Great Elevator

Ding! Timed mission accepted: Hand over unlimited PDF dog tags to Second Lieutenant Rudosen.

Second Lieutenant Rudosen might not have been a principled officer, but he was definitely someone with a human touch. He also seemed to have a good relationship with his superiors, enough to secure a Chimera Transport for his company.

He should try to build a good relationship with him. There might be unexpected benefits in the future.

As Li Qinwu checked the system mission, Second Lieutenant Rudosen said, "I've marked your signal signature on the Auspex as friendly. As long as you don't actively attack the PDF or fall to Chaos, just mention my name in the Northern Theater, and my comrades will make things easier for you."

Li Qinwu tightened the seven guns strapped to his body and said, "I'll be going deep into rebel-controlled territory to find your comrades' dog tags. Remember, you have to make things easier for me."

With that, he waved and left.

More than ten minutes later, he reached the forest near the ventilation ducts. There was a small farm nearby, with plenty of wooden planks.

He hoisted the planks onto his back until he was carrying a red load, leaving him huffing and puffing.

He inched his way to the ventilation duct entrance, counted down, extracted successfully, performed outstandingly, and brought out supplies worth 15,000 Fertilizer Vouchers.

After landing in his hideout, Li Qinwu panted for quite a while. That run had nearly exhausted him to death!

He flopped directly onto the bed and rolled over into sleep.

When he woke up, he rubbed his hollow, hungry stomach and started looking for food.

"Ah, I'm out of biscuits, and there's no water left either."

Li Qinwu smacked his lips. Fine, he would head to the market later and buy some.

He got to work, picked up the wooden planks, and used a saw and nails to build a shrine. Then he placed the Emperor's Icon inside for worship.

Ding! Emperor Shrine Lv. 1 construction complete. Your shelter is now blessed by the God-Emperor. Chaos will be unable to corrupt your hideout, and Chaos contamination can slowly be cleansed here.

Li Qinwu immediately checked the Emperor Shrine's output. It had only one slot and could produce only one item at a time. By putting in a candle and a bottle of water, or a candle and a bottle of oil, he could produce holy water or holy oil.

Once the candle was lit, Emperor's Power would enter the water or oil. Holy water took six hours to produce, while holy oil took twelve.

"I don't have any candles either. I need to go get some."

Li Qinwu figured it was time to visit the market. He took his backpack, stuffed ten guns into it, and trudged with difficulty toward the Fertilizer Gang's territory under the weight of the bag.

Half an hour later, Li Qinwu arrived at the Fertilizer Gang's base, huffing and puffing. The two men guarding the passage entrance spotted him from afar and hurried over.

Li Qinwu tossed the bag of guns onto the ground and panted for a long while. Damn, it was too heavy—over fifty kilograms. Carrying it all the way here had even raised his Strength by one, bringing it to 12.

The two guards looked completely baffled. Li Qinwu said, "Fuck, that wore me out. Brothers, help me move these. Your boss Nipall wanted these guns!"

A few minutes later, inside the junk shop, the black-market dealer Nipall whistled as he looked over seven rebel automatic rifles and three standard-issue PDF automatic rifles.

"By the God-Emperor! My kind customer has brought me good fortune. I shall repay him with friendship and money!"

He pulled a stack of high-denomination Fertilizer Vouchers from his coat and handed it to Li Qinwu.

Ding! Mission complete. Received 33,000 Fertilizer Vouchers. Black-market dealer favorability upgraded to Lv. 1. Purchase items unlocked:

Water Pipe Pistol, Water Pipe Rifle, Large-Caliber Water Pipe Shotgun, ammunition...

Canvas Reinforced Armor (Level 2), Canvas Reinforced Helmet (Level 2), industrial-grade gas mask, handmade smoke grenade, homemade small detonator.

Various tools, various materials.

The mission was complete, and his contact's favorability had increased. He could now buy some cheap junk weapons from him. The key word was cheap—very important!

Li Qinwu took the money, stuffed it into his pocket, and asked with a smile, "Got any more work for me?"

The black-market dealer Nipall had his gang members carry the guns away. Wearing a fake smile, he said:

"My kind customer, your weapons have greatly increased the Fertilizer Gang's strength. We now have more confidence in dealing with the Chemical Gang!

But that isn't enough. My boss wants to weaken the Chemical Gang as much as possible before the war begins.

If you want to make some quick money, you can hunt down Chemical Gang scum near the reactor. I'll give you 300 Fertilizer Vouchers for each one—plus my friendship, of course."

After considering it briefly, Li Qinwu asked, "How do I prove that I killed someone?"

"Chemical Gang scum tattoo the periodic table on their shoulders. Cut off the tattoo, and that will be proof!"

Li Qinwu nodded.

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

With that, he left the Fertilizer Gang's base and headed toward the public area.

Although the Lower Hive was a lawless place beyond legal reach, filled with gangs and criminal syndicates, plenty of ordinary people still lived there.

They either worked in factories run by gangs or scavenged for scrap. In short, these numerous ordinary people formed the Lower Hive's safe zone.

The safe zone was located near the Great Elevator. The Great Elevator was the Lower Hive's only upward passage to the Middle Hive. The rubbish produced by the upper-class masters was dumped directly into the Lower Hive through sewage outlets near the Great Elevator, and that rubbish was the treasure the people of the Lower Hive relied on to survive.

The Great Elevator also exiled criminals from the Middle Hive and Spire down here. This was a massive city where billions of people were crammed together, producing huge numbers of criminals every day.

People were exiled almost every day. That was why the Lower Hive's living conditions were so terrible despite its dense population.

Of course, the masters of the Spire occasionally bestowed favors upon the garbage so it would obediently remain in the dump.

There were official establishments near the Great Elevator that sold all kinds of daily necessities.

For example, the Clean Water Guild sold water, the Relief Office sold food starch, and there were shops selling water purification tablets, low-grade medicine, clothes, and tools.

This kept the Lower Hive at a level where life was fucking hard, but people did not die, so they would not rebel.

Li Qinwu walked to the back of a long line, lowered his head, and queued quietly. There were still hundreds of people in front of him, all waiting to buy water from the Clean Water Guild.