208: Chapter 209 The White Catastrophe

Upon hearing this news, Lin Li stopped in his tracks, his face full of confusion.

"Governor Cromwell?"

Lin Li frowned. "Didn't that old fox say he had completely washed his hands of everything, retired from politics, and was enjoying his golden years? What could a powerless, retired old man possibly have to discuss with me that is so urgent?"

Lin Li originally wanted to simply decline such a tedious social engagement.

But on second thought, Governor Cromwell was, after all, a bellwether for the old noble class in the current Mobius System.

Since this old guy dared to show his face at this critical juncture, he likely had some bargaining chips worth showing.

"Forget it, I'll go take a look and see what he's really up to."

Lin Li put on his coat, took Iron Man 73 with him, and headed toward the starport.

By the time Lin Li arrived at Governor Cromwell's private estate on Mobius Prime via shuttle, it was already late at night.

The night wind on the outskirts of the Hive City was mixed with a chilly acid rain.

Looking through the porthole, Lin Li surveyed the estate below.

The estate wasn't very large, nor did it have any luxurious landing pads or holographic neon lights; even the outer stone walls were covered in dark green mutated moss, making it look somewhat dilapidated and old-fashioned.

This wasn't because Governor Cromwell had gone bankrupt.

It was because the current Archon, Elena, was vigorously implementing new legal reforms, one of which strictly limited the amount of land that individual members of the old nobility could own.

As a retired former governor who had already capitulated politically, Governor Cromwell, in order to proactively cooperate with his sister's policies and show his loyalty to the Spark Alliance, had unhesitatingly sold off the vast majority of his luxurious private estates, keeping only this one, the oldest residence.

According to the butler, this estate had been left behind by the first ancestor of House Rofis and was the ancestral home passed down through generations.

The shuttle came to a halt on the open ground.

To Lin Li's surprise, Governor Cromwell did not hold a grand welcoming banquet in the courtyard, nor did he arrange for servants to prepare a sumptuous dinner to entertain him.

An elderly servant carrying a storm lantern led Lin Li directly into the study in the deepest part of the estate.

Pushing the door open, the study was dimly lit, with only the fire in the fireplace burning quietly.

Governor Cromwell was not sitting in the large leather chair at the head of the room; instead, he stood quietly by the desk with his hands behind his back, waiting for Lin Li's arrival.

"Lord, I am very pleased that you could spare the time to keep this appointment."

Upon seeing Lin Li, Governor Cromwell bowed slightly.

He pointed to the empty coffee table and said in a flat tone, "You know, the Spark Alliance advocates frugality and opposes the extravagance of the nobility. Therefore, I have not prepared a late-night banquet to entertain you this evening. I hope you can understand."

Upon hearing this, Lin Li raised an eyebrow slightly.

He naturally caught the pointed, sarcastic tone in Governor Cromwell's words.

The old guy was clearly still bitter about being stripped of his power and property.

But Lin Li couldn't be bothered to pay him any mind.

He was busy every day building cannons to defend against the bugs; he had no spare time to waste on political jargon with a retired old man.

Lin Li pulled up a chair and sat down, crossing his arms.

"We can skip the meal; I'm pressed for time." Lin Li got straight to the point. "So, why did you call me over in the middle of the night? What important business is there?"

Governor Cromwell was not angry.

He walked over to the liquor cabinet on the side and poured himself a glass of amber-colored spirits.

"You know," Governor Cromwell said slowly, looking at the liquid in his glass, "although that child, Elena, has taken the position of Archon, she has deep prejudices against me and is full of disgust for the past of House Rofis. Even now, when she implements her new policies, she still targets our First House at every turn."

"Young people, they strive for the ideals in their hearts, so it is inevitable that they are a bit radical in their actions. I can understand that, and I am willing to cooperate with her and hand over power." Governor Cromwell took a sip of the strong liquor, a flash of complexity in his eyes. "But even so, as her elder brother, I still want to leave a completely safe path for her, and for this family, in the political maelstrom of the future."

Lin Li didn't interrupt, just tilted his chin: "Continue."

