Come on, let's have it out
Lin En stood on the high platform, looking down at the dusty, Necrons shell of the undead beneath his feet.
Zeras was reduced to a stub of torso stuck in the swarm of insects, his joints locked, the Living Metal gradually dimming, and the soul fire in his eyes disappearing.
He hid.
A cowardly turtle.
The coffins of the Necrons are stored in very hidden places; if they were to dig them up, it would take a very long time.
Just as Lin En was about to order the insect army to dig three feet into the ground, a "ding" sounded in his mind, and the selfless Commander was back online!
The system declared righteously: [Host, the location of the Necrons Memory Engram has been detected. Mark it?]
Lin En paused in his tracks.
"Target!"
Mark, mark, mark! You Immortality him with that!
They dug up his ancestral graves!
Suddenly, everything in front of me lit up.
The floors, walls, and ceilings of the Tomb Chamber were covered with patches of shimmering green grid-like markings, densely packed like circuit boards, covering the entire main Tomb Chamber.
There was a large area hidden in the secret compartment beneath the platform, and small pieces were also found among the remains of the surrounding guards.
Even the few Necron Warrior in the corner that weren't completely devoured had scattered small green dots on them.
Lin En crouched down and took a closer look at the base of the platform.
The green light was brightest and densest in the underground compartment, like a glowing honeycomb.
Each point of light is the soul of a Necrons.
The system pointed Lin En to the location of Zeras's mark: [Zeras's coffin isn't underground; it's on the ceiling. The largest point of light is that old bastard Zeras's mark.]
"Hmm." Lin En stood up, dusted off his hands, and then turned and waved to the swarm of insects.
"Come here, dinner's ready."
The swarm of insects surged up, completely surrounding the platform.
Lin En pointed to the shimmering green grids in the sky and on the ground and told them, "Eat this, eat it all, leave none behind."
The insects tilted their heads and looked at the markings, their compound eyes darting around, as if they understood, yet also as if they didn't.
The large, purple-shelled insect at the front extended its forepaw and dug a coffin out of the ground from the nearest scratch.
The coffin was opened, revealing a sleeping Necrons inside.
The insect poked the Necrons, sniffed it, and then took a bite.
Snap!
The green light shattered.
Indeed, what can't the Tyranids eat if it's made of Memory Metal?
The insect chewed twice, swallowed, and then bent down to dig for the second one.
The group of insects behind them saw this and thought, "Oh, this is edible!" They all pounced on it, crunching and munching away as if they were eating sunflower seeds.
Insects eat very quickly; a scratch on a piece of food is gone in just a few bites.
The insects dug open the hidden compartment beneath the platform. As they crawled inside, a series of crackling sounds came from within, and soon the small patch of green light went out completely.
The Necron Warrior's remains in the corner were also dug out by the insects, and the hidden marks were pulled out and chewed up one by one.
After Lin En ordered the Tyranids to consume the memory-storing marks left by the Necrons, he ordered the tomb entrance sealed.
Even if these Necrons are resurrected, they will no longer remember the past, nor will they remember who they are.
Let these Necrons become permanently demented living dead underground.
Although this tactic was somewhat underhanded, these Necrons were awakened and began to invade humanity.
Dead things should stay properly in their coffins; if they dare to come out, they shouldn't blame others for sending them to hell.
He's not one to hold grudges; he usually settles scores on the spot.
Lin En walked to the entrance of the Tomb Chamber and glanced back.
The swarm of insects had almost completely gnawed away at the marks beneath the platform; the green light was fading away piece by piece, and black smoke began to billow from the dark compartments.
Zeras's coffin was also dug out, motionless, with a sliver of green light being gnawed on by insects as if it were dessert.
Necrons Master Technomandrite, what a pity, you're a scoundrel.
Lin En withdrew her gaze and turned to leave.
"Phoros!"
Phoros immediately came over. "What's wrong, my lord?"
"Let the construction crew in and seal the door."
How to seal it?
"Seal it with whatever is strongest possible: concrete, steel plates, gravel, cast metal—use everything you can. Then put three layers of wire mesh on the outside, and hang bells on the wire mesh."
"... A bell?"
"Explosives are attached to the bells, triggered by vibration. If any Necrons crawl out, they'll blow up the entire tomb."
