41: Chapter 41 The Roar of Steel

The next day at noon.

Fire Seed Shelter, first basement floor.

Lin Li was woken up by bursts of noise coming from the surface.

He sat up from the bed in Room 1 and gave a long stretch, his joints letting out a series of satisfying cracks.

"Finally, a good night's sleep."

Lin Li rubbed his messy hair.

Since transmigrating into this shitty Warhammer universe, he hadn't had a single peaceful night's sleep.

Last night, he finally wiped out the Greenskins hanging over his head. With that weight off his chest, this sleep was exceptionally sweet.

Putting on his signature tattered black trench coat, Lin Li pushed open the door and stepped out.

The hall on the first basement floor was as lively as ever.

Players were pulling their modified wheelbarrows, continuously transporting scrap metal collected from the surface and armor fragments from the Greenskins into Room 3, throwing them into the Material Recycler to be broken down into basic raw materials.

On the other side, a long queue had formed in front of the Matter Constructor.

With the large bonuses issued from last night's battle, the players were all feeling wealthy and were frantically lining up to print the weapons and tools they had designed.

Of course, among The Fourth Calamity, there was never a shortage of trolls with bizarre logic.

For example, Lin Li watched helplessly as a player with the ID [Widowmaker] spent a full fifty points on flexible rubber material extracted from mutant plants, commissioning 73 to print an indescribable purple, double-headed dragon-shaped object sixty centimeters long in the constructor.

When the thing was printed, it even twitched bizarrely a couple of times in mid-air.

Lin Li's face instantly went half-dark.

"These guys really treat this like a sandbox game with maxed-out freedom."

Lin Li complained wildly in his head, but ultimately didn't speak up to stop them.

After all, to the players, this was just a game.

How a game should be played should be decided by the players themselves, not by a developer forcing them to do things.

As long as they could work, he didn't care what weird things they made.

Lin Li shook his head and walked into the elevator leading to the surface amidst the players' silly greetings like "Good afternoon, Boss Dawn" and "Have you eaten, Officer?"

"Pshhh—"

The elevator doors opened on the surface.

Compared to yesterday's grim atmosphere, the camp this afternoon was filled with a joyful air.

The fifty Mountain Tribe slaves who had been rescued were now wearing crude clothes sewn from old tent fabric by the players, under Rhine's management.

Although their bodies were still weak, at least there was light in their eyes.

They were tremblingly helping the players carry timber, mix mud, and pour plaster, doing the most basic physical labor.

As for the players who fought last night, except for a few Liver Emperors still out hunting monsters, most chose to hide in sheds during this hot wasteland noon to chat and slack off.

Lin Li wandered around and found a large group of people gathered in a corner of the camp, with loud cheering breaking out from time to time.

He leaned in to look and was suddenly caught between laughter and tears.

A player had actually managed to carve out a set of Chinese Chess.

At that moment, two players wearing only boxer shorts were squatting on the ground, locked in a heated match.

"It's over, it's over! Old Wang, you made such a bad move. He's going to take your Rook now!" a spectator who loved drama shouted, egging them on.

"What's there to be afraid of!" Old Wang, who was playing, waved his hand. "Don't I still have a Knight? It's no big deal. Watch this Corner Knight move—it's a guaranteed win!"

"Check! Oh crap, it's over! Your Rook got taken too!"

"That's a good thing!" another onlooker slapped his thigh. "Now he has no more Rooks to take! You're perfectly safe!"

Old Wang's face turned red with anger as he pushed away those "advisors."

"Get lost, get lost! Everyone shut up! What kind of 'hidden dragons and phoenixes' are you supposed to be?!"

The player was fuming, and the onlookers were laughing hysterically.

Nearby, there was even a shrewd female player who had mixed some juice powder bought from the mall with purified water from yesterday to set up a simple drink stall. She sold a cup for one point, and business was actually quite good.

Lin Li stood outside the crowd, stroking his chin in deep thought.

"Sure enough, once people get rich, they start looking for fun."

Lin Li calculated privately.

Last night's battle gave out too many points, which led to these "oxen and horses" now having the capital to start slacking off.

This wouldn't do; it was extremely detrimental to the Shelter's great cause of struggle.

"I need to find a way to drain their points as soon as possible and get them back on the track of being laborers."

Just as Lin Li was pondering how to be a proper blood-sucking capitalist...

"Boom—chugga-chugga-chugga!"

From the large workshop on the east side of the camp, jointly built by Niuma Squad and Rat-man Technology, two deafening engine backfires suddenly rang out.

