A flash of lightning.
Even with their pain sensitivity turned down to 30%, the player still let out a scream and stumbled to the ground. A charred mark appeared across their back, their work clothes torn to reveal red, swollen skin.
"Ah, fuck," the player cried in the regional channel. "It still hurts this much at 30%?!"
"Was that whip blessed by Khorne or something?!"
"Speak! Have you been stealing ore?!"
[Handicapped Party Please Spare Me] put on the performance of a lifetime, his face turning deathly pale as he stammered:
"M-m-m-my lord... W-we wouldn't dare... We get whipped every day... We can barely get enough to eat... How could we have the strength to steal ore..."
The overseer tossed him aside and randomly grabbed a few more players to search.
Of course, he found nothing.
"Damn it..." One-Eyed Overseer cursed, then turned to Bald Man. "See? Nothing."
Bald Man frowned. "Then what happened? Could it be the supplier..."
One-Eyed Overseer's eyes lit up. "It's definitely those crooked merchants! Damn it, their asses must've been buggered!"
"They dare sell us substandard ore? Come on, we're going to settle the score!"
The two of them left, cursing as they went.
The players looked at one another, then burst out laughing in the regional channel.
[Soul of Cadia]: "Hahahaha! They blamed the suppliers!"
[Did White Scars speed today]: "Buggered asses? That insult is so Warhammer!"
[Tau-kun, you are right, but Bolter is righter]: "So the ore we stole got written off as a quality issue? Brilliant!"
[Mechanicus Oil-Lover on the Run]: "Ore quality naturally fluctuates. The overseer can't prove theft, so he's pointing the finger at the supply chain."
"I recommend continuing this operation, but be mindful of the frequency to avoid triggering a full inspection."
[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "Keep it low-key, brothers. Low-key."
"We'll make our fortune in silence."
During a break, Wang Zhong was squatting in a rest area off to the side when he sensed someone approaching.
He looked up and saw a young NPC worker.
The man's work clothes were relatively clean. His face showed signs of fatigue, but his eyes weren't as completely numb as those of the other workers.
He squatted beside Wang Zhong and lowered his voice. "Hey, new here?"
Wang Zhong's heart tightened, but he kept his expression calm and answered in the local-accented lingua franca.
"Yeah. Got caught a few days ago."
"How'd you end up here?"
The young man asked, his gaze sweeping over Wang Zhong's face.
"I was wandering around without papers. They caught me in the Crimson Bright Wasteland."
Wang Zhong gave the story he'd prepared long ago. "They said it was illegal assembly, but we were just a bunch of refugees."
The young man nodded, seemingly unsurprised by the answer.
He fell silent for a few seconds, then asked,
"You guys... There seem to be a lot of you. I heard they caught several thousand this time?"
Wang Zhong's guard went up to the highest level. "I don't know. I woke up in a cage, surrounded by people."
"Oh."
The young man didn't press further. Instead, he remarked casually, "This place... isn't somewhere you want to stay."
"The overseers are brutal, the work is hard, and the food is terrible."
"Lots of people don't last six months."
He paused, then lowered his voice further. "But it's not like there's no chance."
"You just have to... find the right people."
With that, he patted Wang Zhong on the shoulder, stood up, and walked away as if nothing had happened.
Wang Zhong watched him go, his brow furrowing slightly.
There was something off about this NPC.
He was too eager to approach, and his questions felt probing.
In the regional channel, Xue Brother had already asked, "Brother Loyalty, who was that guy just now?"
"Didn't look like an ordinary worker."
"I don't know," Wang Zhong replied. "But there's definitely something strange about him. He could be an overseer's informant, or maybe... something else."
He didn't say more, but a suspicion was taking shape in his mind.
In the Warhammer World, in a refinery as oppressive as this one, there were always people who refused to spend their whole lives as disposable labor.
A resistance group, an underground union, or even Chaos worshippers... Any of them were possible.
Could that young man be an agent for some organization?
Wang Zhong kept the thought to himself.
It wasn't time to make contact yet. They needed more leverage.
At dusk, the end-of-shift whistle rang out like heavenly music.
The players dragged their exhausted bodies forward, lined up to collect their wages for the day, and received another tube of nutrient paste and a bag of water.
Then they were herded back to the same cramped, filthy communal sleeping area.
As soon as the overseers left, the players sprang into action.
Following the plan they'd agreed on in advance, the players who had stolen ore began passing it along.
Those near the door took ore from their inventory slots and handed it to the person next to them, who passed it farther inside... like a relay baton.
Layer by layer, the ore moved toward the central area where Wang Zhong, Tax Brother, and Xue Brother were waiting.
Wang Zhong had already taken out the Portable Material Recycling Terminal.
The palm-sized metal plate gleamed coldly in the dim light.
The ore was absorbed and converted, one piece at a time.
When the last piece had reached its destination, Wang Zhong activated the terminal.
A scanning beam flashed, and lines of data appeared on the screen.
