Warhammer: The Time Traveler

Chapter 99 Promotion Arrangements (Sixth Update)

In Chen Yu's blueprint, being promoted to the sage is merely a necessary stepping stone to the next crucial stage.

His next real goal was to acquire a forged ship that would be entirely under his personal control.

This idea was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but a strategic choice based on careful calculation.

His gaze never lingered on those legendary behemoths—the Forging Ark.

The colossal ship that combines a mobile foundry, a sacred temple, and an ultimate fortress is a symbol of power for the top sages within the Mechanicus. Its astonishing construction costs and subsequent bottomless maintenance expenses are an unbearable burden for a newly promoted sage.

Even if he were to exhaust all his resources to obtain a severely scaled-down, simplified version, it would only make him the focus of attention from all sides, which would completely contradict his fundamental principle of keeping a low profile and focusing on core research.

His target was a more pragmatic and less conspicuous option: a cruiser-class forge ship.

These ships are usually based on the Luna-class cruisers widely used by the Imperial Navy or modified from some older but structurally robust ship types.

They have spacious interiors to accommodate the large integrated laboratories, small refining facilities, and basic manufacturing workshops he needs, as well as a considerable number of apostolic soldiers and the necessary team of technical priests.

Although its absolute firepower and armor protection cannot be compared with the fleet's main warships, its excellent versatility, good self-sufficiency, and relatively affordable operating costs perfectly match Chen Yu's current needs.

He planned to establish his own core research hub on such a mobile platform, securely house the crucial dimensional teleporter, and transfer Ignis, the loyal detachment of the Church's Apostolic Guard, and all the valuable technical data and samples he had accumulated over the years onto the ship.

A cruiser-class forged ship, which has undergone extensive customization and special reinforcement of its power core, life support system, and core laboratory module, and has reserved ample interfaces for future weapon system upgrades, will become his ideal mobile base and interstellar research platform.

Only by possessing such a casting ship could he truly master strategic mobility.

This means he can carry most of his assets from the Warhammer universe with him and travel freely among the vast stars.

Whether it's continuing compliant "legitimate" archaeological explorations within the empire's borders to conceal our activities, or secretly venturing to other unknown worlds connected by dimensional teleporters, both will transform from ideas into routine, sustainable operations.

This crucial step will allow him to completely break free from dependence on fixed planetary bases and truly step onto a broader stage.

All these meticulous plans now hinge on the report that is being sent across the warp to the Forging World.

Ignis has confirmed that the data packet was received and forwarded by the frigate.

However, subspace communication has never been reliable. Information has to travel through chaotic fluctuations and then undergo tedious decoding and layers of approval upon arrival.

From the approval of the Great Sage overseeing the construction to the promotion ceremony, and then to the application process for the casting of the ship, each step takes time.

Chen Yu estimates that it will take at least several weeks or even months to receive a clear response from Neksam.

All he can do right now is ensure the successful retrieval of Mann's team in 72 hours, bringing this phase of the mission to a close.
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On the afternoon of the second day that Mann's team was stranded in the world of the dead, Ignis herself returned.

She didn't come empty-handed; instead, she brought several small targets that looked like training targets.

“The priest has decreed that you are permitted to conduct minimal weapon system adaptation maintenance within a designated area, but any form of adversarial exercise or testing that causes significant environmental damage is prohibited.” Her voice remained calm, devoid of any emotion. “This is for security and confidentiality reasons.”

This was the biggest "preferential treatment" she had received in the past two days. Rebecca immediately picked up her heavy bomb gun and fired several short bursts at the target.

The deafening roar echoed through the camp, drawing the attention of the friars in the distance, but they seemed to have received orders and did not intervene.

Rebecca watched with satisfaction as the target was severely deformed and shattered under the impact of the explosive.

Pila also tested his flamethrower, the short bursts of promethium flames turning another target red-hot, with some areas even showing signs of melting.

Mann, Dorio, and Mowell underwent more restrained functional tests, primarily to familiarize themselves with the subtle responses of their enhanced bodies to local gravity and environment.

Sasha and Qiwei attempted to deploy a small-scale electronic warfare area at the lowest possible power to assess its impact on camp equipment.

The results showed that those seemingly crude devices appeared to have an invisible protective layer around them, and their interference effect was negligible.

Ignis observed all of this quietly, the optical lens under her helmet recording every data point.

She would occasionally ask questions about weapon performance parameters through the servo skull, her tone more like a technical discussion than an interrogation.

Mann's team answered cautiously, and the two sides maintained a fragile but professional balance.

Throughout the entire process, there was no direct information or instruction from Chen Yu; everything seemed to be running under the preset program of Ignis and the servo skull.

On the third day, the wait became increasingly agonizing.

Speculation about the unknown mission, anxiety about returning, and uncertainty about Chen Yu's ultimate goal permeated the small barracks.

They repeatedly studied the limited information provided by the servo skull, discussing various possibilities, but lacking crucial information, all their guesses were just castles in the air.

They were completely isolated from everything familiar, their only connection to "home" being the silent, waiting-to-be-activated servo skull.

Just as the third day was drawing to a close and everyone was at their most anxious, Ignis reappeared.

This time, her posture seemed to carry a subtle hint of solemnity.

“The standard 72-hour survival observation period is about to end,” she announced. “Prepare for the retrieval procedure. As instructed by the priest, you will return with the designated data.”

She took out a storage unit branded with the gear and skull emblem of the Mechanicus and handed it to the servo skull beside her.

Watching Ignis's actions, Mann realized that this might be one of the key "gains" of their trip.

He nodded solemnly: "We understand."

Ignis said no more, and led them back into the cave, gesturing for them to step onto the circular platform covered in runes once more.

The members of Mann's squad exchanged glances, carrying the confusion, repression, and the servo skull containing crucial information accumulated over the past three days, and then stepped forward.

(End of this chapter)