"Thought for the day: gentlemen, are you loyal?"
Inside the Strategic Command of an Imperium Lunar-class Cruiser whose main engine had failed.
Qin Yun sat before a cogitator console. After sending out his daily greeting, his fingers flew across the keyboard.
The text he typed was sent to a chat group called "Warhammer Toilers."
"Earth's first 100% realistic virtual reality game, built around the setting of Warhammer 40K."
"You can experience careers such as Rogue Trader, Astartes, Tech-Priest, Titan Knight, and more, fighting for the Emperor."
"The game uses brainwave dream-interference technology. Game time is equivalent to sleep, so you can rest and have fun at the same time."
"Limited reservation slots. First come, first served."
On Earth, in an upscale residential complex.
When Zhang Wei saw the group message, a mischievous grin spread across his face.
"Bragging costs nothing, huh? Everyone's really letting themselves go now?"
"Calling it Earth's first, 100% realistic right off the bat? You wouldn't even scam kids like that!"
He quickly typed on the keyboard and clicked Send.
Most Ballsy Bro of Warhammer: "How real is it? Can I experience the righteousness of those Slaanesh witches?"
The Company Slave Drafted by the Emperor: "You can. Not only can you experience them, you can pound them too—as long as you're strong and vigorous enough. You can pound Slaanesh, and you can even pound that fat bastard in the garden."
Slaanesh's Ten-Times-A-Night Stud: "The group owner's tastes are way too heavy. He won't even spare the Garden Babies!"
Nurgle-Kissing Fatty: "Virtual reality? That's such an old webnovel trope. And the group owner still wants to brag about it?"
Second Empire Warmaster: "You don't understand. The older it is, the more flavor it has. An old A8 drives better than a new A6."
Colonel Dutch: "Anyone worthy of the title Warmaster is a true powerhouse. You can even drive on this kind of road??"
Blue Two-Headed Bird! Loyal: "A 100% realistic Warhammer game? Does that mean I can violently pound Slaanesh in Nurgle's secret garden??"
A Bowl of Lobster Soup: "I want to strip-dance in Khorne's Brass Citadel, then sing, 'What use is this iron rod to me?'"
God-Chosen Alpaca: "You're all too crude. This little lady just wants the Emperor big brother to kiss her, hug her, and lift her high."
Wrestling Khorne: "JPG: Let me see what everyone is talking about in the group. Emperor above, these damned heretics."
Colonel Dutch: "JPG: Slaanesh's corrupting influence is like a flood or savage beast, poisoning the youth of the Imperium."
"."
As the group chat grew increasingly Slaaneshi.
Drawing on his extensive experience, Qin Yun decisively sent a lewd picture, interrupting their nonsense and steering the topic back on track.
"Those who want to play can sign up now. It's 100% realistic—I guarantee it'll open your eyes. There aren't many beta slots, so first come, first served."
Most Ballsy Bro of Warhammer: "Uh, group owner, can you stop trying to fool us? A 100% realistic virtual game simply doesn't exist. Earth doesn't have that kind of technology."
Spiky Hair is the Symbol of the Strong: "Virtual reality technology is too far off. It'll take at least another fifty years before it can be developed and put into commercial use."
God-Chosen Alpaca: "The classic fifty years. Ever since I was little, I've heard that widespread robots and nuclear fusion were fifty years away. Even now, they're still fifty years away."
Nurgle-Kissing Fatty: "If there really were technology that let people enter a virtual world and play games while sleeping, why make games? Put it into office work instead. Wouldn't it be great if us toilers could sleep while working our asses off?"
Blue Two-Headed Bird! Loyal: "Are you even human? People like you damned capitalists should be strung up from streetlights."
The Company Slave Drafted by the Emperor: "Talking is pointless. I'm posting the link. If you want to play, click in and reserve a slot."
The next second, a website link appeared.
"I want to see what kind of new scam this is!!"
Zhang Wei moved his mouse and casually clicked it.
The computer page redirected.
This website had not been registered or verified and posed a high risk. Continue visiting?
Zhang Wei smiled disdainfully, opened the advanced options, and chose to ignore the risks and continue.
The page redirected again, leading him to an empty website.
There was nothing there except a few lines of text.
100% Holographic Immersive Game—Warhammer Online. Current reservations: 0
Reservations available.
Clicking Reserve indicates agreement to the contract terms.
Detailed explanation of contract terms. Click to expand.
"The more I look at it, the more it seems like a scam. They have money for virtual technology but none for a website!!"
Zhang Wei finally understood that saying: when people were speechless, they really did laugh!
At least spend some money making the interface look decent.
Who would fall for such a clumsy scam??
"Let me see what you scammers are really up to!"
Zhang Wei moved his mouse and clicked Confirm Reservation.
The page refreshed. Reservations: +1. Then nothing happened.
There was no further redirect, nor did a registration screen pop up.
