2: Chapter 2 Rusty Iron

The tunnel was darker and more complex than imagined.

The dim red light came from emergency light tubes embedded high on the walls at long intervals, most of which were damaged or flickering. The air was so foul that it could almost be tasted—the acrid stench of rust, machine oil, and chemical waste, mixed with the scent of something cloyingly sweet yet decaying. Beneath his feet was a slippery metal grid floor, where he could occasionally step on shattered bones.

Lin Qiming leaned against the cold wall, his metal pipe propped on the ground, supporting his weak body. Waves of pain radiated from his left arm, and every breath tugged at the dull ache in his ribs.

"This spawn point... is truly 'carefully selected'." He complained inwardly, his gaze scanning back and forth vigilantly. The tunnel wound and twisted with numerous branches, like a labyrinth. In the distance came the vague sound of metal clashing and the occasional short, inhuman screech.

He dared not linger. The Iron Tooth Gang could pursue him at any moment. He needed to find a relatively safe place to treat his wounds, eat something, and then figure out the situation.

[Mission: Survival (Day 1) in progress. Remaining time: approx. 17 hours.]

[Hint: Find a corner for temporary shelter that has basic concealment and is away from the main tunnel.]

"As if I didn't know." Lin Qiming muttered, continuing forward. He tried to choose narrower, dimmer side paths, avoiding the main thoroughfares where the ground was relatively "clean"—the edge zones were often more dangerous, but also more concealed.

After walking for about twenty minutes, he heard the continuous sound of flowing water ahead, along with an even stronger, nauseating stench.

It was a complex odor mixed with feces, rotting food, chemical solvents, and biological waste, so thick it could almost stick in his nasal cavity.

The tunnel opened up here, turning into a place resembling the bottom of a small shaft. On one wall, several thick, heavily rusted metal pipes had ruptured, gushing out viscous, suspiciously colored sewage that flowed into a huge square pool below. The edges of the pool were filthy, and the liquid inside churned with foam and unidentified floating objects.

An abandoned sewage treatment node in the Hive Bottom. Or rather, an open-air, untreated cesspit.

"Truly... fitting." Lin Qiming looked at the churning sewage pool, his stomach churning.

But just as he was about to turn and leave, his gaze swept across the opposite side of the pool. There, right against the shaft wall, was an inward-recessed crevice partially covered by several huge, broken concrete slabs. The crevice was not large, but enough for a person to curl up inside. More importantly, it was located upwind of the sewage pool, in a concealed position.

"A safe house next to a cesspit?" Lin Qiming twitched his lips, "The twisted sense of humor of this game designer is truly off the charts."

He carefully bypassed the edge of the sewage pool and arrived in front of the crevice. The space inside was slightly larger than he expected, about two meters deep and over a meter wide. The ground was relatively dry, and the rock walls were cold but at least had no obvious water seepage. Several abandoned cables and pipes hanging from above provided natural cover.

What surprised him most was that at the very back of the crevice against the wall, a half-person-high metal cabinet was tilted over, the door half-open, and the cabinet body itself was still relatively intact.

"This is it."

He first leaned the metal pipe against the wall, then, enduring the pain in his left arm, moved the heavy metal cabinet bit by bit to the entrance of the crevice, tilting it to form a crude barrier. After doing this, he was already panting, and cold sweat soaked his tattered lining.

He slid down against the rock wall, took out the bag of nutrient paste from his bosom, broke off a small piece, and stuffed it into his mouth. The taste was indescribable—like spoiled bean dregs mixed with industrial saccharin and rust. But a faint heat soon spread from his stomach.

[Consumed: Low-quality Nutrient Paste × 1]

[HP +2, Stamina +5]

[Current HP: 15/68 | Stamina: 18/100]

"The effect is touching." Lin Qiming looked at the pathetic change in numbers on the panel and broke off another piece to stuff into his mouth. Tastes bad, but better than starving to death.

Next was the wound. The fracture in his left arm needed to be immobilized. He tore off a relatively clean strip of cloth from the inside of his jacket, found two relatively flat, thin iron sheets in the corner, and wrapped them together with the cloth strip to make a crude "splint". Then, gritting his teeth, he applied the splint to the fracture on his left arm and wrapped it tightly with the remaining cloth strip.

The excruciating pain made his vision go black, and he almost fainted. But he held on.

[Performed simple fracture immobilization. HP loss temporarily stopped.]

[Acquired Skill: Basic First Aid Lv0]

"Finally... stopped." He leaned weakly against the wall, resting for several minutes before recovering.

"Panel." He focused his mind.

═════════════════════════════════════

[Status]

Level: 1 (Lower Section)

Status: Seriously Injured (Left arm fracture immobilized, moderate malnutrition)

stc core Repair Progress: 0.02%

Energy Reserve: 5 ENU

Corruption: < 0.1%

Ongoing Mission: Survival (Day 1) - Remaining approx. 16.5 hours

═════════════════════════════════════

The stc core repair progress had changed from 0.01% to 0.02%. Was it because of the fight and movement just now? Or because he had found this temporary stronghold? Lin Qiming was unsure.

