Loyalty, but First, Shear the Sheep (Seeking Readership)

"Retreat!"

Wang Zhong spat out only one word. Tax Brother and Xue Brother understood immediately. Without a moment's hesitation, the three turned and retreated rapidly along the foul-smelling passage they had come from.

Those rusted pieces of equipment were certainly tempting, but the refinery's alarms had already subsided; the chaos was coming to an end.

Now was not the time for greed.

A few minutes later, they mingled with other workers returning to the rest area, collapsing onto the cold ground, panting and covered in grime, indistinguishable from the truly exhausted workers around them.

The overseers cursed as they took a headcount, confirming that no "consumables" had taken the opportunity to escape. After grumbling a few more times about how the damn pipes had burst again and the servitors in charge needed replacing, they slowly dispersed.

The rest area fell back into a stifling silence.

Wang Zhong closed his eyes, focused his mind, and spoke in the regional channel:

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "Brothers, stop complaining for a moment."

"Since it's now confirmed that this is a Warhammer world simulator wrapped in a mecha skin, our primary task must be clear."

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "First, figure out the timeline."

"Is it M30? M31? Or even later?"

"Is the Emperor sitting on the Golden Throne, or is He out there leading the Primarchs on the Great Crusade?"

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "Second, which sector of the galaxy? Which system? Which planet?"

"Where exactly in this galaxy is this Aurelian IV we're standing on?"

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "Third, and most importantly, raise your hands: those who want to keep playing this game after logging off, type 1."

"Those who think it's too hardcore or too terrifying and want to delete their accounts and run, type 2."

"Let me get a sense of where we stand."

The channel was silent for a few seconds.

Then, the numbers began to scroll.

It was almost entirely 1s, occasionally interspersed with a few 11s or 111s, expressing a doubly confirmed resolve.

[Soul of Cadia]: "1! Does that even need asking? Although the start is a bit miserable, to be honest, if a virtual simulation game of this scale were on the market, how much would it sell for? 99,999 credits? And you'd probably need to win a lottery just for the reservation!"

[Did White Scars speed today]: "11111! Is playing Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 on a computer to kill bugs the same as standing in the Warhammer world in person and moving bricks?"

"This immersion, these details, even the nutrient paste tasting so authentically terrible... who would still play computer games!"

[Tau-kun, you are right, but Bolter is righter]: "1! I argue with people online every day, saying everyone is loyal, but when it comes down to it, no one goes."

"Now the opportunity is here, I'm definitely going to be loyal, alright!"

"Anyway, we can respawn. It hurts, sure, but just think of it as... ultra-high-fidelity pain feedback! Just do it!"

These words were like a spark falling into an oil drum.

[Want Silent King's Crown but cannot afford]: "1! Damn, it reminds me of the days when I used a computer to slaughter Orks and Tyranids in games."

"Now that a real-life VR version of Warhammer is in front of us, I'm going to chicken out? That wouldn't be losing face for the Emperor... ah, screw that, that wouldn't be losing face for us Fourth Calamity!"

[Slaanesh Chosen Reserve]: "111111! I must keep playing! I want to see if this game can actually let me become a Chosen of Slaanesh! What is the experience of ultimate pleasure?"

"Although the women in the Warhammer world might look a bit... well, unique, a cross-species human-machine romance seems quite exciting, doesn't it?"

[Nurgle Loving Father Loves All]: "1, accept reality, embrace change."

"Here, every day is a blessing from the Loving Father, even if the way the blessing is delivered is by being whipped or eating moldy nutrient paste."

[Mechanicus Oil-Lover on the Run]: "1, from a technical analysis perspective, the physical rule restoration, social structure complexity, and technical detail credibility of this simulated world far exceed any existing virtual product."

"Even as an observation of a scientific research sample, it has extremely high value, and, I want to see a real Titan with my own eyes."

[Schrodinger's Loyalist]: "1, although I am currently both loyal and potentially a traitor, existing in a state of superposition."

"But for a game this fun, not playing it would be un-Chinese!"

[The Emperor's tax must be paid even if the world ends]: "1! The taxes aren't paid yet, how can I leave? Wait, am I being gaslit..."

More and more people responded, and the channel was flooded with resolve and banter.

Wang Zhong watched these messages, the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

These guys... they really are a calamity.

As long as there is a glimmer of hope, even if that hope is just being able to respawn and continue being abused, they can ignite instantly.

