Lieutenant Rudosen's Mission

He planned to head straight for the evacuation point, climb out of the trench, and run toward the Hive City. Then he could hand over the guns, and hey, mission complete.

The fighting over at Grain Station was still thunderous. The battle was fierce. The rebels did not have many heavy weapons, so they should not have been able to deal with a Chimera Transport. The rebels at Grain Station were in for a world of hurt.

Li Qinwu vanished into the darkness, choosing low-lying ground whenever possible as he moved. At the same time, he kept his ears open for distant sounds, avoiding any chance of running into other armed personnel.

At some point, the gunfire at Grain Station stopped. Li Qinwu guessed the rebels had been wiped out and that the PDF was clearing the battlefield.

Next time he went in, he could search Grain Station. Maybe there would be valuable items left behind.

Just as he was thinking that, a burst of noise approached from behind. Li Qinwu did not notice it at first because it was too faint, but gradually he realized something was wrong. Why was it getting louder and louder?

He hurriedly picked up speed and prayed that the noise was not coming for him. Unfortunately, it was coming for him!

It was a Chimera Transport. Having dealt with the rebels at Grain Station, it now charged straight toward Li Qinwu. Its two huge headlights shone on him like searchlights.

"Holy shit!"

Li Qinwu cursed and immediately broke into a full sprint. His stamina bar rapidly drained as seven guns swung wildly across his body.

But how could he, burdened with all that weight, possibly outrun an armored vehicle? The engine roar drew closer and closer. He could practically smell the gunpowder smoke clinging to the Chimera Transport.

Li Qinwu's stamina bar quickly dropped. He heard a clattering sound from the Chimera behind him, likely its turret turning to aim precisely.

Panic-stricken, he spotted a canal nearby from the corner of his eye. Using his last shred of stamina, he jumped into it and vanished below ground level.

But that only delayed his death. The surrounding area was nothing but flat farmland. There was nowhere for him to run; he could only curl up in the canal.

The roar of the Chimera Transport's tracks was drawing closer. Li Qinwu's life had entered its final countdown.

He looked at the seven Autoguns hanging from his body, his eyes full of reluctance. He could redeploy after dying, but the Autoguns would definitely be reclaimed by the PDF. That would be a huge loss.

He was deeply puzzled. The Chimera Transport had already gone all the way to Grain Station, so why had it come back? It was almost as if it knew he was here.

"Fuck! The Auspex! How did I forget that?"

He slapped his forehead, filled with regret.

An Auspex was a reconnaissance device in Warhammer 40,000, similar to radar. It could survey terrain, weather conditions, and enemy numbers within a certain range.

Small Auspex units could be carried by individual soldiers and scan battlefields from several hundred meters to a kilometer away. The Auspex systems aboard space warships could scan an entire planet.

A medium-sized Auspex like the one on a Chimera Transport could easily scan a battlefield three to ten kilometers across.

The Chimera had probably swept through the rebels at Grain Station. Then the driver looked at the Auspex and thought, Huh? Why is there still a red dot by the trenches? One stomp on the accelerator, and it came charging over.

"Screw it. Forget it, next round."

Li Qinwu heard the Chimera Transport stop several dozen meters away. With a mournful sigh, he climbed out of the canal.

He had never experienced what it felt like to be killed by a 40mm autocannon. He wanted to give it a try, and he was actually looking forward to it.

He stood firmly on the ground. The Chimera Transport's two huge headlights illuminated him so thoroughly that he could not see a thing.

Never losing face, Li Qinwu planted his hands on his hips and shouted, "Come on! Fire a shell right here! If I make a single sound, I'm not a real man!"

After shouting that, he tensed every muscle, intending to savor exactly what a 40mm shell felt like.

Yet after a long while, there was no movement from the other side. No cannon fire, no gunfire. Only the two headlights shining on Li Qinwu, leaving him unable to see anything.

Li Qinwu waited for quite some time, wondering, What are they doing? Planning to capture me?

His expression changed. He was not afraid of dying, but he was afraid of being tortured. What if they treated him as a rebel captive and took him back to torment him? That would be fucking unbearable!

