Death Seekers

The moment Ruan Wenbo spoke, Commissar Walter's weathered eyes sharpened like an eagle's. He gave him a long look, and the air seemed to freeze for a moment. At last, he slowly nodded.

"If you've truly made up your mind to fight, then I won't stop you—after all, you just created a miracle."

Walter's voice remained deep, but there seemed to be a faint, imperceptible note of expectation within it. He continued, "By the rules of the Pedetia Planetary Army, every company has an official designation. Have you decided on yours?"

As soon as Walter finished speaking, a clear system prompt appeared on Ruan Wenbo's retina.

[Position Promotion: 13th Company Acting Company Commander → 13th Company Commander]

Seeing the prompt, Ruan Wenbo was delighted at first, but the joy vanished in an instant. He quickly calmed down.

From "acting" to "official" sounded like a tremendous improvement, but on Pedetia, a planet already forgotten by the Imperium, there was no difference at all between the two. He knew perfectly well that Commissar Walter was currently the highest-ranking military commander in this controlled zone. If Walter could promote him to company commander with a word, then naturally, he could also demote him back to an ordinary soldier with a word. Pedetia had no way to contact the distant Imperial Munitorum. With the war already in such a sorry state, whether his rank rose or fell was nothing more than Walter's decision.

Once he understood that, he shifted his attention away from that meaningless title and refocused on reality.

As for the company designation Walter had mentioned, Ruan Wenbo did not answer immediately. Instead, he said cautiously, "Commissar, I'll need to discuss that with my brothers first."

He did not dare make a unilateral decision at such a critical moment. Walter's appointment had only given him a title; what could truly support his position as company commander were the nearly hundred lawless Players beneath him.

If they disliked the name, then at best it would hurt morale, and they might undermine him during battle. At worst, if someone took a dislike to him and secretly gave him a little "friendly fire" on the battlefield, he would not even have anywhere to cry about it.

After all, there was no option in this game to turn off friendly fire. Once he revived, no one would help Ruan Wenbo keep his merit or his position.

Holding this appointment like a hot potato, Ruan Wenbo returned to the position where the Players were taking a temporary rest. He cleared his throat and drew everyone's attention.

"Brothers, the Commissar has new orders." He paused, then continued, "The Commissar has officially recognized our company's establishment, and according to Pedetia Planetary Army tradition, we need to choose a designation for our company."

The news was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up a storm.

"Holy crap! Naming ourselves? It's like creating a guild!"

"So cool! Now this is immersive!"

A small number of relatively "mature" Players immediately voiced their concerns. "Don't make the name too cringe. Something like 'Long Aotian' or 'Godslayer'—it'd be embarrassing just to shout it." They leaned toward an utterly ordinary codename, something plain and practical like "13th Assault Company" or "Hammer Company."

However, their faint voices were quickly drowned out by the wildly excited majority. These troublemakers, who feared nothing more than a lack of chaos in the world, became completely fired up and began brainstorming.

For a while, all sorts of bizarre designations were proposed.

Some were memes. "How about Fourth Calamity Company?"

"Why not Loyal Cans?"

"I propose Gaokao Examiner Company!"

Some made no sense at all. "One Punch, One Kid Company!"

"Slacker Company!"

And some were purely there to cause trouble. "What Are We Eating for Lunch? Company!"

Amid the chaotic discussion, some Players still suggested serious names.

"I think we could call ourselves the Undying," one Player said earnestly. "This designation suits our identity best. We're impossible to kill."

The suggestion won support from some, but others felt it was not cool enough.

"Undying is too straightforward. It has no style," another Player argued. "And it sounds like undead. I propose Death Seekers."

The moment those words were spoken, the noisy discussion quieted somewhat. Unlike Undying, which bluntly flaunted their cheat-like advantage, it carried a tragic, resolute air—the determination to march toward the tiger even knowing it waited in the mountains. Every charge and every death was a journey willingly undertaken toward death.

The designation was both dark and cool, perfectly hitting the tastes of most Players.

In the end, under Ruan Wenbo's direction, a small-scale democratic vote began. After intense canvassing and debate, Death Seekers narrowly defeated Undying and became their final choice.

Ruan Wenbo informed Commissar Walter of the result. When the latter heard the name, his eyes shifted slightly, but he offered no comment and merely nodded.

"Then get a good rest today. I've had all the grenades in storage sent over. Prepare for tomorrow's operation."

As his words fell, new system prompts appeared simultaneously on every Player's retina.

[System Prompt: Your affiliated company has officially been renamed "13th Company · Death Seekers."]

[System Prompt: You have received a new mission—"Assault Battle: Chemical Refinery."]

[Mission Objective: Capture No. 9 Chemical Refinery.]

Looking at the new mission, the Players in the position showed no tension before a major battle. Instead, cries of despair rose everywhere.

"Ugh, why do we have to wait until tomorrow? My blade is already thirsting for battle! Can't we start today?"

"Starting today wouldn't be great either. My stats have dropped badly... Any brothers willing to stab me so I can revive at full condition?"

"You should've said so earlier! I'll do it!" One Player enthusiastically raised his entrenching shovel.

"Holy shit! Let me take off this body armor before you do it!"

"So what now? Are we just waiting through the night?" One Player sat listlessly atop an ammunition crate.

Just then, one Player's attention was drawn to someone beside him. The man sat upright, both hands moving rapidly through the air as though he were operating the game interface and writing something. He leaned closer and asked curiously, "What are you doing, man?"

Without looking up, the other replied, "Doesn't this game have triple-speed thought acceleration? There's nothing to do right now anyway. I'm a designer in real life, so I'm finishing up a client's proposal. Once I'm done, I'll post it on the game forum, set it to private, then copy and paste it after I log off and submit it."

The moment he said that, the surrounding Players who heard him were stunned.

"Genius!"

"You're working even in a game? You bastard..."