Hammer 40k: Far East Storm

There were tears in the bartender's old eyes, and he said emotionally: "Where have you been all these years? Oh, my God, you don't know how much I miss you, let me take a good look at you," he said , the 'bartender' held Elizabeth's shoulders with both hands and pushed her away slightly, and looked at her carefully. After a while, he said sincerely: "Where have you been? Why are you getting younger and younger? The more beautiful she is, God Emperor, look at it, look at the beauty in front of me, she is like an angel, with long golden hair like wheat, blue eyes like lakes, and alluring light red lips, it is simply It makes me fascinated and unable to extricate myself.”

Elizabeth laughed: "Forget it, bartender, your trick is of no use to me, but I didn't expect you, an old guy, to be so powerful now."

"Of course," the old man replied with a smile: "Fine wine only tastes sweet when it ages forever. What do those young people know? Only old men like me have enough charm. Even though I am older now, But I’m pretty good at it, no matter what it is, do you want to give it a try?”

"Oh? We haven't seen each other for a few years. The bartender has become braver. Do you dare?"

"I didn't dare to do it a few years ago, but look at me now." The old man spread his hands and took two steps back. "Look at me now. Is there anything I dare not do? The length of my life is very important to me. It’s meaningless. If I can pick this beautiful flower of yours at the moment before I die, I will have no regrets in this life.”

"Thank you, bartender, that's the best flattery I've ever heard."

"No need to thank me," the old man walked to the bar in the room and took out a cocktail shaker and said, "It's what I should do to make the beauty happy. Do you want to have something?"

"Yes, the same old rules."

"Okay, Bloody Mary. What about that little beauty?" the bartender said as he began to look at Li Anjie carefully. After a while, a look of surprise appeared on the bartender's face: "My God Emperor, nun, am I right?"

"I don't think you have."

"I don't think I'm too old to see things clearly. So, Miss, what would you like to drink? I have all the fine wine here."

Li Anjie frowned, her eyes patrolling the wine cabinet. It was not an easy task for her to choose a glass to drink from the dazzling array of fine wines. Because Li Anjie has been practicing in the mountains with his master for most of his life. The master is an absolute ascetic who has abandoned all physical pleasure and enjoyment, so Li Anjie has never drank alcohol in his life. But because Li Anjie's mother, Elizabeth, is a big drinker, on the one hand, Li Anjie has a natural aversion to alcohol, but on the other hand, she is very curious, what exactly is alcohol? What does it taste like? Why do so many people like it?

No matter what his thoughts were, Li Anjie's attitude towards the first drink in his life can be regarded as very cautious. It is not the first time to drink alcohol casually.

But something unexpected happened.

"Forget it, bartender, my daughter doesn't drink, just give her a non-alcoholic drink."

"Mom, what are you doing! Why do you decide not to let me drink?"

"Because you're not eighteen yet."

"Here I am, I'm eighteen years old!"

"Not yet, there are still seven days to go!"

The bartender shrugged, gave Li Anjie a helpless look, and then served two drinks. One was as red as blood, which was Elizabeth's favorite Bloody Mary, and the other was a fizzy black non-alcoholic drink. Cola.

***

"So, my dear nun," the bartender said as he casually made a colorful cocktail, "are you here because something big is about to happen?"

"No, I'm just here for a trip."

"Haha, yes, yes, you are just an ordinary mother traveling with your daughter, and I am an excellent and kind-hearted citizen of the empire." The bartender winked at Li Anjie playfully, and then said: "What an ordinary mother. What do you want to know about me?"

"There are so many things I want to know. You don't know. I've been walking around wild planets in the past few years, and I'm almost turning into a savage. Is there any news?"

"Hey, what's new in this universe? The defense forces and the Bean Sprouts are fighting each other. There are occasional revolutions on a few agricultural planets. Green skins are also starting to become rampant. Religions can be seen everywhere. Liars and cultists, the young people in the past are gradually getting older, and a new generation of young people has come in. They are no different from a few years ago. There are fires and wars on the Sea Rat Star and wars in the universe. They are all normal things. This universe is no different. There will be a day when there will be no war.”

"Bartender, I'm serious. Don't talk to me with such useless nonsense. Tell me in detail."