Li Qinwu's expression shifted again and again as he prepared to use an Autogun to kill himself and redeploy. Then the Chimera Transport's headlights shut off, leaving only several smaller lights on.

Li Qinwu rubbed his eyes, his vision slowly returning. He looked toward the Chimera Transport.

It was a creation of steel, painted gray-green, with the PDF insignia on its armor.

Its weapons consisted of a Logging Gun mounted at the front of the hull, with a massive caliber that looked close to exceeding 20mm, as well as an automated turret carrying a 40mm autocannon.

Other Chimera Transport variants might mount 120mm grenade launchers, twin-linked lascannons, and the like, but this agricultural planet clearly could not afford such advanced components. It could only make do with a 40mm autocannon.

Li Qinwu looked the armored vehicle up and down, clicking his tongue in amazement.

Then, with a crisp metallic click, the hatch on the turret opened. A PDF soldier poked half his body out from inside. He was an acquaintance...

Several minutes later, the Chimera Transport headed toward the PDF infantry defense line in the direction of the Hive City.

Inside the transport compartment, two PDF corpses lay on the floor. Five people occupied six seats. Three were wounded soldiers, groaning softly in pain, while the other two were Li Qinwu and Rudosen.

Li Qinwu glanced at Rudosen's left hand. The last time Li Qinwu had saved him, his palm had been shot to pieces. Now it had been replaced with a mechanical metal hand.

His rank had changed too. He was now a lieutenant, a PDF lieutenant and company commander. This surprise attack on the rebels had been led by him. He had led one company of 120 PDF infantrymen and a Chimera Transport to seize two rebel strongholds.

Li Qinwu looked Rudosen up and down, and Rudosen looked Li Qinwu up and down. The two faced each other in silence.

After a while, Li Qinwu could not take it anymore and spoke first. "Oh? Got promoted, huh? Congratulations, congratulations. So when are you treating me to a meal?"

Rudosen's eyelid twitched as he looked at the seven Rebel Autoguns hanging from Li Qinwu's chest.

"Do you know that privately hoarding weapons is a capital crime?"

Li Qinwu snorted with laughter.

"Then all the scum in the Lower Hive would have to be dragged out and shot."

The air fell silent again. Li Qinwu was certain Rudosen would not do anything to him. Rudosen was PDF, and Li Qinwu had saved this lieutenant and company commander before. Rudosen would definitely turn a blind eye.

The PDF were the planetary governor's watchdogs, stationed on a single planet for their entire lives. To put it bluntly, they were auxiliary troops.

But if it had been the Astra Militarum, Li Qinwu would have killed himself on the spot.

The Astra Militarum were the God-Emperor's coin, the true foundation of the Imperium. If you broke the law in front of them, a commissar's Boltgun would come chasing after your head.

When Li Qinwu saw that Rudosen had not even confiscated the guns on him, he knew Rudosen remembered the debt of saving his life.

He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Sounding as if he were riding in a cab, he said, "Drive twenty kilometers west. I'll get out there."

Several minutes later, the Chimera Transport stopped a few kilometers from the ventilation pipes. Li Qinwu jumped out with his guns on his back and patted away the lingering smell of gunpowder smoke.

He turned back to look at Lieutenant Rudosen inside the transport compartment and asked, "Let me introduce myself again. I'm Li Qinwu, a scavenger. I like searching battlefields for high-value items, and I also help people handle certain jobs.

"So, do you have anything inconvenient that you need me to do?"

Lieutenant Rudosen stared seriously into Li Qinwu's eyes. Li Qinwu shrugged.

Lieutenant Rudosen said in a low voice, "Some of my comrades died on battlefields where we fought the rebels. Those areas are controlled by the rebels, and we do not always have the opportunity to bring them home.

"That damned planetary governor, that despicable little man, that greedy rat!

"The compensation he provides is not only meager, but difficult to claim. Without their dog tags, my comrades' families cannot receive even that tiny pension.

"If you see my comrades' bodies while scavenging the battlefield, please bring back their dog tags. I will make things easier for you."