Immediately after, accompanied by thick black smoke and pungent exhaust fumes...

Two crudely-shaped tracked vehicles smashed through the worn canvas of the workshop and roared out!

"Holy crap! They actually built them?!"

"Vehicles! They're actually tracked vehicles!"

At this, forget the chess players; even the players buying drinks scrambled over to watch the excitement.

Old Wang, who was about to lose, took the opportunity to kick over the chessboard and vanished into the crowd.

Lin Li also walked over curiously.

These two vehicles, to put it bluntly, were miniature tanks with their turrets removed, leaving only a crude chassis.

Limited by engine horsepower, the chassis frames were welded entirely from steel pipes, and the tracks were riveted together using multiple layers of mutant beast hide sandwiched with thin steel plates.

But regardless, these were mobile vehicles that could run on the wasteland!

At this moment, [Liver Emperor] and [Shushu Failed the Exam] were sitting in the extremely crude driver seats of the two vehicles, howling with excitement.

"Make way, make way! Everyone move! Careful not to get your feet crushed, no compensation if you do!"

The two pushed their control levers, and the two tracked vehicles charged straight out of the camp gates to begin speed tests in the wilderness.

Once they started moving, the power difference between the two vehicles became immediately apparent.

The one Liver Emperor was driving used a wood gasifier engine modified from an old A6.

It trailed a large boiler at the rear; while it saved on fuel, its power was clearly insufficient. The tracks creaked, and its top speed was only about twenty kilometers per hour, similar to a tractor.

Meanwhile, the one Shushu was driving was equipped with a legitimate single-cylinder diesel engine!

As the low-quality pyrolytic diesel was injected, the engine erupted with powerful torque. The tracks kicked up clouds of dust on the sand, and the speed easily surged to nearly forty kilometers per hour!

"Diesel engines are the way to go!" Shushu Failed the Exam shouted into the wind.

But on the wasteland, obtaining fuel was a major problem.

The small amount of diesel refined by the Chemical Doctor had an extremely high cost.

For long-distance travel, the charcoal-burning vehicles that could run on wood chopped anywhere were actually more practical.

After a test lap, the two vehicles roared back into the camp.

Liver Emperor jumped off the vehicle, patted the hot steel pipe frame, and looked at the nearby Ming Shen and the Doctor.

"Brothers! We have vehicles and guns. How about we take some people and raid that Ork camp from last night right now?"

Liver Emperor's eyes gleamed with a green light.

"Black Claw was killed by the Boss, and their elites are all dead. That crappy camp probably only has some non-combatant Gretchins left. That's a base where hundreds of Greenskins scavenged! There must be plenty of good stuff!"

Ming Shen pushed up his glasses. "Feasible. While the surrounding Greenskins haven't gathered yet, we can go straight and wipe out their nest. Using these two vehicles as transport, we can bring back a lot of scrap metal."

"We'll split the points we earn equally between our two groups! How about it?" The Doctor was also tempted.

"Deal! Pack up your gear, call a few brothers, and let's head out immediately!"

The few of them hit it off instantly and hurried to prepare ammunition and dry rations.

Watching this group of decisive players whose heads were filled only with exploration and looting, Lin Li nodded with satisfaction.

"Exactly, these are high-quality 'oxen and horses' with strong initiative. I don't even need to issue a quest; they're going out to scavenge on their own."

Lin Li was preparing to turn back underground to continue studying how to update the mall and trick the players out of their points.

A group of familiar figures suddenly walked toward the camp gate.

"Black Rat?" Lin Li's eyebrows twitched slightly.

Seeing Lin Li, Black Rat immediately put on an extremely flattering smile and trotted over, his waist bent so low it almost touched the ground.

"Lord Dawn! Good afternoon!"

Black Rat wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Our leader heard that you led your soldiers last night to crush those damned Greenskins with extreme bravery. He is very pleased and immediately sent me to deliver some gifts as a small token of his appreciation."

Saying this, Black Rat waved his hand.

The dozen or so Mountain Tribe laborers behind him immediately unloaded the heavy sacks from their backs onto the ground and untied them.

They were filled to the brim with high-quality saltpeter and sulfur refined from deep within the mines, and even some extremely rare non-ferrous metal associated minerals.

Lin Li glanced at the bags, his mind clear as a mirror.

"They ran faster than rabbits last night, and only now at noon do they bring the congratulatory gifts. It seems that old fox Ockham hesitated at home for a long time."

Lin Li sneered inwardly.

This wasn't a gift-giving visit; it was clearly a scouting mission to gauge his strength.

To see how many people actually died in the camp last night and how much firepower was left.

