"Remain humble at all times. Never allow power and knowledge to cloud your judgment."
Just as Qin Mo turned his attention back to his research, Vanessa spoke.
The words sliced through Qin Mo’s concentration like a monomolecular blade through plasteel. His fingers, poised over the cogitator’s interface, curled into a fist as he turned slowly to face her.
Her gaze was unnervingly composed, the glint of a knowing mind lurking behind those unnatural blue eyes.
"What did you just say?"
"Remain humble at all times. Never allow power and knowledge to cloud your judgment, " she repeated, her voice devoid of mockery, but that made it no less galling.
Had anyone else said those words—Grey, for example—Qin Mo would have accepted them without question. The advice itself was reasonable, even wise.
But hearing it from a psyker?
That was something Qin Mo found very difficult to accept.
"Do you think I’m in a good mood right now?"
Qin Mo tapped his temple, his voice sharp.
"My mind is filled with hatred and disgust. I cannot tolerate the presence of a psyker."
He knew well that his revulsion toward psykers and the Warp was more than mere personal bias, it was a side effect of the C’tan influence coursing through him.
Not all C’tan harbored an obsessive hatred for the Immaterium, but their nature was fundamentally antithetical to it.
The differences between C’tan entities were greater than those between gods and mortals.
Some C’tan viewed the Immaterium as a mere anomaly, a flaw in reality’s design, while others despised it with an intensity that defied reason.
Vanessa tilted her head, watching him as a scholar might observe an interesting specimen.
“You hate the Warp and psykers?” she mused. “Then isn’t that all the more reason to study it? To develop weapons that counter it?”
She gestured toward the various instruments and research stations scattered around the chamber.
"These devices are incredible. The physics and sciences of the material universe are like toys in your hands. But when it comes to the Warp?” She offered a knowing smile. “ You have no talent at all. You can’t even sense its existence. But I can."
Qin Mo’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t immediately dismiss her words.
Instead, he fell into deep thought.
His mind warred with itself—his logical, pragmatic side urging him to listen, while his hatred screamed at him to silence her.
Finally, he forced himself to suppress his disgust.
"Tell me what you know."
Vanessa smiled, immediately launching into her explanation.
She began with the fundamental nature of the Warp, the seething, shifting ocean of raw emotion that defied causality.
Then, she moved on to how psykers channeled its energy into the material universe, how they shaped it into weapons, reconnaissance tools, and shields.
She treated Qin Mo as if he were a complete novice, breaking down even the most fundamental concepts.
And she didn’t shy away from forbidden knowledge.
She spoke of the Ruinous Powers, their domains, their influence, but not their names.
Qin Mo did not interrupt.
He simply listened, filtering out what he already knew and memorizing what he did not.
The lecture lasted an entire Terran day.
Thankfully, Qin Mo’s intellect was razor-sharp—otherwise, Vanessa would have had to spoon-feed him every detail, which would have taken far longer.
“A psyker’s power does not come from within,” Vanessa stated. “It is siphoned from the Warp. If you had to summarize the entire process in one word, it would be ‘extraction.’”
Leaning forward, her eyes sparkled with anticipation. “So? Any insights?”
Qin Mo closed his eyes in deep concentration.
“Psykers exist in the material universe,” he murmured. “If I can sever or disrupt their connection to the Warp before they draw upon its power… I can render them utterly helpless.”
His thoughts ignited with inspiration.
Without another word, he turned and began scrawling notes, formulas, possibilities—each stroke of the pen a step toward an answer.
Vanessa watched in amusement, then casually asked.
“By the way, does this mean you’re trapped in the Talon Sector forever?”
Qin Mo paused, his gaze momentarily flickering with curiosity. "What do you mean?"
With a smirk, she pressed on. “Imperial warships use Warp drives. If you ever step into the Immaterium, won’t you go mad with hatred?”
Qin Mo glanced at her. "Who says I have to use Warp drives?"
“Oh? And what do you plan to use instead? The labyrinthine passages of the The Webway? Be serious. Or perhaps an Inertialess Drive?” Her smirk deepened. “Sure, you might build one, but could you even survive using it? You’re not made of metal, after all."
Qin Mo’s face remained expression as she stated knowledge unknown even to the High Lords of Terra.
"I have a better idea. I just need time to research and develop it. I will find a faster and more direct method for interstellar travel."
Vanessa’s curiosity was piqued.
"Oh? Can you give me a hint? Considering I just taught you about the Warp and the Neverborn?"
"Ha∼! You haven’t figured it out yet, have you? You’re just being stubborn. In the end, you’ll still need to use Warp travel."
Qin Mo didn’t even look up from his notes.
“Yes,” he said flatly. “You’re absolutely right.”
Vanessa sighed, giving up on the topic.
Instead, she issued a warning.
"You got lucky. The heretics’ last battle conveniently helped you filter out the right candidates for your personal guard. Almost all of them are suitable. Except for one."
Qin Mo stopped writing.
He turned to her. "Who?"
Qin Mo narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
Vanessa’s expression darkened. "He enjoys battle too much."
She folded her arms. "You can dismiss my words as an attempt to sow discord, but I am speaking the truth."
Qin Mo fell silent and then nodded. "You’re correct."
He turned his attention back to his research, but his thoughts wandered to Grot.
He had noticed it before.
Compared to high-powered cannons or heavy scatter-lasers, Grot preferred using his graviton hammer, a weapon meant for last-resort self-defense.
But Grot didn’t use it as a last resort.
He enjoyed crushing enemies with it.
He rejoiced in pulverizing heretics into pulp, rather than simply eradicating them outright.
It was only a matter of time before Khorne the Chaos God of war took notice of him.
Qin Mo’s jaw tightened.
"Guards! Summon Grot."
Qin Mo’s expression darkened.
A strange unease crept up his spine.
He strode to the door and stepped into the corridor.
There, sprawled across the floor—
Qin Mo’s eyes widened.
Without hesitation, he rushed to Vanessa’s holding cell.
Someone was still imprisoned.
But it wasn’t Vanessa.
It was the heretic Magus who had fled from the battlefield days ago.
Her body was bloated and swollen, yet her vital signs remained stable.
Her eyes twitched, tracking Qin Mo as he approached.
In those dazed, unfocused pupils, he saw confusion.
The Magus had no idea how she got here.
Qin Mo’s fists clenched.
"Vanessa… She did this."
In less than ten minutes, she had escaped the underground research chamber, knocked out every single guard, abducted the heretic Magus, and swapped places with her in the cell.
Her psionic power was immense.
At the very least, she was an Alpha-level psyker.
Qin Mo wasn’t worried.
Because despite everything—