After clearing the Mutants from the lower decks.
The players were left with routine tasks like moving corpses and cleaning compartments.
When they learned that Old Bird and the others were going to restart the reactor and restore the Imperial Glory to operation,
they all came over to watch the show.
Worried that someone might cause trouble, Qin Yun ordered Brother Zhong, Little Fatty, Ten-Timer, Twisted Man, Bald Monk, and several other players to maintain order.
None of them were allowed to interfere with Old Bird and the others' work.
If any player tried to maliciously sabotage the mission, they would not only be attacked, but also face punishments such as account bans and permanent blacklisting.
The reactor installation lay there like a sleeping steel beast.
Only a few key nodes flickered with faint indicator lights.
Complex circuits and pipes crisscrossed one another like a vast, tangled web.
An ordinary person would feel dizzy after just one glance.
Old Bird, Magical Monkey, and the others spent quite some time studying the circuits and pipes.
They figured out the name and purpose of every reactor node.
Afterward, they performed a thorough inspection of the entire reactor installation.
They repaired circuits and replaced damaged components.
Once they confirmed there were no problems, they injected a small amount of fuel and attempted ignition.
As the ignition command was issued, the machinery began to roar.
The energy circuits across the metal matrix lit up.
Bright arcs of electricity appeared from nowhere, twisting and winding through the air.
But soon, the roaring gradually subsided, and the arcs vanished into thin air.
As expected, the ignition had failed.
"Still not working?" Brother Zhong sighed as he looked at the darkened metal matrix.
Little Fatty also looked regretful. "This game is too realistic. That isn't entirely a good thing."
Bald Monk complained, "Even with the doctor stepping in, it's this hard. If we didn't have Old Bird, wouldn't we be trapped in the newbie map forever?"
"Exactly." Ten-Timer nodded in agreement with Bald Monk.
Qin Yun, who stood nearby, also wore a thoughtful expression.
It seemed he needed to find a way to bring in more professionals.
Old Bird was not discouraged by the failed ignition.
If it had succeeded on the first try, he would have suspected a blessing from Tzeentch.
He carefully reviewed the manual and compared it with the red error codes on the console.
After a long while, he finally looked relieved.
"The situation isn't too bad. The reactor's reliability is fine."
"Only the logic circuit in the flow-control controller has been damaged."
"The power regulator in the energy distribution module and the coupling matrix have malfunctioned."
"All of that can be resolved by replacing the parts."
Old Bird directed Magical Monkey, Dovahkiin, and the other players to replace components according to the error codes.
Meanwhile, he adjusted the phase parameters of the matrix units at the console.
He recalibrated the energy parameter coupling.
He set up new self-diagnostic and simulated ignition procedures.
Once the parts had been replaced, Old Bird ran the newly configured programs several times for self-diagnostics and simulated ignition.
During the process, they uncovered quite a few additional problems.
Old Bird patiently resolved them one by one.
Only when the indicators for every reactor subsystem on the console screen changed from red to green
did he have everyone inspect every subsystem again. Once they confirmed there truly were no issues, they prepared for another ignition.
"Omnissiah bless us. Please, bless us."
Old Bird gripped his Aquila Pendant and offered a prayer to the Emperor before picking up the communicator.
"All units, attention. Prepare for ignition in ten seconds."
"Ten, nine, eight..."
As they watched the countdown, the players grew tense again.
"Three, two, one! Ignition!"
Old Bird decisively pressed the ignition button.
The machinery roared once more.
The hydraulic piston assemblies began reciprocating rhythmically, growing faster and faster.
The reactor's core flow director lit up, illuminating the metal matrix.
Energy arcs slithered like living tentacles, triggering fusion reactions in the fuel within.
A deep, low-frequency rumble came from inside the reactor.
Enormous energy gradually gathered.
Plasma formed a blazing white sphere within the gravitational field.
Then, under the regulation of the flow director, the energy fluctuations rose steadily.
The indicator lights at every key node brightened, displaying rising energy readings.
On the control room side, the values on the displays surged at an astonishing rate before finally stabilizing in the green range.
"Energy output stable! All parameters normal!" Dovahkiin shouted excitedly. "We did it!"
