"Lord Kania, what's wrong? Ever since you came back, I've felt that something is off with you!
What exactly happened? Although this gene contains some unknown substances, most of it doesn't match with any gene primarch."
"The matter I asked you to examine today must not be disclosed to anyone. Pretend I never asked you to examine it.
You've been serving our family for hundreds of years, and I trust your loyalty. I suspect a gene primarch might have been secretly captured by these Dark Eldar. The strongest evidence lies in this—this gene serum, which is well-suited for humans," Kania said.
"This! Lord Kania, aren't you being too presumptuous?
Where did you even find this stuff? I think the genetic material extracted from any random Space Marine might be purer than this," said the tech-priest responsible for genetic testing.
Indeed, there is a particular substance in this, a mysterious hereditary material that is similar to that of a primarch. But to claim that this comes from a primarch's genes seems unfounded.
Although he had never studied the genes of an actual primarch, the ship had long been home to some Space Marines on duty. He had contact with some of them and, because of this, he could confirm that there was something here that bore a resemblance to a primarch's genetic material.
But just because one hereditary material bore similarities didn't mean these things came from a primarch—it defied biological logic.
"That's precisely their brilliance. Only someone like me, who knows a few secrets about the gene primarchs, can piece together the fragments of truth from these clues.
Ordinary people would never think of this. They'd simply assume it's an excellent gene enhancement serum for humans," Kania continued.
The family's rogue trader writ was personally issued by the Emperor, and Kania's ancestors had even conversed and mingled with the primarchs.
Among all rogue trader dynasties, his family belonged to the highest tier, an ancient thousand-year-old rogue trader dynasty.
As such, they had the privilege to know some of the secret information of other Chapters. For example, regarding the Dark Angels and the matter of Lion El'Jonson in the Chapter's fortress-monastery, outsiders had many speculations, but his family could confirm that Lion El'Jonson was indeed there.
If it weren't for him, another rogue trader wouldn't have noticed much amiss, nor would they have thought to investigate the matter's intricacies.
Only someone like him, who had lived for centuries, was well-versed in the secrets of the Imperium and had a meticulous mind, could uncover the connections hidden within.
If it were easy to discover definitive proof that this special serum was truly extracted from a primarch, then all he would need to do is report it to the Space Wolves, White Scars, Raven Guard, Imperial Fists, or Black Templars, and these Chapters would come charging in like madmen.
But there was no concrete evidence yet. Moreover, the Imperium still had to rely on the Dark Eldar to help repair the Golden Throne. If these lunatics caused trouble, it would disrupt many upcoming plans.
Though the matter of the primarchs was of great importance, repairing the Golden Throne was even more critical. For now, he didn't plan to spread the word until more definitive proof was obtained; the fewer people who knew, the better.
"Lord Kania, should this be reported to Inquisitor Damz?" the family's tech-priest asked with a sigh.
Their lord seemed to have already confirmed certain things. Given the circumstances, there wasn't much he could say to dissuade him.
"No! Only you and I know about this. We will not tell anyone else. This must be kept secret.
For these gene-enhanced warrior serums, select the seven most loyal warriors from the family to use them. Promote one of the newly enhanced warriors and elevate his status.
Also, conduct some psychological conditioning on him to ensure his loyalty to the family, and keep him under strict surveillance," Kania instructed.
"I understand, my lord! Leave this matter to me; I won't speak of it carelessly," the tech-priest nodded.
Still, he couldn't help but think to himself: Relying on just a bit of intelligence, suspicion, and intuition—Lord Kania, aren't you being overly arrogant? If your guess is wrong, it could cause major trouble.
...
Meanwhile, after securing all the power armor, Rhodes intended to bid farewell to Lelith and return to his ship.
"Lord Loki! May I speak with you privately for a moment?" Lelith asked.
"Of course, Lelith. You three take these goods back first," Rhodes nodded. He allowed the three scientists to use the silver captain's bracelet to teleport back to the mothership, while he stayed behind.
The two of them entered a secluded guest room. After Lelith closed the door, she looked at Rhodes and began speaking.
"Lord Loki! Did you notice that the expression of that rogue trader seemed off? He might have discovered your secret!"
"Discovered my hidden secret? What do you mean by that? I don't think I have any secrets." Rhodes asked, puzzled.
