[Schrodinger's Loyalist]: "If this really is a fanfic universe, I hope the author writes a power fantasy. Hurry up and drop a Primarch in to save us from this mess. Ideally, it'd be Sanguinius. He's handsome."
[Slaanesh Chosen Reserve]: "I think Fulgrim would be pretty good too..."
[Nurgle Loving Father Loves All]: "Mortarion, surely. Grandfather's gifts..."
Wang Zhong said grimly in the group chat, "Traitorous heretics, don't let this shake the Loyalists' faith, or I'll mute you."
[The Emperor's taxes must be paid even if the world ends]: "I'm with Brother Loyalty! But speaking of the timeline... I've noticed something."
"When that overseer said 'in the Emperor's name,' it sounded very natural, like an everyday expression."
"If the Emperor had already been a god, sitting on a toilet for ten thousand years, would that catchphrase still be so widespread?"
[Mechanicus Oil-Lover on the Run]: "That makes sense."
"In the 40K era, ordinary people at the bottom are more likely to say 'the Emperor's Blessing' or 'Praise the Emperor.' 'In the Emperor's name' sounds more like something formal, used when enforcing the law or declaring war."
"But during the Great Crusade in the 30K era, Imperial soldiers and law enforcement really did use that phrase a lot."
[Mechanicus Oil-Lover on the Run] compiled the information they had so far:
"World name: Aurelian IV. Confirmed not to be a famous planet in any major official sector. Extremely likely to be a frontier world."
"Local powers: the Simans Chamber of Commerce is the leading force, controlling the Alru Pharmaceutical Group and others."
"Other forces exist, such as Knight Houses, psyker dynasties, and branches of the Mechanicus. Based on scraps of information from the workers, the world appears to be divided among rival powers."
"Imperial presence: confirmed."
"Soldiers use the Emperor's name in everyday speech, but Imperial control is weak, and local powers enjoy considerable autonomy."
"Technology level: typical of a Hive World. There are las weapons, aircraft, and basic synthetic industries, but the lower levels still rely heavily on manual labor. This matches the uneven distribution of technology on the Imperium's frontiers."
"Psyker activity: confirmed."
"The extent of oversight is unclear, but it's obvious that some institution is conducting illegal research."
"Key timeline clues: no direct evidence yet points to a specific millennium."
"But based on the strength of Imperial rule, the level of technology, and the lack of signs of large-scale, overt Chaos activity, could it be sometime between the late Great Crusade and the early Horus Heresy?"
"In other words, late M30 to early M31. The expanding Imperium's administration would have become spread thin, allowing local powers to grow stronger, which fits the setting. If this were during or after the rebellion, Chaos's influence should be more obvious."
Everyone praised the analysis.
[Soul of Cadia] added, "There's another supporting clue!"
"Those soldiers and overseers are ruthless, but they feel... reasonably organized. Like normal local forces, not the kind of frenzied or excessively disciplined troops you'd get after Chaos corruption."
"If this were ten thousand years after the rebellion, wouldn't there be at least a little Chaos in the air?"
[Mechanicus Fabricator General]: "That makes sense."
"And the way they use the word 'Emperor' feels like a habit, or even a tool, rather than something they fear or have abandoned completely."
"If the Imperium had truly rotted to the core, or Chaos were in charge, they might not mention him at all—or they'd have a very different attitude when they did."
[Guilliman Is Forever God]: "So maybe we're... at the tail end of the Dark Age of Technology?"
"The Great Crusade hasn't ended yet, and the Emperor might still be sitting on... uh, maybe he hasn't sat on the toilet yet?"
"The Primarchs are still fighting? Horus hasn't started his big birthday celebration?"
[Schrodinger's Loyalist]: "So here's the question: if this might be a good era, why did we start out as workhorses? Does that make sense?"
[Tau-kun, you are right, but Bolter is righter]:
"Bro, wake up! For ordinary humans, when has the end of 30K or 40K ever been a good era?"
"Did fewer mortals die during the Great Crusade? Were fewer innocent souls accidentally killed by planetary Exterminatus?"
"It was a golden age for the Imperial elite and the Primarchs. For nobodies like us... it's always workhorse season!"
"Now we've just gone from being workhorses for the Imperial Crusade to being workhorses for a local trade consortium. Nothing's changed at the core!"
"Well said!"
"That's the truth!"
"So true!" A stream of exclamations flooded the group chat.
[Don't ask, I think it will work]: "Then I reckon we should try to find a Primarch. If we can get in good with one of them, even serving as auxiliary troops for the Space Marines would beat mining in a refinery!"
[Soul of Cadia]: "First, we have to get out of the refinery alive, and then we need to make contact with Imperial forces."
"Don't forget, we're off the books. We have no identity markers, which means we don't exist in the Imperial bureaucracy."
[Orks Never Become Slaves]: "Besides, the Alru Group is the local kingpin, and the Simans Chamber of Commerce must have people on the local council."
"If a bunch of nobodies like us go tell the governor we're honest citizens, the consortium will probably have us dragged back as lunatics."