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "Good! Since most brothers have decided to keep going, let's manage this account well."

"But there is a practical problem now: logging off to rest."

"Our bodies outside still need to eat and use the bathroom, and we can't just leave these vessels in the game unattended."

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "I propose: we set up a group chat outside."

"I will post a thread on the Warhammer forum, titled... well, [Sorrow of Alru]."

"Brothers, after you log off, search for this post and send me a private message so I can pull everyone into the group."

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "Don't mute the group once you're in! We're implementing a shift system."

"During the game's rest periods, two people must remain online for duty."

"If the foreman suddenly starts the shift early or if there's any emergency, the brothers on duty should log off immediately and post in the group to 'move bricks'! Everyone else who sees it should log on ASAP."

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "We'll rotate the shifts."

"This way, we can ensure our real lives aren't too affected while avoiding having our in-game bodies treated as ownerless scrap."

"What do you think?"

The channel was filled with agreement.

[Soul of Cadia]: "Fine! Loyal Brother is thoughtful! But..."

He changed his tone, "Are we really going to mine here 007-style until we die?"

"Even though we can respawn, sorting Promethium ore by hand every day—this gameplay is just too much like prison, right?"

Wang Zhong smiled.

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "How could we mine forever? We are currently dragons stranded in shallow water, tigers fallen to the plains; we're temporarily under someone else's roof, saving up some starting capital."

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "When you touched those waste ores, didn't you see the system prompt?"

"A piece of Promethium waste ore can provide about 0.5 to 1.5 units of standard energy material. Although the purity is low, it can still be exchanged for 0.05 to 0.15 Imperial Coin."

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "I just checked the shop carefully, and there's a [Portable Material Recycling Terminal (Basic)] for sale at 50 Imperial Coin."

"Its function is to recycle materials directly outside of submission points and exchange them for Imperial Coin. There's a bit of a service fee, but it's convenient."

"Tax Brother, Xue Brother, and I will pool today's money together; we should be able to buy one."

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "Starting tomorrow, we'll be mining rats."

"When the foreman and those NPC coworkers aren't looking, we'll sneak the waste ore into our storage slots."

"Items of the same type can stack in the storage slots, but weight limits mean we can't take too much."

"Steal a dozen or twenty pieces a day, fill up the weight capacity, and sell them all at once using the recycling terminal when we get back to the rest area."

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "First, we'll fleece the Alru Group to save up some money."

"Besides, didn't we find some broken equipment in that sewer passage earlier?"

"This shows there must be a resistance organization in the factory, just lying low for now."

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "When they make their move, we'll take the opportunity to buy some weapons with the Imperial Coin we've saved and pull off a big score."

"How about it?"

He paused, his tone becoming incited:

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "Don't you want to take a little revenge for the dozens of brothers who were dragged off to die in experiments, and for this experience of mining and getting whipped?"

These words completely ignited the channel.

[Did White Scars speed today]: "Holy crap! Loyal Brother, truly a loyal subject of the Emperor! This plan is solid! Steal the base and then counter-kill—I'm familiar with this plot!"

[Tau-kun, you are right, but Bolter is righter]: "For the brothers who died before! To vent our anger! Let's do it!"

[Slaanesh Chosen Reserve]: "Revenge is also an ultimate emotional experience... I agree!"

[Mechanicus Oil-Lover on the Run]: "From the perspective of resource optimization, this plan is feasible. Seconded."

[Schrodinger's Loyalist]: "I both agree and disagree, but I'll be stealing ore anyway."

[Tax Brother]: "Tax evasion... ah, no, stealing ore to sell for money is only natural! Count me in!"

Seeing everyone respond, Wang Zhong continued to arrange:

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "Good! As for the dozens of brothers who died, if anyone knows them, try to contact them after logging on and pull them into our group."

"Their respawn points are random; they might be scattered elsewhere on the planet, but they could be reinforcements later."

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "Also, when moving bricks, take the opportunity to chat with the NPC workers nearby and fish for information."

"When they captured us, didn't the leader say something about 'in the name of the Emperor'?"

"Although it might be a catchphrase, it at least indicates that the Emperor might still exist."

"We might not be in the darkest timeline where the Emperor is dead and Chaos reigns... of course, everything still needs to be figured out slowly."

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "That's it for now. Brothers willing to take shifts, private message me."