New Map: Reactor

Back at the Hideout, Li Qinwu lit incense candles and placed them beside the shrine. Then he set a bottle of cooking oil, about 150 ml, inside the shrine.

The system then showed that Holy Oil was being produced and would be ready for collection in twelve hours.

Although he had not seen any Chaos corruption on Agri-World 496b, in the world of Warhammer 40,000, Chaos was as common as air. It was only a matter of time.

He should stockpile some Holy Oil. If he encountered Chaos in the future, he could use it to stir-fry a dish.

After setting up production, Li Qinwu began exercising: push-ups, squats, and weighted shuttle runs. He kept at it for over two hours, until he was panting from exhaustion.

He checked his personal attributes in his mind. Endurance had risen by one point to 13, while energy had risen by one point to 11.

He wiped down his body with a cloth, cleaned himself up, then opened the Ceramite barrel containing food. He ate a few mouthfuls of mush to replenish his energy before collapsing into sleep.

After getting up, he first checked the shrine. The incense candle had burned out, and the oil had been converted into Holy Oil.

He removed the Holy Oil and put it into storage for later use, lit a second incense candle, and placed the second bottle of oil inside to produce more Holy Oil.

After arranging production, Li Qinwu pushed open the door and headed out. He planned to take the black marketeer's job and see what was going on at the Reactor.

After making his way to the black marketeer's shop, Li Qinwu said to Nipall, "Give me a pipe shotgun, fifty rounds, a helmet, five blasting caps, and two smoke grenades."

The black marketeer, Nipall, gestured to one of his lackeys. The lackey went deeper into the shop and soon returned with everything Li Qinwu had requested.

"Kind guest, that will be 500 Fertilizer Vouchers."

Li Qinwu paid the money and picked up the weapon to inspect it.

The pipe shotgun really was made from water pipes—the thick kind. It had no rifling, two barrels, and fired homemade 35 mm buckshot shells sold by the black marketeer.

Li Qinwu checked the gun's condition and began putting on the helmet. It was a DIY piece of armor made from compressed fibers. Its protection rating was only Level 2, with 35 durability. Wearing it on a battlefield would be little better than wearing paper.

Still, it was more than enough for gang fights. The opposition was just a bunch of losers armed with melee weapons and homemade, unrifled guns.

After organizing his weapons and gear, Li Qinwu asked, "Where is the Reactor located?"

Seeing that Li Qinwu intended to cause trouble for the Chemical Gang, the black marketeer Nipall put on a fake smile.

"Oh, my kind guest, are you going to exterminate pests? That is truly wonderful!"

He took out a sheet of paper and handed it to Li Qinwu.

"This is a simple map leading to the Reactor. Follow it, and you will find the location."

A system notification flashed through Li Qinwu's mind.

Ding! New map discovered: Underground Reactor.

It was a lost chemical plant deep within the Lower Hive, crammed with scrap metal, pipes, buildings, and Ceramite. Narrow and enclosed, dark and deep, it was lit only by a few air lamps.

Li Qinwu put away the map and turned to enter the new map, but the black marketeer Nipall reminded him, "My kind guest, be careful. The Chemical Gang has used chemicals to control many Chemical Dogs. There are a great many of them.

"But the good news is that the chemicals have fried the Chemical Dogs' brains. Most of them are dull-witted, and many only know how to use melee weapons. Pulling a trigger would be no easier for them than reciting the entire Imperial Truth."

Li Qinwu paused for a moment, nodded, and committed the information to memory.

After leaving the Fertilizer Gang's territory, Li Qinwu followed the directions of the map in his mind toward the new map's location. After passing through a series of complicated, winding underground pipelines, a green countdown appeared in his vision.

Deploying. Map: Reactor. 10, 9, 8, 7...

When the countdown ended, Li Qinwu felt the world spin. By the time he landed, he was already inside a special space.

This was the Reactor map. The entire map was a cube composed of five levels of metal and Ceramite structures.

At its center stood a massive metal tank that ran from the fifth level all the way down to the bottom. This was the Reactor that the Fertilizer Gang and Chemical Gang were fighting over.

The moment he landed, Li Qinwu pressed himself against a wall and listened closely to the sounds around him. It was noisy: many footsteps, conversations, and bursts of laughter, all coming from the first floor.

Li Qinwu was currently on the fifth floor. After a brief consideration, he held his pipe gun at the ready and began making his way downward.

He moved carefully, placing each step softly as he slowly crept downstairs.

When he reached the second floor, he heard someone speaking.

"As long as we take the Reactor, we can make more chemicals and control more people into joining the gang.

"Then we'll charge straight at the Fertilizer Gang with the brothers. Hehehe, this whole area will be ours!"

Li Qinwu crept to the stairway entrance on the second floor and looked down. More than ten gang members were squatting around a burning iron barrel, and a string of highly suspicious roasted meat hung over it.

Judging by the syringes scattered all over the ground and the periodic-table tattoos on their shoulders, they were Chemical Gang lackeys.

The men did not notice Li Qinwu at the second-floor stairway. He carefully counted them: eleven men, all armed with crude machetes ground from chunks of metal. Their equipment was terrible.

Those scum also seemed to be high on drugs. Every one of them was rambling incoherently. At least half were sprawled on the ground, while those still upright were giggling stupidly, clearly out of their minds.

Seeing how closely they were gathered, Li Qinwu pulled two blasting caps from his trouser pocket, lit their fuses with a lighter, and hurled them directly into the densest cluster of Chemical Dogs.

Weapons in Warhammer 40,000 had one notable trait: enormous explosive charges. Each blasting cap sold by the black marketeer Nipall contained 500 grams of explosives. Together, that was a full kilogram, and the power was insanely, overwhelmingly strong!

The drugged-out Chemical Dogs did not even notice the blasting caps landing at their feet. They were still chatting when the fuses burned down.

BOOM! BOOM!

Two violent explosions rang out. The Reactor and the surrounding structures groaned with the sound of twisting metal, while huge clouds of dust burst into the air.

The eleven Chemical Dogs had been clustered tightly together and took the full force of the blasts. Seven were killed on the spot, while four were wounded.

The wounded howled and vomited blood. The shockwaves had utterly destroyed their internal organs. They twisted twice on the ground before dying. Only one man whose leg had been blown off clutched at his severed limb and let out a heart-rending scream.

Seeing no remaining threat, Li Qinwu descended to the first floor. The legless Chemical Dog saw his outfit and knew he had been sent by the Fertilizer Gang. He shouted, "The family will not let you off! Mother will turn you into Chemical Pigs!!"

Li Qinwu could not be bothered to listen to his nonsense. He raised the pipe shotgun and blew the man's head apart with one shot before beginning to loot the bodies.