I summoned the Fourth Scourge in Warhammer

Chapter 66 Looking for Black Slaves

A day later, Li Yongsi arrived at Redito's room on time and respectfully handed him the parchment covered with densely written equations. He had expected Redito to ask some questions to test whether he had really done the problems, but to his surprise, Redito only glanced at it casually, without even uttering a syllable, and put it aside as if it were just an unimportant piece of waste paper.

“Follow me,” Redito said, and his mechanical body rose and left without pausing. Li Yongsi immediately followed.

Redito led Li Yongsi to an empty warehouse, dimly lit with only a few work lights casting a faint glow. In the center of the warehouse, parked was the Death Squadron's Bipedal Wyvern Suppressor, its massive body appearing particularly heavy in the shadows.

"Do you recognize me?" Rediton's synthesized voice echoed in the hall.

Li Yongsi nodded: "I've driven it before."

“Very good,” Redito said. “What you need to do next is to communicate with the soul of this Suppressor.”

"This...this car has a machine soul?!" Li Yongsi said in astonishment.

"Why do you think she doesn't have a machine spirit?" Redito countered.

“Because she seemed perfectly normal in the previous battles,” Li Yongsi explained, “there were no instances of things like ‘firing despite running out of ammunition’ or ‘advancing despite running out of fuel’…”

He said he learned all of this during an emergency crash course on the official Warhammer lore.

“No, she has a soul,” Redito said decisively, his tone resolute. “Feel it carefully. I’ll give you six Terra hours. Report back to me after six Terra hours.”

Having said that, Redito said no more, turned and left the warehouse, leaving Li Yongsi alone with the huge chariot.

Li Yongsi hesitated for a moment. Although the existence of the Machine Soul, a kind of mystical phenomenon, was a challenge to his worldview, it was, after all, a completely different world, and it was reasonable for it to have completely different rules and things.

Therefore, Li Yongsi decided to act in accordance with the doctrines of the Cult of Mechanisms for the time being. Aside from the argument that these doctrines have been rigid for ten thousand years, there might be a reason for their existence.

He took a deep breath, found the maintenance tools and holy oil commonly used by the Mechanics in the toolbox beside him, and began to offer sacrifices to the Suppressor with a solemn, almost pious, attitude, following the procedures he had learned on Earth.

He lit incense and several rune-engraved candles, carefully applying holy oil to the joints and armor seams of the Suppressor, each application imbued with a solemn ritualistic air. Then, he took out a piece of scarlet silk, embroidered with the gears of Om Messiah in gold thread, and gently draped it over the Suppressor's turret, the gold threads shimmering in the dim light.

Li Yongsi could never treat a god or a person with such an attitude. Even if he did become a mechanical priest, his faith in Ommya would likely only extend to cursing "Ommya's ass!" when he encountered difficulties.

However, it's not a big psychological barrier to maintaining an armored vehicle that you live with day and night and that you rely on for your life. After all, it's hard not to develop some feelings for it.

Because it was his first time doing this, Li Yongsi worked very slowly to avoid making mistakes, striving for precision in every step, and it took him almost two hours to complete.

After his success, looking at the gleaming, magnificent Suppressor in front of him, Li Yongsi felt a sense of accomplishment, but also a strange feeling... It didn't look like a war machine at all, but rather like a model bought by a wealthy collector. It was too beautiful, so much so that it lost the violent and intimidating aesthetic that a war machine should have.

Li Yongsi shook his head, banishing the thought from his mind, took off the gloves he had worn while applying the oil, and carefully placed them on the presser's outer shell.

After a while, Li Yongsi and the suppressor stared at each other for more than ten minutes, but nothing happened.

Perhaps he should say something? The thought flashed through his mind, and Li Yongsi, almost unconsciously, said with a hint of uncertainty, "Are you there?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Yongsi regretted it; he felt like a fool. "Yes."

A childlike yet clear voice rang directly in his mind.

Li Yongsi was startled, then his eyes widened in shock as he realized what was happening: "There really is a soul?! I can actually communicate with it?!"

"We are of the same origin and the same species, so why can't we communicate?" the Suppressor asked in confusion, his voice tinged with bewilderment. "I was wondering why you were just spacing out and not saying anything."

Li Yongsi's tense heart relaxed. He could communicate with the Machine Soul; he had passed the test, and it seemed he was one step closer to becoming a Reditor apprentice. But then, some worry arose again. According to the Academy's original conjecture, as an Earth human, he shouldn't have a soul, at least not in the Warhammer universe's sense. But now it seemed that this conjecture had been overturned.

"What do you mean by 'same origin and same species'?" Li Yongsi asked himself.

“I don’t know,” the Suppressor said, its voice filled with pure innocence, like a newborn. “I just feel a strong connection with you, isn’t that enough?”

Is it a system? Li Yong thought of this. If you were to ask what the connection between the two is, it would probably be that they are both within the player system, but that is something that they cannot get involved in right now.

“How about we chat for a bit?” the Suppressor asked. “I’m bored.”

Li Yongsi quickly agreed: "Of course, no problem!"

Six Terra hours later, Redito pushed open the door and saw a scene that was both funny and absurd—Li Yongsi was lying on the roof of the Suppressor's vehicle, holding a rag and vigorously wiping the inside of the mortar barrel.

"What are you doing?" Redito asked.

Li Yongsi straightened up, his face smeared with oil, but he looked unusually excited: "Uh, Lady Redito? The Suppressor said the inside of her cannon barrel was a little uncomfortable, so I'm wiping it for her..."

As it spoke, seemingly in response to Li Yongsi, the Suppressor's massive engine roared twice.

“It seems you have succeeded,” Redito nodded slightly. “I must say, your passion and talent for machinery is even greater than I imagined.”

"You've passed this test. Come with me; the final test is coming up."

Li Yongsi quickly tidied everything up, said a brief goodbye to the Suppressor, and followed Redito to another room. Upon entering, Li Yongsi saw densely packed blueprints hanging on the walls and placed on the table. Some were hand-drawn, while others were rune diagrams unique to the Cult of Mechanics. They were intricately interwoven, forming a dazzling ocean of knowledge.

“Your company commander just spoke with me. He wants to design a brand new armor for the suicide squad,” Redito said slowly, his mechanical arm pointing to an unfinished design drawing on the wall. “The key point is that it can connect to the brain-computer interface after mechanical modification. With just a thought, 750 milliliters of medicine can be injected into the body, greatly enhancing combat effectiveness.”

Redito turned around, his red optical goggles staring directly at Li Yongsi, a hint of cunning in his voice: "I've already completed the most difficult part for you. The rest are just garbage; they can be solved with mathematical exhaustive search alone. If you truly understand that set of questions, I think it won't be difficult for you. Three days should be enough to catch up on the rest of the schedule."

He paused, then added, "Design it carefully; it concerns the lives of your comrades."

After saying that, Redito left the room again, leaving Li Yongsi alone to face the mountain of blueprints.

Looking at the densely packed blueprints in front of him, Li Yongsi finally understood why the mechanical priest had so readily agreed to his request to become an apprentice... It turned out he had come to find a black slave to work for him!

(End of this chapter)