, as Nguyen Van Bo said, the location where the battle barge landed was very dangerous: its massive body was capsized in the yellow sand outside the city, and the damaged hull was still emitting thick smoke, which could be clearly seen even from a distance; yet it was not far from the city, and once you reached the location of the battle barge, you could see the vast urban clusters that were faintly visible.

"So why did that combat barge land?!" Radiator slammed his fist on the metal table beside him, making a dull thud that caused the sophisticated instruments on the surface to vibrate slightly. This sudden outburst made Radiator's mechanical eyes glaze over. "It brought nothing but trouble...it was practically a transit point serving as a guiding light for the Greenskins!"

Redito took a deep breath, the mechanical hum of which could be clearly heard in the laboratory. He withdrew his fist, the light in his mechanical eyes returning to calm: "Sorry, I couldn't control my hormone secretion."

“It’s alright,” Ruan Wenbo shook his head and said, “After all, you’re a pure person and don’t do much mechanical modification, so I can understand.”

"So, have you thought it through?" Ruan Wenbo asked, his gaze fixed intently on Redito.

Redito's mechanical arm drooped slightly, and his face, which was mostly covered by metal plates, now showed a rare hint of frustration: "Now... I'm really on your pirate ship now, and there's no getting off."

“But let me make this clear beforehand,” Redito resumed his usual cold tone, as if his earlier loss of composure and helplessness had never happened, “We currently only have two gene seeds at hand, one taken from that Fallen One and the other taken from this Chapter Master’s throat. And I am not a biology specialist, so rashly modifying them… could very well lead to mistakes.”

“It’s nothing,” Ruan Wenbo waved his hand dismissively, taking out a neatly folded parchment from his pocket, clearly having prepared for this. He handed it to Redito, “You pick people from this list to practice on. I guarantee I’ll find you people who are extremely similar from beginning to end. Once you feel you’ve practiced enough and are confident… then you can officially begin the transformation.”

The players on this list all volunteered; hearing about the opportunity to transform into an Astartes, they naturally flocked to it. As for the similarity... it's the same person from beginning to end, how could the similarity not be high?

“Hmph,” Redito snorted, taking the parchment. His mechanical eyes quickly scanned the list, lingering on each name for a moment, as if performing some kind of data analysis. “You and your soldiers are truly incomprehensible. On one hand, you are completely indifferent to, disregard, and even disregard your own lives; on the other hand, you think whipping workers is too cruel.”

This was the eccentric mechanic priest's sarcastic remark, and Ruan Wenbo immediately retorted, "Didn't you also fail to understand why my military council succeeded?"

Redito didn't reply. His mechanical eyes flashed as he continued sifting through the parchment. His fingertips moved across the list, pausing as if conducting a complex evaluation. After a long pause, his cold voice rang out again: "These twins it is...just in time for two gene seeds."

(End of this chapter)