"Imperium of Man, our home... Loyalty! Loyalty! And damn it, still loyalty!... Our way of survival!"
At this moment, an Imperial Citizen walked happily on his way home. Everything around him was so idyllic, with birds singing and flowers fragrant. He bought a cake and entered his house... However, after opening the door, he found his wife had been cut in half by a Genestealer, and green-skinned Orks and Tyranids had skinned both of his children!
The man knelt down: "Oh! No! Our sweet Imperial life! No, no, no, no!"
Suddenly, the scene froze. The man walked to the front of the camera and said with a smile:
"Does it look familiar? Such a scene is playing out across the entire galaxy right now... You might be next! Unless you make the most important decision of your life!"
The man snapped his fingers, and his clothes transformed into the standard Astra Militarum uniform. A Tech-Priest handed him a helmet.
"Prove to everyone! You possess the strength and courage to be loyal to the Emperor! Join! The Imperial Army!"
"Become a guardian defending the peace of human worlds." At this moment, several Astra Militarum Soldiers behind him were using chainswords to carve up a stunning Drukhari woman.
"Discover exotic new lifeforms!" A Soldier said, blasting a Tyranid Tyrant's head off with a heavy bolter.
"Let the territory of the Imperium of Man spread across the entire galaxy!" Behind them, several Imperial Soldiers began planting flags on an Ork Warboss, reenacting 'Flags of Our Fathers'.
Attention all loyal Imperial Citizens!
Join the Imperial Army! Dedicate your strength to our beloved Emperor!
Report to your nearest Department of Military Affairs now! Begin your loyal military career!
(The content of this advertisement is for reference only. The Imperial Munitorum reserves the right of final interpretation.)
...Static... Advertisement break:
The whispers of Tzeentch, Lord of Secret Knowledge.
The temptations of Slaanesh, Master of Forbidden Pleasures.
Resist the clumsy tricks of these Dark Gods,
Everyone buy books from the Black Library! Get your library card today! Start reading tomorrow!
...Static~static... A warm reminder from the Imperial Inquisition:
Daily reflection: All traitors will be executed without mercy!
The Inquisition is watching you!
...Static... Li Feng stood up, walked to the television, and slapped it twice. "That dead Oil Man sold me a broken TV!"
Since the faint afternoon sun had filtered through the trees lining the road onto the outpost, night and rain had long fallen. Li Feng felt increasingly cold, damp, and annoyed.
Li Feng stayed in his tent, wrapped in his greatcoat. He was wearing three pairs of socks in his boots to prevent his toes from freezing off. Although they wouldn't actually freeze off, it was still cold!
Slaukenberg was truly not a place for people to stay. The climate was cold and damp, and it had been raining for a whole month since Li Feng arrived. It was like the winter of Mohe combined with the plum rain season of the south.
It was hard to believe that this world was actually a Garden World. The recommended time for tourism was only half a year because only then was Slaukenberg's temperature pleasant, with birds singing and flowers fragrant... And when Li Feng arrived, it was precisely the other half of the year, with constant rain and deadly cold.
The only two electrical appliances in the room were the television and electric heater that Li Feng had exchanged from a Tech-Priest for his double-barreled shotgun STC. Because such STCs for double-barreled shotguns were too common among the Adeptus Mechanicus, and this type of STC wasn't anything valuable, Li Feng could only trade for these items.
At this moment, Li Feng turned off the electric heater, draped a raincoat over his greatcoat, and walked within the camp. As an orderly, his daily routine was to clean cannons with the Soldiers. Even now, Li Feng didn't even know who their enemy was!
As for Commissar Cain and Yugen? The senior officers had requisitioned a hotel in the nearby town and slept every day in spacious hotel suites. But Li Feng, as an orderly, had to clean cannons in the camp every day, sleep in a tent listening to the rain constantly hitting the tent, and feel the dampness and cold making his knees ache.
Although Li Feng's position was given by Colonel Lao Mo and Commissar Cain, Li Feng surprisingly also received a salary. Although it was only a second lieutenant's salary, it was much better than those of the common Soldiers.
Li Feng walked on the country road, where residents from the nearby town and Astra Militarum Soldiers came and went. He was glad he had worn Timberland yellow boots the day he arrived. If he had worn slippers... Soon, Li Feng arrived at the small town. The town had a Central European small-town style. If he ignored the Astra Militarum and pedestrians on the road, Li Feng might have thought he had come to a small town in Switzerland.
