Infinite Metaverse

Chapter 6: The Cheslatan Colony

The Milky Way Galaxy, Segmentum Obscurus, Planet Cheslatan.

Warm, mottled yellow light streamed through the windowpanes, casting patterns on the floor. A gentle breeze drifted in through the open door.

Fu Qinghai, shirtless and wearing only a pair of trousers, sat on the edge of the bed, gazing out the door. A bright star hung in the sky, slightly larger than Earth's sun.

He had been in this world for a week now. To be precise, one standard Terran week.

He had a rough understanding of his current situation. He was now in the Warhammer 40K universe.

Warhammer 40K was a popular cultural IP created by the British company Games Workshop. First released in 1987 as a tabletop wargame, it had since grown into a vast and distinctive franchise with a massive following both domestically and internationally.

Over the past week, he had been racking his brain, trying to recall the Warhammer 40K games he had played and the novels he had read in his previous life, hoping to find a way out of his current predicament.

He was currently on a colonized planet called Cheslatan. This planet had been discovered during the Great Crusade as a barren world devoid of civilization or intelligent life. Its Imperial designation was 17-974, meaning it was the 974th planet discovered and conquered by the 17th Expeditionary Fleet. "Cheslatan" was the name given by the colonists.

Although it was a barren world, Cheslatan was located at an ideal distance from its star. It had water, an oxygen-rich atmosphere, and a dry, pleasant climate, making it a rare Terra-like planet. Even without considering the potential mineral resources beneath its surface, its current conditions made it suitable for development into an Agri-World (agricultural world).

Imperial administrative departments could establish farming facilities directly on the planet without the need for costly terraforming.

The only downside was that Cheslatan was located on the edge of the Segmentum Obscurus, far from the densely populated star systems of humanity.

After assessing the planet's natural environment, the 17th Expeditionary Fleet of the Blood Angels Legion had exterminated a species of large, lizard-like creatures that posed a potential threat to human survival. They then notified the nearest Hive World to send colonist ships to 17-974. After leaving a few unfortunate administrative officials behind, the Space Marines eagerly moved on to the next world awaiting conquest.

The Hive World began sending colonist ships to Cheslatan. However, after the first colonist ship arrived following a long journey through the Warp, violent Warp storms suddenly engulfed the sector. Communication with the Hive World was cut off, and no further colonist ships arrived.

A single colonist ship and its six thousand passengers were left stranded on this remote, barren planet.

Two years had passed.

Fortunately, the planet's potential threats had been thoroughly eradicated by the Space Marines, and its climate was suitable for survival. The first wave of human colonists settled here, albeit with anxiety and uncertainty about the prolonged Warp storms.

In a simple, earth-toned concrete hut, Fu Qinghai stood up from the bed and walked to a full-length mirror, examining his reflection.

The figure staring back at him was a handsome young man with black hair and dark eyes. His features bore a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to his previous self, with fair skin, a high nose bridge, and deep-set eyes. He had a mixed-race appearance, with a broad frame and a height of over six feet at just seventeen years old. Even without exercise, his body showed faint muscle definition.

Such a handsome, intelligent, capable, and physically gifted young man with the charisma of a movie star and the physique of an athlete, in the Warhammer 40K universe, had a simple and universal designation:

'A mortal.' A being who could die by the billions in any minor conflict within the Imperium of Man. In the Warhammer 40K universe, the galaxy was dark and cruel.

"A-Luo! A-Luo, come eat!" A familiar, cheerful voice called from outside. A short-haired girl with blue eyes bounded into the room, unfazed by Fu Qinghai's bare chest. She grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the door. "Come on, let's eat."

Fu Qinghai, interrupted from his thoughts, quickly grabbed a shirt from the bed and allowed himself to be dragged outside.

As they stepped out, the metal door automatically closed behind them. Fu Qinghai, now dressed, found himself on a dusty, earth-toned street. People walked about casually, occasionally lifting scarves to shield their faces from the fine sand carried by the wind.

The climate of Cheslatan's main continent was hotter and drier than most regions on ancient Terra, with sparse vegetation. However, such conditions were considered exceptionally habitable by galactic standards.

The girl led Fu Qinghai to a low building where food was being distributed. They collected their rations and found a corner to sit and eat. As they ate, the girl chattered away, recounting the events that had occurred in the colony during Fu Qinghai's coma.

