48: Chapter 48 Visitors to Coastal City

The interior of the tent was much more spacious than it appeared from the outside, with a long metal table equipped with tactical projection functions placed in the center.

Three portable cold-light lamps illuminated the tent brightly.

Lin Li scanned the room calmly, his gaze quickly sweeping over the three figures by the table.

These three people represented three distinct temperaments.

Sitting on the left side of the table was a military leader wearing heavy protective armor, a rank nameplate hanging on his chest, and eyes as sharp as a hawk's.

Sitting directly opposite was a thin man in a black trench coat.

The collar of his trench coat was turned up high, and he wore a scales badge representing the Imperial Adeptus Arbites on his chest. His eyes held a coldness that seemed capable of seeing right through a person.

But what caught Lin Li's attention the most was the person standing in the shadows of the tent's corner.

It was a woman dressed in a form-fitting monastic habit.

Her clothes were covered with Purity Seals inscribed with scriptures, and she held a heavy Ecclesiarchy Holy Scripture in her hands.

Although most of her face was hidden under a hood, one could still feel the aura of faith radiating from her.

"Imperial Guard, an Adeptus Arbites Arbiter, and... an Ecclesiarchy Priest."

Lin Li's mind raced.

This lineup was definitely a high-spec investigation team that Coastal City could field.

They were likely here to deal with the Chaos contamination incident in the Mountain Tribe.

As for why that military leader was sitting there, he was probably sent by the Governor of Coastal City to monitor the situation or seize interests.

"Are you the head of this camp?"

The Arbiter in the trench coat spoke first.

He didn't introduce himself, instead staring at Lin Li with a condescending, scrutinizing gaze.

"Who we are is not important. What matters is that Coastal City will take over the handling of the contamination outbreak in that mine to the east."

The Arbiter crossed his hands on the table, his tone carrying an unquestionable sense of pressure.

"And what you need to do is immediately hand over everyone in your camp who has had contact with that contamination. Do you understand?"

Hearing this, Lin Li sneered inwardly.

Hand them over? For what?

In the Warhammer universe, even if a mortal just catches a glimpse of a Chaos Daemon from afar, the best outcome is having their memory wiped and being turned into an idiot.

If they encountered a harsh Inquisitor, a direct bolt shell to the head would be considered a mercy.

Going head-to-head was definitely out of the question; with the Shelter's current assets, they wouldn't survive a single round of orbital bombardment.

"Since you are here representing the Imperial authorities, that makes things easy."

Lin Li took a deep breath, his eyelids drooping slightly, and the coldness and sharpness about him vanished instantly.

In its place was a complex emotion mixed with grief and fanaticism.

The next second.

Lin Li suddenly dropped to one knee, his right hand striking his left chest heavily.

"My Lord! They are all dead!"

Lin Li's voice was sorrowful and hoarse, even carrying a hint of a tremor.

"The moment our dear neighbors fell, those subjects who faced the heretics head-on had already offered their loyalty to the Great God-Emperor!"

The three people in the tent were stunned by Lin Li's sudden action.

Lin Li didn't stop; he even managed to squeeze out two tears that slid down his dust-covered cheeks.

"But we will never yield! Tomorrow, I will lead all the subjects in the camp to continue the charge toward that cursed mine! Until we shed our last drop of blood, until everyone returns to the embrace of His Majesty the God-Emperor!"

Lin Li suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot, his face full of regret and pain.

"They were so young... they were His Majesty's most faithful believers! As their manager, I have failed them! I wish it were me who died in that pit!"

After speaking, Lin Li lowered his head, clasped his hands, and began to murmur prayers praising the God-Emperor in rapid, slurred Gothic.

This Oscar-worthy performance of wrapping himself in the flag and professing loyalty completely threw the people present for a loop.

Especially the female priest in the corner.

In this Dark Imperium, cut off by the Great Rift and plunged into endless darkness and despair,

even the high-ranking officials of Coastal City had long since become numb and selfish in their daily struggle.

