The leading gang member stared blankly at the red-rusted dagger pressed against his neck.
The dagger wasn't particularly sharp, but it was covered in dark red bloodstains, rust twisted like runes, and corrosive marks, exuding an eerie and sinister aura.
Combined with what the person who suddenly appeared behind him said...
"It's coated with deadly corrupting venom. Just a graze will turn you into a puddle of pus, and even your soul will be corrupted, unable to return to the Golden Throne."
The leading gang member couldn't help but swallow, trembling as he turned to look at the man behind him.
Then, the leading man's pupils suddenly constricted, and his legs couldn't stop shaking.
What a terrifying face it was—owl-eyed and tiger-mouthed, as sinister as if carved from igneous rock in the deepest, darkest pit, like a Lion lurking in the shadows.
The leading gang member suspected that if he made even the slightest move to defy the man in front of him, he would be stabbed into a puddle of pus by this dagger and fall into the realm of Daemons.
Not only the leading gang member, but the nearby gang members and hive city workers were also terrified.
Appearing suddenly like a ghost, claiming the dagger in his hand had blasphemous properties, and a face so stern and terrifying it made one's legs go weak.
Cultist! It's a cultist!
The gang members suddenly felt their legs give out.
In the hive city, the most dangerous threats were never the various criminal gangs, but those blasphemous cultists.
The leading gang member gasped, looking at the dagger pressed against his neck, and quickly said in a trembling voice:
"Please don't rush, please don't rush… We can talk about anything."
Seeing the terrified gang members and hive city workers, Alexander also felt a bit numb for a moment.
He had only intended to hijack the leading gang member and use the opportunity to enter the PDF outpost with the Four-Dimensional Pocket.
But now, it seemed the effect was a little too good.
Alexander noticed the looks directed at him; they were clearly the looks one would give a cultist.
"Don't be afraid, I'm not a cultist."
Alexander said in a gentle voice:
"I just want to enter the PDF outpost, and I hope you won't stop me."
"Look at my face, full of righteousness; isn't it loyal?"
As he spoke, Alexander leaned his face closer to the leading gang member.
The leading gang member's expression crumpled, and his legs wouldn't stop trembling.
Yes, yes, yes, you, sir, are not a cultist.
If he wasn't a cultist, how could he appear suddenly like a ghost? If he wasn't a cultist, how could his dagger have soul-corrupting poison?
The leading gang member glanced at the crimson dagger pressed against his neck, then, after a moment of silence, nodded vigorously and said:
"Yes, yes, yes, you are right."
"You clearly aren't a cultist. Your face clearly shows righteousness and loyalty to the Emperor."
"Look at this… this Lion-like face; it looks full of sincerity, with no secrets at all."
Alexander nodded in profound agreement.
His face was modeled after the Primarch Lion El'Jonson; no matter how he thought about it, it exuded loyalty.
"I'm very satisfied with your cooperation."
Alexander approvingly patted the leading gang member's shoulder and waved to the shadows in the distance.
Mont and Marquite, cloaked in brown robes with their faces obscured, emerged from them.
The surrounding gang members all made way for the two of them.
Mont walked to Alexander's side and gave him a stiff nod.
Alexander signaled Mont to take the dagger, helping him hold the leading gang member hostage. Then, he led him and Marquite to the foot of the rubble pile.
He reached into his clothes, and, concealed by his garments, took out the Four-Dimensional Pocket from his Four-Dimensional Pocket and pressed it against the rubble pile.
"Go through," Alexander instructed Mont and Marquite.
"Go through?" Mont said with a somewhat bewildered and dazed look.
From the beginning, he hadn't been able to follow Alexander's train of thought. He only felt that everything happened suddenly; Alexander had hijacked the leading gang member and brought them to the foot of the rubble pile.
Then, he didn't know where he pulled out a man-high golden ring, which he placed on the wall. A pitch-black hole then appeared within the ring.
"Going through leads to the PDF outpost." With that, Alexander stepped through first.
Marquite followed immediately. Mont hesitated for a moment, pushed aside the leading gang member, and also went through.
Then, he felt the scenery before his eyes shift, and when his head emerged from the ring, he was already in a spacious clearing.
He blinked, realizing he had passed through the rubble pile and arrived before the PDF outpost.
Before him was a dilapidated PDF camp, with the crest of Governor Frax's family painted on the walls.
Mont still watched with some bewilderment as Alexander tucked the golden ring into his clothes.
He was silent for a moment, slowly processing what had just happened, and couldn't help but say:
"You wouldn't happen to be a cultist, would you?"
Alexander glanced at Mont, saying with a look of disdain: "How dare a cultist like you call me a cultist?"
"Forget it, with your level of professionalism, calling you a cultist is practically a compliment."
Alexander, who never expected to be called a cultist by a cultist one day, shook his head.
Although he didn't have genuine loyalty or faith in the Emperor, at least he hadn't gone to worship those Warp specters, right?
These two Nurgle followers were actually accusing him of being a cultist.
"Family, who understands? This insufferable cultist," Alexander muttered under his breath with a rather sarcastic tone.
Mont, however, shook his head: "My brother and I are not cultists; we are here for the sake of all Asford."
"Heretics never think they are heretics," Alexander said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Aren't you the same?" Mont retorted sarcastically.
"Alright, Mont, if it weren't for Leman Russ's help, we wouldn't have gotten in so easily," Marquite interjected, trying to smooth things over.
He still had a slight awkwardness when he mentioned the name Leman Russ.
Alexander nodded slightly at him: "My goal is the weapons in the warehouse. If you're going to do any blasphemous sorcery or anything like that, wait until I'm done moving things."
"You're going to move all the weapons in the entire warehouse by yourself?" Mont said with some surprise: "You wouldn't be planning some blasphemous sorcery, would you?"
"Alas, you misunderstand us; we are only here to find some information," Marquite said, shaking his head.
Hearing this, Alexander nodded: "Alright, if you're going to look for archives, see if you can help me find a map of the Old Eight District while you're at it."
"Of course," Marquite said, smiling and nodding.
With that, the three walked together towards the entrance of the PDF outpost.
Just before entering the outpost, Marquite slowed down slightly, allowing himself to fall half a step behind Mont and Alexander.
Then, he recited a seven-syllable incantation in an extremely low voice.