A cold, mechanical system notification immediately sounded in the ears of all four.
[Mission confirmed. Emergency teleportation initiating. Prepare for immediate combat!]
The moment the voice faded, there was not a trace of hesitation on Qin Feng’s face.
With a single thought, a suit of heavy power armor shot out from his Subspace Storage Unit as if it were alive. It was pitch-black, adorned with ferocious yet ornate dark-gold patterns, and brimming with a Gothic aesthetic of brutal violence. Amid a series of crisp, grating scrapes of metal and the clicks of locking mechanisms, it swiftly enveloped his entire body.
[Destroyer I]!
This Standard Power Armor, meticulously crafted by the Imperial Military Industry Department specifically for Sixth-Level Elite Martial Artists, had been lying dormant in his inventory ever since Qin Feng acquired it. It had never seen a true debut.
But now, facing this impending, unknown bloodbath, he was finally about to awaken the slumbering steel behemoth.
The design of the entire power armor was filled with a dark, solemn, Iron Blood aura.
Engraved upon its pauldrons was the double-headed eagle insignia, representing the glory of the Empire.
Its incredibly thick chest plate resembled an indestructible mobile fortress. And its powerful, multi-layered iron-clad feet left no doubt that a single stomp could utterly crush the frontal armor of a main battle tank.
When the equally ferocious tactical helmet, resembling that of a medieval knight, slowly lowered and completely concealed Qin Feng’s calm, almost cold, face...
...an iron giant over two and a half meters tall, exuding an endless, oppressive aura like a dark knight from myth and legend, completely replaced Qin Feng’s original figure.
At the same time, Dragon Jade, Nissan, and Ning Jing acted without a moment’s delay.
Suits of Level 6 Power Armor, each with a unique design but all radiating a powerful presence, encased their bodies.
The instant the four of them finished arming up...
...a blindingly brilliant white light erupted from beneath their feet, completely engulfing them.
...
The light flickered for only an instant.
When Qin Feng’s vision cleared, he found himself in a long, narrow spaceship corridor with a cold, metallic texture.
Beneath his feet was a solid alloy floor.
Above, the ceiling was lined with glaring red alarm lights.
The air was thick with the nauseating, overwhelming stench of blood and the acrid smell of something burning.
"BZZT... BZZT..."
Severed power conduits flickered with dangerous sparks in the corner of the corridor.
A shrill alarm wailed, mingling with the faint, distant sounds of gunfire and screams.
The four immediately scanned their surroundings.
In the less-than-spacious corridor, dozens of cold bodies were strewn about haphazardly.
Without exception, all the corpses were clad in the standard white security uniforms of the passenger ship, the Star of the Milky Way.
Judging by the Spiritual Energy fluctuations that hadn’t completely dissipated from their bodies, they had all been at least Fourth-Level Martial Artists of the Acupoint Opening Realm while alive. Several had even been powerful experts who had reached the Sixth-Level Soaring Realm.
Yet now, all of them had died here in a cruel and humiliating manner.
Without exception, their heads had all been cleanly severed from their necks by some sharp weapon.
Their faces were frozen in expressions of terror, rage, and indignation from their final moments.
Their severed heads had been piled up to one side like trophies, forming a small, scalp-numbing pyramid of heads.
’A ritual execution...’
Gazing at the bloody, bizarrely ritualistic scene, a tangible, ice-cold killing intent flared in Qin Feng’s eyes beneath his tactical helmet.
’...This is the work of the Believers of Khorne!’
This cruel and unique method of killing—decapitating enemies and treating their heads as the highest honor—had long been the most prominent hallmark of those frenzied Chaos Believers who worshiped the "God of Blood and Skulls."
The faces of Dragon Jade, Nissan, and Ning Jing were also filled with gravity and disgust.
They exchanged glances and, without a single wasted word, immediately formed a standard four-person combat squad formation and began a sweeping search of the massive passenger ship.
"BEEP—"
A pale blue light screen rapidly unfurled from Dragon Jade’s tactical helmet. On it, the internal schematics of the Star of the Milky Way were clearly displayed.
"I’ve downloaded the ship’s internal schematics."
Dragon Jade’s calm voice sounded in the others’ ears through the squad’s encrypted communication channel.
"This passenger ship is divided into seven sections. We’re currently in the cargo bay on the first and lowest level.
According to life sign detectors, the bottom three levels show no signs of life. Those bastards must have cleared them out completely."
"The latest combat fluctuations are coming from the passenger lounge on the fourth level, directly above us."