"Hephaestus." He tried calling the name from when it was bound.

A brief silence. Just when he thought there would be no response, an extremely faint, electronically synthesized voice with heavy interference noise rang deep in his mind:

[…Zzz… Signal… Connection unstable… Anchor… Lin Qiming… Confirmed…]

"Are you there?" Lin Qiming perked up.

[…Unit severely damaged… Functions limited… Basic scanning… Repair required…]

"Scan the current environment and assess safety level."

[Scanning… Environmental toxin concentration: High… Biological contamination risk: Extremely high… No record of sentient beings staying in the current crevice within the past 72 hours… Safety rating: Temporarily low risk…]

The analysis was quite logical. Lin Qiming felt slightly relieved.

"Is there any information in the database about this place? Faction distribution, maps?"

[Database corrupted… Information fragments: Fenris IV, fringe world of the Storm Sector… Hive City 'Iron-Hard City'… Major gangs: 'Iron Tooth Gang' controls part of scrap recycling, 'Rusty Water Party' controls the black market and water trade…]

"Iron Tooth Gang…" Lin Qiming memorized this name.

"What do you need to repair?"

[Absorb specific energy or fragments of Old One technology relics… Current repair progress 0.02%, unlocked functions: Basic status monitoring, simple environmental scanning… Energy reserve: 5 ENU…]

Before he could ask in detail, Hephaestus's voice rang out again, with more obvious interference:

[Warning: Detected life signs approaching… Quantity: 3… Energy signature similarity to 'Iron Tooth Gang': 87%… Estimated contact time: 10-15 minutes…]

Pursuers were coming!

Lin Qiming's heart suddenly jumped. In his current state, he couldn't fight another battle.

Calm down. Break down the problem.

"Hephaestus, scan the pipe structures around the sewage pool that can be utilized, especially those that are damaged and might spray high-pressure liquid."

[Scanning… On the northwest side, there is a pressurized main sewage pipe with a diameter of 30 cm, severely rusted, pressure unstable, with cracks at the joint…]

Lin Qiming's brain spun rapidly. A risky plan quickly formed.

He acted quickly: stuffed the remaining nutrient paste into the innermost pocket of his jacket; picked up the metal pipe and inserted it deep into a rock crevice at the entrance of the fissure, pointing obliquely outward; moved the metal cabinet slightly outward to make the fissure entrance look more like a recess partially hidden by trash; and huddled into the deepest part of the fissure, pressing against the rock wall.

"Hephaestus, when they enter within ten meters of the sewage pool area, use a minimum power energy pulse to stimulate the crack at the joint of that sewage pipe to create a small-scale eruption. Just need to create chaos and visual obstruction."

[Executing this operation requires 3 ENU, scanning function paused for 30 seconds. Confirm?]

"Confirm." Energy can be saved again, but he only had one life.

Time ticked away second by second.

Three figures appeared at the tunnel entrance opposite the sewage pool. They walked into the area, swearing and waving their hands in front of their noses to clear the air.

"Damn it, what kind of hellhole is this! It reeks!"

"Third brother said the kid ran this way, search!"

One of them walked toward the fissure where Lin Qiming was hiding. The distance was only five or six meters.

Just then—

[Trigger conditions met. Executing energy pulse.]

Buzz!

The crack in the thick, rusted pipe on the northwest side of the sewage pool burst open, shooting out a small stream of black-green pressurized sewage! The jet of water sprayed right at the gang member walking toward Lin Qiming!

"Fuck! What the hell!"

"Ah! My eyes!"

Two of them were sprayed directly and retreated while screaming. The third accomplice was also startled.

The chaos lasted for a dozen seconds. The eruption soon weakened.

"Damn it! This broken pipe!" The two who were sprayed were furious, "This place is cursed! That kid probably ran far away already! Let's go back and report!"

The three swore and quickly exited the area, their footsteps fading away.

Deep in the fissure, Lin Qiming slowly loosened his clenched fists; his back was already soaked with cold sweat.

[Threat temporarily neutralized.]

[Energy reserve: 5 → 2 ENU.]

[Mission: Survival (Day 1) — Phase Objective: Find a safe point (Completed).]

[Overall Evaluation: Successfully hid under pursuit and utilized the environment to create chaos and drive away enemies. Survival assessment: Qualified.]

Lin Qiming twitched his lips, feeling no joy at all.

This was only the first day. A fissure next to a cesspit. Three low-level gang thugs.

And in this world, there were Space Marines, Chaos Daemons, Tyranids, and countless darknesses billions of times more cruel than this.

"The road is still long…" He leaned against the cold rock wall and closed his eyes.

In the distance, the eternal roar of the Hive City, like the snoring of a sleeping giant beast, was low and oppressive.

And in the corner of his vision, the repair progress of the stc core jumped slightly again.

0.03%.