"Of course, of course, who wants you to be a nun?" After saying this, the bartender sighed, "But you should also know that I am no longer young. The younger generations have long disliked me as an old guy. They They think I'm in the way and blocking their way. They want me to leave the Sea Rat Planet and find a beautiful garden world or a livable modern world to settle in. What do these young people know about other planets? Is there any difference on the Sea Rat Star? The entire universe is just a giant Sea Rat Star. On the Sea Rat Star, I am a bartender. I am familiar with fighting, fighting and bribing government officials, but the universe is a bit too big for me. I can defeat the enemy gangs here, but in other places, those greenskins, those alien monsters, who will save me when I encounter them, who can save me? "

Elizabeth interrupted the bartender and said directly: "Bartender, what do you want, just tell me."

"I'm old, I'm going to retire, but before I retire, I have to save enough for a pension. Sister, you also know that those in our profession all rely on the food here," the old man said. , while tapping his temple with his finger, "Some things are too dangerous and too sensitive. Saying it will kill people, and you are not an ordinary person. Some things will only be more dangerous if you know them. So, you see , I can’t always make exceptions for you.”

Elizabeth sighed, "Bartender, I thought we were friends."

"Of course, we are friends, good friends, but this is friendship," the bartender paused before saying slowly: "But what we are talking about now is business, friendship is friendship, and business is business, but we can't let it be done. Mixed up.”

Elizabeth looked at the bartender faintly and said sadly: "You didn't treat me like this before."

"Oh, I'm not a young man who gets excited when he sees a beautiful woman. I am an old man who has to stand for half an hour to pee. Sister, this trick is not of much use to me." The bartender smiled, and then the smile spread all over him The wrinkles on his face disappeared instantly. The old man looked at Elizabeth deeply and whispered: "Yes, I didn't pay much attention to you before. You are such a good little girl. You have successfully deceived everyone. Who knows?" I didn't expect you to be so capable. No one thought that a beauty like you could be so capable. But it's different now. I know where you come from, and I also know how dangerous you are. Sister, you lied. You have passed me many times, but even though I am a pig, I should be wiser. I will not provide you with free services. Without enough benefits, I will not go to your stall. "

Elizabeth's face also turned cold, "I saved your life, bartender."

"Yes, I have never forgotten. I owe you once. Do you want me to pay you back now?"

For a long time, neither of them spoke, and the room was filled with silence. Li Anjie drank the Coke in a while, but no one paid attention to her. The girl sat alone on the sofa and began to study the furnishings in the room out of boredom.

After Li Anjie studied all the furniture in the room, Elizabeth said with a stinking face: "Okay, bartender, you stingy, you are robbing money from orphans and widows. How much did you win?" ”

"I charge the normal fee." Seeing Elizabeth's expression getting worse, the bartender quickly added: "But what is the relationship between us, so I will give you a 20% discount on the normal fee as a special exception. "

"Even with a discount, your charges are not low."

"It's definitely worth the money, you know that."

Elizabeth nodded, picked up the wine glass, drank the wine in one gulp, and said viciously: "Give me another glass, and then let's start quickly. My time is precious."

"As you wish."

If Sea Rat is the place where information circulates most in the remote areas of the Far East, then the bartender’s brain is the information gathering center of Sea Rat. As the largest information dealer on Sea Rat, for this remote area of ​​the Far East, this person The old bartender knew almost everything.

"Still following the old rules?"

"Of course," Elizabeth nodded, "just follow the old rules and see what those country bumpkins are doing."

The bartender nodded, and then quickly opened a secret door behind him, revealing a huge electronic instrument. The old man knocked on the electronic instrument skillfully a few times. After a while, an iron box came out of the electronic instrument. Vomited out. The old man held the iron box in both hands, placed it on the bar, and then motioned for Elizabeth to open the iron box.

Elizabeth didn't say anything more. She opened the iron box, took out the paper documents in the box, and began to read attentively. During this period, the bartender filled Anjie Li with Coke again, and the old man's mouth was not idle at the same time. He said, "I still remember the first time, Sister, you asked me for information about those country bumpkins. I was so embarrassed at that time. I was still immature at the time, so I said too much so easily. As a result, But I haven’t even heard of the name of the Zhiyuan Galaxy. It’s a complete failure for the intelligence dealer to reach this point.”

"I can't blame you. I can only say that the place where those country bumpkins live is too remote."

"Now we can't say they are country bumpkins. Although the location of that place is indeed remote, it is very different now. In the past few years, the development of the Zhiyuan Metallurgical Mineral Group has been very rapid. Of course, the development of the Li family cannot be ignored. Although the scale and power of Reach are nothing, if you look at the speed of development, you can find out how terrifying it is. It is simply soaring."

"The Li family?"