[Tau-kun Surrender Your Gun and Live]: "So we still have to rely on ourselves! Steal ore! Save money! Buy guns! Make trouble!"
[I'm not the Lord Regent, just Guilliman passing by]: "Agreed."
"Our goals for now: first, survive; second, gather resources; third, obtain information; fourth, build an organization."
"We can use the Imperial Guard Enlisted Men's Mutual Aid Handbook and the Preliminary Guide to Underhive Resistance Movements as references..."
[Schrodinger's Loyalist]: "Brother Ji, where'd you get those books?"
[I'm not the Lord Regent, just Guilliman passing by]: "Uh, personal interest."
The group chat was buzzing with discussion, Warhammer jokes and dark humor flying in every direction.
Someone uploaded a hand-drawn map of the refinery, marking the overseers' patrol routes, possible hiding spots, and the foul-smelling waste tunnel.
Someone else compiled snippets from the NPC workers, trying to piece together clues about Old District 8. One phrase came up more than any other: "After District 7 fell down."
[Mechanicus Oil-Lover on the Run]: "District 7 could mean the seventh level of the Hive City or the seventh administrative district."
"The description 'fell down' is important."
"Did an upper level of the Hive City collapse and come crashing down? Or did an orbital facility crash?"
"If it's the latter, it could have been a major disaster—or even the remains of an orbital bombardment."
[The Four-Armed God-Emperor Above]: "That old worker I heard said a lot of things changed after District 7 fell down."
"This could be an important historical turning point. Maybe it gave the Alru Group or the Simans Chamber of Commerce a chance to rise, or maybe it marked a shift in the balance of power between local forces."
[Soul of Cadia]: "Who cares! We can't even get out of the refinery district we're in, so what's the point of digging up history from who-knows-how-long ago?"
[Tau-kun, you are right, but Bolter is righter]: "It could be useful! What if the ruins of District 7 are hiding an STC? What if there are relics from the Dark Age of Technology? We'd be rich!"
[Praise the Omnissiah]: "And then the Mechanicus would hunt us to the ends of the galaxy? Those Oil-Guys are even more obsessed with STCs than Slaanesh is with handsome men in Chengdu."
As Wang Zhong watched the chat fly by, a smile crept onto his face.
These guys had just come back from a game that was like hell on earth. Every one of them was exhausted and might even be carrying psychological scars, yet now they were cracking jokes, analyzing things seriously, and making plans.
That was what players were like.
That was the Fourth Calamity.
They might complain, get scared, or do something reckless.
But give them just a little hope and a goal, and they could unleash astonishing drive and creativity.
Wang Zhong opened the group files. People had already uploaded several neatly compiled documents:
<Alru No. 3 Refinery Overseer Patrol Schedule (First Draft)>
<Promethium Waste Ore Purity and Recovery Value Comparison Chart>
Refinery Area-by-Area Danger Assessment
<How to Pass as a Proper Hive City Workhorse—A Guide to Managing Your Expressions and Movements>
<Warhammer 40K Basics: A Quick Q&A to Avoid Giving Yourself Away>
He even spotted a Preliminary Proposal for Organizing Union Activities in the Refinery, written by [The Emperor's taxes must be paid even if the world ends].
Wang Zhong opened it and found that it really did cite its sources, covering everything from Marx and Lenin to the British Chartist movement and the condition of Hive City workers. It concluded:
Given the current imbalance of power between the enemy and ourselves, the workers' lack of class consciousness, and the absence of outside support, it would be unwise to establish a union openly. However, we could develop an underground mutual aid network, spread ideas in secret, and build up our strength.
"Tax Brother's quite a talent," Wang Zhong remarked.
It was almost seven in the evening.
Many people in the group had already started discussing when they would log in next.
[Schrodinger's Loyalist]: "It's rest time in the game now. The guys on shift should still be online."
"When are we logging in together next time?"
[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "According to the in-game clock, we'll probably have to log in again soon."
"Real-world time... it's a little past seven in the evening. It should be around four or five in the morning in the game."
"The overseers will be starting work soon."
[Mechanicus Oil-Lover on the Run]: "I suggest we all log in at eight in real-world time, which should line up with the start of the workday in the game."
"We'll need to assign people to watch tonight."
[Soul of Cadia]: "I'll volunteer for watch duty tonight! It's not like I have a job!"
[Don't ask, I think it will work]: "I'll volunteer too! I don't have a job either!"
A watch schedule was soon drawn up. Wang Zhong uploaded it to the group files and tagged the relevant members.
[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "That's it for today, everyone."
"See you in the game at eight."
"Remember the plan: keep our heads down, steal ore, save money, gather information, and wait for the right moment."
[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 Lord Regent, just Guilliman passing by]: "So one day we can pilot a mech!"
[Soul of Cadia]: "So we can shove the One-Eyed Overseer's head into the reactor!"
[The Emperor's taxes must be paid even if the world ends]: "So we can... pay a little less tax?"
[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "All right, meeting adjourned! Take a break! Rest up, then we'll get back to working for the Alru Group—and stealing their ore on the side."
A stream of cries of "For the Emperor!" flooded the group chat.
Before you continue