Chaos Beast (Seeking Follow-up)

Among the confiscated spoils was a batch of Data Slates.

Qin Yun tinkered with them for a while, connecting the Data Slates to the Bridge's data network.

This turned the Data Slates into information terminals for the Players.

They could check their Contribution Points, missions, and other information.

Of course, if they wanted to level up or improve their skills, they had to go to the Emperor's Shrine.

"This game is amazing. You even have to buy the quest interface yourself!! Sometimes being too realistic isn't a good thing!!"

Brother Zhong grumbled as he looked at the Data Slate, which cost a whopping ten thousand points to exchange for.

"You're absolutely right. This is practically exploiting the Players."

Little Fatty spoke with righteous indignation as he looked at Brother Zhong.

Then he turned around and ingratiatingly said to Qin Yun, "Guide, sir, I want one."

Brother Zhong rolled his eyes and shot him a look of utter contempt.

"I want one too." Old Bird raised his hand as well.

Ten-Timer jumped up and shouted, "Me too."

"Me too." Seeing everyone else exchanging for one, Brother Zhong no longer had time to complain and hurriedly asked for one as well.

Little Fatty quickly got the hang of it and unlocked the Data Slate's built-in functions.

"This thing even comes with an internal ship layout and positioning system. Checking Contribution Points and missions is just a bonus. Getting one is pure profit."

Ten-Timer nodded in agreement. "With this thing, we'll have an advantage doing missions."

"Having the first-mover advantage is great. One step ahead, every step ahead," Old Bird said sincerely.

The Data Slates were limited, and Qin Yun had to keep a few in reserve. It was impossible to give one to everyone.

The Players who exchanged for one were all grinning from ear to ear.

Those who failed to get one beat their chests and stamped their feet.

They wailed over missing the chance to enjoy Warhammer technology.

After exchanging equipment for the old Players, Qin Yun led them to the Chapel of Prayers to welcome the new batch of Emperor's Cattle.

Chapel of Prayers.

Thirty bright golden rays appeared, then slowly faded away.

Thirty Players appeared in neat rows before the Emperor's statue.

Sun Yi opened his eyes and looked around. The blankness in his gaze was gradually replaced by intense shock.

A Servo-skull happened to drift past him, carrying prayer scriptures.

The anti-gravity engine beneath it scattered azure light and emitted a low hum.

This...

was Warhammer Online?

The walls and floor had a metallic texture.

Every technological creation nearby carried heavy religious elements.

Taking a deep breath, he could smell incense and fuel.

This was way too fucking realistic.

"This game is insanely awesome!!"

"Oh my God, my Emperor!"

"..."

The Players entering the game were all excited, bouncing and jumping around.

A few even slammed their heads into pillars, raising huge bumps. They did not cry out in pain, instead giggling foolishly without stopping.

"Wow, this is so realistic."

Sun Yi looked toward the source of the female voice and saw a girl with long, shapely legs and short white hair.

"There are even soft, cute girls in a Warhammer game??"

The other Players turned to look as well.

"Could someone be playing a female character?"

"That can't be right. This game doesn't seem to let you choose a gender or customize your appearance. She really is a girl."

At that moment, an imposing voice rang out.

"Quiet."

In an instant, everything fell silent.

The Players instinctively looked toward the source of the voice.

A tall, powerfully built man entered through the doorway, a Bolter and Power Sword hanging at his waist.

Behind him followed more than a dozen veteran Players wearing crude armor and carrying Lasguns.

The new Players had all read Slaanesh's Ten-Times-A-Night Stud's strategy guide.

They knew that the man at the front was the Emperor's Chosen Living Saint—and their Guide.

Qin Yun walked up to the new Players, swept his gaze across them, and only then spoke slowly.

"Welcome to hell, you worthless currencies of the Emperor."

"I am the Guide, the Emperor's Chosen Saint."

"The Despoiler destroyed Cadia Fortress. The Eye of Terror spiraled out of control and tore the galaxy apart."

"The terrible Age of Darkness has descended once more. Human civilization hangs by a thread, and countless innocents are drowning in despair and fear. The burden of saving them now falls upon your shoulders."