"A business group based on Reach, with a strong official color of Reach, is actually a large cross-galaxy group company with a semi-official background, but the company's name is "Li Family". At the end of the document, there is a detailed analysis of the "Li Family" and its helmsman, Countess Bartoli. This woman not only has a top-notch business mind, but is also a great beauty. It is said that this coquettish woman is in a relationship with the interstellar ruler of Reach. Officer has an affair. Our professional intelligence analysts have also carefully studied and analyzed this rumor and finally found that it is very credible. "Elizabeth was somewhat unhappy when she heard this, "Your intelligence analysts are really idle. Instead of doing serious work, they study these romantic rumors?" "You can't say that. The target's interpersonal relationship is very important for the intelligence galaxy, so this kind of analysis is not boring, but serious work. By the way, since we are talking about Reach, I must tell you that Reach has been listed as a key observation target and a red alert area. That place is very dangerous. Don't run there if you have nothing to do. If a beautiful woman like you dies, it will be a loss to the entire universe." "Key observation target and red alert area?" Elizabeth frowned? "Why?"

"I discovered this thanks to you," the old man returned to the bar and operated the machine skillfully. After a while, he took out two iron boxes from the machine. "When you come to me, you usually look at the intelligence of those country bumpkins first, then look at the intelligence of the Inquisition, and finally check the war and combat reports from various places. I naturally have to spend more time on this information, but I made an unexpected discovery. One of these two documents is the dynamic report of the Inquisition, which excludes most people. Among them, there is only the activity report of the person you listed as a suspect, and the other is a report on the activities of the greenskins in the past five years. You can compare the two reports carefully."

Elizabeth opened the iron box and looked through the two carefully. As she continued to read the report, her face became worse and worse. Finally, she punched the bar and shouted angrily: "These bastards, they are committing treason! Are these true?"

"I am not a rookie. I understand the meaning of these documents. Don't worry, the information has been confirmed again and again and is undoubtedly accurate. However, this information cannot be regarded as evidence. It can only provide a suspicion. I am afraid that only those people themselves know the real situation."

"Then their next target is Reach?"

"I am afraid it will not be wrong. We only need to observe it once to almost confirm the guess."

Elizabeth nodded and said coldly: "This is the right way." But only for you, the bartender.

Elizabeth drank the wine in the glass in one gulp. Now, she urgently needs alcohol to extinguish the burning fire in her heart, because she is too angry.

As early as thirteen years ago, when Li Anjie was only five years old, Elizabeth received a warning from her former superior Randall Rongde, "Be careful of the people sent by Istvania." Elizabeth still remembers that meeting clearly. She finally overcame her inner conflict and handed the report in her hand to Randall Jund. However, the situation of Li that Elizabeth valued was not taken seriously by her superiors. On the contrary, Randall, the fat guy, warned Elizabeth. Obviously, the fat guy thought that Li was not a danger, and the real danger came from the interior of the Imperial Inquisition and from the Istvania faction.

Elizabeth did not agree with this at first. She thought that Randall was just exaggerating. How could the fat guy who only knew how to play politics and conspiracy in the office know what the real danger was? How could the fat guy understand the horror of Dark Lee? But the nature of the prosecutor forced her to start investigating the interior of the Inquisition while monitoring Reach.

The result was amazing. Elizabeth was shocked by the boldness of her colleagues on one hand, and confused by her previous indifference on the other. Many evidences and details were placed under her eyes, but she just glanced over them and did not look at them seriously.

The Istvanian faction is not a fiction, nor is it a trick used by the fat man Randall to climb up the ladder. Instead, there is a real group of people like this.

This group of people is very scary because they are not only rational thinkers, but also cold executors. Yes, they are the outstanding talents of the Inquisition cultivated by the Empire.

But their thoughts are so terrible. A simple inference is that pain and hardship will make people progress. The same is true for the country. Disasters make the country prosperous. In the face of powerful enemies and natural disasters, humans will always appear to be particularly united. They will abandon the conflicts and contradictions of the ordinary days and unite closely to fight against the common enemy. The same is true in history. It was because of the Great Rebellion that the Space Marines' disloyalty to His Majesty the Emperor was swept away. It was because of the darkness of the Apostasy that Sebestian Sol and his reforms to the Church were brought about. In the period of turbulent times, whether it was technology, faith, or domination of the galaxy, a qualitative leap was achieved. In peacetime, bureaucrats will become corrupt and the people will become indifferent. They will not care about the battles on the distant fronts, and they will not worry about the future of mankind. They only see the little petty gains in front of them.