"Come on, Lord Loki, you don't think everyone else is a fool, do you? This time, the monster enhancement serum you brought out for humans is completely different from the ones you've used before!
It doesn't allow transformation into a monster form, and those monster forms all come from original versions, which are far more powerful than this human enhancement.
But this time, the enhancement you gave for human use has no monster-origin version.
It's like a neutered version, but actually, it's not—I can tell.
You must have used the genes of a human Primarch to create this human enhancement serum, didn't you?" Lelith said.
After all, while the genes of a Primarch are powerful, their physical constitution is not as terrifying as that of monsters.
Hearing this, Rhodes was completely dumbfounded on the spot!
What kind of wild imagination is this?
When did this stuff become something extracted from a Primarch's genes?
This thing was extracted from an interdimensional Ace Killer—or rather, the Chaos Daemon Killer that exists now.
The Chaos Daemon Killer contains the Emperor's psychic light, having absorbed some of the Emperor's essence. Plus, it's humanoid, which makes it suitable for human use.
It has absolutely nothing to do with Primarch genes.
"This isn't extracted from a Primarch's genes; it's from another type of monster," Rhodes sighed and said.
"Haha! Lord Loki, I get it, I get it!
I believe this thing isn't extracted from a Primarch's genes, especially since you've said before that if we Eldar were to use this stuff, it would be a certain death for us.
You said its origin monster source was a giant creature similar to a human, and I'm willing to believe that.
I trust you unconditionally, anyway. This has nothing to do with me, and we Eldar won't use this stuff.
But do you think the Imperial rogue trader will believe you?
I'd bet that if I can suspect this, then he can too.
And when he left just now, he was clearly in a hurry.
When he saw the entire enhancement process for the monster warriors, his expression became very unnatural." Lelith said with a smirk.
Every word she spoke was like a bomb dropping on Rhodes' mind.
Damn it! He hadn't thought about this. That rogue trader, Kania, indeed had a strange expression earlier—surprised at one moment, scared the next, and terrified the moment after that.
It was clear he had gone through a series of psychological stress. Rhodes had initially thought the guy was just scared after seeing the failed results of monster enhancement.
But thinking about it carefully, for a rogue trader who has lived for over 700 years, what storm hasn't he weathered before?
In this situation, a normal rogue trader should have approached him to chat and strengthen their relationship, rather than displaying such a surprised expression.
"So, you're saying he suspects me of using a Primarch's genes to make this monster gene serum?" Rhodes asked.
This time, it was Lelith's turn to lose her composure. From Lord Loki's tone, could it be that she had guessed wrong?
This thing didn't come from a Primarch?
If that's the case, this misunderstanding is huge.
"You mean, if he spreads this news, then some of the Space Marine chapters might come after me, right?" Rhodes asked.
If that bastard spreads this misunderstanding, then it could indeed be troublesome. Those chapters whose Primarchs have already disappeared would not let this lead slip by.
They would come looking for him, even if the intelligence turned out to be false.
While Rhodes wasn't afraid of them, he had a good relationship with the Emperor, and causing such a big misunderstanding wouldn't be ideal.
"So, Lord Loki, if it's not from a Primarch, you'd better clarify this matter, or those monkeys are going to cause trouble," Lelith said.
"I understand. Thank you for the reminder. After I leave the city of Commorragh, I'll leave two monsters here for you to control." Rhodes said.
After he left, Lelith would be the perfect monster handler to help him earn some system gold coins here.
"That's truly a great honor, Lord Loki!" Lelith replied.
Rhodes nodded, then teleported back to his spaceship. This matter was a headache.
Who would've thought that creating a custom human gene enhancement serum for these guys would lead to such wild speculation?
But thinking from Kania's perspective, Rhodes realized he would also be suspicious. After all, how could there be so many coincidences—a giant beast with a human-like appearance?
At this moment, back on the spaceship, the power armor had already been redistributed to the numerous Space Marines.
Sensing the spirit of the machine within the power armor, these big guys finally felt at ease.
Meanwhile, Rhodes headed to the basement, where his three scientists were enthusiastically discussing the concept of machine spirits.
This sacred oil, candles, incense, chanting, and praise rituals could grant a soul to a machine. It was mind-blowing!