How long had it been since she had seen such a pure, such a fanatical mortal believer who was willing to sacrifice everything for the God-Emperor?

The priest's eyes instantly welled up.

She stepped out from the shadows, holding the scripture in both hands, and bowed her head in prayer toward Lin Li, her voice soft and holy.

"The God-Emperor protects you, lost lambs. Your sacrifice shall shine before the Golden Throne."

The military leader in the flak armor remained expressionless, subconsciously adjusting his collar.

And the trench-coated Arbiter, who had been aggressive just a moment ago, was now completely stunned in his seat.

He opened his mouth, but the grand set of rhetoric he had prepared to suppress and intimidate this wasteland warlord was now completely useless.

Threatening a religious zealot who was ready to be martyred for his faith with the law? That would be insane!

What was the highest authority in the Imperium now?

The Emperor was the greatest, and the Ecclesiarchy was the greatest!

The Arbiter coughed twice to hide his embarrassment.

He stood up, walked over to Lin Li, reached out to help him up, and patted Lin Li's shoulder firmly.

"Your loyalty is under the gaze of the God-Emperor. He sees it."

The Arbiter's tone softened considerably, even carrying a hint of respect.

"In that case, do not participate in the subsequent purge mission. We will take over. Leave the rest to us."

"No! Absolutely not!"

Lin Li suddenly broke free from the Arbiter's hand, like an enraged lion.

"We are subjects of the God-Emperor! In the face of contamination, we shall never retreat! Heresy must be thoroughly purged! We will fight to the last man!"

Seeing Lin Li's posture—as if he would fight to the death right now if he wasn't allowed to go die—

the Arbiter was completely helpless.

He turned to look at the priest, who nodded slightly at him, clearly deeply moved by Lin Li's fanaticism.

"Very well. Your piety is admirable."

The Arbiter sighed and compromised.

"You are granted permission to act with us. But, Manager, you know the rules. Those who have... seen the unspeakable must undergo strict screening afterward."

Lin Li stood tall, his gaze resolute, his right fist striking his chest heavily once more.

"To give one's life for the God-Emperor is a duty! Loyalty!"

The Arbiter also subconsciously stood at attention and returned the salute: "Loyalty!"

Logically, now that these people had arrived, Lin Li could have ignored those Chaos Daemons.

But the mine there was simply too important for the Shelter at its current stage. If they took over the mine directly afterward, it would be a problem.

However, if the Shelter contributed, even if they wanted to seize it, they would at least have to leave some scraps for them.

This was the reason why Lin Li fought to participate in the operation.

...

Outside the tent.

Flame Fist had been eavesdropping with his ears pricked up.

Although he couldn't understand the gibberish the NPCs were speaking, he keenly memorized the physical characteristics and clothing of those three NPCs.

When Lin Li walked out of the tent in one piece and signaled for him to follow, the heavy stone in Flame Fist's heart finally dropped.

The two walked back to the Shelter's surface camp in silence.

"I'm logging off, Boss! I still have to move bricks in reality!"

Flame Fist waved, returned underground, and chose to log out.

Earth time, just past eight in the morning.

Flame Fist opened his eyes and pulled off his helmet.

Without even caring about breakfast, he opened his computer and skillfully logged into the official forum of "Warhammer 40K Online".

His fingers clattered on the keyboard, and a post with an eye-catching title was instantly published.

[Something big happened! I triggered an epic hidden plot! Imperial officials have come to the camp!]

The content of the post was simple and crude:

"Brothers! Just now, I followed Boss Dawn to meet a group of NPCs who landed in a military aircraft! Looking at the livery, they're definitely regular army!"

"There's a military leader in heavy armor, an old guy in a black trench coat, and most importantly! There's a priest sister in a tight monastic habit! She looks absolutely stunning! Any experts here to analyze the direction of this plot?"

As soon as this post appeared, the players who were already idling and chatting on the forum surged in like sharks smelling blood.

The floor count began to rise crazily.