But he didn't call them out.

Free gunpowder ingredients—he might as well take them.

Lin Li nodded expressionlessly, not even saying a polite word of thanks. He just reached out and lightly patted Black Rat on the shoulder.

"Thank Chief Ockham for me. I've accepted his gift. I will visit the Mountain Tribe in person when I have the chance."

Black Rat froze as Lin Li patted him, feeling a chill run up his spine straight to his head.

He gave a couple of forced laughs, not even daring to take another look inside the camp, and fled with his subordinates.

...

Having dealt with the Mountain Tribe spy...

Lin Li arranged for Rhine to take a few slaves to move the minerals into the elevator, sending them directly to the area under construction on the third basement floor.

He himself walked quickly back to Room 1.

Killing the Orc Warboss Black Claw last night had not only saved the Shelter, but more importantly, he had completed the [Challenge Mission] issued by the system.

"One thousand core points acquired."

Lin Li sat at the computer, looking at the extremely generous balance in the management back-end, and rubbed his hands together.

"This huge sum is perfect for the gacha. If I can pull a few good items to put in the armory as shop treasures, those players will definitely go crazy grinding for points."

"Open the High-Dimensional Gacha Wheel!"

The dim computer screen was instantly illuminated by a divine golden light. The massive holographic wheel emerged in mid-air once again.

"One thousand points, go all in!"

Lin Li's eyes were feverish, staring intently at the golden wheel spinning wildly.

"Give me gold! Give me gold, damn it! I want a Space Marine Bolter! I want a Plasma Pistol!"

After a series of extremely exaggerated, even blinding special effects flashed...

"Ding!"

A list of spoils from this ten-pull popped up on the holographic screen.

Immediately after, the metal wall on the side of Room 1 slid open.

Accompanied by the operation of a conveyor belt, a bunch of miscellaneous items rolled out of the opening, piling up on the floor like dumped trash.

Lin Li looked over with great anticipation, but then the smile on his face gradually froze.

The list showed:

[Solid-state Hydrogen High-energy Battery Pack * 2]

[Assisted Recovery Exoskeleton (Civilian Medical Version) * 4]

[High-purity Synthetic Lollipops (Strawberry Flavor) * 1 Box]

[Old Era Brewed Mature Vinegar * 5 Bottles]

[Juewei BBQ Seasoning (Mild Spicy) * 10 Packs]

[Blackstone * 1 Set (12 pieces)]

"God dammit..."

Lin Li looked at this floor full of miscellaneous goods, so angry he nearly had a heart attack.

"What the hell is this junk?! Mature vinegar?! Juewei BBQ powder?! I spent a thousand core points just to pull a wasteland picnic gift pack?!"

Lin Li clutched his hair in frustration and roared at STC-73 in the air:

"73! Are you taking kickbacks?! There isn't even a single decent weapon here!"

73's optical lens slowly scanned the pile of supplies on the ground.

"Creator, please cease your complaints which lack common sense."

73's mechanical voice actually carried a trace of extremely rare solemnity and awe.

"Your luck today is actually somewhat excessively good."

"These seasonings and exoskeletons are indeed trash. However..."

73's crimson beam locked onto that pile of unremarkable black polyhedral ores, their surfaces covered in extremely fine green fluorescent patterns.

"That set of Blackstone is an ancient god-level creation from tens of millions of years ago that even humans of the Golden Age desperately desired."

"Blackstone?"

Lin Li froze for a moment, following 73's red light. When he saw the material and patterns of those black stones clearly, a terrifying piece of Warhammer lore flashed through his mind!

"Holy shit! That's... a crystallization of Necron technology?!"

"Exactly correct."

73's tone carried a hint of fanaticism.

"By arranging this set of Blackstone in a specific matrix form, it can generate a resonance field powerful enough to Warp the physical laws of reality."

"For example, haven't you always been afraid of that player who awakened fire-type psychic powers losing control?"

73's voice lowered. "We only need to deploy a Blackstone matrix at several key nodes in the Shelter. It will generate an extremely powerful [Anti-Psychic Silence Field]!"

"Within this field, the violent energies of the Warp will be forcibly smoothed out! The tentacles of Chaos corruption will be squeezed out of the physical world by this power, like squeezing water from a sponge!"

Hearing this, Lin Li's eyes instantly widened!

"You mean, as long as this matrix is deployed, Warp demons won't be able to appear near the Shelter?!"

"Yes, Creator. It acts like a physical isolation lock."

"Can you set this thing up?!" Lin Li excitedly grabbed a piece of the cold Blackstone.