The emperor's lash battleship, bridge.
The bridge of the emperor's lash battleship was unusually busy.
With the cargo loaded, the expeditionary fleet was finally ready to set sail for the first Star Sector node. The bridge's communication channels were filled with various commands and responses, and technicians and crew members were nervously busy at their respective posts. Various stages of preparation for the voyage were being completed in sequence:
"Main engine power check complete, status good," came the voice of the Engine Seer.
"Terra Air Traffic Control says the Imperial Palace has approved the request for Warp travel within the domain," the Sound Array Master's voice echoed through the bridge and broadcast.
"Weapon systems are in combat readiness, all turrets loaded," First Mate Barbosa reported. Li Feng had heard that First Mate Barbosa used to be a pirate, operating on both sides, raiding both Imperial and Chaos ships. In fact, Li Feng's captaincy was nominal; First Mate Barbosa was the true captain.
"Provisions are ample, supply bays sealed," the Quartermaster typed a series of commands into the control console.
Everything was proceeding at a feverish pace, ensuring the battleship had no issues before entering the Warp. Li Feng stood in the center of the bridge, his gaze sweeping across the bustling scene. As a transmigrator, he was still awestruck by these colossal starships. Despite having been in this world for some time, he still couldn't fully adapt to this technology that defied common sense.
Moreover, Li Feng still hadn't explored the entirety of this 18-kilometer-long giant battleship. He even had to take shuttle buses along the central main thoroughfares within the ship's hull.
As the battleship's systems checks were gradually completed, the tremor of the thrusters starting up emanated from deep within the hull, and the massive engines began to gradually accelerate.
The emperor's lash, like a colossal beast just awakening, slowly began to move. Just then, a thought flashed through Li Feng's mind: he wanted to see how the Navigator performed Warp navigation.
The Warp was the most dangerous and mysterious place in this universe, filled with unpredictable energy storms and twisted spatial structures.
Navigators were individuals with special talents, capable of guiding ships through the Warp and avoiding its deadly traps. Although Li Feng had some understanding of the Warp, he had never witnessed the navigation process firsthand.
He immediately gestured to First Mate Barbosa on the bridge and asked, "Is the Navigator ready? I'd like to go to the Navigation Chamber to observe."
The First Mate looked at Li Feng with some surprise but quickly nodded. "Yes, Lord Li Feng. The Navigator is already on standby in the Navigation Chamber."
Li Feng walked through the battleship's corridors towards the Navigation Chamber. First Mate Barbosa, meanwhile, breathed a sigh of relief. As a man of the sea, he felt that even if Li Feng was a friend of the Emperor, this landlubber shouldn't cause trouble.
For this reason, Barbosa had specially chosen a very good cushion for Li Feng's captain's chair, precisely so that Li Feng would sit obediently and not give arbitrary commands.
The Navigation Chamber was not far from the bridge, and crew members hurried past along the way, each focused on their respective tasks. The closer they got to the Navigation Chamber, the quieter and more mysterious the atmosphere in the ship's hull became.
The Navigation Chamber was an area isolated from other parts of the ship to ensure the Navigator was undisturbed by external interference.
Pushing open the heavy metal door, Li Feng entered the Navigation Chamber. In the center of the room stood a large transparent capsule, and inside, a gaunt figure sat—the ship's Navigator.
The Navigator was ancient, with pale skin and tightly closed eyes. A special pattern on his forehead emitted a faint glow, and he wore an instrument on his head connected to various tubes. Several thick pipes connected to the capsule around him seemed to be supplying him with some unknown liquid, keeping him in a peculiar state.
Li Feng slowly approached, his gaze fixed on the Navigator. The Navigator's brow was furrowed, as if he was struggling to sense the pulsations of the Warp. The surrounding instruments continuously flickered, displaying various complex data.
The Navigation Chamber's guide officer stood nearby, explaining softly, "The Navigator is performing preliminary Warp sensing, which requires intense concentration to determine the safest route. Warp storms and anomalies are everywhere; one wrong move and we could be lost within it."
Li Feng inwardly grumbled, "Good heavens, this is 40K's Gaode Map searching for your route."
Li Feng nodded, both curious and cautious. He knew that the Navigator's talent was not something ordinary people could master; it could even be considered a curse, as the Warp was not only a distortion of the physical world but also filled with mental and spiritual pressure.
"Countdown to Warp transit, all personnel to stations!" the Commander's voice boomed over the intercom.
The emperor's lash's Warp navigation was about to begin. Li Feng held his breath, awaiting the start of this mysterious journey.
As the emperor's lash battleship was about to enter the Warp, a solemn countdown echoed through the bridge's intercom: "Ten, nine, eight..."
