Cattle and Horse Simulator

The players were laboriously mining away.

Outside the abandoned preprocessing workshop, the huge bowl-shaped mine pit rang with clanging and clanking.

Their efforts were interspersed with cries of "This stuff is so heavy!", "My arm's about to fall off!", and "For the Imperial Coins!"

Wang Zhong carried several twisted metal plates he had pried off the wreckage of an old drilling machine, along with a pile of screws, gears, and other parts, to the metal platform inside the workshop marked "Supply Submission Point."

The platform's surface was smooth, with a clearly visible recessed area.

He dumped everything onto it.

[Submission complete]

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

[Received: 0.7 Imperial Coins]

[Current Imperial Coin balance: 0.7]

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

"0.7..."

Wang Zhong panted heavily and wiped the sweat from his forehead. His muscles ached.

He looked at the burly man beside him, who had just finished submitting his haul. His ID was [Even if the world ends, the Emperor's tax must be paid]. "Tax Brother, how much did you get?"

"0.9."

Tax Brother looked utterly tragic. "Feels like I'm working for some unscrupulous tax lord... No, this is even more exploitative than a job. At least a job provides food and lodging!"

"I'm hungry and thirsty, and my stamina's down to 51%. This hunger feels way too real!"

"Tell me about it."

[Schrodinger's Loyalist] dragged over a metal pipe he'd dismantled from who knew where. He submitted it listlessly and received 0.2 coins.

"I'm a loyalist. I didn't die on the front lines fighting Chaos or fall to an Ork cleaver, only to starve to death in this game that might've been developed by the Tau?"

"If word gets out, how am I supposed to show my face at the Terra Underground Network Tavern?"

"Oh, please. The Tau?"

Wang Zhong scoffed. "If the Tau had tech like this, they'd have blown the Eye of Terror away already."

"I'm starting to wonder if this is some fringe Mechanicus sage who escaped the Imperium's control, running a simulation experiment on the limits of human physiology and resource exploitation."

"In short: Cattle and Horse Simulator." Tax Brother summed it up perfectly.

"Brilliant!"

The three of them were just a small part of the mine's din.

Complaints and jokes to take the edge off were heard everywhere.

"The feel of this pickaxe as I swing it... incredible! It's even better than the real one at my grandpa's place!"

"I found something that might be adamantium... Pfft, it's just a harder rock! The system only gave me 0.01 units!"

"Anyone want to team up and check that place out? We might be able to dismantle those big tanks!"

"I'm in! Be careful, don't fall into that green-glowing puddle. Looks like Nurgle's Soup to me..."

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

The players were adaptable.

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

So the players organized themselves into an assembly line: some dug and dismantled things deep in the mine, while others handled short-distance transport using crude ropes and wooden carts.

They dragged the relatively valuable bulky items back to a pile near the submission point, where designated players stored them until their owners returned to submit them.

Their efficiency really did improve quite a bit.

Of course, that didn't mean there were no conflicts or arguments.

"I found that generator casing first!"

"Oi reckon it don't have yer name on it!"

"Holy crap, you're speaking Ork now? You're way too into character, man!"

"Quit arguing. Finders keepers—let's take it apart and split it!"

"Hurry up, another group's coming over!"

Deep in the Warp.

"Tsk, tsk. Look at that initiative."

Lu Sheng admired the system notification, "Player cooperation efficiency increased by 15%," as the trickle of absorbed energy grew a little stronger. "Sure enough, debt and the pressure to survive are the primary driving forces behind production."

"What loyalty or faith? It all means nothing when you owe 0.3 coins in breathing tax."

"Xiao Zai," he summoned the system. "What can we put in the shop right now? Show me a list."

"It has to suit the current stage and give them something to look forward to."

The cold, mechanical voice sounded directly in Lu Sheng's consciousness, in exactly the same tone it used when speaking to the players:

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

I. Survival supplies:

Synthetic nutrient paste (standard serving): Alleviates hunger and slightly restores stamina.

Price: 0.3 Imperial Coins.

Purified water (1 liter): Alleviates thirst.

Price: 0.3 Imperial Coins.

Basic first-aid kit: Treats minor injuries and slows bleeding.

Price: 1.5 Imperial Coins.

Crude fiber sleeping bag: When used in a safe area, speeds up stamina recovery and slightly alleviates fatigue.

Price: 3 Imperial Coins.

II. Tools and weapons:

Precision-forged miner's pickaxe: Mining efficiency +10%.

Price: 3 Imperial Coins.

Metal cutter: More efficiently dismantles metal structures.

Price: 6 Imperial Coins.

