The Great Elevator

Ding! Timed mission accepted: hand Lieutenant Rudosen an unlimited number of PDF dog tags.

Lieutenant Rudosen might not have been an officer with principles, but he was definitely a man with a human touch. He also seemed to have a good relationship with his superiors, enough to procure a Chimera Transport for his own company.

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

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

Li Qinwu adjusted the seven guns on his body and said, "I'll be going deep into rebel-controlled territory to find your comrades' dog tags. Remember, you'd better make things easy for me."

With that, he waved and left.

More than ten minutes later, he arrived at 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 his load indicator turned red, leaving him panting heavily.

He shuffled step by step to the entrance of the ventilation duct, counted down, and evacuated. Outstanding operation. Supplies extracted: Fertilizer Vouchers worth 15,000.

After arriving at the Hideout, Li Qinwu panted for quite a while. That run had nearly exhausted him to death!

He flopped straight onto the bed and fell asleep at once.

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

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

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

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

Ding! Emperor Shrine Lv.1 constructed. Your Sanctuary is now blessed by the God-Emperor. Chaos will be unable to corrupt your Hideout, and Chaos Corruption can be slowly removed 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 inputting one candle and one bottle of water, or one candle and one bottle of oil, it could produce Holy Water or Holy Oil.

Once the candle was lit, the 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'll have to get some outside."

Li Qinwu figured it was time to take a stroll through the market. He grabbed his backpack, stuffed the ten guns inside, and trudged toward the Fertilizer Gang's territory under the weight of the pack.

Half an hour later, Li Qinwu arrived at the Fertilizer Gang's base, panting heavily. The two guards at the passage entrance spotted him from far away and hurried over.

Li Qinwu tossed the bag of guns directly onto the ground and panted for a long while. Fuck, this was too heavy—more than fifty kilograms. Carrying it all the way here had even increased his Strength by one, raising it to 12.

The two guard dogs looked utterly baffled. Li Qinwu said, "Fuck, I'm dead tired. Brothers, give me a hand carrying this. These are the guns your boss Nipall wanted!"

A few minutes later, inside the junk shop, the Black Merchant Nipall whistled as he looked at the seven Rebel Autoguns and three PDF Standard Automatic Rifles.

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

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

Ding! Mission complete. Received 33,000 Fertilizer Vouchers. Black Merchant Favorability increased to Lv.1. Purchaseable 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. His contact's favorability had increased, and 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 Merchant Nipall had his gang members carry away the guns. Wearing a fake smile, he said:

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

But that still 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 the Chemical Gang scum near the Reactor. I'll give you 300 Fertilizer Vouchers for every one you kill—along with my friendship, of course."

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

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

Li Qinwu nodded.

"Alright. 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 land beyond the reach of order, where gangs and criminal organizations ran rampant, quite a few ordinary people still lived here.

They either worked in factories run by gangs or scavenged for scrap. In short, these numerous ordinary people made up 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 garbage produced by the upper-class lords was dumped directly into the Lower Hive through the Waste Outlet near the Great Elevator, and this garbage was the treasure the people of the Lower Hive relied on to survive.

The Great Elevator also exiled some criminal Middle Hive and Spireborn residents down here. This was a gigantic city where billions of people lived crammed together, producing a vast number of criminals every day.

People were exiled almost every day, which was why living conditions in the Lower Hive were so terrible while the population remained so dense.

Of course, in order to keep the trash obediently in the dump, the lords of the Spire occasionally bestowed favors upon the trash.

There were official institutions 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 the point where life was fucking miserable, but people did not die, so the residents of the Lower Hive would not rebel.

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