Chapter 543: I Am Not a God (Combined)

Zhou Yun stared at the results on the table from Belisarius Kaul, and everyone fell silent.

Kaul had previously asked Zhou Yun if he could study the items Zhou Yun had exchanged for.

Zhou Yun had agreed, but truly held no hope.

Twenty-second-century technology was more miraculous than miracles to this universe; even many of the items Zhou Yun exchanged were cheap civilian goods, discounted products, or children's toys, far beyond this universe's comprehension.

It was like a child's wristwatch returned to the Stone Age—though its technology was trivial in modern civilization, merely industrial byproducts, it was still incomprehensible to primitives.

Yet Kaul had actually produced results—and they were surprisingly practical—making Zhou Yun's scalp prickle.

He slightly lifted his head and looked at the hovering Clock of Madness.

This was something Kaul had obtained from Zhou Yun, using a vast portion of his accumulated knowledge over the past ten thousand years.

A single glance revealed that Kaul had stretched internal laboratory time to span long periods while only seconds passed externally, granting him vastly more research time.

No one knew how many times Kaul had accelerated time, or how long he had spent researching.

His fatigue and pain suggested an immense passage of time.

Yet even with the Clock of Madness,

Zhou Yun glanced at the "Body Repair Clay" on the table, pinched off a bit, and shoved it into his fourth-dimensional pocket.

【Item Name: Body Repair Clay】

【Origin: Explorer-King】

【Evaluation: A crude imitation of Body Clay, achieved by violently piercing its growth layer with psychic energy to trigger self-replication; due to non-standard and incorrect cultivation methods, the Body Clay became severely degraded. While cultivation difficulty dropped drastically, performance plummeted and shaping became nearly impossible. It can be used for limb repair or organ transplantation via its growth properties, but has low utility.】

【Production Time: 002. 42】

【Status: Degraded】

【Value: 1500 credits】

Though the fourth-dimensional pocket labeled it crude, simple, and degraded,

even the hypercube labyrinth used by necromancers to trap Star Gods—the pinnacle of galactic-dimensional technology—was deemed "simple" and "suitable for children's toys" by the fourth-dimensional pocket's evaluation.

That Kaul's creation received the "low utility" rating from the fourth-dimensional pocket proved the sheer brilliance of his mind—after all, "low utility" was not "no utility."

And according to the fourth-dimensional pocket's description,

the principle behind this Body Repair Clay was that Kaul had used some psychic technique to break the self-replication limit of Body Clay, allowing it to multiply—but simultaneously stripping it of the ability to be shaped by hand.

Yet Kaul had found another method: using extremely complex electrical stimulation to manually mold the clay, then relying on its newfound self-replication to naturally fuse with the human body.

Zhou Yun picked up the red Belisarius Metal with curiosity.

Honestly, seeing it made Zhou Yun jump.

The object resembled pure metal.

Pure metal was the foundation of nearly all secret items, an almost omnipotent material, yet incredibly difficult to produce—even in the twenty-second century, it was nearly a non-renewable resource.

If Kaul had quietly synthesized pure metal, the twenty-second century would have rushed to make him an academician.

But upon closer inspection, this polygonal metal was merely similar to pure metal.

Pure metal was orange; this metal was red. Pure metal was almost entirely crystalline; Belisarius Metal retained a roughly metallic form. Pure metal's faces were perfect pentagons; Belisarius Metal was a jumble of irregular polygons.

More importantly, Kaul said this metal was reverse-engineered from the Pirate DX Suit—the few items not made of pure metal.

It used Pipra Metal.

Pipra Metal was created by Dr. Pipra, research partner of Dr. Hartmann, who developed pure metal; it could convert any common metal resource into a substance functionally similar to pure metal, though its manufacturing technology remained incomplete.

Thus, only a few items were made from Pipra Metal.

Kaul's Belisarius Metal was likely a reverse-engineered partial replication of Pipra Metal technology—since Belisarius Metal, like Pipra Metal, could be synthesized from any common metal.

Zhou Yun, suspecting this, placed the Belisarius Metal into his fourth-dimensional pocket.

【Item Name: Belisarius Metal】

【Origin: Explorer-King】

【Evaluation: A metal created by reverse-engineering Pipra Metal—a crude counterfeit. It can be synthesized from any metal but has almost entirely lost Pipra Metal's versatility, retaining only relatively easy machinability and slightly higher hardness, requiring extremely high temperature and pressure for slow reaction. Practical value is low.】

【Production Time: 002. 42】

【Status: Confirmed as a pure counterfeit】

【Value: 15000 credits】

It really was a reverse-engineered Pipra Metal. What the hell kind of brain does Kaul have?! He's a genius!!