Thanks to the first colonist ship not carrying too many people but instead bringing large-scale development equipment, the colony's population of just three thousand was negligible compared to the planet's resources. Life in the colony was relatively comfortable.

With no new bureaucratic systems in place, the few administrative officials left by the Expeditionary Fleet became the colony's highest authorities. The stranded ship's captain also served as an official, establishing a temporary management order.

No, "comfortable" wasn't the right word. At this moment, Cheslatan was a paradise in the cruel galaxy, a haven!

The Warhammer 40K universe was dark and cruel. The quality of life for most humans was far worse than during ancient Terra. The Imperium of Man was constantly under threat from various alien species and the mysterious forces of the Warp.

The average human living on a Hive World or Forge World either fought to the death on the frontlines against heretics and xenos, often without recognition, or toiled away in the polluted, lightless depths of the Hive, surviving on corpse-starch from the recycling systems.

Compared to these grim options, the isolated colony on Cheslatan, cut off by Warp storms, was a sanctuary in the cruel galaxy.

A temporary one.

Unlike the clueless colonists, Fu Qinghai knew exactly why the sudden Warp storms had lasted so long.

The supreme military commander of the Great Crusade, Warmaster Horus, had rebelled near the end of the Crusade. Half of the Space Marine Legions had joined his rebellion. The Chaos Gods of the Warp had seized the opportunity to unleash Warp storms, cutting off communication and travel between the various regions of the Imperium and the Space Marine Legions.

Fu Qinghai's new identity in this life was named Locke—no surname, just a single word.

A typical name for someone from the lower levels of a Hive City, reflecting his simple, orphaned background. He had won a lottery for a chance to emigrate, a rare act of mercy from the planetary governor. Or perhaps the Hive had simply reached its population limit.

The blue-eyed girl was named Fei. She was also an orphan, but unlike Locke, who had boarded the colonist ship as a Hive orphan, Fei had once had parents. They had been botanists, middle-class residents of the Hive, sent by the Imperial government to study the flora and fauna of the new world. Unfortunately, they had died of illness during the colony's exploration phase.

During the long journey on the colonist ship, Fei's family had taken care of Locke, the orphan. The two had grown close in the colony, not just because they were both orphans but also because Fei was disliked by everyone else.

For no apparent reason, everyone in the colony found the girl annoying and avoided her.

Recalling this, Fu Qinghai found it baffling. How could anyone dislike such a beautiful, kind-hearted girl?

With her ethereal yet wild beauty and her height of nearly 5'7" at just fifteen, Fei could have been a million-follower Instagram influencer in his previous life, no makeup or Photoshop needed. She could have had a promising career in modeling.

But Fu Qinghai didn't dwell on it. He had more pressing concerns.

How could he involve himself in the main storyline of the Imperium of Man—and indeed, the entire galaxy—the Horus Heresy?

Unlike in the previous universe, Fu Qinghai no longer had the luxury of choosing his faction. He had been randomly assigned to the Imperium faction.

Not bad. At least it was a faction that could win without interference from other reincarnators.

But recalling how the reincarnators in the last universe had dared to target Iron Man and nearly succeeded, Fu Qinghai couldn't feel optimistic. How could there be no reincarnators interfering this time?

With a thought, Fu Qinghai opened his status panel in his mind.

{Name: Fu Qinghai (True Name)

Reincarnation ID: 60731920

Race: Space Human (Space Homo Sapiens)

Height: 184 cm

Weight: 75 kg

Abilities: Tony Stark Electronic Soul Backup (17% Completion) – Bound to the Brain

Reincarnation Equipment: None

Assimilation Points: 124

World Anchors: X1

Reincarnation Lives: X2}

His name hadn't changed, and he had one fewer reincarnation life. The "True Name" in parentheses made Fu Qinghai wonder if it had any connection to magical rituals or curses, based on the fantasy novels he had read.

His race had changed from Earth human to Space human. When Fu Qinghai focused on the term "Space human," a description appeared.

'During the long process of space exploration, humans gradually adapted to the microgravity environment and radiation background of space, developing a certain resistance to cosmic rays and an increased tolerance for extreme G-forces.'

