Cattle and Horse Simulator

The players were digging away with a rhythmic clatter.

Outside the abandoned pretreatment workshop, in that massive bowl-shaped mine, the sounds of clinking and clanging merged into a single symphony.

Interspersed were howls of, "This thing is so heavy, my arms are about to snap!" and "For the Imperial Coin!"

Wang Zhong carried several twisted metal plates pried from the wreckage of an old drill, along with a pile of screws, gears, and other parts, to the metal platform inside the workshop marked as the material submission point.

The surface of the platform was smooth, featuring a distinct recessed area.

He dumped everything onto it in one go.

[Submission complete]

[Material assessment: Low-quality alloy scrap (6.5 units), standard mechanical parts (0.5 units)]

[Received: 0.7 Imperial Coin]

[Current Imperial Coin balance: 0.7]

[Today's survival tax: Unpaid (0/0.3)]

"0.7..."

Wang Zhong panted heavily, wiping the sweat from his forehead as a sour ache radiated through his muscles.

He looked at the burly man next to him who had just finished his own submission, a player whose ID was [The Emperor's Tax Must Be Paid Even If The World Ends]. "Tax Brother, how much did you get?"

"0.9."

Tax Brother looked tragic. "I feel like I'm working for some unscrupulous tax lord... No, this is even darker than a regular job. At least a job provides room and board!"

"I'm starving and thirsty right now, my stamina has dropped to 51%. This hunger sensation is way too realistic!"

"Who's telling you otherwise?"

[Schrodinger's Loyalist] dragged a metal pipe he'd scavenged from somewhere over, submitting it listlessly to receive 0.2 coins.

"I'm a loyalist who didn't die on the front lines fighting Chaos, nor did I fall under the choppas of the Greenskins, only to starve to death in a game that looks like it was developed by the Tau?"

"If word of this gets out, how am I supposed to show my face in the underground taverns of Terra?"

"Give it a rest with the Tau talk."

Wang Zhong retorted, "If the Tau had this kind of technical prowess, they would have wiped out the Eye of Terror long ago."

"I'm starting to suspect this is some human physical limit and resource extraction simulation experiment run by a rogue Mechanicus Magos who escaped Imperial control."

"In short: Cattle and Horse Simulator," Tax Brother summarized precisely.

"Brilliant!"

The trio's complaints were only a small fraction of the clamor in the mine.

Everywhere, there were similar grumbles and attempts to find humor in the misery.

"The feel of this pickaxe... it's incredible! It's even more satisfying than the real one at my grandpa's place!"

"I dug up something that looks like adamantium... pfft, never mind, it's just a harder rock! The system only gave me 0.01 units for it!"

"Any brothers want to team up and check over there? Those big vats might be salvageable!"

"Count me in! Just be careful not to fall into that glowing green puddle; it looks like Nurgle's Soup to me..."

"Shut up! Don't mention that name! It's bad luck!"

The adaptability of players is formidable.

The limited five-slot inventory quickly became the biggest bottleneck to efficiency.

Consequently, the players spontaneously formed an assembly line: some dug and dismantled in the depths of the mine, while others were responsible for short-distance transport using makeshift ropes and wooden carts.

They dragged the relatively valuable large items back to be piled near the submission point, where designated people stored them, waiting for the others to return and submit them.

Efficiency actually improved quite a bit.

Of course, conflicts and friction were inevitable.

"I found that generator casing first!"

"I reckon this thing doesn't have your name on it!"

"Holy crap, are you speaking Greenskin now? Brother, you're too deep into the roleplay!"

"Stop arguing! Whoever sees it gets a share, dismantle it and split it!"

"Hurry up, another group is coming over there!"

Deep within the Warp.

"Tsk tsk, look at that subjective initiative."

Lu Sheng admired the system notification of "Player collaboration efficiency increased by 15%," as the trickle of energy absorption grew slightly more abundant. "As expected, debt and the pressure to survive are the primary productive forces."

"Whatever loyalist faith they have, it's all hollow in the face of a 0.3-coin breathing tax."

"Xiao Zai," he summoned the system, "what can be listed in the shop right now? Give me a list to look at."

"It needs to be appropriate for the current stage, yet something that allows them to see hope."

The cold, mechanical voice rang directly in Lu Sheng's consciousness, identical in tone to how it spoke to players:

[Based on the accumulated material and emotional energy reserves, the following basic exchange items can be unlocked:]

I. Survival Essentials:

Synthetic Nutrient Paste (Standard Portion): Alleviates hunger, slightly restores stamina.

Price: 0.3 Imperial Coin.

Purified Water (1 Liter): Alleviates thirst.

Price: 0.3 Imperial Coin.

Simple Medical Kit: Can treat minor trauma, slows bleeding status.

Price: 1.5 Imperial Coins.

Crude Fiber Sleeping Bag: Used in safe zones, accelerates stamina recovery, slightly alleviates fatigue.

Price: 3 Imperial Coins.

II. Tools and Weapons:

Refined Miner's Pickaxe: Gathering efficiency +10%.

Price: 3 Imperial Coins.

