Xenos Must Die

Driven by their enthusiasm for "looting tombs and hunting treasure," the Players once again headed toward that corner piled high with death. Yet this time, when Ruan Wenbo faced those horribly mangled corpses again, something subtle had changed in his mindset.

If this truly was a game meant to oppose war, then the deaths of these NPCs were not merely "monsters" that respawned to drop equipment, but symbols carrying some heavy meaning.

Rather than roughly rummaging through them as he had when searching for a Lasgun, he silently looked at the still-intact corpse of an Astra Militarum soldier. The soldier was very young, and the terror on his face had yet to completely fade. Ruan Wenbo hesitated for a moment before finally bending down, grabbing the corpse beneath the arms, and laboriously dragging him to a relatively clean, shaded corner at the side of the trench.

"Doctor, what are you doing?" the Player with the ID [Ruthless Assassin] asked, puzzled by Ruan Wenbo's actions. The others also stopped searching and looked over curiously.

Ruan Wenbo gently set the corpse down, sighed, and said, "I think they died protecting their homes and their people, at the very least. Although this Imperium is terrible, and they probably didn't subjectively hold any noble ideals about 'fighting for the people,' objectively speaking, they really did die for that. Leaving their bodies out in the wilderness like this... it just doesn't feel right."

The Players around him fell silent at those words. As they looked at the twisted, mutilated corpses, their disgust gradually faded, replaced by a complicated sense of reverence and sympathy. Ruan Wenbo had a point. Even in a game, these soldiers who had died defending others deserved the most basic respect.

So the Players no longer hurried to loot. Following Ruan Wenbo's example, they silently began dragging the corpses of Astra Militarum and Planetary Defense Force soldiers whose human forms could still be recognized, one by one, into that cool corner and laying them neatly side by side. As for those blasted into pieces, their flesh and blood mangled beyond recognition, there was nothing they could do.

As he dragged a corpse that looked like a sergeant, something sharp suddenly pricked Ruan Wenbo's finger. He stopped, pulled away another corpse lying atop the sergeant, and found a Chainsword resting quietly amid the bloodstains, its blade covered in congealed blood and scraps of flesh.

He carefully picked up the Chainsword, and an item information panel immediately appeared before his eyes.

[Name: Xenos Must Die]

[Type: Weapon]

[Quality: Fine]

[Attack Power: Strong]

[Attributes: None]

[Special Effect: Deals additional damage to non-human creatures]

[Remarks: This Chainsword once belonged to Sergeant Major Maxim of the 103rd Regiment. During its owner's bloody battle with the Dark Eldar, it drank its fill of Xenos blood. Though Sergeant Major Maxim had already fallen gloriously, every inch of circuitry within it still burned with intense hatred for all Xenos species.]

Holding the heavy Chainsword, which reeked of machine oil and blood, Ruan Wenbo could not help crying out, "There really is something here!"

That shout was like a boulder crashing into a still lake.

"What, what? Let me see!"

"You found loot?"

The Players who had been moving bodies immediately dropped their "work" and swarmed around him. As they approached Ruan Wenbo, the item information panel belonging to [Xenos Must Die] automatically appeared before their eyes as well.

For a moment, the game was filled with envious gasps.

"Holy shit, a Fine-quality Chainsword!"

"I haven't even seen an ordinary-quality Lasgun, and you casually feel around and pull out a Fine-quality Chainsword!" one Player said sourly.

[Ruthless Assassin] patted Ruan Wenbo on the shoulder and said half-jokingly, half-seriously, "Lucky King! Once I get in with the Adeptus Mechanicus, I'm definitely making those Tech-priests forge me a [European Emperor Must Die] with their own hands!"

Amid the envy and teasing, a more meticulous Player raised a question. "But aren't we fighting Cultists right now? According to the description, the owner of this Chainsword was killed by Dark Eldar. Why would it be here?"

"Hey, it's a game. Isn't that how it always works?" another Player said dismissively, waving a hand. "Kill a slime and it drops a dragon-slaying sword. Kill a monster and it drops a treasure chest or some box. You can't tell before they die that they've got a magic sword or treasure chest stuffed inside them."

However, Ruan Wenbo shook his head. Stroking the Chainsword's cold metal casing, he said in a low voice, "Not necessarily... I remember seeing Dark Eldar in the official trailer. Maybe they're enemies we'll face later."

"We're fighting Dark Eldar? Seriously?"

"You've got to be kidding. Even Adeptus Astartes might not be able to beat those things for sure..."

The Players immediately felt a chill run down their spines. Chaos Cultists were still within the realm of what they could understand, but Dark Eldar—those legendary apex predators—were enough to make their scalps tingle just thinking about them.

As they discussed it animatedly, Commissar Walter had somehow returned to the other end of the trench. Following behind him was the Ogryn named Big Eagle Cop. Big Eagle Cop was now bound in a layer of crude yet thick metal plates with wire and belts, serving as makeshift armor. He also carried an enormous metal rod torn from a vehicle wreck, thicker than a human leg, and the sight of it alone was terrifying.

Walter asked a soldier standing guard, "What are those new recruits doing?"

The soldier instinctively gave an Imperial Eagle Salute before answering, "Reporting to the Commissar, they're dragging the brothers' bodies to a better place."

Walter fell silent for a moment upon hearing that, then said softly, "...These new recruits aren't bad. They're just a little stupid."

Then he strode forward and harshly rebuked the Players gathered together. "You idiots, get back to your positions and rest!"

The Players were caught off guard by the sudden roar and all looked at him.

Seeing their blank expressions, Walter seemed to feel that his tone had been too harsh. He softened his voice and added, "Your top priority is conserving your strength. Make sure you can survive first, then worry about the dead."

The Players froze for a moment, then suddenly understood. The Commissar was worried about them. One particularly bold Player blurted out, "Commissar, you're pretty tsundere!"

"Tsundere...?"

Though he had never heard this word from another world, Walter could roughly understand it from its literal meaning and the other man's tone. His face instantly flushed red as he snapped, "You little new recruits, I think you want your asses kicked! Get the hell back to your positions!"

Under Walter's shouting and kicking, the Players scrambled back to their defensive positions in utter chaos.

At the position on the other side, two Astra Militarum veterans resting against sandbags watched the lively scene.

One veteran nudged his companion with an elbow and said softly, "How long has it been since the Commissar was this... spirited? Every time I saw him before, he looked half-dead."

The other veteran replied, "Yeah. These new recruits... they're pretty capable."

The two veterans exchanged a glance, and faint, long-lost smiles rose unbidden onto their weathered faces.