Chapter 154: An Acquaintance of the Psionic Realm

Inside the merchant ship *Endowment*, Klein and Vanessa disembarked from the transport shuttle and boarded the high-speed tram towards the bridge.

Though Klein would have preferred to keep Vanessa at a distance, every crew member who encountered her came under her psionic influence, making it almost impossible to refuse her requests.

When they entered the bridge together, everyone working there greeted Klein respectfully. He nodded quietly, then issued his command: "Return to Talon."

The bridge staff immediately sprang into action; one officer announced the impending dimensional jump across the ship's intercom, while others headed to the engine room to monitor the dimensional drive's status.

"Could you show me the engine room?" Vanessa requested.

"No." Klein's refusal was firm, but he still led the way towards the engine room.

The engine room was located just behind the bridge. Upon passing through multiple security checks, they found themselves in front of a massive, hundred-meter-diameter sphere, alive with crackling arcs of electricity, humming furiously as it charged.

Vanessa moved to the observation window, gazing at the factory-like expanse beyond. The ship's colossal fusion reactor took up eighty percent of the cavernous, ten-thousand-square-meter hold.

"What is this?" Vanessa asked.

"I don't know…" Klein initially shook his head, but almost against his will, he explained, "A fusion reactor, self-sustaining, requires no fuel."

"Oh…" Vanessa nodded thoughtfully.

Before she could continue her questions, the intercom blared, "We are one hundred and twenty-one jumps away from Talon. Beginning the first jump now."

Vanessa looked through the porthole as a layer of blue energy enveloped the ship's exterior. The entire vessel jolted, and, in that instant, she experienced a profound dislocation, briefly glimpsing her own form in a ghostly echo. Turning her gaze back to space, she saw an ethereal passage of blue energy lines, as though the universe itself were threaded in intricate patterns.

In the next second, all returned to normal as the merchant ship emerged in a different star system.

They weren't at the Mandeville point but near a blazing star.

"First jump complete. Second jump scheduled in thirty minutes," announced the intercom once again.

The fusion reactor resumed its charge cycle.

Vanessa watched in amazement, her jaw hanging open for several seconds before posing a fresh question, "What is the principle behind this?"

"Damn it." Klein cursed, yet once again he answered truthfully, "I've spent my whole life fighting and trading; how am I supposed to know the workings of a dimensional drive?"

"Oh, so it's called a dimensional drive," Vanessa murmured.

After thirty minutes, they began the second jump.

Returning to the bridge, an Ogryn sentry approached with a grin, offering Vanessa a piece of Goro meat jerky and a cup of tea.

Vanessa accepted it with a smile. "Thank you."

All these unusual behaviors hinted that Vanessa was indeed manipulating the minds of those around her through psionic interference, ensuring none would resist her presence.

"What exactly are you trying to accomplish? How did you escape the fortress? And now, why do you seek an audience with the Governor?" Klein bombarded her with questions.

Vanessa gave only a single reply: "I have always followed the guidance given to me. I helped you eliminate the Gene-Stealer clan chief, I protected Creed… because a voice urged me to. The one who speaks to me shields my soul within the Warp, and I, in turn, am bound to serve."

As she spoke, Vanessa's gaze settled on the central holo-display on the bridge.

A route to Talon was already marked upon it.

"Erase this route. From now on, navigate as I instruct," she commanded, stepping to the display as if she were the captain of the ship. "Upon our return, we will deliver some Astartes to your Governor."

…

Five months of travel finally brought the merchant ship back to Talon.

Though delivering the message to Creed was swift, the return journey was long and grueling.

Following Vanessa's guidance, they sometimes proceeded straightforwardly, at other times making distant jumps, and even encountering battles. Klein initially couldn't fathom the purpose of her navigation but gradually understood as they encountered and gathered lost Astartes from the Weeping Warlords chapter—remnants of Furios' scattered legion.

Upon docking at Talon's hive-world starport, Klein, Vanessa, and over a hundred Weeping Warlords equipped with teleportation devices ventured into the Underhive to the fortress where Qin Mo resided.

The group waited in the main hall for a brief moment before Qin Mo emerged from the corridor, his expression sour.

"Klein?" Qin Mo forced a smile, scanning the Astartes behind him. "It's you. For a moment, I thought some psyker's meddling had darkened my mood."

After saluting, Klein gestured to the Astartes. "These are the warriors I gathered on the way back."

One of the Astartes stepped forward to ask, "Is it true our Chapter Master is here on Talon?"

En route, they had been shown ample proof by Klein—personal letters from Furios, recordings, and photographs of him on Talon. Otherwise, they would not have journeyed here. But even so, they wanted to ask.

"Rather than asking me, go see him with your own eyes." Qin Mo glanced over the Astartes, then ordered Klein, "Take them to Furios at Barracks Number 19 in the Underhive."

"Yes, sir." Klein responded, hesitantly eyeing the Astartes. "However, Governor… I brought back one other person."

As his words fell, Vanessa stepped forward from behind the Astartes and saluted Qin Mo respectfully. "We meet again, Chapter Master… no, Lord of Talon."

Qin Mo's smile vanished instantly.

"I'm sorry… but I couldn't stop myself…" Klein began to explain, but Qin Mo raised a hand to silence him.

Qin Mo knew that Vanessa's psionic abilities could influence the minds of those around her, just as she had once controlled Grott with her psionic power.

"Take them to Furios," Qin Mo commanded Klein, redirecting him to his mission.

Klein saluted again and led the Astartes out of the hall.

Once Klein departed, Qin Mo looked toward Vanessa, and with a mere thought, she was drawn from ten meters away to stand before him.

Fear flickered in Vanessa's eyes as she glanced at Qin Mo.

His face remained the same, a rugged square-jawed visage, but there was now a fathomless depth in his gaze.

"Tell me why you've come," Qin Mo spoke coldly, "Psion."