109: Chapter 109 Update Announcement

Once the Adeptus Arbites had left, an aide standing beside the Governor immediately leaned in, bowing, and reported in a low voice, "My Lord, just a few nights ago, that Shahe Town in the south... was lost."

The aide's voice trembled slightly, "It is said that a group of mud-legged peasants, calling themselves the Rebel Army, popped up out of nowhere. Armed with sophisticated gunpowder weapons, they wiped out the Sand Snake Gang overnight, even breached the Trade Tower, and slaughtered all the local nobles. Now, that Shahe Town has been completely annexed by a new faction called the Kindling Alliance."

The Governor listened, stunned for a moment, then burst into disdainful laughter. "Hahaha... mud-legged peasants? The Rebel Army? The Kindling Alliance?!"

The Governor's belly shook as he added, "These filthy barbarians are just fighting over a few scraps of bone among themselves, yet they're actually trying to act like the masters in the city and build a faction?"

"My Lord, shall we send troops to suppress them?" the aide asked tentatively. "Suppress them? Who's going to pay the military expenses for sending troops to that godforsaken place? Just to seize that pathetic, low-yield oil refinery?"

He didn't care at all about the Defense Force and conscripts on the front lines who were locked in hand-to-hand combat with the Greenskins and dying in droves every day.

He only cared about the wealth in his vault and whether he could pay the tithe to the capital on time.

"Leave them be." The Governor waved his hand dismissively.

"It's fine if those mobs killed off the nobles. From now on, let them pay the cesium fuel directly to the Governors Mansion! We'll save on the middleman cut."

The Governor paused, his eyes darting around, and issued an order: "Since that so-called Shahe Town has a new master, there must be plenty of able-bodied men who didn't die."

"Send a large conscription ship immediately! Give orders to those newly appointed mud-legged leaders to hand over one thousand... no, two thousand able-bodied men! Supplement them into the cannon fodder units in the north!"

"If they don't hand over the men, I'll cut off all their trade routes to the Coastal City black market!" The Governor closed his eyes comfortably, enjoying the massage from his maid.

He wasn't worried at all about the defensive line collapsing or the mobs rebelling.

He came from a prominent noble family within the sector.

On the other prosperous planets in this system, he had powerful political backers.

Even if Coastal City were truly breached by the Greenskins, his private shuttle parked on the Governors Mansion landing pad could evacuate him and the massive wealth he had plundered from this damned fringe planet safely at the first opportunity.

He had an absolute escape route.

Therefore, he didn't care about the lives of those mortals at all.

The aide acknowledged the order and left the garden.

Not long after, a massive and dilapidated Defense Force conscription ship slowly lifted off from the Coastal City spaceport, flying towards Shahe Town in the south.

Inside the officer's lounge of the shuttle.

Black Tiger A-Fu sat grandly on an iron chair, his tactical boots, caked in mud, propped directly on the metal table in front of him.

On his chest, the metal badge representing his rank as a Sergeant Major of the Defense Force shimmered under the dim overhead lights.

A crew officer wearing a Defense Force uniform was standing in front of A Fu.

His attitude was exceptionally respectful, even carrying a hint of sycophancy.

After all, the outsider before him was a ruthless character who could single-handedly smash the heads of several Orc Bosss on the meat-grinder-like front lines and had been promoted on the spot by a Political Commissar.

In the underlying logic of the Defense Force, such a killing machine was not to be trifled with.

"Sergeant Major, sir." The crew officer rubbed his hands together and spoke with a troubled expression, "Although you are returning home with glorious battle achievements, we cannot disobey the strict orders issued by the Governors Mansion. The conscription quota for Shahe Town cannot be reduced."

"Otherwise, if the Governor blames us, everyone on this ship will be sent to the gallows."

Hearing this, A Fu waved his hand indifferently and put his legs down from the table.

"Don't worry. I won't make things difficult for you brothers." A Fu patted his chest, taking full responsibility, "Leave this task to me. I'll handle the conscription myself. I guarantee not a single person will be missing; I'll stuff them all into this broken ship for you!"

The crew officer, hearing this, looked as if he had been granted amnesty and bowed repeatedly: "Thank you very much, Sergeant Major! We are counting on you!"

A Fu waved for him to leave, a wicked smirk curling at the corners of his mouth.