Floor 2 [Why Panic When I Have Flash]: Holy shit! Father Flame! How do you run into all the good stuff? Is the luck of a mage really this good?

Floor 3 [Player Pi She]: You kid aren't being honest! Didn't you log off with us? How did you sneak back online to snatch the plot?

Floor 4 [Widowmaker]: Stop talking about that useless stuff! OP, tell us more about the priest sister! Any screenshots? How's the model detail? Is it realistic?

From here, the thread inevitably drifted toward the low-brow topics that netizens loved most.

Until the 50th floor, when the Shelter's brain trust finally appeared.

Floor 50 [Praise Ming Shen]: Stop messing around, let's talk business.

If I'm not mistaken, this group of people should be related to the Mountain Tribe plot, and they're here for those Chaos Daemons.

Floor 51 [Liver Emperor]: Old Ming, you mean they're from the Inquisition? Then won't we be silenced?

Floor 52 [Praise Ming Shen]: The big shots of the Inquisition probably wouldn't bother with such trivial matters on a frontier planet.

It's very likely the Adeptus Arbites and the Imperial Ecclesiarchy on this planet.

Ming Shen's analysis became more and more thorough, and more and more heart-pounding:

"Everyone pay attention! I want to remind all players. In the Warhammer setting, the Adeptus Arbites not only have the power to investigate Chaos, but they also have the power to investigate and deal with tech-heresy!"

"With the insane level of realism in this game, we've been secretly building diesel engines and tracked vehicles in the camp these past few days, and there's even an AI giving out missions every day. In the eyes of the Imperium, this is absolute, unadulterated heresy!"

"Once they notice us climbing the tech tree, I'm afraid they'll immediately bring in an enemy a hundred times more terrifying than the Orks! At that time, they'll just call for an orbital bombardment, and not even a splinter of our wooden camp will remain!"

Seeing this analysis, the players on the forum gasped.

Floor 60 [ikun True Fan]: It can't be that serious, right? We're humans, after all!

Floor 61 [Liver Emperor]: You don't know shit. In the Warhammer universe, if you're caught secretly messing with technology, you're not human anymore—you're a heretic! Understand?

Floor 63 [ikun True Fan]: Then what do we do? With just a few dozen of us and those few crappy guns, we can't beat these big shots! Do we have to delete our accounts and restart?

Floor 65 [Praise Ming Shen]: It's simple. Everyone listen to me.

"As soon as everyone logs on tomorrow, get to work immediately. Take paper and pens, and stick Imperial Ecclesiarchy scriptures and double-headed eagle symbols on all our machines and tracked vehicles!"

"If you encounter those NPCs inspecting, don't say anything useless. Stand at attention, salute, and then shout 'Loyalty!' Just pretend we're a group of extremely fanatical Ecclesiarchy believers!"

"Although they can't understand our Mandarin, the tone and attitude of the word 'Loyalty' are universal throughout the universe! As long as we act fanatical enough, they definitely won't find any problems with us!"

As soon as this suggestion came out, the players on the forum applauded in admiration.

"Holy crap! This move is brilliant! Fight magic with magic!"

"Remember! When we log on tomorrow, everyone is the God-Emperor's most loyal child!"

"Spam 'Loyalty' in the chat!"

...

On the other side.

Fire Seed Shelter, underground main control room.

Lin Li was lying on his bed, lurking and watching the discussion on the player forum through his pv terminal.

When he saw the perfect response plan proposed by Ming Shen—sticking labels and shouting loyalty—he couldn't help but burst into a fit of laughter like a snorting pig.

"Hahahaha... these players are just too damn helpful!"

Lin Li laughed so hard he slapped his thigh.

"I was still thinking about how to cover up the industrial equipment in the camp tomorrow. In the end, these workhorses rehearsed the play themselves."

"With a group of drama queens like this, that Coastal City investigation team is probably going to be fooled into oblivion."

Lin Li turned off the screen with satisfaction, rolled over, and prepared to rest.