107: Chapter 107 Welcome to Subspace

Knife Cheng was hog-tied, hooded, and shoved onto a shuttle.

After a brief moment of dizziness, he was transferred to the forward operating base at the hydration point.

Knife Cheng had only ever seen diagrams of this base in newspapers, and diagrams were all he had—the spatial structure of Warp was impossible to photograph. What he saw before him now wasn't just dissimilar to those diagrams; it was completely unrelated.

If one were to look down at the entire forward base from above, it would resemble half a mosquito coil. Only this kind of structure could ensure there was only one path in and out, preventing one from getting lost while still being able to house enough troops.

"Congratulations, you've awakened psychic powers. Although they aren't very strong, they can still accomplish some special tasks."

The person responsible for receiving Knife Cheng was Overachiever Cheng Yu. The previous Sharingan Chengyu had already completely integrated with Warp, becoming a component of this base and unable to fulfill the duties of a human any longer.

Overachiever Cheng Yu's condition wasn't much better; horns had already sprouted from his head, though a tail had yet to grow behind him.

Overall, he looked like an Asura King, with very few human features remaining.

"Can I refuse?" Knife Cheng asked, clinging to a final glimmer of hope.

"Then your little companions will lose their lives." Overachiever Cheng Yu snapped his fingers, and an image appeared on the wall behind him. From the snakehead who brought them in to the usually mysterious and imposing Deadly Living Monkey, everyone was hooded with nooses tied around their necks.

These weren't ordinary nooses; they were made of tanned, water-soaked cowhide tendons—even an Ork Warlord would be strangled to death by them.

It was just bad luck for this group. Normally, the garrison was well aware when people occasionally entered Warp to hunt for treasure or do other things, but they simply couldn't be bothered to manage it.

However, His Majesty recently issued a secret decree to establish diplomatic relations with the Old God Nurgle, and this group had the misfortune of running into it.

Normally, it wouldn't have been impossible to just have them sign a non-disclosure agreement and detain them temporarily, but it just so happened that there was a Slaanesh Nun in this group. That left no choice... join or die.

"I agree. Furthermore, I can persuade them. Since ancient times, those who understand the times are the truly outstanding ones, and I believe they are all outstanding."

Knife Cheng quickly accepted the situation and began to butter up Overachiever Cheng Yu, "That trick you just pulled—that must be the legendary psychic power, truly omnipotent."

Overachiever Cheng Yu glanced at the image behind him, "No, this is just an ordinary projector."

...

The persuasion work for the others went very smoothly. Despite their imposing nicknames—this sect leader, that king of assassins—they were actually just armed thugs. When they truly encountered the government's regular army, they were all scared like quails, unable to muster even a fraction of their strength.

The only exception was Knife Cheng's ex-wife, who was impervious to both soft and hard tactics and determined to die; she would never betray Lord Slaanesh.

However, Knife Cheng keenly noticed that even at this point, his ex-wife remained very attentive to the tidiness of her clothes, smoothing out every single wrinkle herself.

"Look at all of you. You usually brag about being martial arts masters, supreme masters, but when it comes to integrity, you're not even as good as an Eight-Eyes girl."

Knife Cheng mocked them with feigned disdain, while continuing to persuade his ex-wife: "Although Warp has its master, how can the reality universe be without a sovereign? My Emperor is as wise as the brilliant sun, uniting and maneuvering, and one day He will sweep across the universe and recover Terra."

"Changing sides now might still land you a position as a minor leader. When the day comes for my Emperor to counterattack Warp, it will be like a sharp blade splitting bamboo or a great flood collapsing sand; mountains will topple, and rivers will reverse their flow. When that time comes, whether you live or die, who can say?"

All the above was what Knife Cheng later wrote on the affidavit. In reality, the actual persuasion process wasn't that complicated. Knife Cheng offered to double the child support, and as long as they could still make do living together, Eight-Eyes agreed immediately.

As for loyalty to Warp—what loyalty is there in Warp?

Overachiever Cheng Yu used electromagnetic psychic power to throw the Slaanesh Nun, Eight-Eyes, directly into the base's incinerator.

Don't be nervous; that wasn't a real incinerator, but Sharingan Chengyu's eye.

Accompanied by a heart-wrenching scream, Eight-Eyes was refined anew, washing away the traces of Slaanesh corruption from her body and restoring her original form... an Ogryn female.

Judging by Sharingan Chengyu's level of proficiency, this certainly wasn't the first time he had done this.

"Long live the Emperor!"

Led by a priest of the State Church holding the "Imperial Truth," everyone present knelt and worshipped the Main Body devoutly. This wasn't to butter him up, but to use their strong faith to create a temporary barrier against Warp.

As more and more individuals truly believed that the Main Body could entrust everyone with happiness, the influence of this power of faith became increasingly powerful.

At first, it only allowed people to keep a clear head for a period of time, but now it had reached the point of visibly resisting corruption and shaking off the prying eyes of creatures from Warp.

Some extremely devout State Church priests could even repel lesser daemons unarmed, relying solely on the power of faith.

...

But let us set this aside for a moment.

While undercurrents were surging within Warp, the real world was equally treacherous.

The Empire had just captured a Paradise World. This wasn't one of those barren planets where you could only watch aliens bare their fangs; it was a goose that could lay golden eggs.

Various factions were exerting their influence in secret, hoping to secure the position of Governor for the Paradise World, the "Cheng Tianjun" planet.

Who would have thought that Main Body would completely ignore convention and directly issue an imperial edict declaring:

"With good fortune circulating and joy protecting the Great Emperor, it is decreed: 'What population base does a Paradise World have? It doesn't even have a Hive City, so what is the point of establishing some bothersome governor? Is the burden on the local residents not heavy enough? From now on, no governor will be appointed for any Paradise World. Let the people recover their strength, and let the local self-organized Consultative Bureau decide on governance matters for the time being. When my sons grow up, they will go and manage these affairs. Respect this.'"

The civil and military officials read three pieces of information from this imperial edict:

First, the Consultative Bureau was not just those below acting on their own initiative; the Emperor knew about it, and the Emperor approved of this type of grassroots self-governing organization.

Second, the Emperor wanted to enfeoff the best places to his sons; this was nothing strange. But since the Emperor had already enfeoffed Paradise Worlds to his sons, would he really continue to live in the wilderness in the future? It didn't make sense, nor did it comply with protocol.

Moving the capital—they would definitely have to move the capital in the future. Conquering Terra was a distant prospect, but there were no shortage of planets with excellent conditions within the Tempestus Sector.

Third, His Majesty's imperial edicts were all written by himself, with no one ghostwriting or using Abominable Intelligence to slack off.