Timeline Deduction

[Schrodinger's Loyalist]: "If this really is a fan-fiction universe, I hope the author is a power-fantasy writer. They better arrange for a Primarch to drop in and save us from this fire. Sanguinius would be best—he's got the looks."

[Slaanesh Chosen Reserve]: "I think Fulgrim wouldn't be bad either..."

[Nurgle Loving Father Loves All]: "Better go with Mortarion. The Loving Father's gifts..."

Wang Zhong darkened his face and said in the group chat: "Heretics who have turned to Chaos, you are not allowed to influence the faith of the Loyalists, or else be careful, or I'll silence you."

[The Emperor's Tax Must Be Paid Even If The World Ends]: "I support Brother Loyalist! But speaking of the timeline... I've made a discovery."

"When that overseer said 'in the name of the Emperor,' his tone was very natural, like it was everyday speech."

"If the Emperor had already been sitting on the Golden Throne as a statue for ten thousand years, would this catchphrase still be so prevalent?"

[Mechanicus Oil-Lover on the Run]: "That makes sense."

"In the Warhammer 40k era, the common folk are more likely to say 'The Emperor Protects' or 'Praise the Emperor.' Using 'in the name of the Emperor' sounds more like formal language used during law enforcement or declarations of war."

"But during the Great Crusade of the 30k era, the Imperial military and law enforcement officials did indeed use this phrase frequently."

[Mechanicus Oil-Lover on the Run] compiled the currently known information:

"World Name: Aurelian IV. Confirmed not to be a famous planet in the main official sectors; highly likely to be a Frontier World."

"Local Factions: Led by the Simans Chamber of Commerce, controlling entities like the Alru Pharmaceutical Group."

"Other factions exist, such as Knight Houses, Psyker families, and Mechanicus branches. Based on fragmented information from workers, it appears to be a state of fragmentation."

"Imperial Existence: Confirmed."

"Soldiers use the Emperor as a catchphrase, but control is weak; local factions have strong autonomy."

"Technological Level: Typical of a Hive World. Laser weapons, aircraft, and basic synthetic industries exist, but the lower levels rely heavily on manual labor, consistent with the uneven distribution of technology in the Imperial frontier."

"Psyker Status: Existence confirmed."

"Regulatory situation is unclear, but there is clearly an organization conducting illegal research."

"Key Timeline Clue: No direct evidence pointing to a specific millennium."

"However, based on the strength of Imperial rule, technological performance, and the lack of large-scale open Chaos activity, I speculate it might be between the late Great Crusade and the early Horus Heresy?"

"That is, late M30 to early M31. Reason: The expansion of the Imperial territory led to diluted management and the rise of local powers, which fits the background. If it were during or after the rebellion, the influence of Chaos should be more obvious."

This analysis drew praise from everyone.

[Soul of Cadia] added: "There's another piece of evidence!"

"Those soldiers and overseers, while vicious, feel... reasonably organized. They seem like normal local armed forces, not the crazed or extremely disciplined types seen after being corrupted by Chaos."

"If it were ten thousand years after the rebellion, there would at least be a hint of Chaos, right?"

[Mechanicus Fabricator General]: "That makes sense."

"Moreover, their use of the word 'Emperor' is like a habit or even a tool, rather than something born of fear or something completely discarded."

"If the Empire were truly rotten to the core or if Chaos were in charge, they might not mention it at all, or they would have a different attitude when doing so."

[Guilliman Is Forever God]: "So we might be in... the tail end of the Golden Age?"

"The Great Crusade isn't over yet, and the Emperor might still be sitting on... uh, maybe he hasn't sat on the 'toilet' yet?"

"Are the Primarchs still fighting? Has Horus not started his 'great birthday celebration' yet?"

[Schrodinger's Loyalist]: "Then the question arises: since it might be a good era, why are we starting out as beasts of burden? Is this reasonable?"

[Tau-kun, you are right, but Bolter is righter]:

"Bro, wake up! When has the Warhammer 40k or late 30k era ever been a 'good era' for human civilians?"

"Have fewer mortals died during the Great Crusade? Have there been fewer innocent souls wrongly killed by Exterminatus?"

"It's a Golden Age for the Imperial elite and the Primarchs, but for us commoners... it's always an era of beasts of burden!"

"Now, it's just changed from being beasts of burden for the Imperial Crusade to being beasts of burden for the local Chamber of Commerce. The essence hasn't changed!"

"Insightful!"

"The truth!"

"Tears in my eyes!" A row of exclamations flashed through the group.

[Don't ask, I think it will work]: "Then I think we should try to find a Primarch. If we can latch onto one, even just serving as auxiliary troops for the Space Marines, it would be better than mining in a refinery!"

[Soul of Cadia]: "That's assuming we can leave the refinery alive and actually contact Imperial forces."

"Don't forget, we are currently undocumented. Without identification, we effectively don't exist in the Imperial bureaucratic system."

[Orks Never Become Slaves]: "And the Alru Group is the local hegemon; the Simans Chamber of Commerce definitely has people in the local council."

"If a bunch of undocumented people go to the Governor and say we are 'good citizens,' we'll probably just be dragged back by the Chamber's men as lunatics."

[Tau-kun Surrender Your Gun and Live]: "So we have to rely on ourselves! Steal ore! Save money! Buy guns! Make moves!"