"As if. I was planning to take the entire legion to the front lines to grind for experience on this trip back anyway. Why would I worry about not having enough people?"

The shuttle bumped in the air for several hours.

Amidst a screeching sound of hydraulic friction, the shuttle slowly landed on the landing pad outside the Fire Seed Shelter.

This was also the first stop of their trip.

A Fu strode down the ship's ramp.

Without any pause, he headed straight to the third basement level of Shelter.

He found an empty cloning tank, lay inside, and completed data synchronization and saving.

Afterward, carrying the heavy cloth bag filled with coins, he arrived at the main control hall on the first basement level.

"Clatter—" A Fu exchanged all the various coins in the bag with 73, converting them into core points for internal circulation within Shelter.

A Fu opened the legion management interface and, according to the kill contributions and attendance rates recorded by the system, distributed this massive amount of points to the brothers of [Hand of God] without missing a single point.

The loot was distributed.

A Fu issued a gathering order in the legion channel.

Since A Fu had already posted on the official forum explaining the situation a few hours ago, the members of Hand of God were already geared up and prepared.

The gathering process was exceptionally rapid.

Not long after, the surface plaza of Shelter was packed densely with people.

A Fu counted the number of people. A total of five hundred and thirty-three.

It could be said that the entire [Hand of God] legion had turned out in full force.

Among them, some were veterans who had been hacked to death by Greenskins on the front lines and had resurrected and run back. They were eager to return and take revenge on the Orks.

Others were newcomers who had just joined the legion and hadn't been to the front lines yet.

"Attention, everyone! Target, that broken spaceship ahead! Board the ship!" A Fu waved his hand.

Five hundred and thirty-three members of The Fourth Calamity, in neat formation, marched majestically toward the Defense Force shuttle on the landing pad.

When A Fu led these five hundred and some people, stomping with heavy footsteps, into the huge cargo hold of the shuttle, the Defense Force crew members responsible for guiding them were all startled.

They hid behind the cabin door, watching this group of people with fanatical eyes, feeling a chill run down their spines.

"My God-Emperor..." one crew member wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and lowered his voice to his companion, "No wonder he could become a Sergeant Major. He's truly ruthless to his own people!"

"Over five hundred fellow countrymen, he just dragged them all here to be cannon fodder without even blinking!"

Another crew member was also full of disbelief: "The most ridiculous thing is... look at those people who were dragged here to be cannon fodder. Not only are they not crying or resisting, but why do they all look so excited? It's like they're going to some grand banquet."

"Sigh, what a pity. Such good spirit will soon become stepping stones for this Sergeant Major to climb higher in the meat grinder in the north."

The crew members shook their heads and sighed, their eyes filled with pity as they looked at the players.

However, the players didn't care at all about the gazes of these NPCs.

The newbie players who were riding a spaceship for the first time touched and poked everything as soon as they entered the cargo hold, all acting like curious babies.

"Holy crap, the texture details inside this ship are amazing! Even the rust and oil stains on the pipes are so realistic!"

"This modeling has high artistic value!" a player exclaimed, patting the cabin wall.

A player next to him immediately chimed in with a joke: "How high?"

"As high as a three or four-story building!" Everyone burst into laughter.

The cargo hold was filled with a joyful atmosphere, completely devoid of the oppression of heading to a deadly battlefield.

A Fu looked at this bunch of clowns, clapped his hands, and shouted: "Brothers! Quiet down! The flight back to the northern defensive line will take several hours. It's boring to just hang around and stare at each other in the cargo hold. You can all log off right here and go back to reality to do your own things!"

"When we reach the destination and it's time to fight, I'll @everyone in the legion QQ group to log back on!"

"Got it, Commander!" the players responded one after another.

A Fu yawned, gave a few instructions to the Defense Force crew not to mess with his people, and then strolled back to the officer's lounge.

He found a relatively clean iron bed, lay down, and also chose to log out of the game.

…His consciousness blurred for a moment.

Real Earth.

A Fu opened his eyes and sat up.

He snatched the gaming helmet off his head.

What came into view was his small, messy bedroom covered in anime posters.

Outside the window were the neon lights of the city late at night and the occasional sound of car horns.

A Fu rubbed his aching temples.

He rolled out of bed and walked out of the bedroom barefoot.

The living room was very quiet.

He walked to the door of the master bedroom next door and gently pushed it open a crack.