"I have carefully studied your noble methods; honestly, they are brilliant and leave no traces." Governor Cromwell looked at Lin Li. "Compared to you, Elena's political maneuvering is far too immature. Her black-and-white, simplistic way of thinking will create too many mortal enemies for her in this man-eating Hive City."

"Just yesterday, she ordered the arrest and imprisonment of a relic-attendant priest who came from a top noble family. Although that priest was indeed guilty of corruption, she immediately imposed the death penalty. Her methods were too heavy-handed and left no room for maneuver, which will cause a backlash from the noble class."

Hearing this, Lin Li tapped the table with some impatience.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Lin Li forcibly interrupted Governor Cromwell's long-winded speech. "I have no interest in your internal power struggles within the Hive City. As long as she doesn't rebel and doesn't violate the constitution, I won't interfere. If she does something that wrongs the citizens, then the ballots will vote her out. Get to the point; what kind of deal do you want to make with me?"

Governor Cromwell was choked up for a moment by Lin Li's blunt attitude and paused for two seconds.

Then, he sighed and set down the glass in his hand.

He turned and walked over to a huge antique bookshelf in the corner of the study.

He reached out, pulled out a thick, hardcover book, and then forcefully pressed a hidden mechanism at the bottom of the bookshelf.

"Click." A dull sound of gears interlocking echoed.

The heavy bookshelf slowly moved aside to both sides, and a dark secret passage appeared behind the wall of the study.

Governor Cromwell made a gesture of invitation, then led the way inside, carrying a lantern.

Lin Li heightened his vigilance and followed him without changing his expression.

This was an underground secret chamber that looked ancient.

The air was filled with the scent of dry preservative spices.

The walls around the secret chamber were all built with huge granite blocks.

There wasn't even any powered electronic equipment or surveillance devices inside; it was completely isolated from outside signals.

The space in the secret chamber was large but appeared very empty.

There were no mountains of gold and treasure, or crates of ancient weapons, as Lin Li had imagined.

In the very center of this secret chamber, there was only a solitary sealed display case made of leaded glass.

Lin Li stepped forward and looked down at it.

Inside that glass display case, a dirty, severely frayed piece of white rag lay quietly.

But Lin Li knew very well that for something to be hidden by a System Governor in the deepest secret chamber of the family, anyone with a bit of a brain would know that this thing was definitely not ordinary!

"I invited you here because I want to make a long-term deal with you." Governor Cromwell stood by the glass display case, turned his head, and stared intently at Lin Li. "This relic is a dowry I have prepared for my sister."

"As long as you nod, and agree to marry Elena, this thing will be yours!"

Upon hearing this, a row of big question marks instantly popped up over Lin Li's head: "???"

This old man had secretly called him to the basement in the middle of the night, only to be waiting here to force a marriage?!

This sudden move completely threw Lin Li for a loop.

Lin Li was a loyal person; how could he engage in a political marriage for profit?

Although he was complaining like crazy inside, on the surface, Lin Li remained as steady as an old dog, without any unnecessary movements.

"Sorry." Lin Li refused without hesitation. "Before the situation in the System is completely stabilized and the swarm crisis is resolved, I am not prepared to marry anyone."

After being rejected, Governor Cromwell's old face remained expressionless, as if he had expected it.

"Is that so? Then let's change the terms of the deal." Governor Cromwell retreated to the next best option. "In the future, if Elena encounters an unsolvable political crisis while implementing her new policies, or faces the situation of being impeached and removed from office, I implore you, for the sake of this relic, to intervene and save her politically."

Lin Li frowned and waved his hand impatiently again: "I said, I will not interfere in your internal political games. Change it again!"

Now, Governor Cromwell was obviously somewhat surprised.

He hadn't expected Lin Li to control the boundaries of his power so rigidly.

Governor Cromwell gritted his teeth and threw out his bottom line: "If in the future, Elena faces a life-threatening crisis—of course, provided she has not violated the new Constitution of the Alliance—please save her life, save her once! That should be acceptable, right?"

Hearing this condition, Lin Li finally nodded reluctantly.

"Only to save her life. Deal." Lin Li readily agreed, then pointed his chin at the rag in the glass display case. "So, can you tell me now what this thing actually is? Is it worth you trading it for a life?"

Governor Cromwell looked at the white rag, a flash of deep awe and fear in his eyes.

