Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 356 Discussion among Group Members

"Based on the clues you've gathered, I believe it's the Khorne Demon." In the club, Chen Xi rested his chin on his hands, and after listening to the clues summarized by 32, Guterres, Mai Mai, and Twilight, he still stuck to his original judgment.

His gaze swept across everyone's faces, as if observing each person's reaction.

Others also agree with this assessment.

32 nodded silently, her fingers unconsciously stroking the cat; Mai Mai flipped through her investigation notes, underlining the words "blood sacrifice ritual" with a heavy horizontal line, the pen tip making a soft scratching sound on the paper.

However, Guterres said with some concern, "We also know that this must be the work of the Khorne demon behind it. After all, the two demon princes that the Unseen Brotherhood pointed to are from the Khorne family, and the Blood Oath Order also summoned the Khorne Archdeacon before."

He crossed his arms as he spoke, looking somewhat anxious.

“The way the skulls were piled up at those blood sacrifice sites, and the way the victims were torn apart, are all too characteristic of terrorism.” Guterres paused, his brow furrowed. “But who can guarantee that the Tzeentch family isn’t behind this? If it really is the Tzeentch doing this, anything could happen.”

That's the nature of the Warhammer world: no matter what happens, it's always right to assume the worst about Tzeentch.

Upon hearing this, Twilight couldn't help but laugh out loud, then quickly covered her mouth, afraid of interrupting Guterres' train of thought.

Chen Xi simply shrugged at this and then said, "If you deliberately assume the existence of a Tzeentch demon, then all the clues will point to that result. Just like how I'm currently preconceived that it must be the Khorne demon."

His tone was calm, but his eyes revealed a thoughtful look.

At this point, Chen Xi looked around and saw a few other group members chatting about something, so an idea came to him.

“This kind of judgment is prone to problems.” Chen Xi looked at his friends in front of him: “But judging from the current situation, none of what we said is wrong. Why don’t we find someone who doesn’t know the facts to make a judgment? Let’s hear other people’s opinions?”

Chen Xi's suggestion piqued the interest of the other four, and since they were already in the club with other group members around, the suggestion was approved.

Mai Mai had already gotten up to greet a few acquaintances at the next table.

MaiMai quickly found a few group members who were chatting, and they all sat in a circle.

Chen Xi briefly explained the clues he had found, deliberately concealing the true situation and only saying that he was designing the background story for a Warhammer tabletop RPG.

"Uh, I don't think Tzeentch has anything to do with this, right?" After listening, Old Meng casually said while twirling his hair, which looked like it had been blown up, "The clues you've provided so far are too Khorne-like: blood sacrifice, skulls, violent killings... If Tzeentch and his gang of charlatans were really up to something, they would at least leave behind some strange runes or contradictory information, right?"

He stretched and yawned, squeezing the Coke can on the table with a cracking sound: "Besides, Tzeentch followers aren't usually so straightforward. Don't they all prefer to hide behind the scenes and use underhanded tricks?"

A soft chuckle rippled through the crowd, and several group members nodded in agreement.

Although they often say "it's all Tzeentch's fault" when chatting, when it comes to real analysis, everyone knows that Tzeentch wouldn't act so simply and brutally.

"That's not entirely true." However, another group member wearing black-rimmed glasses had a different opinion. He shook his head and analyzed, "If Tzeentch really wanted to cause trouble behind the scenes, it would be normal for him not to let you find out."

He pushed up his glasses, his eyes behind the lenses gleaming with thoughtful light: "If it was Tzeentch who was behind this, inducing some high demon Khorne from behind the scenes, or those two demon princes you mentioned, it's not impossible!" His words drew agreement from many people, after all, Tzeentch's domain was intrigue and deception. The God of Deceit might not have been involved, but it was unlikely that the God of Deceit wasn't involved.

The discussion gradually grew louder, with some people flipping through books to find supporting evidence, while others took out their phones to search for relevant information.

“I think you’ve all fallen into a misconception,” Liu Yi interjected, interrupting the argument. “The key now isn’t determining whether Tzeentch is involved, but rather finding the mastermind and gathering evidence. Only with evidence can we make a judgment.”

His voice was steady and powerful, and his perspective and judgment seemed to be different from others.

Hearing Liu Yi say this, Chen Xi suddenly became interested and turned to look at him, asking, "What you said makes a lot of sense. Could you tell me your thoughts on this issue?"

He leaned forward slightly, showing that he was listening attentively.

"I'm not very familiar with this issue," Liu Yi shook his head slightly, his tone calm. "But back in the army, we also encountered situations where we didn't know where the enemy was or who they were. In such situations, the worst thing to do is to make hasty judgments or take action."

He paused, as if recalling something, before continuing, "Instead of locking onto a target too early, it's better to gather enough intelligence first."

Hearing Liu Yi say this, Chen Xi pondered for a moment, then said, "Your approach is indeed quite safe, but what if the enemy misleads you? For example, by deliberately leaving false clues?"

“This requires the commander to make the judgment.” Liu Yi’s answer remained calm: “How to extract useful intelligence from erroneous information in order to make the correct judgment.”

Instead of providing specific action plans, Liu Yi emphasized the central role of commanders in intelligence analysis.

His tone was calm, and his eyes revealed a deep understanding of the military command system, clearly indicating that he had a personal understanding of the importance of command and decision-making while in the military.

Chen Xi simply nodded slightly at the answer, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

He remained silent, gazing thoughtfully out the window, as if weighing something.

In the end, he chose not to ask any further questions.

Chen Xi knew very well why Liu Yi would give such an answer—after all, when Liu Yi served in the army, his rank was just an ordinary soldier.

This realization brought a knowing glint to Chen Xi's eyes, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up slightly.

In the military system, the division of responsibilities between soldiers and officers has always been clear: soldiers are required to obey and execute orders, while officers must shoulder the important responsibility of judgment and decision-making.

Afterwards, Chen Xi turned to several other group members to continue soliciting their opinions.

Although everyone expressed their opinions and offered many valuable insights and suggestions, and the discussion was quite lively, Chen Xi's gaze gradually became firm.

Amidst the cacophony of discussions, he had already reached a clear conclusion and made his final decision.

(End of this chapter)