Soon, Li Feng reached the hotel where Commissar Cain and his group were staying. He handed his raincoat to the receptionist at the door. Li Feng quickly spotted Commissar Cain playing cards with several Astra Militarum Soldiers at a card table in the center of the lobby, while Sergeant Yugen sat on a chair, drenched and wrapped in a blanket.
Li Feng walked over, and Cain also noticed Li Feng, then said, "Wait until I finish this hand!"
At the card table, only Cain and an infantry officer with the rank of major remained. They were playing Imperial-style Terra Poker, which was essentially Texas Hold'em with a different name.
At this moment, the major pushed all his chips forward: "I'm all in!"
Cain looked up at Li Feng, who was watching the game, and asked, "Little Li, do you think I should call?"
Cain's expression was full of confidence. If his Commissar uniform were replaced with a tuxedo and accompanied by the BGM from 'God of Gamblers', it would not be out of place at all.
"Call, Commissar."
Li Feng said this, not because Li Feng was a troublemaker, nor because Li Feng had great confidence in Cain's card skills and luck... It was because Li Feng knew that Cain had excellent cheating skills.
Soon, Cain also pushed all his chips forward. As the dealer confirmed, the major was the first to reveal his hand. The major's hand was three 8s and two Ks, forming a 'full house'.
Cain's face turned grim, and he secretly asked Li Feng, who was standing behind him, "Can a flush beat a full house..."
The major opposite heard Cain and Li Feng's "whispering" and burst out laughing: "Hahahaha, can a flush beat a full house? Unless your dad turns into a rabbit! Hahahahaha!"
Seeing the other side laughing, Cain directly revealed his cards: a pure heart suit (note hearts, a foreshadowing) of 9, 10, J, Q, K... "If it's a flush plus a straight? Wouldn't that easily beat your full house?"
The major opposite slammed the table heavily, then turned and walked away. But at this moment, Cain said, "Major, the stakes haven't been paid yet? Why are you running off?"
Hearing Cain's words, the major's face alternated between green and red, then he walked directly to the drenched Sergeant Yugen in the distance and bowed apologetically, "I'm sorry."
Then, as if fleeing, he quickly walked out of the hotel. It turned out that before playing cards, Yugen was outside helping Cain get food. When this major came in, he disliked Yugen's smell and claimed Yugen was blocking his way.
He then accused Yugen of the crime of "disrespecting a superior officer" and made Yugen stand outside in the pouring rain as punishment. When Commissar Cain found out, he didn't get angry. Instead, he played cards with the major and won back dignity for Yugen and himself.
Commissar Cain now swept all the chips on the table towards himself, then took one chip and threw it to the dealer, as a customary thank you from a big winner. At the same time, he stuffed a large handful of chips into Li Feng's and Yugen's hands. Li Feng counted, and he and Yugen each received almost 100 throne gelt. Li Feng's salary as a second lieutenant was only about 30 throne gelt a month.
(Regarding the currency system here, because GW has not clearly provided explanations of purchasing power and value, I will calculate it according to our most familiar 'silver dollar'. A worker's monthly salary is roughly 2-5 silver dollars, and 1 silver dollar can buy enough food for a family for several days. You can convert it this way.)
Li Feng looked at the chips Cain had won on the table. It was clear that both of them had bet their entire savings, and the major had lost terribly. These should have been all of the major's savings, but... serves a gambling addict right!
Li Feng quietly said to Cain, "Commissar, your cheating skills have improved again. A royal flush of hearts is simply awesome."
Hearing Li Feng's words, Cain just smiled slightly: "That hand just now was really just luck. I was shocked when I got it... Anyway, why did Little Li come to see me?"
"Commissar, did you forget? Today is your shift, and you need to go out on patrol."
Hearing Li Feng's words, Cain immediately looked distressed, as if in great discomfort, and began clutching his stomach, feigning illness:
"Oh, no! I feel terrible... I ate something bad yesterday! Oh, no~ I'm dying, I'm dying! Quickly call the medic..."
Li Feng ignored him. He had been tricked by Cain many times already and naturally wouldn't fall for it again. Li Feng simply walked to the front desk, retrieved his raincoat and phone.
"Hello, is this the 12th Regiment Headquarters? This is Li Feng. Have the salamander pick us up at the town hotel. Yes, we are all here. Commissar Cain is ready."
Seeing that Li Feng wasn't falling for his act, Cain had no choice. He sent Yugen to the reception area to change into dry clothes and also retrieve his raincoat and weapons.