By the faint moonlight, he saw his elderly parents sleeping soundly in bed, emitting light, even snoring sounds.

A Fu watched quietly for a while.

He carefully closed the door tightly again and turned to walk toward the balcony.

The early autumn night wind felt a bit chilly.

A Fu leaned against the balcony railing, took a pack of cigarettes out of his pajama pocket, and pulled one out to put in his mouth.

He took a puff and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.

A Fu looked up at the few dim stars in the city's night sky.

Echoing in his mind, however, was the roaring gunfire in the game, the roaring Greenskins, and the hot-blooded feeling of wielding his Power Axe to split an Orc Boss in two.

"That wasteland world... it's practically a second life."

In reality, he was just a thirty-year-old, unsuccessful bottom-tier wage earner running around every day for a few crumbs of silver.

No girlfriend, no savings, looking at his boss's face every day, living transparently.

But in Warhammer.

He was the [Hand of God] legion commander holding heavy troops!

A company commander revered by NPCs and looked up to even by Astra Militarum Political Commissars!

A warrior who dared to charge into the fray under a hail of bullets!

After this period of playing and life-and-death struggle in the game, A Fu's mentality had undergone a huge change.

It was a kind of self-recognition, an absolute self-confidence.

He was no longer the muddled, complaining person he used to be.

The courage to face death without flinching in the game seemed to have been subtly brought into reality.

Just as A Fu was preparing to take advantage of this quiet, late-night moment to think about life and ideals, the phone placed on the balcony coffee table suddenly made a crisp "ding" sound.

The screen lit up.

It was a special push notification from the official game: ["warhammer 40k ol" V0.35 Update Announcement!]

A Fu immediately stubbed out his cigarette, grabbed his phone, and clicked on the detailed page.

[Brave Kindling Warriors, the system is about to undergo a non-downtime hot update. The content of this update is as follows:]

[1. New regions and new factions fully online: The fog of war for the Western Highlands Iron Ridge and the Southern Swamp Red Lake Town maps has been completely lifted! A wider wasteland, more unknown indigenous factions, players are welcome to actively explore, establish trade routes, or conquer!]

[2. New member joining the Fire Seed Shelter: Stone Men — Hong. (Background: Hong is an ancient Stone Men awakened from the Golden Age. She has god-like, astonishing attainments in micro-genetics and biological modification. She will bring subversive changes to Shelter's agriculture and biotechnology. Note: This NPC has a cold personality, please interact civilly, and do not harass maliciously.)]

[3. Iron Man 73 permissions fully opened: No longer just a cold processing plant! Now, players can use core points to submit your weapon/vehicle concepts to Iron Man 73. 73 will custom-design detailed blueprints that conform to the physics engine and generate models for you! Unleash your imagination as The Fourth Calamity! Mechs? Drones? As long as you have points, anything is possible!]

[4. Opening more high-level equipment pools: High-tier Power Armor added to the exchange list.]

[5. Fixed multiple known bugs, implemented a more realistic physical destruction engine and light reflection system.]

At the bottom of the announcement was a piece of red-labeled text from the planner.

[A word from the planner: Hello everyone, I am your old friend, the game's chief planner, Immortal Lin. After everyone's hard work during this time, Shelter has not only gained a firm footing but has also achieved glorious results. The game's worldview is becoming fuller, more mature, and more stable in your hands. Thank you very much for every player's hard work!]

[To welcome the upcoming larger-scale faction wars, our production team has unanimously decided: to immediately open a full twenty thousand new player login slots! We welcome everyone to notify your friends in reality and enthusiastically go to the official website to fill out reservation information!]

[Additionally, a secret leak. New alien races, extra-galactic planets, and massive interstellar warship models are currently undergoing final rendering at the rear supercomputing center. The grand space boarding battles and hundreds-of-meter-tall Titan mechs fighting each other that everyone has been looking forward to will be officially implemented soon! For the revival of humanity, for the glory of the Golden Age! Please look forward to it!]

A Fu finished reading the long update announcement in one breath.

Looking at the two thousand new players, interstellar warships, Titan mechs, and a series of adrenaline-pumping terms.

A Fu's heart, which had just calmed down, started beating wildly again uncontrollably.

He gripped his phone tightly, facing the silent night sky, and excitedly blurted out the most rustic national quintessence: "Fucking awesome!!!"