"..."
Phoros accepted the order and left.
When Lin En gets busy, she doesn't have time to read the comments.
Only then did he find time to check the comments section.
He opened the minimized comment box.
My vision suddenly lit up, and my eyes could barely keep up with the scrolling of the comments.
[Aaaaaah!!!]
[Aaaaaaaahhhhh!!!]
[Awesome!!! Awesome!!!!]
[Memory Engram are being fed to bugs! Aaaaaah!]
[Sealing the Necrons in a tomb, turning them into a vegetable!!!]
[Holy crap, that was brutal!!! But it felt so good!!!]
[Aaaaaaah, this is so satisfying!!! I love watching this!!! What's the point of talking about morality with these Necrons!!!!]
[Zeras, you mere Necrons! You mere Master Technomandrite! Trash! You're nothing but trash!!!!]
The live chat was filled with "Ahhh!" comments.
Shocking.
To save Hammer's regret.
Tears are streaming down my face, bro.
Oh my god, that's great!
The first person to turn Warhammer into a fast-paced, action-packed story.
Was it awesome? I risked my life for it. If you like it, you can come too.
Lin En casually turned another page.
The style of the artwork below suddenly changed.
Uh... Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit inappropriate?
[That would ruin the Warhammer feel. Warhammer is all about brutality, darkness, despair, and sacrifice. What's the point if everyone's revived?]
[This feels a bit too much like a wish-fulfillment story; it lacks that sense of despair.]
[Are you treating Warhammer like Long Aotian, bro?]
[Well... Warhammer's core is tragic, this change makes it feel like a hodgepodge.]
Lin En lowered his gun, finally looking directly at the comments for the first time, and coldly said, "What do you mean by 'hammer flavor'? Are you guys sick?"
[... Holy crap, he spoke!]
[Is he talking to the viewers in the live chat?!]
[... Real-time?????!]
The comments section was startled, then erupted.
[Ahhhhh, he's really talking to us!!!]
My hair stood on end!!!!
[Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, this isn't a video, this is a live person!!!]
[Where are you right now, streamer? You haven't really time-traveled, have you?!]
[You're not actually in the Warhammer Universe right now!!!]
Lin En didn't answer the questions about whether he had traveled through time, but instead looked coldly at those who were saying things like, "Why are you swearing?" and said:
"What's wrong with cursing me? Warhammer has so many bright spots, so many characters who are still very righteous even in dire situations, and you can't see any of that. All you see is darkness and despair. If you like watching dead people, go watch hell. I don't like watching dead people. If you want to compare, I'll pull you out of Warhammer and make you feel all dark and despair."
[Well said!!! Aaaaaaah, this feels so good!!!!]
[Damn, that hits the nail on the head! I feel so awful every time a teammate dies in Warhammer game, why can't they be saved?!]
Every time I see Guilliman say that hope remains, Dante, alone carrying Baal the Emperor and still sitting on the Golden Throne, I want to cry. What is this if not the light?!
[Exactly!!! Although the Imperium aristocracy is corrupt, the noble armies are always the first to charge when enemies invade. Everyone says the High Lords Council is useless, but those lords in the High Lords Council are all eventually worked to death. Everyone says the Planetary Governor are corrupt, greedy, lustful, and bloated, but if enemies invade their territories, the first to rise up and deal with the enemy are the Planetary Governor...]
[Imperium, oh Imperium. Dragging its feet, too big to handle, yet still the beacon of light that humanity holds up within this dark Imperium!!!]
How can anyone still think that the dead are the best?
[Can I say this?... Okay, I'm coming clean, I'm not pretending anymore. Even when my NPC friend dies in the game, I have to reload my save.]
[Her little mouth seemed to be coated with venom... she could talk a lot.]
[Exactly!!! I read fanfiction just for this!!! What else am I supposed to read to make up for what I missed?! Am I supposed to reread the original work?!]
[How about I take it out?]
[Come out and keep jumping!]
The comments section remained silent.
When it comes to getting them into Warhammer, all is quiet, there is no more darkness, no more despair.
They spend their days making fun of other people's lives.
Ah, it feels so good! It's so dark!
What is it?
Lin En muted the comments again.
(I wrote this chapter with such passion at 1:30 AM (｡◝‿◜｡)