Reno of the Clean Water Guild

Creak, creak, creak!!

Gears as large as buildings turned, lowering a pure-metal platform the size of several football fields beneath the surface.

The Great Elevator could carry over two thousand people, dozens of tanks, and thousands of tons of supplies at once. It was a crude, insane mechanical creation.

The people aboard the Great Elevator were divided into two groups. One consisted of several hundred people heading to work in the Lower Hive Safe Zone, quietly huddled in a corner. Li Qinwu was among them.

The other group consisted of a thousand people surrounded by hundreds of Arbites. They were exiles stripped of their Middle Hive status, their hands shackled in ceramite cuffs. Every one of them wailed as though their lives were about to end.

Li Qinwu shook his head, took out a cigarette, and lit it. A man beside him gave a snort, seemingly talking to himself but also seemingly striking up a conversation with Li Qinwu.

"Those poor bastards. I'd wager half of them won't survive."

Li Qinwu glanced at him.

"Who are you underestimating? If even ten percent of them survive, then the Lower Hive folk are practically warm and welcoming, beautiful and kindhearted."

The man had not expected Li Qinwu to answer and asked, "Oh? How so?"

Li Qinwu pointed his cigarette at the thousand people.

"Everyone in there will get robbed the moment they land. At least ten percent will die in the conflicts.

"Over the next five days, the Lower Hive people will rob them, pick fights with them, and have their fun. Another thirty percent will die.

"Over the following ten days, hunger, cold, disease, and dirty water will kill another thirty percent.

"The rest will be seized by gangs as enforcers, test subjects, or expendable goods. Another thirty percent will die."

The man froze.

"That's not right. Doesn't that make a hundred percent?"

Li Qinwu bared his teeth in a grin.

"Hehe, I lied. Not even ten percent will survive!"

The man paused, then laughed as well.

"Interesting. Let's get acquainted. I'm Reno, the head of the Lower Hive Clean Water Guild."

Li Qinwu took out his cigarette pack, pulled out one, and handed it over.

"Scavenger Li Qinwu. If you need something found, something done, or someone killed, I can handle it as long as the price is right."

Reno accepted the cigarette and stared at Li Qinwu in surprise. He clearly had not expected the man he had casually chatted with to be such a ruthless character.

Then he saw the two long objects wrapped in filthy cloth on Li Qinwu's back. Those were guns!

Clack, clack, clack!!

"The Great Elevator is about to arrive at the surface. The Machine Spirit is stable. All personnel, prepare to disembark. Praise the God-Emperor."

The announcement came through the elevator's speakers, and the crying aboard the elevator grew even louder.

Reno looked at Li Qinwu's casual demeanor. In this cruel world, people with that sort of bearing were rare.

After a brief hesitation, he said, "A few of my workers were having fun in the Underhive Safe Zone when a madam and her men robbed them.

"If you can use our Clean Water Guild's water pipes to break the legs of that madam and her thugs, I'm willing to pay a price."

Ding! Contact Reno unlocked!

Li Qinwu's brow twitched. A new contact had been unlocked just like that? This was just some random guy he'd struck up a conversation with.

"Tell me the details."

Reno said, "The madam runs a red-light district on the edge of the Safe Zone. My workers often go there to have fun.

"For some reason, the madam and her thugs robbed my workers. That dealt a serious blow to my reputation. I need to retaliate and protect it."

Li Qinwu asked, "Why do you want us to beat them with your Clean Water Guild's steel pipes?"

Reno explained, "I need those rats to know the retaliation came from me, so they'll think twice before causing me trouble again.

"The Clean Water Guild's water pipes bear steel stamps. As long as you hit hard enough, you can leave a sufficiently memorable mark on someone."

Li Qinwu understood and got to the point.

"What can you pay?"

Reno said, "How about a hundred Water Purification Tablets?"

Li Qinwu whistled. A hundred Water Purification Tablets was merely a matter of adjusting the books for a minor Clean Water Guild manager like Reno, but in the Lower Hive, Water Purification Tablets were hard currency just like food.

No matter how filthy the water was, one Water Purification Tablet would settle the impurities and disinfect it, turning it into drinkable water. They could be used directly as currency.

After considering it briefly, Li Qinwu asked, "Do you have standard chemical filter cores?"