[Standard energy material detected... Estimated value: 43,187.5 Imperial Coins. Convert? (Fee: 2,159.375 coins)]
"Convert."
A faint light flashed, and the pile of ore disappeared.
Wang Zhong's account balance jumped to 41,028.125 Imperial Coins.
He immediately posted the figure in the regional channel.
The channel fell silent for three seconds.
Then it exploded.
[Soul of Cadia]: "H-how much?"
"Forty-three thousand?!"
"I'm bad at math. Someone tell me how much that is!"
[Did White Scars speed today]: "That's more than eight Imperial Coins per person on average!"
"In one day! We stole this much in one day?!"
[Want Silent King's Crown but cannot afford]: "We're rich, we're rich! I've got 11.8 coins now, plus another eight! That's almost 20."
[Tau-kun, you are right, but Bolter is righter]: "That's enough to buy a crude pistol! Even if it's still black powder..."
[Slaanesh Chosen Reserve]: "I'm starting to think... being a mine rat isn't so bad?"
[Nurgle Loving Father Loves All]: "Accept this gift from Grandfather... even if it came through theft."
Wang Zhong quickly did the math, then spoke in the channel:
"There were 4,961 brothers in today's operation. Each gets 8.2 Imperial Coins. The three of us—me, Tax Brother, and Xue Brother—will split the remainder."
"After all, we paid for the recycling terminal. Any objections?"
The channel filled with "No objections," "That's only fair," and "Brother Loyalty, you're awesome."
[The Emperor's Taxes Must Be Paid Even If the World Ends]:
"Wait, let me calculate... 8.2 coins, minus tomorrow's 0.3 breathing tax, leaves 7.9... Save up for a few more days and I'll have enough to buy a lasgun!"
[Mechanicus Oil-Lover on the Run]: "Based on the shop prices, a hunting knife costs 5 coins, a crude pistol 20, a lasgun 60, and basic physique enhancement 100."
"At our current rate, we should reach the armament threshold in four to seven standard days."
[Schrodinger's Loyalist]: "Why do I feel like life as a slave is getting more and more promising? Have I been brainwashed?"
[Don't ask, I think it will work]: "I reckon if we keep stealing like this, they'll find out sooner or later, right?"
[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "They will."
"But every day we can steal is one more day."
"We just need to arm ourselves as much as possible before they catch on."
He paused, his tone turning more serious.
"Also, there's something I need to tell everyone about today."
"During the afternoon break, a young-looking NPC worker came up to me and asked how I got caught, where I came from, and things like that."
The channel fell quiet.
[Soul of Cadia]: "Holy shit? Could it be... a resistance group?"
[Tau-kun, you are right, but Bolter is righter]: "Could be! There have to be people who are unhappy in a place like this!"
[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "I stayed on my guard and said I was a wanderer who'd accidentally trespassed on the merchant group's land and got caught."
"He nodded, didn't ask much, and left."
"But I have a feeling... there's definitely something off about him."
"Maybe he was testing us, or watching to see whether we had any desire to rebel."
Wang Zhong watched the messages scroll through the channel and continued:
"My gut tells me it won't be long before we get out of this hellhole. Either we arm ourselves and fight our way out, or someone organizes an uprising and we escape in the chaos."
"But until then..."
He smiled.
"We're going to milk the Alru Group for all they're worth! Strip them bare! Keep milking them until they go bankrupt!"
"Absolutely!!"
The players answered as one in the channel.
Looking at the Imperial Coins that had appeared in their accounts, they all grinned like rats that had stolen some oil.
Their bodies were still trapped in the refinery's hell. They still had to face the whip tomorrow, and the nutrient paste was still as nasty as Nurgle's stew...
But now they had hope.
Money could buy weapons, enhancements, and freedom.
And saving up, leveling up, and then... beating the game were what they did best.
[Soul of Cadia]: "For the Emperor! For Imperial Coins!"
[Did White Scars speed today]: "So we can get into mechs sooner!"
[Slaanesh Chosen Reserve]: "For... um, a better gaming experience!"
[Nurgle Loving Father Loves All]: "To receive more gifts from Grandfather..."
[Loyal to the Emperor Forever]: "All right, get some rest."
"The brothers on watch, keep your eyes peeled."
"Tomorrow, we do it again. Be the best miners and the sneakiest mine rats."
The players logged off one after another.
Thousands of bodies lay sprawled out, asleep in the rest area.
In the distance, the refinery's furnaces continued to roar, their streams of molten metal illuminating the unchanging backdrop of this iron hell.
But in a dim corner, two players on watch stayed awake, keeping a wary eye on their surroundings.
Meanwhile, deep in the Warp.
Lu Sheng felt the emotions flowing through him today, richer than ever: excitement, anticipation, delight at a successful prank, and hope for the future...
"Good. Very good."
He stretched his energy form in delight.
He looked at the system, where more than 400,000 units of energy had appeared.
"They stole ore and made forty thousand coins... These players are something else."
"When they really kick up a fuss..."
Before you continue