As Wick selectively closed his eyes, ignoring the increasingly heretical sights around him, the island camp's military buildup became even more terrifying.
Even with artificial expansion, every inch of this island was now utilized to its fullest. Sturdy alloy fortresses and bunkers interlocked, forming an impenetrable, three-dimensional network of firepower. The ground was covered with automated turrets and minefields, and above it all was a hideous forest of steel pointing towards the sky.
Even if Wick didn't deliberately pay attention, he could see that these people had an almost obsessive focus on anti-air defense. The dense array of anti-air turrets had such terrifying firepower density that Wick had no doubt they could overload and vaporize a frigate's void shield in an instant.
By the time construction reached this stage, Wick had exhausted all his lifelong exploration experience, unable to utter another new word. A sense of panic began to seize his logical core—would these people kill him once he became useless? After all, he had seen so many things he shouldn't have...
In fact, the reason Wick so readily shared everything he knew, apart from genuinely desiring the recognition of his peers, was largely to continuously create his own value. Once he was no longer valuable to them, heaven knew what these inexplicably acting strange people would do.
So, after another day's work, Wick hesitated for a moment and said to the three, "My experience ends here; I can't say anything new."
Hearing this, Dimitry was the first to stand up, extending his hand to shake Wick's: "Thank you for your help, Wick!"
Wick shook his hand with some hesitation: "May I ask... is there anything else I can do for you?"
"Don't talk like that, Wick," Dimitry said with a smile, "it makes it sound like we're superiors and subordinates."
"Yes," Boni interjected from the side, "you are our eternal friend!"
"Friend?"
Hearing this word, Wick was momentarily stunned. His data core had never recorded any practical application cases for this term.
He had never imagined that a reclusive Tech-Priest like himself, who only kept company with rocks and data, would have any friends, nor had he ever considered what having friends truly meant.
Just then, a shriek so piercing it seemed to tear the soul ripped through the camp's tranquility, interrupting everyone in the room. Leonid reacted fastest, rushing out first, with the others naturally following close behind, running straight into Joker, Lang, and Grigory, who were hurrying over.
"They're here! They're here!" Grigory shouted at the top of his lungs, "Professor Leonid, they're here!"
"I know!" Leonid pushed him aside, "Get out of the way!"
The group rushed to the center of the island. The wild psykers, who had maintained dazed and intoxicated expressions for the past ten days, were now all rolling on the ground in agony, wailing. Their faces were contorted as if their souls were being torn apart inch by inch by an invisible giant hand.
"Why screaming, and not heads exploding?" Watching this scene, Boni instead frowned and muttered, "Theoretically, no matter how much the consciousness suffers, they shouldn't be able to affect the body until the pain reaches a critical point, and then boom... It seems my understanding of the soul and the warp is still not deep enough."
The others automatically ignored Boni's academic soliloquy. Dimitry turned to Joker: "Are all radars unresponsive?"
"Yes, neither the bird-servitor instruments nor our own radar arrays are showing any reaction," Joker reported. "Should we let the comrades from the air corps ascend to check the situation?"
"No need," Dimitry said calmly, "they didn't react this strongly when we captured them using the ashes of untouchables. There are no other possibilities."
"Then it's real..." Lang's expression became incredibly serious. "We are about to see them..."
"Wait," the belated Wick finally realized something was amiss, looking at everyone's tense and solemn expressions. "You... you don't have the confidence to defeat the xenos coming?"
Hearing this, everyone looked at Wick with a strange gaze. Dimitry spoke first: "You overestimate us, Wick."
Grigory added from the side: "At least as much as an Emperor-class Titan."
"Then why did you come here voluntarily?!" Wick's optical sensors began to flash red with urgency. "If you don't have confidence, isn't this just seeking death?!"
"Of course, it's to gather intelligence," Joker said candidly, as if stating the most normal thing. "Through this battle, we can truly understand the characteristics of the enemy's various troop types and find the best way to counter them."
"Are you three the same?" Wick looked in disbelief at the three distinguished "Tech-Priests."
"Without us, how could these young lads, who know nothing but fighting, find effective ways to counter them most quickly?" Dimitry shrugged indifferently.
"Besides, it's not too late to send you away now," Boni said. "Get ready, Wick, it seems it's time for us to say goodbye."
But unexpectedly, Wick did not show the joy of having escaped a disaster. He stood there, hesitating for a long time, and finally let out a long sigh, as if that sigh carried the sound of depressurizing steam. He made up his mind: "Forget it, I'm not leaving."
"Are you sure?" Boni asked in surprise.
"Yes, I'm sure." Wick's voice was unusually firm. "Since you're not leaving, then neither am I. Moreover, even without you, I would probably face the xenos' attack unknowingly... The outcome is the same, so I might as well die with you."
The few exchanged glances. Boni said to Dimitry in a private communication channel: "Then what do we do? Really put him in the combat unit with us?"
"What are you kidding? When the time comes, we'll use force; he'll have to go whether he wants to or not." Dimitry's stubbornness flared up. "These people only have one life, and if we can save it, we should."
"Upper Hive nobles included," Leonid abruptly interjected into the channel.
"You Russian are talking nonsense again. Are Upper Hive nobles even human?" Boni scoffed. "I've never heard of humans eating their own kind raw and considering it the ultimate pleasure."
Dimitry ignored the two bickering and turned to Wick: "In that case, let's fight side by side."
"Good," Wick nodded heavily. "We will die side by side!"