"What the hell? I don't even need to register a game account? Are you screwing with people for fun?"
Zhang Wei was a mess, feeling as though someone had thoroughly insulted his intelligence.
Inside the Lunar-class Cruiser's Strategic Command.
The reservation count on the holographic display slowly ticked upward.
Reservations: 15/15
Qin Yun let out a sigh of relief. He had finally managed to trick some players into joining.
He rolled his aching neck a few times, then dropped into the padded chair behind him.
At that moment, a light screen appeared out of thin air in his vision. A golden Aquila stood at its top, while golden flames burned along its edges.
Mission: Summon Companions (Completed). Received 500 Faith Points. Remaining rewards may be collected from the Emperor's Shrine. Congratulations, you have gained experience. Level: LV1 -> LV2. Learned Skill: Prayer. (The user may receive the Emperor's blessing, temporarily enhancing physical attributes. Nearby allied units may receive corresponding blessing buffs.) Learned Skill: Firearms Shooting (Beginner). Learned Skill: Melee Combat (Beginner).
"I can level up and even learn skills!! The Emperor really is an immortal. He sure knows plenty of tricks—he actually turned it into a game."
"But honestly, after leveling up, it feels like my body has gotten stronger too."
After getting used to his upgraded body, Qin Yun rose and walked toward the Emperor's Shrine at the edge of the Strategic Command.
Burning braziers had been placed around the Shrine.
"Praise the Emperor."
Qin Yun performed the Aquila Salute and prayed before the Emperor's statue.
A golden hole of light appeared above the Shrine.
A Cherub in the form of a child flew out of the light, silver-white metallic wings embedded in its back, a package clutched in its hands.
Thumb-thick neural cables had been implanted into the pale skin of the Cherub's torso and arms.
Emerald-like optical augmetics were set into brass eye sockets, radiating green light.
If this thing showed up in a horror movie, it would scare ninety percent of the protagonists into screaming.
"Congratulations on completing the mission, Chosen One."
The Cherub's voice was mechanical and hoarse.
"Your rewards have been issued. Praise our Emperor. He is very satisfied with your work."
The Cherub placed the package before Qin Yun, then flapped its wings and flew back into the circle of light.
It vanished along with the light.
Qin Yun opened the package.
Inside was a set of flak armor, an autopistol, and an entrenching shovel.
Qin Yun took out the flak armor.
The armor had a suitable weight, and its cold metallic texture could be felt beneath his fingers.
He tapped it with his knuckles, producing a dull sound.
Name: Cadian Standard Flak Armor Description: Made from multiple layers of ablative and impact-absorbing materials, it is sufficient to withstand most low-intensity attacks, such as ricochets and shockwaves from close-range explosions.
"On the battlefield, it would be better than nothing."
A light screen appeared in Qin Yun's vision.
It displayed introductions and usage instructions for the reward items.
After examining it carefully, Qin Yun put on the flak armor.
It was a little loose, but a few adjustments would fix that.
Name: Yus Smasher Autopistol. Description: A fully automatic pistol that uses standard Imperium-caliber pistol ammunition. A lightweight, versatile weapon with high accuracy while moving, suitable for dealing with groups of enemies.
"The firepower's a little weak, but it's more than enough for blowing heads apart."
Qin Yun gave it a test run.
It was satisfyingly heavy and felt great in his hand.
Holding it gave him a strong sense of security.
There were also two boxes of ammunition beside the pistol. The rounds were as thick as thumbs and looked quite powerful.
Qin Yun counted them. There were eighty-four rounds in total.
Including the bullets in the pistol's magazine, he had a total of one hundred and twenty-six rounds.
After putting away the pistol and ammunition.
Qin Yun picked up the final reward.
Name: Cadian-Pattern Multipurpose Entrenching Shovel Description: Forged from No. 45 plastic steel, it is lightweight yet sturdy. It allows the user to quickly dig trenches and can also be used as a weapon when necessary.
"Congratulations, you have obtained the divine artifact—the entrenching shovel. Hurry up and beat the shit out of that damned Chaos can."
"With these, I at least have some means of protecting myself."
Qin Yun gripped the entrenching shovel and casually swung it a few times.
It was heavy and packed with force.
One smack from this thing would have no trouble smashing a head apart.
Bang!
A sudden dull thud came from the blast door of the Strategic Command, making Qin Yun flinch.
He instinctively drew his pistol and aimed it at the blast door.
He was afraid that those things outside would rush in.
On his very first day in this world, Qin Yun had personally experienced how terrifying those things outside were.
As for why Qin Yun had come here, and why he had posted game information in the Warhammer Toilers Chat Group to let players reserve slots and enter the Warhammer universe, that was a long story.
This was a newcomer's first time writing Warhammer on Qidian. I hope everyone enjoys it.
If you have any suggestions, feel free to point them out in the comments.
I might not reply, but I'll definitely read them.
Before you continue