Basic steel pipe/metal rod: A melee weapon better than bare hands.

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

Crude pistol (black powder): Short range, poor accuracy, slow to reload, but it makes a bang. Includes 10 crude bullets.

Price: 20 Imperial Coins.

Hunting knife: A relatively reliable melee weapon and cutting tool.

Price: 5 Imperial Coins.

III. Basic enhancements (preview unlocked when gene sequence development reaches 1%):

Basic physique enhancement (Type I): Slightly increases strength and stamina limit.

Price: 100 Imperial Coins.

Neural reflex optimization (Type I): Slightly increases reaction speed and coordination.

Price: 100 Imperial Coins.

Sensory acuity enhancement (Type I): Slightly improves perception, including sight and hearing.

Price: 100 Imperial Coins.

(Note: Enhancements modify and strengthen the host body, but still require training and an adaptation period, and may slightly affect the host's appearance.)

IV. Knowledge/skills (extremely simplified fragments transferred to the mind):

Basic Wilderness Survival (Aurelian IV Edition): Price: 10 Imperial Coins.

Basic Mechanical Identification and Disassembly: Price: 30 Imperial Coins.

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

[The above is the first-stage shop inventory. More items require additional material energy to unlock their blueprints.]

Lu Sheng skimmed the list and found it satisfactory.

"In theory, all the abilities, talents, weapons, armor, medicines, Gene-Seed, and so on from Warhammer 40k are available for purchase, right?"

[Calculating... Correct, but the energy required is immense. For example: a complete set of Space Marine Gene-Seed implantation and modification would require as much energy as absorbing and converting an entire small city. Primarch-level genetic templates require exponentially more.]

"Then... what about turning me into a Golden Giant?"

Lu Sheng asked half-jokingly, ripples of curiosity running through his energy form.

The system fell silent for a moment, seemingly undertaking an unprecedented calculation.

[Target specified: Master of Mankind (The Emperor). Estimated energy requirement... Approximately 63.8% of the total energy in this universe (physical and Warp) must be absorbed and converted, and his unique psychic essence, genetic structure, wisdom accumulated over ten thousand years, and soul strength must be fully understood, analyzed, and reproduced.]

[Feasibility: A theoretical path exists. Practical probability is lower than the natural restart of the universe after heat death.]

"Ah?!"

Lu Sheng's energy form rippled violently. "It takes more than half the universe's energy just to come close to him?"

"No wonder the Emperor, a god of war who took on the Four Chaos Gods at once, is so powerful. Incredible. I'm convinced!"

He finally had a visceral sense of just how formidable the one sitting on the Golden Toilet was... no, the beacon of humanity.

"Looks like I have a long road ahead if I want to get stronger. And I can't take things lightly, either. One careless move and I might get myself killed."

Lu Sheng quickly accepted reality. "Then I'll let the players take the risks! These conventional weapons and enhancements in the shop will keep them busy for a long time."

[First-stage shop exchange list is ready. It will open once the trigger conditions are met.]

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

Wang Zhong had formed a three-man exploration team with [Even if the world ends, the Emperor's tax must be paid] (shortened to Tax Brother) and [Schrodinger's Loyalist] (shortened to Xue Brother).

Each of them carried a rusty steel pipe they'd found among the ruins, with a few fairly sharp pieces of metal tucked at their waists as backup weapons.

"Doesn't look like many people come this way."

Tax Brother warily surveyed the heaps of metal junk and collapsed supports around them.

"They seem to have dug up most of the ore vein, too. It's all broken scraps." Brother Xue prodded the ground with his steel pipe.

"Let's look for something valuable that's been buried, or... something else we can trade for money."

Wang Zhong scanned the area, then suddenly stopped and pointed beneath a pile of twisted pipes. "There. Is that a hole? It doesn't look man-made."

The three exchanged glances and cautiously approached.

It was an irregular hole scraped into the boundary between the metal and the rock wall. Coarse fur and deep scratches lined its edge, and a rank, animal smell wafted from within.

"An animal's den?" Xue Brother whispered.

"Could be."

"The system said we can do anything. It never said we could only mine."

Wang Zhong tightened his grip on the steel pipe. "Maybe there's something shiny inside that some beast collected?"

The idea made their hearts race.

But the danger was obvious, too.

Just as they were debating whether to take a look inside or mark the spot and go back for help,

"Roar!"

A low, threatening growl came from inside the hole, accompanied by the heavy, squelching sound of footsteps.

A massive shape blocked the entrance.

It was a creature resembling an oversized mastiff, but uglier and more grotesque.