Metal Cutter: Can dismantle metal structures more efficiently.

Price: 6 Imperial Coins.

Simple Steel Pipe/Metal Rod: A melee weapon stronger than bare hands.

Price: 1-3 Imperial Coins (depending on quality).

Crude Pistol (Black Powder): Short range, poor accuracy, slow reload, but it makes a noise; includes 10 rounds of rough ammunition.

Price: 20 Imperial Coins.

Hunting Knife: A relatively reliable melee and cutting tool.

Price: 5 Imperial Coins.

III. Basic Enhancements (Requires genetic sequence development progress to reach 1% or higher to unlock preview):

Basic Physique Enhancement (Type I): Slightly increases strength and stamina caps.

Price: 100 Imperial Coins.

Neural Reflex Optimization (Type I): Slightly increases reaction speed and coordination.

Price: 100 Imperial Coins.

Sensory Sharpening (Type I): Slightly increases visual, auditory, and other sensory capabilities.

Price: 100 Imperial Coins.

(Note: Enhancements are physical modifications; they still require training and adaptation, and may slightly affect the appearance of the vessel.)

IV. Knowledge/Skills (Consciousness transmission fragments, extremely simplified versions):

<Wilderness Survival Common Sense (Aurelian IV Applicable Version)>: Price: 10 Imperial Coins.

<Basic Mechanical Structure Identification and Dismantling>: Price: 30 Imperial Coins.

Simple Trap Making and Placement: Price: 15 Imperial Coins.

[The above is the first stage of shop content. More items require consuming additional material energy to unlock blueprints.]

Lu Sheng scanned the list and was reasonably satisfied.

"All abilities, talents, weapons, armor, potions, and gene-seeds from Warhammer 40k... theoretically, they can all be bought, right?"

[Calculating... Correct, but the energy required is immense. For example, the full set of implantation and modification for a standard Space Marine gene-seed would require energy equivalent to the direct absorption and conversion of a small city. For Primarch-level genetic templates, the requirements grow exponentially.]

"Then... help me become the Golden Giant?"

Lu Sheng asked half-jokingly, his energy form rippling with curiosity.

The system was silent for a moment, seemingly performing a calculation of unprecedented scale.

[Target: Master of Mankind (The Emperor). Energy requirement estimate... requires the absorption and conversion of approximately 63.8% of the total energy of this universe (physical and Warp), and requires the complete understanding, analysis, and reproduction of his unique psychic essence, genetic structure, and the wisdom and soul strength accumulated over ten thousand years.]

[Feasibility: A path exists theoretically, but the practical probability is lower than the universe naturally restarting after heat death.]

"Ah??!"

Lu Sheng's energy form fluctuated violently, "It needs more than half the energy of the universe? Just to even touch the edge of his power?"

"As expected of the God of War incarnate, the Emperor who fights the Four Chaos Gods alone—damn, I'm impressed!"

He had finally gained an intuitive sense of the value of that existence sitting on the Golden Throne... no, that existence serving as the beacon of humanity.

"It seems I have a long road ahead if I want to get stronger, and I can't afford to be reckless, or I might just end up dying from a careless move."

Lu Sheng quickly recognized the reality, "Then let the players go wild! The conventional weapons and enhancement methods in the shop are enough to keep them busy for a long time."

"Settings complete; they will unlock once they finish their tasks."

[Shop Exchange List (Phase 1) is ready, to be opened once trigger conditions are met]

In the lower level of the mine, behind a relatively concealed patch of mechanical ruins.

Wang Zhong led Tax Brother (short for The Emperor's Taxes Must Be Paid Even If The World Ends) and Schrodinger's Loyalist (short for Brother Schrodinger) to form a three-man exploration squad.

Each of them carried a rusted steel pipe found in the ruins, with a few relatively sharp metal shards tucked into their waists as secondary weapons.

"It doesn't look like anyone comes over here."

Tax Brother vigilantly surveyed the surrounding mountains of metal trash and collapsed supports.

"The ore vein over there seems to have been mined out; it's all just rubble." Brother Schrodinger poked the ground with his steel pipe.

"Let's look for any big hauls buried underneath, or... other things that can be traded for money."

Wang Zhong scanned the area, then suddenly stopped and pointed beneath a pile of twisted pipes, "There, it looks like there's an opening? It doesn't look man-made."

The three exchanged glances and cautiously approached.

It was an irregular hole dug out at the junction of metal and rock, its edges marked by coarse, stiff fur and deep scratch marks, emitting a pungent, musky odor.

"A beast's den?" Brother Schrodinger lowered his voice.

"It's possible."

"The system said we could do anything; it didn't say we could only mine."

Wang Zhong tightened his grip on the steel pipe, "Maybe there are shiny things inside that the beast collected?"

This thought made the hearts of the three grow warm.

But the danger was also self-evident.

Just as they hesitated between going in to take a look or marking the location to go back and call for help.

"ROAR!"

A low, threatening growl erupted from within the hole, accompanied by the sound of heavy, sticky footsteps.

A massive figure blocked the entrance.

It was a creature resembling an oversized mastiff, yet far uglier and more ferocious.