After delivering his opening remarks, Qin Yun said nothing further.

There were guides in the group chat, and veteran Players were there to lead them.

There was no need to waste time teaching them basic common knowledge.

"Right now, our mission is to retake the Imperial Glory."

"At present, we have reclaimed the Bridge. Next, we will recover the other areas."

"You may choose a squad to join and follow the veterans into action."

"Learn well from them—learn how to blow your enemies' heads apart."

With a wave of Qin Yun's hand, the three captains—Old Bird, Brother Zhong, and Little Fatty—stepped forward and stood before the new Players.

There were thirty new Players, exactly enough to add ten to each squad.

Each veteran Player would lead two new Players.

The teams were quickly assigned.

Qin Yun had weapons such as wrenches and water pipes distributed to the new Players.

"They won't even give us guns?" Spiky Hair looked speechlessly at the water pipe in his hand.

Little Fatty explained, "In the early stages, you're just responsible for hauling corpses. If you want weapons, slowly save up Contribution Points and exchange them."

"We used these to fight our way out of Strategic Command back then," Old Bird said. "Our situation was far worse than yours is now."

"Ten minutes of free activity." Qin Yun ignored the Players' complaints. "After that, we'll carry out the cleansing mission."

Once the new Players had familiarized themselves with their bodies and the rules, Qin Yun led them through the ship's corridors toward the Machine Sanctum.

The Mutants along the way posed no threat at all. They were harvested one after another, all reduced to Contribution Points and experience.

The squad soon arrived before the doors of the Machine Sanctum, adorned with reliefs of skulls and gears.

After entering the password, the doors slowly opened amid the grinding of gears and the hum of servo motors.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A dense barrage of lasers poured out from within the sanctum.

Several Players who had tried to charge in front were instantly shot dead.

The other Players hurriedly took cover.

The sound of treads crushing across the metal floor rang out.

A gigantic monster of fused metal and flesh slowly rolled out of the sanctum.

Its face had become savage and terrifying due to the implanted metal prosthetics.

Its arms had also been modified: one hand housed a rapidly spinning Chainsword.

The other had been replaced with a Multi-laser Heavy Bolter.

Its eyes had been gouged out and replaced with mechanical ones that glowed green.

Its lower body had been replaced by a heavy chassis fitted with metal treads.

"It's a War Machine modified by the Tech-Priests!" Ten-Timer frowned. "Its firepower is this insane?!"

The moment he finished speaking, another dense storm of lasers came roaring in.

They formed an absolute wall of fire that pinned the Players down.

Several Players were swept by the barrage and died on the spot, their bodies a gruesome sight.

"I've been hit! Help me!"

Spiky Hair had been a little too slow to dodge, and seven or eight steaming holes appeared across his body.

The next second, the War Machine was behind him.

The rapidly spinning Chainsword violently pierced through his body, tearing him to pieces.

"Give him a plasma shot!" Old Bird shouted from behind a colonnade.

"Got it." Scalp leaned out from cover, raised his plasma gun, and fired.

Amid a crackling burst of electricity, a brightly glowing ball of plasma shot forth, carving a luminous trail through the air before striking its target with precision.

The War Machine's upper body was instantly vaporized.

Its out-of-control tracked chassis slammed into the wall with a thunderous crash.

"I hadn't even gone all out, and you're already down?"

Scalp ran out from behind cover and swaggered beside the War Machine's wreckage.

The next second, a shrill whistling sound tore through the air.

With a bang, his head burst into fragments.

Several equally massive War Machines rolled out of the sanctum and launched an attack on the Players.

Armed Servo-skulls swept out from behind them, also pouring a frenzy of fire onto the Players.

Before long, several more Players were shot dead.

"Just how much stuff did these Tech-Priests hide in the sanctum?!"

Little Fatty hid behind cover. The sight of the Chaos machines and Servo-skulls made his scalp tingle.

The enemy firepower was simply too intense. They couldn't fight back at all.

"What do we do now?" Brother Zhong shouted. "The moment we step out, we'll get riddled with bullets."