"Continue fueling. Increase reactor output."
Old Bird did not relax. He kept staring at the screen.
Only when the newborn star within the containment field stabilized and continuously produced energy did he finally let out a breath.
Qin Yun had watched the entire process.
The moment he confirmed the reactor had restarted successfully, he applauded Old Bird.
"Congratulations, Chief Technical Officer. You have accomplished an extraordinary feat."
The other players cheered as well.
"The doctor is freaking awesome."
"Holy shit, this game even lets us repair fusion reactors. Building a god-killer or a Dyson Sphere isn't a dream anymore."
"The Imperial Glory is operational again. The new map is about to open."
"I'm so excited."
"I'm going to fly the Imperial Glory around and launch Exterminatus."
".."
Old Bird wiped the sweat from his forehead, his face full of satisfaction.
The task had been mentally exhausting, but the sense of achievement after completing it was more intoxicating than sex.
All of a sudden, he developed even greater ambitions.
What did repairing the reactor of a Lunar-class Cruiser amount to?
Just as those guys had shouted, he wanted to repair Colossi, Halos, and Death Stars in this universe.
He would realize every Megastructure dream that reality could not fulfill in this game.
The energy reactor restarted, and power was restored.
The Imperial Glory's various subsystems awakened as well.
Dormant machinery began humming as it followed its preprogrammed routines.
The lumen lights throughout the warship came on.
Temperatures across every area rose accordingly, eventually stabilizing within the range most comfortable for the human body.
A constant tremor ran through the ship, and the players felt the warship shaking violently.
The Imperial Glory had activated its conventional propulsion engines according to its preset correction protocols.
They were used to adjust the warship's attitude so it could hover in the Void.
The Auspex activated.
Broad-spectrum data scanning activated.
Massive amounts of detection data flooded in, making the Calculation Servitors in the data control room tremble continuously as their clicking sounds rose and fell.
The projections in the tactical hall refreshed and flickered constantly.
They displayed the Void environment surrounding the warship.
"Here! Planet Automata is here."
"It's only sixty million kilometers away from us."
Bald Monk pointed at a point of light on the projected map and shouted.
The players immediately became excited upon hearing the news.
"The new map is about to open."
"For the Emperor."
"I wonder whether Planet Automata has any pretty NPC girls."
"I forgot the beginning, and I forgot the middle. I only remember that I want to go on a killing spree. Hurry up and let me into the new map."
"Planet Automata, here we come."
"Let me see whether the locals are loyal. If they aren't, I'll feed them an Exterminatus."
Inside the Command Hall.
As soon as the communications system came online, Qin Yun sent a message to Planet Automata.
But he received no response at all.
With no other choice, Qin Yun could only teach the players how to operate the warship.
After some effort, they successfully turned the Imperial Glory toward Planet Automata.
Following the preset procedures, they entered Planet Automata's low orbit.
During this time, Qin Yun continued sending messages.
Yet all of them vanished without a trace, and he received no reply.
Amid the warship's tremors, the Imperial Glory successfully entered orbit according to the preset procedures.
Qin Yun gathered the players on the embarkation deck and announced something to them.
"The messages we sent have received no response."
"We need to go to Planet Automata's Void port and find out what's going on."
"Does any of you know how to fly a Valkyrie?"
The players widened their eyes and looked at one another.
They were all Warhammer fans, so they naturally knew what a Valkyrie gunship was.
The Valkyrie gunship, also known as the Valkyrie fighter or Valkyrie assault craft,
was an Imperial aircraft with twin engines, various weapons, durable armor, and a versatile payload.
Its powerful engines and stable control system made it a battlefield all-rounder.
Besides fighting enemy forces for air superiority, it was also commonly used to deploy infantry units.
"Guide, how about I give it a try?"
Everyone turned around, instinctively making way.
A player named Blood Pigeon, also known as Holy Blood Pigeon, raised his hand.
"I'm a freshman at flight academy. I only enrolled this year, but I've been deeply interested in aircraft since I was little."
PS: How about a Stinky Can wallpaper?
This humble new author continues begging for everything.
Before you continue