"How in the world did such a clever Ogryn appear among the Corpse King's servants?"
Kairos' four eyes were wide with shock and pure amazement. What made it even worse was that the guy also possessed psyker powers.
Kairos briefly wondered if Magnus had lost his touch. After repeated confirmation, he had to admit one thing: this was, hands down, an Ogryn, not some weird, washed-out version of Magnus.
"Well, I guess Magnus' spot is up for grabs. My Lord will definitely have a new favorite in this Ogryn."
"Speaking of which, how did this Ogryn mutate?" Kairos seriously considered the problem with his two heads. Getting an Ogryn to count to eight was the Holy Grail for every Tzeentch Daemon. Unfortunately, nobody had cracked the code yet.
Kairos was dying to know what kind of mutation had occurred to give this Ogryn such sharp wits. He checked the Ogryn's fate-line, but found the same thing as with the Corpse King's other servants: zilch.
"It looks like I'll have to get creative."
Kairos thought of Ahriman; he realized the Sorcerer had disguised himself as Haglund and was lurking on Sintila. Following Ahriman's fate-line, Kairos spotted the Dark Eldar and the Necrons. They were hot on Ahriman's trail, vowing to make him pay the piper for his past deeds.
Kairos suddenly had a brilliant idea: Why not spark a multi-species free-for-all in the Calixis Sector? That would keep the Corpse King's servants running on fumes. He could use the chaos as a perfect distraction to investigate the clever Ogryn.
However, just hunting Ahriman with Dark Eldar and Necrons wouldn't be enough to really stir the pot in the Calixis Sector; he needed more muscle. Kairos patiently searched for his tools near the Calixis Sector.
Before long, he found a Hive Fleet roaming the outskirts, as well as Green-skinned Orks raising Cain in the Colonus Expanse. These Xenos, plus the rebels, would keep the Corpse King's servant on his toes no matter how smart he was.
Kairos rubbed his head with a claw, pondering how to weave destiny to make his chosen targets high-tail it to the Calixis Sector and start a multi-racial brawl.
A group of players arrived on Sintila aboard a cargo ship carrying reconstruction supplies. The new player, Running to the Sea, was among them. The Emperor's Cattle Regiment had bought a battleship, and they needed players with ship experience to run it.
A War Group could recruit NPCs, but they had to pay salaries, and the higher the rank, the higher the pay. Plus, if an NPC was harmed, the War Group would be investigated. Since NPCs were unique and didn't respawn, intentionally letting one die would likely lead to penalties.
Recruiting players was a whole different ballgame.
Cost Transfer: The player takes on the expense of upgrading their own military rank.
Wage Savings: No need to pay wages. They were all players; they'd split the take after the mission. If there was no profit, they'd all just bite the bullet.
Expendable Assets: Players can die. No matter how risky the job, they could go for broke. If they died, they'd just respawn—no sad feelings, no censorship to worry about.
The cargo spacecraft landed at the port's loading and unloading area. Running to the Sea and the other players disembarked alongside many NPCs, setting foot on the Sintila void port.
The Sintila void port was even bigger than the Lycard space station. The ships constantly coming and going were a sight to behold. The port was bustling and loud: trains carrying freight, workers controlling engineering titans, merchants selling goods, and drones and servoskulls circling. Imperial soldiers wearing exoskeleton armor patrolled in rigid formations.
"Is this really a 100% realistic virtual game? Only Xenos could create a game like this, right?" Seaman muttered to himself.
"Are there any members of the Emperor's Cattle Corps or Doraemon Workshop? This way, this way!" Warmaster and Turtle, wearing cloaks embroidered with loyalty sigils, were waiting at the exit, calling out to the crowd.
Seaman and the other players walked over and confirmed their identities. They were taken to the Exemplary Holy Fist, which was docked at the port for repairs.
"Holy smokes!" Seaman gaped at the magnificent battleship. "This thing is absolutely massive!"
The real-world cruiser he commanded was often called a "floating dock" by netizens, but what stood before him now was a giant, moving city. It was over ten kilometers long and several kilometers high. Humans standing next to it were as small as insects. Even its main gun muzzle was larger than the cruiser he commanded.
"I'm definitely going to build one a hundred times bigger than this in the future." MC Legend, standing nearby, clenched his fists and spoke with dead serious conviction.
MC Legend wasn't from the Emperor's Cattle Regiment; he had been sent by Doraemon Workshop. Warmaster and the others planned to overhaul the interior of the Exemplary Holy Fist. It had a lot of meaningless decorations and rituals that were dead weight to the players.
They figured it was better to dismantle it all and install more cannons, so they had contacted Doraemon Workshop. After all, the Mechanicus wouldn't lend a hand with that kind of unauthorized modding.
After Doraemon learned about their needs, he sent MC Legend to conduct an on-site inspection and draw up a renovation plan.
