Relying on a handful of Lho-sticks, Alexander squeezed into the small shack belonging to the Hive City worker.
The house had been built by the worker himself in the gap between two other buildings, so narrow that the interior space was only wide enough for two people.
The Hive worker who gave the house to Alexander left immediately after pointing out the sleeping area, saying he would stay at a friend's place for the night.
Alexander climbed the ladder positioned in the center of the room to the small bed on the second floor.
Before entering Old Sector Eight, he needed to make some preparations.
Alexander took out the two artifacts he owned from his dimensional pocket:
The Arbitrary Ring, which could pierce through walls and help Alexander explore sealed areas.
The Air Gun Potion, which, when dropped on a finger, could fire an invisible shockwave.
For a long time, Alexander had relied on these two items to survive in the Underhive, but the Genestealer he encountered during the last ruin exploration had raised his alert level.
He felt it was time to exchange for a few more items.
He looked into the dimensional pocket and connected to the Future Department Store.
Alexander picked out a few practical items he could currently afford:
[Item Name: Superpower Hat]
[Origin: 22nd Century Earth – Future Department Store]
[Production Date: 261.M3]
[Function: A hat with a hand on top. When worn, the user can utilize three abilities—X-ray vision, telekinesis, and teleportation—but they are not easy to use. They require a period of practice and consume a great deal of stamina.]
[Price: 130,000]
[Item Name: Body Clay]
[Origin: 22nd Century Earth – Future Department Store]
[Production Date: 255.M3]
[Function: A clay that can freely change shape. By applying it to a person's body, it can create all sorts of looks, and it also possesses a certain degree of defensive capability.]
[Price: 60,000]
[Item Name: Famous Blade: Electric Light Pill]
[Origin: 22nd Century Earth – Future Department Store]
[Production Date: 255.M3]
[Function: It takes the form of a katana. Theoretically, it will catch all of the opponent's sword techniques, and the user will never lose in a sword fight. However, it can cause almost no damage, at most stunning the enemy, and has limited battery power. It will be unusable for a period once the power is depleted.]
Looking at these three items, Alexander fell into thought.
The Famous Blade: Electric Light Pill was clearly the one with the highest potential ceiling.
Theoretically, as long as he held this sword, before its battery died, Alexander would acquire the most supreme swordsmanship and would not fail in any sword-related combat.
Even against Lucius, the famous swordsman of the Emperor's Children, he could hold his own for a few passes with this sword.
But in terms of current utility, it was inferior to the Superpower Hat.
This hat would give Alexander three superpowers simultaneously—X-ray vision, teleportation, and telekinesis, essentially granting Alexander powers similar to a Psyker. Moreover, these three abilities could be improved to a certain extent with Alexander's practice.
Finally, there was the Body Clay. This item could provide Alexander with some protection, but its most crucial function was the ability to change his appearance and physique to hide his identity while acting. This way, he wouldn't have to worry about being targeted by cults, gangs, or mutants.
Alexander sighed. The ceiling of the Famous Blade: Electric Light Pill was indeed very high, almost a conceptual divine weapon, but the problem was that its battery life was a mystery. In Alexander's impression, this thing often ran out of power at inconvenient times, and the sword itself lacked lethality, with questionable durability.
As expected, the Superpower Hat and the Body Clay are more practical.
"Your order for the Superpower Hat and Body Clay has been shipped."
"Your order for the Superpower Hat and Body Clay has arrived. Please sign for receipt."
Alexander's eye twitched slightly as he watched his savings instantly dwindle to mere scraps.
He could only hope that the exploration of Old Sector Eight would bring him enough harvest.
Alexander retrieved the two newly exchanged items from the dimensional pocket.
The Body Clay was a pile of grey-green clay contained in a round jar one and a half meters in diameter, while the Superpower Hat was a hat with a white right hand attached to it.
Alexander took some clay from the jar and tentatively smeared it on his skin.
The moment the grey-green clay touched Alexander's skin, it changed to a colour similar to his own, covering it like a growth.
He tried smearing the clay over his entire body, little by little, moulding it into the shape of muscles.
Before long, Alexander, who originally had the physique of a normal human, transformed into a muscular hulk over two meters tall.
With a physique like this, if he put on a suit of Power Armour, he might be mistaken for one of the Emperor's Muscular Brothers—no, the Emperor's Angels of Death.
But Alexander waved his arms a few times and confirmed that the clay-molded muscles were purely cosmetic with no actual strength.
"You are too old to become an Astartes," the winged figure in the white light shook its head and said.
Alexander nodded in agreement.
Most Chapters chose to implant Gene-seed into boys in their teens, usually between ten and fourteen years old, sixteen at the latest. After eighteen, the mortality rate for Gene-seed implantation became very high, making success nearly impossible.
Even Argel Tal's foster father, Colfalon of the former Word Bearers Legion, barely managed to match a normal Space Marine with a large number of flawed bionic modifications and chemical treatments. And later events proved that making him a Space Marine was a mistake...
Alexander shook his head, removed some of the clay muscles from his body, and returned his height to that of an ordinary person.
Then he smeared the clay on his face and molded a different appearance for himself.
It was a European-style face with thick, dark gold hair and a dense beard, like a ferocious lion, forged from the deepest, darkest forest.
"?"
A huge golden question mark appeared above the head of the winged figure in the white light.
"Lion?" The winged figure's voice became slightly sharp: "You molded the face of Lion El'Jonson?"
"What, you can be the Great Angel, and I can't be the Lion King?"
Alexander stroked his lion-like face, which he had modeled after Lion El'Jonson, the Primarch of the First Legion, and nodded in satisfaction.
He flexed his slightly enlarged fist, muttering things like "Hahaha!", "The First Legion has no secrets!", "I should be the Warmaster of the Imperium!", and "Let us duel!"
The winged figure in the white light fell silent. After a long moment, it finally couldn't help but say:
"I am seriously considering reporting you to the Dark Angels."
"And perhaps I should report you to the Space Wolves as well."