"David, Sergeant Victor is looking for you." A voice called out from outside the tent.
Bella nodded at David. David stood up with some effort, rubbing his bulging belly.
"Whew, thanks for the treat." David bid Bella farewell.
Bella smiled as she watched David leave the tent, sweeping the empty cans to the side.
"Thanks to Brother David, we've finally cleared out some of these food stockpiles. They would've gone bad if we didn't eat them soon."
The night was deep, but the camp was still bustling with activity.
Thanks to David, Sergeant Victor's office had been upgraded from a dilapidated field desk to a proper-looking office room.
David knocked on the door, and Victor's voice came from inside: "Come in."
David pushed the door open and entered.
Sergeant Victor wasn't sitting behind the desk. Instead, he stood by the glassless window, hands behind his back, looking out at the camp that had undergone a massive transformation.
"We have all seen your sincerity."
"Now," he turned around to face David, "it is our turn to show you some sincerity."
David followed Victor.
"First, about the Tech-Priest,"
"I've received word that a Titan Legion of the Adeptus Mechanicus is docked in the Agripinaa Sector. I will find a way to help you contact them."
David nodded, though he didn't hold high expectations for this.
Agripinaa was a strategic base for Typhus's fleet. Victor likely didn't know that the Titan Legion he spoke of was already like a clay Buddha crossing a river—struggling to save itself, let alone others.
But it didn't matter. Not long from now, Archmagos Cawl would also arrive at Cadia.
David believed Cawl would be more than happy to help him.
After all, he held something that no 'cogboy' could refuse—knowledge, knowledge that could bring about revolution.
"Then there are the materials." Victor picked up a pen and continued, "List the materials you need, the more detailed the better."
"First, gold. The more, the better."
golden apples, and if possible, enchanted golden apples.
The two apples David had gotten from the Bonus Chests in his backpack were almost rotting away.
"Gold is no problem. Carmine already reported to me in detail about exchanging gold for that miraculous beast milk of yours."
"Speaking of which," Victor's gaze grew profound, "your beast milk isn't actually a simple analgesic, is it?"
"Yes," David admitted. "It can clear certain... you can think of them as abnormal statuses."
"Clear abnormal statuses." Victor repeated the phrase, lowering his voice, "Then... can it also clear the corruption of Chaos?"
The air in the tent froze. The torchlight cast flickering shadows on the walls, and in the unseen darkness, it felt as if several pairs of eyes were suddenly peering in.
Chaos corruption? How would I know?
David fell silent.
He had never come into contact with someone currently undergoing the corruption process, so naturally, he had no way of knowing.
David looked at Victor: "Sergeant Victor, if you can find a sample, perhaps we can give it a try."
This time it was Sergeant Victor's turn to be silent. How was that any different from playing with fire?
Chaos corruption was inherently silent and spread with extreme speed.
"...Understood." Victor neither confirmed nor denied.
"Diamonds," David stated his second target. "Again, the more, the better."
"Diamonds." Victor noted it down. "Industrial grade or jewelry grade?"
"Doesn't matter." David shook his head. "As long as it's a diamond."
Victor didn't ask further, simply nodding and writing down 'Diamonds, any quality, large quantity.'
"Also lapis lazuli and lava," David continued listing his items.
Lapis lazuli was a necessity for enchanting, while lava was related to obsidian and the hell gate.
"Lapis lazuli, lava." Victor looked up. "It seems most of what you need are minerals?"
"You could say that," David admitted.
"If your needs are primarily mineral-based, we might be able to provide some for you very soon."
"How so?"
"Remember those responses over the radio when you were broadcasting from the stone pillar to the plains?" Victor prompted. "One of them claimed to be from the 23rd Regiment."
"The 23rd Regiment... I remember." David recalled that someone from that regiment had even commented, "That pillar is so cool."
"The 23rd Regiment is actually stationed in the Cadian outer systems, on a planet called Sola Mariatus."
"That planet has a harsh environment, covered in active volcanoes. At the same time, it's a planet extremely rich in mineral content. It's no exaggeration to say there are more minerals than rocks there."
"Cadia established several ore refineries there, and the 23rd Regiment's mission is to garrison those facilities."
Victor said with emotion: "After Cadia issued the supreme recall order, part of the 23rd Regiment was ordered to return to the main planet on transport ships as reinforcements. You know what happened after that."
"The remnants of the 23rd Regiment are expected to arrive here tomorrow," Victor continued.
"If they have any on them, I will provide them to you immediately."
A pleasant surprise. David hadn't expected to receive his final payment so soon.
This Sergeant Victor was quite reliable. In that case, he didn't need to hold back anymore.
"Also, pumpkins for making Iron Golems, wool for making beds, some Adamantium from the Warhammer Universe, and the Empire's ultimate weapon, the Cyclonic Torpedo..."
Stop, stop, stop. What on earth?
Cyclonic Torpedoes for Exterminatus? Those are things that can destroy an entire planet. Can they just be picked up anywhere?
Sergeant Victor quickly called a halt and handed over the pen, asking David to write everything down in detail.
David wrote furiously, filling the page with everything he wanted. Feeling it wasn't enough, he flipped the paper over and filled the other side before handing it back to Sergeant Victor.
Sergeant Victor took a quick glance, closed his eyes in despair, and tucked the paper away.
"Let's leave it at that for now. Next are the specific details regarding the tunnel."
"During this time, I gathered everyone in the camp with surveying experience to analyze and calculate based on your abilities."
"We found that there is still room to further utilize this ability of yours."
He walked to the table, pulled out a blueprint covered in lines and annotations, and handed it to David. "We've decided to expand the scale of the passage several times over."
David took the blueprint, which showed a cross-section of the planned underground passage.
This could no longer be called a secret path; it was a tunnel. Inside the tunnel was a drawing of something David had just seen.
"You're planning to send Leman Russ Tanks through as well? This... isn't impossible."
The blueprint detailed the design of the gentle slopes for the entrance and exit, and how the tanks would enter and leave.
"Yes. We want to give those traitors in Pylon," Sergeant Victor's voice turned cold,
"a massive surprise they would never expect."
David could already imagine the expressions on those traitors' faces when a tank suddenly appeared in their rear.
"To allow enough time for the arriving reinforcements to assemble, and to ensure we are fully prepared for the sortie,"
Victor's finger traced a line on the map from the camp's location to Pylon, finally tapping heavily on Pylon icon.
"We have decided to officially begin work tomorrow morning, with the goal of completing the passage by the day after tomorrow."
"And then, we retake Pylon!"
His words were decisive, leaving no room for doubt.
___________
taking a lil break