A logical transformation. Fu Qinghai knew that traditional Earth humans couldn't survive in space for long. Research from his previous life had shown that prolonged exposure to low gravity caused various chronic health issues, including vision and cognitive decline, genetic mutations, osteoporosis, muscle atrophy, and cerebrospinal fluid buildup.

"Tony Stark Electronic Backup (17% Completion) – Bound to the Brain."

This was the reward Fu Qinghai had earned with his life in the previous universe. It was also the reason he had passed out from pain upon arriving in this universe.

A week ago, when Fu Qinghai had first understood what the new presence in his mind was, he had been ecstatic.

He knew that in the Marvel universe, Iron Man had once created an electronic backup of his brain. After his death, a fully digital Tony Stark had appeared as a blue hologram and participated in subsequent events, even threatening to destroy the universe at his peak.

However, those events had primarily occurred in the Marvel Ultimate Universe (Earth-1610) and other parallel universes. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) had not yet shown Tony Stark creating an electronic clone of himself, so Fu Qinghai hadn't considered the possibility.

Unexpectedly, in the MCU's 2013, Tony Stark had already begun plans to create an electronic backup of his brain, likely as part of his post-New York battle anxiety, alongside the Ultron project.

Currently, the electronic clone project was only 17% complete. But when Fu Qinghai delved into it, he found that the knowledge contained within was already vast.

This made sense. In Fu Qinghai's understanding, it would be relatively easy for Iron Man to back up his knowledge—it was just a matter of creating a database of documents. Even a mediocre programmer could do that. After all, knowledge was static, no matter how extensive.

But that wasn't true artificial intelligence, let alone an electronic soul. The real challenge of the electronic soul clone project was digitizing and replicating Tony Stark's emotions, personality, preferences, and decision-making processes in various situations. That was the core of this advanced technology.

Fu Qinghai speculated that when the electronic soul backup was fully completed, knowledge and logic would account for only 30% of the data, with the remaining 70% dedicated to replicating Tony's personality and emotions.

After all, there were countless intelligent individuals in the Marvel universe. What made Tony Stark unique wasn't just his knowledge.

For now, it seemed Tony Stark hadn't found a solution, so the project had been put on hold.

As for how the data interface of a hard drive had connected to Fu Qinghai's brainstem, that was likely thanks to the mysterious workings of the reincarnation world.

Fu Qinghai extended his mental tendrils into the vast ocean of knowledge in his mind. Fragments of information surfaced and disappeared.

It was a strange experience, like trying to recall a memory but without the usual haziness. Fu Qinghai could clearly sense the new presence in his mind—a cool, expansive ocean with occasional bubbles rising to the surface. But when he tried to focus on a specific bubble, it vanished.

Fu Qinghai gave up.

He felt frustrated. What was the point of this? He had 17% of Tony Stark's electronic backup in his brain, but he didn't feel 17% like Tony Stark.

Taking a bite of his food, Fu Qinghai sighed and looked around aimlessly.

Suddenly, he noticed a servitor on the street nearby.

It was a short, stocky humanoid, with nearly half of its flesh replaced by agricultural machinery. It stood motionless, hunched over, its dull eyes staring blankly ahead. The weight of its mechanical arms seemed to be crushing it.

Servitors weren't considered human. They were flesh-mechanical hybrids created to replace artificial intelligence, with most of their brain functions stripped away. They were cloned from vat-grown organs or criminals and served as the labor force of the Imperium.

Now, as he stared at the servitor, a bubble burst in the unfamiliar ocean of knowledge in his mind.

"Servitor laborer, mechanical prosthetic-type artificial human. Additional modifications: shallow drilling arm on the right hand, high-power lamp on the left shoulder, waist… preliminary analysis shows modifications exceed original factory load capacity, insufficient output power… possible modifications: 1. Remove shoulder… 2. Adjust… 3. …"

As Fu Qinghai focused on the servitor, a flood of fragmented information filled his mind. Although he had no prior knowledge of servitor construction, he began to see flaws in its design. He felt an urge to dismantle and improve it.

Shaking his head, Fu Qinghai dismissed the impractical idea.

The colony's officials seemed benevolent, but that was only because they needed to ensure the survival rate of the colonists. With communication and travel cut off, every life was valuable.

However, the servitors and large-scale development equipment in the colony were Imperial property, not something Fu Qinghai could tinker with at will. He was a lower-class Hive dweller with no formal education, not a Tech-Priest of the Mechanicus.

