Chapter 48: The Recruitment Office

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"Were these rumors spread specifically by your people?"

"No, we only reveal some vague information. Although it is also guided, the public prefers to believe the part they have confirmed in their minds."

Is it a coincidence?

Ordinary people, let alone the concept of sacred numbers, can't even distinguish the specific Chaos Gods. There is indeed a possibility of coincidence, but at this sensitive juncture, it is also somewhat suspicious.

Zhang Ge pondered the content for a moment and decided to keep this piece of information in mind for now. Unlike Slaanesh, which starts its corruption from the top, a certain green behemoth with a cauldron of thick soup usually begins its infiltration from the grassroots level, as disease is one of the most abundant things in the lower and underhives.

Subsequently, he gathered some basic information from the other party, but as expected, there wasn't a single truthful word from such a person.

Statements like countless people kneeling in parades and recruitment centers overflowing with eager enlistees were all spewed out, deemed as pure low credibility.

The sluggishness of the Imperial administrative system is likely due in large part to the presence of such individuals.

Glancing back to assess the situation, Zhang Ge signaled the captain of the guard, Yolanda, and two soldiers by his side to accompany him, and followed the person in front into the building.

As indicated by the wiring on its back, the corridor was also filled with various hastily assembled lines. It seemed that the shrine outside had consumed a considerable amount of effort from the Mechanicus, leaving no time for proper cable management.

In the spacious hallway where clerks hurriedly passed by from time to time, Zhang Ge inquired as he walked towards the front desk:

"What will I need to do when the time comes?"

"You only need to make a few remarks on the side and wait until the recruitment process is over. Our staff will present you with a list of candidates who have passed the standard screening process. After obtaining the list, you can conduct any additional screening you desire and ultimately select a portion to join your regiment."

Got it, just a mascot then.

However, for Zhang Ge, the worse the quality of the regiment, the better. He didn't mind if people tried to sneak in some candidates through underhanded means.

As he approached the side door near the front desk, two PDF soldiers saluted Zhang Ge and simultaneously pressed two buttons beside them, causing the side door to open with a loud rumble.

Just before stepping out, Zhang Ge stopped the others who were about to follow him:

"You wouldn't want my first impression in front of the public to be that of a coward, someone who needs to be escorted everywhere, would you?"

In such a public setting, the lack of protection is akin to driving a convertible, but in practical terms, if it's for the sake of enhancing the propaganda effect, the risk is indeed worth taking—especially under the assumption that not many people would show up.

However, upon exiting the side door, the scene before him was beyond ordinary.

First was the view of the front area. It wasn't the massive cathedral he had imagined, despite how it appeared from the back. Upon reaching the front, Zhang Ge realized it more closely resembled a half-sectioned coliseum, with the entire U-shaped interior completely open to the sky.

Zhang Ge stood at the highest level of this space, accompanied only by a dozen or so elaborately dressed honor guards. At the center was a protruding platform, clearly intended for him to stand on.

As he approached the platform, a vast rectangular square came into view.

A sea of people.

This was not an exaggeration but an almost objective description of the reality.

Within the opening of the U-shape were recruitment lines, while outside, crowds queued behind temporary barricades. The densely packed masses filled the entire square and spilled into the streets beyond. Even by the most conservative estimate, the number of people Zhang Ge could see numbered in the millions.

The crowd was so dense that even the PDF and law enforcers were completely unable to maintain order. They had no choice but to move to the rooftops of the buildings on either side to set up firing positions, prepared for any sudden incidents, while completely abandoning any attempt to control the sea of people below.

Those at the front quickly caught sight of Zhang Ge as he stepped out the door. Instantly, the crowd surged forward, eager to get a better look at the colonel who had been so heavily promoted, to see if he truly lived up to the legends of having a golden aura and three heads with six arms.

But reality clearly disappointed them. What stood before them was just an ordinary man, not even dressed in a proper military uniform, no different from the countless Astra Militarum soldiers who had retreated here.

Despite this, those at the back still couldn't see clearly and continued to push forward. The crowd slammed against the pre-set ceramite barriers, and the noise of the people grew louder, bringing the situation to the brink of chaos.

Zhang Ge surveyed the scene and spoke his first words:

"Do not push forward. For those who wish to see me with your own eyes, I will stand here with you until the end. And for those who wish to get close to assassinate me, there is no need to cause harm to innocent people through the chaos of the crowd. I will stand here as well—you may open fire."

His image was projected across the square, and his voice was broadcast through the speaker arrays. The surging crowd gradually calmed as his words spread out like waves.

At the very moment the words fell, an anomaly suddenly occurred.

Among the crowd, several individuals who could no longer blend in and move forward reached for their waists. In such a densely packed square, the guards naturally failed to notice such unusual movements, and the surrounding people had already turned their attention to the podium.

As their laser pistols were abruptly raised and the triggers pulled, beams of light flew from several directions simultaneously to ensure nothing went wrong.

The assassination happened so swiftly, almost right at the tail end of Zhang Ge's speech, that no one had time to intervene.

Although the distance was still somewhat far, the rigorously trained assassins did not miss a single shot with their laser weapons.

As the crimson lasers gradually enlarged in his vision, it seemed as though everything was about to end when a barely perceptible pale blue directional ion shield lit up.

Zhang Ge finally realized what those lines he had seen earlier were connected to. The nobles and priests certainly wouldn't leave him unprotected in an open-air venue; they had even installed an ion shield and its corresponding computer for this purpose.

Just a few centimeters in front of him, the palm-sized shield intercepted the lasers, each time without fail. The sounds of detonation rang out one after another, yet they failed to harm Zhang Ge in the slightest, completely dashing his hopes.

The next moment, the guards didn't even have time to aim at the assassins before they were overwhelmed by the surrounding crowd.

From the perspective of the crowd below, at such a distance, the brief and inconspicuous shields were completely invisible. The beams of light seemed to be intercepted out of thin air in front of him. After the flash of the explosion subsided, he still stood there, unmoved, his tone not even the slightest bit shaken:

"It seems they failed to hit me."

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