Blood-pumping rock

Dead? How? How was that possible? Cleverhead had been gutted fighting humans and hadn't died, but fighting a few Tyranids was going to kill him?

Cheng Mingrui couldn't believe it. Thinking Cleverhead had suffered some internal injury, he stood up and shouted for a Painboy to come treat him.

"Don't bother. Won't do any good." Cleverhead waved a hand, taking it in stride. "It's the Tyranids' poison. There's a chance they can control ya after they bite ya. Normally, with a body like mine, I should've been fine... Maybe I was unlucky, or maybe that Humie's slash weakened me too much, so it got me."

The Genestealers' genetic virus was extremely powerful and could even control Orks. But because Orks reproduced through spores, it could infect only a single generation at most, making it difficult for Genestealer infiltration to gain ground among them.

"...Don't give up. Maybe a Painboy can do something," Cheng Mingrui urged.

"No use. I know my own body. I can already hear the Tyranids' voice. Right now, for instance, it's telling me to chop ya up."

Cheng Mingrui's legs involuntarily weakened. That voice... couldn't be the Hive Mind, could it? That was the collective consciousness of countless Tyranid swarms. Could an ordinary living being stand up to that kind of psychic power?

"I told that voice to sod off. If it weren't invisible and untouchable, I'd give it a taste of my claw," Cleverhead said nonchalantly.

"I ain't afraid of dying. I hate being controlled by Tyranids. It's just, I've got regrets. Not that I'm gonna die right after getting my own ship. What I regret is not even having one good song of my own. Just 'cause I'm an Ork, does that mean I don't understand art?" Cleverhead raised his Power Klaw and set it against his neck. There was no fear in his voice, only sorrow and regret.

A large hand caught Cleverhead's Power Klaw. It was Cheng Mingrui's. "Wait. Maybe I've got a song I can play for you."

Cleverhead's story had touched Cheng Mingrui's heart. In his eyes, the enormous green monster before him was no longer terrifying. He had become familiar and real.

A boy bullied by his classmates at school because of his interests had never abandoned what he loved. Instead, he had risen up to fight his bullies and everything that refused to accept him.

Through that struggle, he had kept growing and becoming stronger. He could have pursued better things, but he had still kept his dream in his heart. For that dream, he could face hardship and death without fear, because it was the most precious thing he had.

Talent, knowledge, and inspiration kept surfacing in Cheng Mingrui's mind, and memories deep within his soul were awakening too. Perhaps Ork blood really did boost intelligence. Even the dullest memories had their dust brushed away and began to shine.

He remembered a game he had played as a child, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. At the end of the campaign, there had been an exhilarating rock song. (It was called "Power of the Horde." Seriously awesome. Back then, I watched the whole animation and listened to the entire song too.)

With his CPU running at full tilt, Cheng Mingrui picked up Clever Git, who had been kicked over, and gave him his orders. He got to work himself as well, making the instruments they needed.

"But Boss Slick, this ain't the time to play. The Mekboys say the ship's course is locked, and they can't fix it..." Clever Git said fearfully.

"Let 'em figure it out themselves! Do what I told ya first! If ya screw it up, I swear I'll find ya wherever ya are and feed ya to a Squig!" Cheng Mingrui roared.

Under threat of death, the Gretchin and the Boyz worked very efficiently. In only about fifteen minutes, the instruments and equipment were ready.

Since the other Orks couldn't play, Cheng Mingrui wrote a program that let some of the instruments play the melody on their own.

Cheng Mingrui placed his hand on the electric guitar. He had never touched an instrument like this before, but at that moment, it felt like part of his body. Once everything was ready, he began to sing.

"Storm, earth and fire, hear my call..." Frenzied music erupted...

Translated from English into the Orks' language, the lyrics fit even better. They were wilder, more primal, and full of power.

The blood-pumping rock music rang through every corner of the Bridge. The Boyz scavenging scrap, the Mekboys modifying the Bridge's operating system, and the Gretchin cleaning the floor while collecting Teef all grew excited at once.

Some sang along with Cheng Mingrui, some danced and flailed their arms, and others threw themselves into their work with even greater enthusiasm.

Cleverhead was the most excited of all. His expression shifted from shock to delight, and he began singing along. The more he sang, the more fired up he became, and the more he sang, the more Waaagh! he got. Who knew whether he would have cried right then if he had been human?

The Bridge's monitors displayed the bizarre, multicolored sights of the Warp, providing the perfect backdrop for the performance.

Transmigration achievement unlocked: hold a concert with the Boyz in the Warp.

Perhaps traveling through the Warp amplified the emotions of intelligent beings. When Cheng Mingrui finished singing the song once, the Boyz cheering around him still weren't satisfied. They demanded another round, louder and wilder than before.

Their enthusiasm naturally rubbed off on Cheng Mingrui. He strummed his guitar and looked up at Cleverhead, wanting to know whether he was satisfied with the song.

Cleverhead opened his huge, blood-red maw and happily met Cheng Mingrui's gaze across the distance.

"Slick, you're a good Ork. I really like ya." The Boyz around them were too loud for Cheng Mingrui to hear Cleverhead's voice clearly.

He watched Cleverhead smile and nod at him, then close the Power Klaw resting against his own neck.

Cheng Mingrui didn't know what expression to wear in the face of this. He was an Ork. He wasn't supposed to be sentimental, yet he still felt a tightness in his chest.

Whether as a Mekboy or a rock-loving Boy, Cleverhead had died all the same. Countless people died every day in the universe of Warhammer 40,000: Ork Boyz, humans, and even the Aeldari who considered themselves superior. When would his own turn come?

Forget it! Just be a carefree Ork, keep having fun, and keep going Waaagh!

Cheng Mingrui struck a high note on his electric guitar, setting the audience's enthusiasm ablaze, and launched into another round of singing.

A band of happy Orks sailed a stolen human warship aimlessly through the Warp, singing as they went.

Suddenly, a rift appeared in the Warp ahead and swelled open. Like an enormous daemon, it swallowed the battered Glory Knight in a single gulp.

Ordinary starlight fell upon the warship. A pale yellow star, a few planets orbiting it-an unremarkable star system.