[I am not the Regent, I am just a passing Guilliman]: "Agreed."

"Current goals: First, survival; second, resource accumulation; third, intelligence gathering; fourth, building an organization."

"We could draw inspiration from the Imperial Guard Basic Soldier Mutual Aid Manual and the Preliminary Guide to Underhive Resistance Movements..."

[Schrodinger's Loyalist]: "Brother G, where did you get this reading list?"

[I'm Not the Regent I'm Just a Passing Guilliman]: "Uh, personal hobby."

The group chat was buzzing with activity, a flurry of Warhammer memes and dark humor flying back and forth.

Someone uploaded a hand-drawn sketch of the refinery, marking supervisor patrol routes, potential hiding spots, and that foul-smelling waste chute.

Others collated snippets of dialogue from NPC workers, attempting to piece together clues about Old District 8: the phrase "after District 7 fell" appeared with the highest frequency.

[Mechanicus Oil-Lover on the Run]: "District 7 likely refers to the seventh level of the Hive or the seventh administrative sector."

"The description 'fell' is crucial."

"Did the upper levels of the Hive collapse? Or did an orbital facility crash?"

"If it's the latter, it could have been a major disaster, or perhaps even the aftermath of an orbital bombardment."

[The Four-Armed God-Emperor Above]: "The old worker I heard said that after District 7 fell, everything changed."

"This might be a key historical node; perhaps it was the opportunity for the Alru Group or the Simans Chamber of Commerce to rise, or a turning point for a local power shuffle."

[Soul of Cadia]: "Who cares! We can't even get out of this refinery sector we're in right now; what's the point of digging into history from who knows how many years ago?"

[Tau-kun, you are right, but Bolter is righter]: "It's useful! What if there's an STC hidden in the ruins of District 7? What if there are relics from the Golden Age? Then we'd be rich!"

[Praise the Omnissiah]: "And then get hunted to the ends of the galaxy by the Mechanicus? The Oil-Lovers have an obsession with STCs even deeper than Slaanesh's obsession with handsome men."

Wang Zhong watched the rapidly scrolling chat, a smile appearing on his face involuntarily.

These guys—having just returned from a game that was essentially a living hell, each of them exhausted and likely carrying psychological trauma—were now in the group chat cracking jokes, analyzing seriously, and planning actively.

This is what players are.

This is the Fourth Calamity.

They might complain, they might be afraid, they might court death.

But as long as they are given a sliver of hope and a goal, they can erupt with astonishing drive and creativity.

Wang Zhong clicked on the group files, where someone had already uploaded organized materials:

<Alru No. 3 Refinery Supervisor Patrol Schedule (First Edition)>

<Promethium Waste Purity and Recovery Value Comparison Table>

Refinery Area Hazard Level Assessment

<How to Pretend to be a Competent Hive Drudge—Expression and Movement Management Guide>

<Warhammer 40K Basic Knowledge Quick Quiz (To avoid blowing your cover)>

He even saw a document titled <Preliminary Concept for Organizing Union Struggles in the Refinery>, authored by [The Emperor's Tax Must Be Paid Even If The World Ends].

Wang Zhong opened it and took a look; it actually cited sources, from Marx to Lenin, from the British Chartist movement to an analysis of the current state of Hive workers, finally concluding:

Given the current disparity in strength between the enemy and us, the lack of worker consciousness, and the absence of external support, it is not advisable to organize a union openly. However, one can develop an underground mutual aid network, secretly disseminate ideas, and accumulate strength.

"Tax Brother is a talent," Wang Zhong sighed.

The time approached 7:00 PM.

Many in the group had already begun discussing the time for the next login.

[Schrodinger's Loyalist]: "It's nighttime rest in the game right now; the brothers on duty should still be online."

"When are we logging in as a group next?"

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "According to in-game time, we should be logging in shortly."

"Real-world time... it's past 7:00 PM now, so it should be around 4:00 or 5:00 AM in the game."

"The supervisors will be starting their shifts soon."

[Mechanicus Oil-Lover on the Run]: "I suggest we log in as a group at 8:00 PM real-time, which corresponds to the start of the workday in the game."

"We need to arrange duty shifts for tonight."

[Soul of Cadia]: "I'm signing up for tonight's shift! I'm not working anyway!"

[Don't ask, I think it will work]: "Me too! I'm not working either!"

Soon, the duty roster was drawn up. Wang Zhong uploaded the table to the group files and @-ed the relevant members.

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "Everyone, let's wrap it up for today."

"See you in the game at 8:00."

"Remember our plan: stay low, steal ore, save money, gather intel, and wait for the opportunity."

[Tau-kun, you are right, but Bolter is righter]: "For Imperial Coins!"

[Schrodinger's Loyalist]: "So we don't get turned into nutrient paste!"

[I'm Not the Regent I'm Just a Passing Guilliman]: "So that one day we can pilot a mech!"

[Soul of Cadia]: "To shove the one-eyed supervisor's head into the reactor!"

[The Emperor's Tax Must Be Paid Even If The World Ends]: "To... pay a little less tax?"

[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "Alright, meeting adjourned! Get some rest! Recharge your spirits, and soon we'll go back to working for the Alru Group—and stealing their ore while we're at it."

A row of "For the Emperor" flooded the chat.