"The old method, then." Old Bird began strapping Melta Bombs onto himself.

Just then, Qin Yun arrived.

Seizing the opportunity, he burst out from cover at the side.

The Power Sword in his hand effortlessly pierced the heavy armor of a War Machine.

Oil and blood gushed out together.

Amid flashing sparks, it crashed to the ground.

"Awesome! The Guide is the absolute GOAT!!"

The suppressed Players erupted into cheers.

Qin Yun executed several heavily armored machines in succession, then used his Bolter to blast apart the Servo-skulls.

Suddenly, a War Machine rushed out from the shadows and trained its gun barrel on Qin Yun.

Just as Qin Yun was about to dodge, he heard a shout.

"The Archmage has arrived."

In the distance, Ten-Timer activated Warp Siphon, drawing energy from the Warp.

A brilliant crystal-like Aether Shard condensed between his palms, and he hurled it at the War Machine.

The Aether Shard streaked through the air in a bright trail.

It struck the War Machine in the head and pierced straight through it.

Thick lubricant and foul-smelling blood sprayed out.

Then its massive body came crashing down.

"Awesome!" Old Bird poked his head out and shouted excitedly.

"That really was brutal." Brother Zhong gave him a thumbs-up as well.

"Psykers really are the meta's chosen ones."

Little Fatty looked envious.

As the last armed Servo-skull was blown apart, the battle came to an end.

Qin Yun led the Players into the Machine Sanctum.

It was incredibly spacious. At its center stood a colossal statue of the Omnissiah.

Beside the statue stood rows of metal platforms glowing with the light of Stasis Fields.

All manner of ancient mechanical creations rested within the stasis fields.

A bloated Magos and his servants lay sprawled throughout the sanctum.

Their corpses bore wounds left by lasers and Bolter rounds.

The Machine Spirit of the Machine Sanctum had activated its protection protocols the moment the crisis erupted, killing everyone inside.

After observing a few minutes of silence for the dead, Qin Yun began inspecting the weapons and equipment in the sanctum.

To his surprise, he found a suit of Power Armor suitable for a mortal to wear.

Name: Arkan Confederacy Power Armor

This was an ancient relic, once worn by many heroes. Beliefs of loyalty and fearlessness had been forged into its steel.

Damage reduction against Chaos attacks.

"The Emperor is watching you. Remember, whatever you do, don't wear a helmet, so the old man can recognize you."

Inside the armory of the Machine Sanctum, several mechanical arms helped Qin Yun put on his Power Armor.

Qin Yun tried moving around.

He found the Power Armor's design exceptionally ingenious.

The artificial muscle bundles fit his body perfectly.

Combined with the picosecond-level response of the servo motors, his movements became as fluid as a fish in water, with even greater strength and agility.

"Very good. I've gotten stronger again."

Qin Yun stepped out of the armory.

His new appearance made the Players' eyes light up.

The Power Armor was painted deep crimson, with golden lines as decoration.

Worn by Qin Yun, it radiated an overwhelming sense of pressure just from looking at it.

"Bolter, Power Sword, Power Armor—now this is proper Warhammer gear. That's way too cool."

"I want one too."

"I'm shaking with rage from the cold. When will we achieve Power Armor freedom?"

"I strongly demand that Power Armor be put on sale. I'm buying the hell out of it."

"..."

There were quite a few good things in the Machine Sanctum.

To speed up the recapture of the Imperial Glory, Qin Yun had the Players equip themselves with the weapons and gear from the Machine Sanctum.

If they didn't have enough Contribution Points, they could owe them for now.

They just had to make up the difference within a week.

"Guide is the eternal GOAT!"

"Guide is the only sun in my heart."

Upon hearing Qin Yun's words, the Players cheered.

Then, they split all the equipment in the sanctum between themselves.

The Players who received new equipment saw their combat strength rise dramatically, and their advance sped up considerably as well.

Over the following period, the Players swiftly recaptured areas such as the warship's armory, ammunition depot, and crew quarters.

They were only stopped again when they reached the Reactor Chamber.

Because there was a Chaos Beast there.

PS: On how different worldviews deal with demons.

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