"Lord, I wonder if you have heard of… the White Scourge?"

Lin Li's brows locked tightly as he quickly searched his mind for background knowledge on Warhammer.

"The White Scourge"? This term represented the most terrifying and desperate cosmic catastrophe that had ever appeared in the history of the Ghoul Stars!

Its cause remains completely unknown to this day.

Back then, when this white force of terror swept through the star sector, the Imperial center even urgently deployed more than a dozen Space Marine chapters to suppress it.

As a result, those Space Marines didn't even leave behind a single corpse; they were completely annihilated and erased!

Finally, this White Scourge mysteriously receded on its own, as if it had never appeared at all.

After it left, it only left behind patches of dead worlds in the universe that had completely withered and lost all life energy.

It is said that during that catastrophe, even those Necrons who had long been sleeping in underground necropolises and possessed bodies of immortal metal had three whole tomb dynasties silently and cleanly erased!

Lin Li took a deep breath: "So… this rag is related to the catastrophe that destroyed the Necron dynasties?"

Governor Cromwell nodded solemnly.

"Yes, this is the only piece of physical matter that was left behind from the center of the catastrophe back then."

Governor Cromwell explained, "But rest assured, after thousands of years of observation by our family, it has completely lost its activity, or rather, it poses no threat; it now only remains as this material."

"Its specific physical properties are unknown, but it is absolutely safe. As the leader of the Spark Alliance, you might be able to use it in the future."

Having said that, Governor Cromwell reached out and opened the unlocked glass cabinet.

He took out a small lead box, put the white cloth into it, and then handed it to Lin Li.

Lin Li looked at the box being handed over.

He wasn't stupid!

In this Warhammer world full of curses and Warp pollution, facing such an unknown, eerie object capable of erasing even Necrons, taking it with his bare hands would be asking for an early death!

Lin Li dared not be careless, and he was even more determined not to reach out and take it.

He stepped back half a step and asked vigilantly: "It's not convenient for me to take this thing. Can I call my attendant over to take it for me?"

Governor Cromwell was stunned by Lin Li's overly cautious maneuver, then smiled bitterly and nodded: "Of course, it is yours now."

Lin Li immediately pressed his pv terminal and directly called Iron Man 73, which was docked on the sea breeze no. 9 in near-earth orbit.

Lin Li and Governor Cromwell waited in the basement, staring at each other for more than ten minutes.

Soon, 73's heavy footsteps walked into the secret chamber.

73 extended its cold mechanical arm, took the lead box from Governor Cromwell without any hesitation, and then steadily locked it into its own chest storage compartment.

With the item in hand, Lin Li didn't want to stay for another second, and immediately turned and left, taking 73 with him.

...

Back on the bridge of the sea breeze no. 9.

The spaceship launched and headed back toward Outpost Planet.

Only then did Lin Li let out a long sigh of relief.

"73, Governor Cromwell said this thing is related to the White Scourge of the Ghoul Stars. Take it out, use the laboratory equipment on the ship to scan it, and see if there is any danger."

Hearing this, 73 placed the rag on the isolation analysis table.

The blue light in its eyes began to flicker wildly, and various spectral analyses and microscopic particle rays constantly swept over the cloth.

A large amount of data flowed and was quickly compared in 73's processing core.

A few minutes later.

"Creator." 73 stopped scanning and reported, "This cloth does not have any special reactions, nor does it have any radiation energy. It is now just an ordinary piece of cloth with relatively high tensile strength."

"However…" 73's voice showed a hint of hesitation, "Judging from the microscopic particle composition structure of this material, the carbon-based sequencing rules it uses… do not belong to the Galaxy we currently know! Its specific origin is completely unknown."

Lin Li looked at the white rag lying quietly on the table, a flash of wariness in his eyes.

Matter that doesn't belong to the Galaxy? The waters of this Warhammer universe are indeed terrifyingly deep.

"Since it's not dangerous, seal it up completely in a safe, and put it in the lowest storage room of Shelter to collect dust!" Lin Li decisively gave the order, no longer delving into it.

"The current top priority is to survive the main force of the swarm; as for this kind of ancient mystery, there will be plenty of time to study it slowly later!"