Chapter 18

"Parting with Ryan Ruse, I truly feel some reluctance."

Mengge walked along the street, unable to help but sigh:

"He is indeed a true heretic, even more heretical than us."

"Not only does he not worship the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang, he doesn't even believe in other gods; how can such a heretic exist in the world?"

"He is indeed terrifying; his style of conduct and that face are equally terrifying."

"That mouth of his is indeed infuriating; if I were a priest of the Ecclesiarchy, I would have put him on the pyre the moment he spoke his first word."

"But he is indeed a reliable good man." Marqit finished the remaining words on Mengge's behalf.

"Not only reliable." Mengge grabbed Marqit's arm and said: "Brother, have you witnessed his capabilities?"

"He used only a golden ring to carry us through a massive mountain of rubble."

"He also used some unknown method to empty an entire warehouse of weapons in one go."

"He can help us; he can help us find what we seek."

Mengge's tone was somewhat urgent, but Marqit hesitated slightly.

"What we seek is right before our eyes." Marqit looked at the Corpse Guild nearby.

This building, belonging to a branch of the Corpse Guild, was the tallest nearby, yet it luxuriously occupied only three floors.

In the Hive City, people die every moment; their souls return to the Golden Throne, while their bodies return to the Corpse Guild to enter the cycle,

processed into corpse starch or recycled nutrient paste.

Their actions are extremely vital to the Hive City,

for it is the Corpse Guild's practice of recycling corpses that suppresses the spread of plagues and diseases in the city, and it is they who prevent the Hive City from starving.

They are the monopolists of the Pale Work, wealthy yet considered unfortunate by the Hive City residents.

But at least the former Corpse Guild always maintained its faith in the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang.

According to the information Marqit obtained from the data slate at the PDF base,

the original Corpse Guild should have been surrounded by skulls of unmutated humans symbolizing purity,

with divine statues of angels standing in the courtyard, holding spears to guard the portico,

while the walls were carved with the two-headed eagle of the Imperium, marks of purity, and prayers from the Litany of Holy Words.

But now, those skulls of pure humans have been smashed to dust, and some skulls with obvious deformities and mutations lie across the entrance, staring fixedly at Mengge and Marqit as they approach.

The two-headed eagles, marks of purity, and prayers from the Litany of Holy Words on the walls have been defaced with filth, turned into a string of bizarre runes full of blasphemy.

The only survivor is the statue of Sanguinius beneath the portico,

but it is surrounded by a three-ring symbol outlined in pus,

which, from Marqit's line of sight, looks like a huge fly circling the statue of Sanguinius,

but Marqit knows that the three rings of that symbol represent the perfect cycle of death, decay, and rebirth.

Yes, we shall all die, and through death receive the gift of corruption, then be reborn from decay.

Marqit thought in his heart; he closed his eyes, filled with piety:

"What we seek is right before our eyes, Mengge."

"No." Mengge shook his head: "What is inside is merely the key; we must still find the door."

"We will find it, Mengge; be patient." Marqit said softly, about to walk into the gates of the Corpse Guild.

"Wait." Mengge called out to Marqit.

"Before entering, take off that hood." Mengge said: "Hang it on my horns; it has made me uncomfortable all the way."

Marqit nodded approvingly; now there was no need to worry about exposing their identity and inviting disgust and rejection.

Speaking thus, Marqit and Mengge extended their hands, revealing the faces beneath their wide hoods, revealing the horns growing from their heads.

Marqit's face was emaciated and purple, his head full of withered gray hair, with brownish, fearsome horns extending from the left side of his hair, his forehead, and beside his cheeks, looking like a beast or a demon.

Mengge's horns were even more fearsome than Marqit's; he had almost no hair, with only black, fearsome horns growing on his face and head, encircling his almost bestial face.

They are mutants, monsters living in the sewers of the Underhive, human mutants not accepted by the Imperium, impure ones.

They either had their human genetic helixes destroyed by toxic radiation, or accumulated toxicity from large amounts of unclean food over time, or were corrupted by Chaos into monstrous forms,

the city never sheltered them, the Imperium never permitted them, the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang never blessed them; they are the objects of hatred and rejection for the billions of the Imperium's people.

The vast majority of mutants can only spend their lives in the ditches of the Underhive, finding some comfort in the most vicious curses against the Imperium.

But some mutants choose to curse the Imperium in a more direct way, using the power of the Chaos Gods from the Warp.

Zhou Yun stood on the roof of a house not far away, watching Mengge and Marqit remove their hoods and recite a seven-syllable incantation as they entered the Corpse Guild.

Indeed, their target was also the Corpse Guild.

Zhou Yun was momentarily stunned.

After noticing that the direction Marqit and Mengge were heading was roughly the same as his own, and that the Corpse Guild was the only significant building in that direction, Zhou Yun had formed this guess.

So, using the teleportation ability brought by the Superpower Hat, he arrived at the gates of the Corpse Guild ahead of Mengge and Marqit,

and seeing the Corpse Guild's decor full of blasphemy and Nurgle style, Zhou Yun knew his guess was correct.

The target of the brothers Mengge and Marqit was the Corpse Guild, and some Warp power was clearly lurking within the Corpse Guild.

Zhou Yun acted on impulse, directly squatting on the roof of a nearby building, waiting for Mengge and Marqit to clear the way for him.

He unexpectedly learned the true identities of Mengge and Marqit: two mutants.

Speaking of mutants...

The Imperium classifies the degree of mutation into four levels,

huge skulls, slight height abnormalities, missing limbs, excessive talkativeness, and strange hair colors are considered minor mutations,

each of these counting as one point.

Extra limbs, severe height abnormalities, scales, feathers, or animal fur growing on the body, disrespect for superiors, and glowing skin are considered moderate mutations,

This is 3 points per line.

A body with toxicity, 1 to 3 appendages, abnormal eye placement or non-standard eye count, and beast features constitutes severe mutation.

This is 10 points per line.

More than three appendages, causing local subspace anomalies, multiple skulls, possessing aggressive limbs, and questioning the necessity of inspection constitute extreme mutation.

This is 50 points per line.

Monge and Malkit have a mutation table showing scales and feathers or animal fur, a body with toxicity, beast features, and aggressive limbs—four mutations in total: one moderate, two severe, and one extreme, for a total score of 73 points.

1–9 points is considered normal; above 10 points means you sit at the table with Ogryn; above 50 points usually means incineration on the spot.

Monge and Malkit are mid-tier mutations among the mutants that must be purged in the Empire.

And.

Zhou Yun couldn't help but glance sideways at the winged figure in the Bai Guang at the corner of his eye.

The winged figure in the Bai Guang: "?"

Updated a bit earlier today because yesterday's reading count was just short of breaking two hundred; updating earlier today should break two hundred and get on the trial water.

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(End of this chapter)