Reno nodded. "Yes. I'll add another ten chemical filter cores."

With that, Li Qinwu clicked to accept the task.

Ding! Task accepted!

Reno of the Clean Water Guild needs you to help him restore his reputation.

Mission Objective: Break the madam's legs with a Clean Water Guild water pipe. 0/1

Break the legs of the madam's thugs with a Clean Water Guild water pipe. 0/5

Mission Reward: Water Purification Tablet ×100, Chemical Filter Core ×10, Reno's Favorability lv0 upgraded to lv1.

Li Qinwu grinned and clicked to accept the task.

"Good. I'll go take a look when I have time."

Reno nodded.

"If you work efficiently, I can give you more jobs in the future."

As he spoke, the Great Elevator suddenly shuddered. It had reached the bottom.

The massive iron doors opened with a series of clanks, gradually revealing the greedy eyes of thousands of Lower Hive people. They stared at the people inside the Great Elevator, their hands bound in ceramite handcuffs, as though looking at meat.

Li Qinwu followed the staff away. He even deliberately exposed his water-pipe Shotgun to keep any blind fools from coming to trouble him.

As for the thousand prisoners, the Arbites removed their shackles and drove them out of the Great Elevator with several baton strikes.

Some still refused to leave the elevator, curling up in corners and clutching whatever they could while howling in tears. Quite a few had children in their arms.

They begged the Arbites to take them back to the Middle Hive. They said they would work hard and make up the taxes they owed.

But all they received were crackling electric batons. A jab to the kidneys with one of those could knock down a bear.

Li Qinwu, already far from the Safe Zone and about to enter the pipes, looked back at the Great Elevator. The Arbites had abandoned the thousand prisoners and ridden the Great Elevator back up.

The Lower Hive rats who had been waiting for so long cheered and rushed forward with all kinds of weapons, beginning their looting.

They snatched bags, clothes, and even children. The thousand prisoners were torn apart and trampled by thousands of Lower Hive rats, and more than half were killed or injured in an instant.

They called upon the God-Emperor, screamed in terror, and fought desperately, but all they faced were the greedy eyes of the Lower Hive rats.

Li Qinwu shook his head and disappeared into the pipes.

The Safe Zone did not provide safety for everyone. It merely prohibited attacks on workers from the Middle Hive and barred Underhive Gangs from approaching the Great Elevator, lest they ruin the Machine Spirit's mood.

Within the Safe Zone, you could kill people freely—as long as you exercised restraint. And restraint meant not killing more than a hundred thousand people at once. This was Warhammer 40,000!

After returning to the Hideout, Li Qinwu connected the electric stove Lieutenant Rudosen had given him to the power supply and roasted a few potatoes.

Ding! Hideout Kitchen lv0 upgraded to lv1.

That was right. The electric stove was a Hideout upgrade item. Thanks to Lieutenant Rudosen for the important upgrade item!

Then Li Qinwu sat at the Workbench, clamped down the PDF Semi-Automatic Combat Rifle, and began disassembling it for maintenance.

He was going to use it to hunt Chemical Pigs later, so he needed to understand the gun's condition.

A few minutes later, the Workbench was covered in firearm parts, with the thick, long barrel standing out in particular.

The rifle was in excellent condition. It had probably fired only a little over a hundred rounds since leaving the factory, just enough to finish its break-in period. Its gun oil had been properly applied, and there was no rust.

Li Qinwu wiped off the gun oil with a rag, fetched a bottle of Holy Oil, and began lubricating the rifle's internal parts.

After wiping every component with Holy Oil, he reassembled the rifle, raised it, and kissed the bolt.

"Good wife, I'll be counting on you later."

After soothing the Machine Spirit—if the rifle had one—Li Qinwu began loading ammunition.

Rudosen had given Li Qinwu one hundred AP Rounds. Li Qinwu himself had over six hundred ordinary rounds, Grade 3 ammunition, some of which he had kept from his last scavenging run.

Li Qinwu loaded one fifteen-round magazine full of AP Rounds and two more magazines with ordinary rounds. He also stuffed thirty spare AP Rounds and two hundred ordinary spare rounds into his pockets.

He put on the PDF ballistic vest and helmet he had acquired last time, assembled a light full set of gear, and prepared to enter the instance to complete the Black Merchant's task.