Yes, in the twenty-second century, Belisarius Metal was a crude counterfeit, stripped of nearly all Pipra Metal's functions, retaining only slightly easier machinability and slightly higher hardness—even these traits were unremarkable among twenty-second-century materials.

But according to Kaul, this material was easier to machine than Radiant Gold, cheaper to produce, required less expensive raw materials, and was even harder than Radiant Gold—in this universe, it was an unimaginably perfect material.

Use it for Space Marine power armor—or coat Imperial starships in it. Kaul is fucking brilliant.

Zhou Yun's gaze toward Kaul instantly grew eager.

He had come to Kaul hoping he would study twenty-second-century technology.

For this, he had specifically exchanged for two items.

In front of Kaul, Zhou Yun pulled out a thick stack of manuals—nearly as tall as Kaul himself.

Kaul froze, his single remaining eye flickering toward the manual's title: *Manual for Constructing the Gate of Anywhere*!!

His eyes widened, his massive metal body trembling slightly.

He stared at the manual as if it were the greatest holy relic in the galaxy, as if it contained absolute truth.

Zhou Yun then pulled dozens of materials for constructing the Gate of Anywhere from his fourth-dimensional pocket and dumped them before Kaul.

The manual was generated by the Inventor Machine, an item Zhou Yun had exchanged for—prepare the materials, follow the instructions exactly, and you could assemble any item.

But items like the Gate of Anywhere were extremely difficult to construct, and many materials were absent from the Warhammer universe, requiring another item—the Material Box—to generate.

Zhou Yun didn't just want Kaul to make dozens of Gates of Anywhere—he had other needs.

"I want you to modify the Gate of Anywhere so it can be used by starships—whether by building a giant version or any other method, just make it work," Zhou Yun said to Kaul.

The Gate of Anywhere was excellent, but too small—individually, it couldn't allow starships to pass. Zhou Yun wanted Kaul to modify it so it could support fleet-scale travel.

It should be feasible—in theory, the Gate's size could be altered.

"This item has three selectable functions: it enhances one of your intelligence, physical strength, or appearance, while reducing the other two. It might be useful to you."

"Besides the Clock of Madness, I'll leave you many High-Efficiency Pills. Take the Acceleration Spring as well."

Belisarius Kaul listened to Zhou Yun's words and seemed to sense something.

"My Lord?" he asked, voice trembling with fear.

"I may need to sleep for a while," Zhou Yun said softly.

Kaul's reaction shocked Zhou Yun.

The man who had endured ten thousand years through sheer will, fracturing his own consciousness to fulfill the Emperor and Guilliman's commands, now wept with terror.

He dropped to his knees, prostrating himself before Zhou Yun, whispering in a pleading tone:

"My Lord… have we defied your will? Have we committed the same error, forcing you to sacrifice yourself for us?"

"Are you leaving us behind, to face this deep, dark galaxy alone?"

"I'm not a god—you know that," Zhou Yun said, frustrated. Kaul's reaction had been far beyond his expectations.

In his view, Kaul was an extremely proud man.

Unlike many in this galaxy, Kaul truly believed in humanity, in mortal wisdom.

And this wasn't baseless arrogance—it was confidence forged through millennia of accumulated intellect.

Yet now Kaul wore an expression bordering on terror.

"You are not!"

"You are not—and neither is the Emperor—Omnicompetent."

"Your humble servant has survived a thousand years in this galaxy, and knows how cold and merciless the gods are, how chaotic and fickle they are. All darkness in this galaxy is the gods' hands playing with pitiful mortals."

"They scorn mortals, dragging them into superstition and ignorance, abandoning wisdom for false faith, rejecting reason for barbaric ideologies, wasting the intellect the Emperor and you granted us."

Belisarius Kaul spoke with grief:

"Only you and the Emperor came to this dark galaxy, one after the other, guiding us, believing in us, showing us the light of reason, telling us mortal wisdom could follow in your footsteps. When have the gods ever shown such mercy as you and the Emperor?"

"Yet we mortals are weak and foolish—we made mistake after mistake, forcing the Emperor onto the Golden Throne, where he has remained silent for ten thousand years, sinking back into superstition, becoming pawns on the gods' chessboard."

"Until you walked among us—I saw your shadow and knew you resembled the Emperor. You are surely the Original Force, the hope for humanity's return to reason and wisdom."

"But now—have we committed the same error again, forcing you to leave us?"

Kaul's words froze Zhou Yun slightly—he had never seen Kaul like this.

Zhou Yun fell silent for a moment, then said to Kaul: "I'm only temporarily sleeping. I will return, Kaul."