For five consecutive days, the logistical machines worked tirelessly to produce the teleportation protection devices.
To enhance portability, Qin Mo miniaturized the protection devices, integrating them into the backpacks of standard soldier power armor, including the elite guard's armor as well.
Since interstellar travel was not immediately necessary, Qin Mo paused his research on dimensional technology and the creation of dimensional engines, choosing instead to focus on another significant task—turning Yaon into a warrior.
Outside the fortress, Grey and Grote sparred with Yaon, all three clad in elite guard power armor, while Qin Mo stood silently by, observing and recording Yaon's combat data.
"Too cowardly!" Grey shouted, firing a scatter laser at Yaon. "Just like when you faced the mutated spiders in the tunnel—you haven't learned a thing!"
Yaon scrambled to dodge, but Grey's laser shots always found their mark, absorbed by Yaon's armor.
"Fourteen hundred and twenty hits," Qin Mo noted with a sigh of exasperation.
Yaon had combat potential, much like the other denizens of the Hive, but he was riddled with self-doubt and fear. Facing Grey, he didn't dare counterattack, only dodging helplessly—no match for Grey's precision strikes.
"Stop dodging, damn it!" Grote charged, delivering a vicious kick that sent Yaon sprawling, before straddling him and raining punches down upon his helmeted head.
Each blow slammed Yaon's skull against the ground, leaving him dazed from the repeated impacts.
"Enough," Qin Mo raised his hand, and Grote immediately withdrew, glaring at Yaon with disdain.
Yaon took a moment to gather himself, then shakily removed his helmet, apologizing, "I'm sorry for disappointing you."
"No, men need time to grow and learn," Qin Mo replied, shaking his head slightly. He then turned to Grote.
Without needing a word, Grote understood. Grabbing Yaon by the throat, he hauled him to his feet. "From now on, I'll teach you how to fight properly—you're disgracing that armor."
As Grote dragged Yaon away, Grey let out a sigh of relief. Turning to Qin Mo, he said, "With all due respect, this man is not fit to be a soldier."
"Not yet," Qin Mo replied, "but Grote will teach him."
Grey couldn't understand Qin Mo's fixation on Yaon, but he trusted that Qin Mo had his reasons for everything he did.
"What's your take on the Servants?" Qin Mo asked suddenly.
Grey hesitated, recalling the orders he had been given to monitor the Servants. Without a doubt, they had forsaken the Emperor.
Qin Mo nodded.
But Grey, lowering his voice, added, "Still, I don't think they're wrong to revere you. You brought us out of the abyss—you've worked miracles..."
"I may believe myself a god," Qin Mo murmured, "but I don't need their faith. Their devotion leaves them vulnerable to manipulation. Imagine if something corrupted them, and they turned into rebels…"
Grey didn't understand. Corrupted by what? He knew nothing of the existence of Chaos, like most Imperial citizens.
"Never mind," Qin Mo dismissed the subject, realizing it was too complex to explain. "Warn them—tell them to stop spreading their beliefs. I am the Emperor's messenger, after all."
Grey nodded and left.
As he watched Grey depart, Qin Mo mused over the title, "Emperor's messenger." He couldn't help but laugh inwardly. Were it not for the threat of Chaos or the Inquisition's interference, he might have welcomed the Servants' worship.
...
Five days later.
The entire surface army had been mobilized, gathering to receive their protection devices. Duncan too received his, replacing the standard backpack on his power armor.
Qin Mo had given Duncan direct orders: as the first person to be teleported, he was to leave the Hive and deploy a teleportation beacon outside the sealed tunnel, ensuring the success of the mass transport.
Once the teleportation device was fully charged and Duncan was ready, he was teleported out of the Hive.
Unlike the criminal used in the first experiment, Duncan felt no agony—the protection device's shield had activated the moment the teleportation began.
As the central AI completed its extensive calculations, determining the optimal teleportation point, Duncan was pulled into the dimensional corridor.
It was a surreal experience. Looking down, Duncan could see his physical body, while everything around him dissolved into abstraction, yet he could still perceive his surroundings clearly.
Then, with a sudden jolt, Duncan felt himself pulled back into his body. As he reacquainted himself with physical sensation, he realized his surroundings had changed.
Behind him lay a vast empty expanse, with the massive structure of the checkpoint leading to the Hive looming in the distance, sealed shut.
Before him stood the defensive positions established by the planetary defense forces and the Hive's judicial department, bristling with weapons trained on him.
A general, accompanied by members of the judicial department, approached the front lines, staring at Duncan in stunned disbelief.
This armored man had materialized out of thin air—before, they had only seen a rift of energy at the point where Duncan now stood.
"Are you human or alien?" the general called out.
Duncan removed his helmet, revealing his face. "I am Duncan, commander of the 87th Infantry Regiment of the First Legion."
"The 87th Regiment? That's impossible!" The general glanced at the sealed tunnel. "How could you still be alive?"
Duncan retrieved the teleportation beacon, turning and hurling it forcefully behind him.
The spherical beacon landed and immediately anchored itself to the ground, its shell opening to reveal the transmitter.
Everyone except Duncan was bewildered, uncertain of what was happening.
"I'm alive," Duncan said coldly, locking eyes with the general. "We're all still alive."
Suddenly, multiple energy rifts opened across the barren ground. Drones deploying gravity shields emerged first, followed by Grey and others in elite power armor, infantry, tanks, automated artillery, and logistical machines—all materialized in perfect formation, ready for combat.
Watching this scene unfold, the general's dry lips parted in awe. "The Emperor above…"