A series of tense numbers tightened the crew's nerves. Warp travel was never an easy feat; although everyone had experienced countless transits, facing the unknown abyss of chaos, their hearts were still filled with awe.
In the Navigation Chamber, the Navigator's voice was low and powerful: "Gellar Field activated, full ship quarantine initiated."
As the command was issued, the battleship's portholes were automatically sealed by heavy iron plates, completely cutting off the entire ship's visual contact with the outside world.
The Gellar Field's energy field began to fill around the hull, like an invisible shield, blocking the Warp's psychic corruption and those unspeakable entities.
Li Feng stood in the Navigation Chamber, watching the Navigator through the thick screen, feeling a faint vibration emanating from the hull—a sign of the Gellar Field gradually strengthening.
A constantly expanding, twisted rift gradually appeared in front of the battleship. It was a massive opening to the Warp, as if an invisible hand had torn apart the curtain of reality, revealing the dark abyss behind it.
The opening was filled with constantly shifting colors and disordered light and shadow, intertwining to form a nightmarish spectacle.
"Warp rift opened, entry procedure initiated," the Navigator's voice was hoarse, as if from a distant shore. As the battleship approached the rift, the rift's vortex seemed to sense the approach of this giant beast, beginning to fluctuate violently, like a hungry maw.
Although the battleship had countless protective measures, the demons and monsters in the Warp could still affect the crew's minds through various means, even directly twisting the ship's structure. The portholes were sealed to prevent anyone from accidentally seeing the Warp's anomalies and falling into madness.
The moment the battleship passed through the rift, all the crew immediately felt a jolt and unease, but this feeling lasted only for a moment before disappearing.
Strangely, the interior of the entire ship did not seem to experience the expected discomfort. Instruments in the Navigation Chamber showed that a peculiar energy field had appeared around the hull, enveloping the entire battleship and placing it in an unusual state.
The Navigator paused, a hint of surprise in his voice: "This is... a superposition state? We seem to be in a double spatial bubble of Warp and reality."
The aged Navigator frowned, glancing down at his hands, vaguely sensing that the surrounding environment was somewhat unusual.
He looked at Li Feng in front of him. Li Feng emitted a subtle, stable force field, as if reality itself was reinforced around him.
On the monitoring screens in the Navigation Chamber, the battleship's silhouette could be seen enveloped in a translucent energy bubble. The surface of the energy bubble constantly flickered with the distorted fluctuations of the Warp and the stable lines of reality.
The light on the Navigator's forehead flickered faintly, his face growing paler from mental exhaustion. He wanted to see what secret Li Feng harbored that could stabilize Warp travel.
The emperor's lash battleship's voyage proceeded in a superimposed state of dual space, seemingly smoother than usual, with significantly reduced noise. The Warp scenery outside the hull, blocked by the energy bubble, had most of its strangeness and danger erased.
If he could glimpse the secret, he might, in his twilight years, make his final contribution to the cause of all humanity.
He immediately activated his psychic powers. Through this quantum superposition of Warp and reality, he saw Li Feng's... But just then, Li Feng and the nearby guide officer noticed that blood was flowing from the Navigator's nose... Li Feng looked at the now pale and wide-mouthed guide officer:
"Does Warp navigation always take such a toll on the body? Even causing nosebleeds..."
The next second, the Navigator opened his eyes, which were now gushing with blood, and blood also flowed from both ears... "Guide officer, is this normal?"
"Pfft!" Suddenly, the Navigator spat out a mouthful of old blood. Li Feng immediately dodged. After spending so much time with Cain, besides learning how to quip, he had mastered the art of dodging. (Note: Cain refers to Ciaphas Cain, a Commissar from Warhammer 40,000 known for his luck and survival skills.)
"Master!" The guide officer immediately rushed to the Navigator's side. At this moment, the spaceship began to shake violently, and the Warp instantly started pulling the entire fleet outwards.
Li Feng immediately grabbed a nearby handrail to keep himself from falling, but the Navigator, trembling, raised his hand and pointed at Li Feng, beginning to speak words of unclear meaning:
"Homines qui non sunt de hoc mundo... Finis mundi. (People who are not of this world... The end of the world...)"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Navigator's hand fell limply to his side... At this moment, First Mate Barbosa rushed into the Navigation Chamber and immediately shouted:
"Who can tell me! What on earth happened! Why is our fleet being pulled out of the War...p..."
Barbosa's voice faded as he saw the Navigator, who had blood flowing from all seven orifices and had already passed away. He immediately looked at Li Feng, who promptly raised his hands to indicate his innocence; he hadn't done anything.
Barbosa sighed, slowly walked to the deceased Navigator, knelt on one knee, and gently closed the Navigator's eyes... "Lord Li Feng... Although I don't know what happened... we might need a new Navigator."
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