Warhammer: The Time Traveler

Chapter 98 Chen Yu's Performance Report (Fifth Update)

This information struck like a hammer blow against the cognitive barriers of every member of Mann's team.

A vast empire spanning the stars, a bizarre cult that worships technology as a god, and a universe described as an eternal battlefield...

Each concept far exceeded all their experience in Night City, tearing open gaps in their established worldview that were difficult to mend.

“Wait… Boss… he’s a member of this ‘Cult of Mechanics’?” Pila blinked, his voice filled with confusion. He tried to understand the concept but clearly failed. “He treats those machines and code… as gods? What… what does that mean?”

Falco subconsciously pushed up his sunglasses, his eyes behind the lenses filled with unprecedented solemnity. He tried to find a reasonable explanation, but found that all logic seemed pale at this moment: "Judging from these descriptions, it is probably so. Moreover... the power he possesses may not be ordinary in this system."

Dorothy crossed her arms, her bronze arm muscles tensing involuntarily. She tried to connect this information with her own situation, but only felt a chill.

“A universe that’s always at war… No wonder he came to us, no wonder he gave us these things…” She didn’t finish her sentence, but the unease of being swept into a larger torrent had already spread.

Qiwei did not participate in the discussion; she simply stared silently at the part of the holographic image about the Mechanicus's monopoly on knowledge and technology, her crimson coat collar seemingly standing up even higher.

The descriptions gradually overlapped with the image of the "boss" she knew, which, instead of bringing understanding, made her feel a deeper chill stemming from the unknown.

All the rules and common sense she knew seemed to have lost their meaning here.

Besides browsing information, their diet also became part of their adaptation.

Ignis would regularly send over a grayish-white, dense block of starch that had no taste and provided only the most basic energy and nutrition.

It has a dry and rough texture and can only be swallowed with a small amount of purified water.

Rebecca almost threw up the first time she tried it and complained a lot, but in order to maintain their strength, everyone had to force themselves to eat.
-
While Mann's squad was spending their days in the camp, Ignis was not idle.

She had just completed a crucial task, receiving and executing the latest instructions relayed by the servo skull that had arrived with the otherworldly visitor.

These instructions were the latest directives formulated by Father Chen Yu at the other end and transmitted via a servo skull after confirming the initial success of the transmission experiment.

One of the most crucial instructions was to immediately send a special encrypted data packet to the escort ship waiting in orbit. This data packet contained Chen Yu's carefully compiled exploration report from the other world.

Ignis faithfully carried out the order, ensuring that the report was delivered accurately to their Forge world by the Star Speakers on the frigate, through the whispers of their souls across the waves of the warp.

This report is a reflection of Chen Yu's strategy.

He knew that within the Mechanicus bureaucracy, a successful exploration required a “discovery,” but an overly remarkable discovery would attract countless unnecessary scrutiny and investigations, which contradicted his core interest in secretly researching dimensional teleportation technology.

Therefore, in his report, he downplayed the actual gains in this dead world.

He described the cave ruins containing the dimensional teleporter as a vast but extremely damaged remnant of the Dark Ages, with its internal structure collapsed, its core database completely destroyed, and most of the salvageable technological artifacts corroded or deactivated.

The report's conclusion leans towards "archaeological value outweighing technological value," implying that the exploration's input-output ratio was low, making it almost a failed expedition. However, returning completely empty-handed is equally illogical and would also diminish his value in the eyes of the world's top leadership.

Therefore, Chen Yu cleverly repackaged the product.

He described the stray AI sample captured from the depths of the cyberpunk world's network as "an ancient logical core in a state of stasis, found in a relatively intact shielded chamber deep within the ruins."

In his report, he deliberately avoided sensitive words such as "intelligence" or "consciousness," instead emphasizing the "uniqueness and antiquity" of its structure.

He speculated that this core might contain some kind of pre-imperial data processing paradigm or fragment of mechanical logic, possessing extremely high "archaeological research value," and cautiously hinted that reverse engineering it might bring unexpected breakthroughs to the technical bottlenecks of the Forging World in certain specific computing fields.

Through this carefully crafted wording, he successfully packaged a potentially dangerous item that might violate the taboo of "hatred of intelligence" into a "strange object" from ancient times, worthy of in-depth study.

Before writing this report, Chen Yu had carefully assessed the potential consequences of various options.

He had considered more sensational discoveries, such as reporting the dimensional teleporter that could connect to other worlds as the main discovery, which would undoubtedly cause a stir on Mars and even at the highest levels of the Mechanicus.

However, this level of attention is a double-edged sword.

It could indeed bring unparalleled glory and resource allocation, but what would inevitably follow was direct intervention from Mars, countless prying eyes, and endless scrutiny and questioning. His workshop in the abandoned town and all traces of his activities in the other world would be exposed to the spotlight, which he absolutely could not accept.

In contrast, the value of this carefully packaged "core of ancient logic" seems just right.

It was unique and enticing enough to pique the interest of the great sage Casper Vox, satisfying his urgent need to find a “distinctive” breakthrough in the world of casting.

After all, any discovery related to ancient data processing and logical architecture, even if it's only remotely related, is enough to give Forge Nexus a unique label in the highly competitive academic circles of the Mechanicus, thus giving it a more advantageous position in vying for Imperial orders and resources.

At the same time, it is vague enough and sensitive enough that it will not immediately trigger large-scale, direct, and dominant intervention from the Mars side, which leaves Chen Yu with ample room for maneuver and flexibility.

He accurately predicted the mindset of the Great Sage who oversaw the casting: that his desire to elevate the status of the casting world would likely outweigh his rigid adherence to certain doctrinal details.

As long as the subsequent research process does not openly violate the core precepts of the Crimson Protocol and does not cause uncontrollable adverse effects, the Martian side tends to tacitly approve or even secretly encourage some marginal, high-risk but potentially high-return research projects carried out by its subordinate forging worlds.

According to Chen Yu's deduction, the achievement brought about by this discovery of the "core of ancient logic," combined with his past contributions, is sufficient to constitute a adequate and appropriate reason for him to pass the rigorous review for promotion to the sage.

The transition from priest to sage is far more than just a change of title; it signifies a qualitative leap in authority, the qualification to independently lead large-scale research projects and military operations, and access to more core resources.

This includes more powerful frigate units, command of starships, and even access to higher-level knowledge.

This was a crucial step in his plan.

(End of this chapter)