So that's how it works… Fu Qinghai mused, gaining a better understanding of the "Tony Stark Electronic Backup (17% Completion)."

Of course, an ability tied to Iron Man shouldn't be useless. It just needed to be developed.

Who would have thought that grabbing a random alloy hard drive would lead to Tony Stark's electronic backup?

No wonder it had cost a staggering 7,012 assimilation points. Indeed, to get rich, you had to take risks. Win big, and you'd live the high life; lose, and you'd just reincarnate again… Fu Qinghai thought smugly.

"Hey, hey, A-Luo!" A slender hand waved in front of Fu Qinghai's face. "Why are you grinning at the servitor? Are you still not feeling well?"

"Uh…" Fu Qinghai wiped the smile off his face and snapped back to reality. "What were you saying?"

"I was saying something scary happened in the colony yesterday!" Fei said in a tone of someone sharing a shocking secret.

"What happened? How scary?" Fu Qinghai asked casually.

"Do you remember what made you pass out?"

"Didn't you tell me I got hit in the head by a falling rock?" Fu Qinghai gave Fei a strange look, wondering why she was bringing up such an unlucky incident again.

"Yes, but later Calvin and Caesar figured it out. A ship crashed about two hundred kilometers from the colony. That day, a lot of metal and debris fell from the sky, even piercing some roofs in the colony."

Calvin and Caesar were the colony's administrative officials.

"Including the one that hit your head," Fei added.

Why are you bringing this up again. "And then? Didn't Calvin take people to check it out? They came back and sealed off the information, not letting anyone near the crash site."

Fu Qinghai already knew what had happened next.

Fei lowered her voice. "I heard that the other night, Hidrick and his gang sneaked out to the crash site."

"Oh?" Fu Qinghai's attention sharpened.

"After Calvin and the others came back from their first visit to the crash site, there were rumors that the ship was a military vessel from the Expeditionary Fleet. But for some reason, Calvin ordered the colonists not to go near it. Hidrick and his gang had been talking about going to the ship to look for treasure, weapons, and stuff like that. They said if they found a bolter, they'd be set for life."

Hidrick's group was a bunch of sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds in the colony—hoodlums, some of them orphans. If they were on Earth, they might have been considered unruly teenagers. But these kids had grown up in the lower levels of a Hive City, where the filthy streets were filled with drugs, guns, bloody murders, and violent gangs. They were like the child warlords of Africa, armed with AKs and ready to rebel—they just lacked the environment to do so.

Hidrick's gang had often bullied Locke, Fu Qinghai's current identity, perhaps out of jealousy for his good looks or for no reason at all. Bullies didn't need a reason. Fei, true to her parents' legacy, had always bravely stood up for Locke. It wasn't that Fei was a skilled fighter; Hidrick and his gang simply found her annoying and avoided her.

"But this morning, only one person came back—Lazlo. He was covered in blood, pale, and incoherent, muttering something about demons, white demons. He was badly injured and died not long after returning!"

Fei's tone was a mix of fear and schadenfreude. After all, Hidrick's gang had often caused trouble for Locke and stirred up trouble in the colony.

Hearing this, Fu Qinghai narrowed his eyes.

Even without considering the main storyline, the Cheslatan colony was only a temporary sanctuary. No matter who won the Horus Heresy, this place would eventually fall under the control of some faction.

An even worse outcome would be if the colony was discovered by alien races from the fringes of the galaxy before the Imperium could reclaim it. For this small, weak colony, that would be a catastrophe.

So, no matter the reason, Fu Qinghai couldn't afford to just sit back and survive. He had to find a way to leave this place eventually. And the ship that had crashed half a month ago was an opportunity.

"Demons? White demons?" Fu Qinghai muttered to himself. The information was too vague. He furrowed his brow, deep in thought. Could it be Warp entities?

Even if it were, summoning Warp entities into the material world required complex and massive rituals. If there really was some Warp creature on that ship, Lazlo wouldn't have had a chance to escape. Those things, which existed outside the rules of reality, were difficult even for powerful Space Marines to harm.

Moreover, Calvin, the colony's administrator, had already taken people to investigate the crash site.

'Right, I should just go ask Calvin directly and see if I can fish for some information.'

"Let's go!" Fu Qinghai grabbed Fei's hand and stood up, heading toward the administrator's residenc

***

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