Running to the Sea was floored when he heard that. A battleship a hundred times larger? What a behemoth that would be! Moving continents? Just thinking about it was pure insanity.
"Let's go, time to head in." Warmaster welcomed the new players aboard the Exemplary Holy Fist. Players from MC Mythology and Doraemon Workshop were also brought along.
Running to the Sea and the others were taken to the bridge by Warmaster to learn how to operate the battleship. The bridge spanned six floors, with a height difference of over ten meters between the lowest hall and the highest command platform. Various mechanical control consoles were humming, screens were glowing, and holographic projections floated in the air.
"This is so exaggerated, it's the spitting image of the real thing," a newbie exclaimed.
Running to the Sea strongly agreed. It was truly shocking how realistic it was. He didn't know much about Warhammer; he had only completed the pre-registration tasks on a whim. He never imagined he would be selected. He had initially considered dropping out, but his boss insisted he enter the game. Since he couldn't refuse, he logged in. He thought it would be a meaningless task that only wasted time, but who would have thought the game would be as real as the legends claimed?
Looking at the control console he was assigned, Running to the Sea wondered if this battleship was real. If it was a perfect one-to-one replica, maybe it could actually be activated in the real universe.
"Alright, guys, you all have naval operation experience in the real world, so mastering a void battleship will be smooth sailing for you."
"Now, follow the instructor next to me and learn how to operate this battleship. Once you've mastered the driving skills, we'll help you get the corresponding military rank, but you'll have to foot the bill yourself."
"..."
After a detailed introduction, the Warmaster left, allowing the highly paid instructors to teach the newcomers. The first lesson was to memorize the names and tactical instructions of every single control console on the bridge.
The Hive World of Sintila,
The war was over, and the survivors were placed in temporary housing while they waited for the hive to be rebuilt.
Daniel specifically sought out several players who were proficient in design to help him plan the reconstruction. The Empire's original design aesthetic was often old-fashioned, heavy, and overly religious, typically using a dark Gothic style.
The overall atmosphere was solemn and dignified, but living there could feel incredibly depressing. Furthermore, many buildings used templates, resulting in similar styles across different worlds, making everything feel lifeless and dull.
Daniel intended to change the game, breaking the original constraints in every way to liberate people's minds and souls. The construction of the hive city was a prime example. Local designers couldn't provide this kind of innovative thinking; their minds had been trapped for too long. They could only modify existing structures, not tear it all down and rebuild it from scratch.
Players, however, were unbound by those constraints; their thoughts ran wild. Letting them do the design meant they wouldn't be held back by old ideas.
Daniel gave the design players a few simple requests. For example, the design should be full of science fiction and reflect the indomitable spirit and beauty of life. At the same time, it should ideally account for industrial production and daily living needs.
The players were on fire and quickly produced relevant design drawings.
Once the plan was finalized, reconstruction work began at a rapid pace. Rows of cargo ships landed from the sky, bringing workers and machinery. Swarms of chanters flew over the bare land, singing hymns. State priests, riding suspended altars, passed by, calling out blessings of purification upon the land.
A huge, grinding roar rolled over the ruins, demolishing all the dilapidated buildings. Giant machines behind them swallowed up the shattered debris and, with a rumbling sound, reduced them into cement and steel.
The reconstruction proceeded quickly, with magnificent buildings rising from the ground one after another. They possessed the same grandeur but shook off the dullness and depression of the past. Green plants and parks were used as accents between different areas, adding distinct visual appeal.
Daniel was working overtime to make the cesspool of the Empire less terrible, starting with small details and slowly changing the Imperium.
Yuji also participated in the reconstruction, leading a team to suppress gang activity, crack down on organized crime, and drop the hammer on heretics.
After yet another successful operation, gangs controlling several city blocks were uprooted, and over 50 gang members were killed.
"You will be cursed by the gods!" The gang leader glared at Yuji, cursing him viciously. His family, gang, and territory had vanished overnight, all thanks to the man standing in front of him.
"You still dare to curse me? Teach him a lesson." Yuji waved his hand, and several soldiers rushed forward, beating and kicking the gang leader until he finally begged for mercy.
"I still like your unruly look," Yuji said, patting the fool's face before having him dragged away.
"Another mission complete. Let's see what's next on the agenda." Yuji opened the database to check for his next task.
Suddenly, a voice whispered in his ear.
"You have such an outstanding talent, how can you waste it all here?"
Yuji was startled. He looked around and quickly fixed his gaze on a man dressed as a businessman. The man's smile was inexplicably creepy.
"Who are you?" Yuji asked, the question ringing in his mind.
"Azak Ahriman, your blood brother."
That voice sounded again, making Yuji's eyes widen! What?! The second-smartest member of the Thousand Sons Legion?