After the players cleared out the mutants in the other areas, they turned their attention to the lower decks.
Seeing the players so proactive, Qin Yun was very supportive.
He gave the passwords to open the lower deck blast doors to Brother Ballsy and Little Chubby, letting them make their own arrangements.
After Brother Ballsy and Little Chubby discussed tactics with the players who wanted to grind on the lower decks, they set out.
After entering the password on the metal verification pad and passing verification,
The sound of turning gears and the hum of servo-motors came from behind the blast door.
As the blast door opened, red alarm lights above the corridor rotated and flashed.
Crimson light illuminated the dim lower cargo hold.
The first thing entering the players' sight was a woman holding a girl.
Their flesh had fused together, turning into a horrific mutant.
The woman wore tattered clothes with a Cadian insignia.
An aquila pendant hung around her neck.
The woman turned around blankly, letting the players see her horrifying face.
Several eyes embedded in the twisted face blinked constantly, examining the heavily armed players.
A bizarre mouth opened and closed, making sounds.
"Has the Emperor come to save us?"
The woman's voice was hoarse, yet full of joy.
She didn't know what she had become.
She only remembered the Emperor, only remembered that soldiers wearing the double-headed eagle insignia were people they could trust.
"Is our suffering over?"
The woman staggered towards the players, her twisted face revealing a chilling smile.
She reached out a hand towards the players.
Like a despairing person fallen into darkness, yearning for light.
The woman had forgotten many things.
But she still remembered the scene of parting from her husband.
It was at the surface spaceport on the planet Cadia.
Her unromantic husband kissed her forehead and said to her in a gentle tone.
"Anaisa, go, take the child and board the ship. Once the fighting here is over, I will come find you."
So, she boarded this warship with her daughter, evacuating with the soldiers.
She stayed in the kilometers-long lower decks.
Huddling with other refugees, helping each other.
The conditions here were terrible.
Every cargo hold had foul, stagnant water or toxic coolant leaking from the huge copper pipes overhead.
Food and pure water were precious, with only a small ration each day, barely enough to survive.
But this difficult life did not crush the woman.
Whenever she saw her daughter in her arms, she would remember her husband.
She thought she must persevere, take her daughter to a new home, and wait for her husband to return.
Then, the family of three could be reunited.
"The Emperor, the Emperor has come to save us."
The woman walked towards the players.
Her appearance was frightening, but her voice held no malice.
"I grant you mercy. May you find peace."
Brother Ballsy, standing at the front, raised his lasgun and pulled the trigger.
The laser instantly pierced the woman's head.
She fell just like that.
The flesh blob stuck to her emitted faint sobs.
Faintly, it sounded like a child.
"May you find peace, may you return to the Throne, may you be embraced by the God-Emperor."
Scalpy walked over, reciting a eulogy while giving the child a finishing shot.
Just then, the roars of mutants rose from the depths of the dim lower decks.
The first mutant appeared, then a second, followed by hundreds, thousands, dense and numerous, like a tide.
The mutants, filled with hatred, charged at the players, roaring.
"Open fire!" Little Chubby shouted. "Full suppression!"
Dense lasers flashed, streaking through the air with piercing shrieks.
The mutants charging at the front instantly fell like harvested wheat.
Within minutes, the corridor was filled with mutilated limbs, not a single intact corpse to be found, like mincemeat from a grinder.
The mutants' dense charge was quickly dismantled by the heavy firepower.
The scattered ones that slipped through were picked off by players holding lasguns.
When the Imperial Glory evacuated the Cadia battlefield, it took many refugees.
Those refugees were placed in the lower decks and were transformed into mutants after the Warp incident.
Their numbers were vast.
But no terrifying mutated variants appeared.
Relying on tactical coordination and sufficient ammunition,
The players advanced orderly, steadily clearing the lower decks.
As the last mutant on the lower decks was dealt with,
The Imperial Glory was declared reclaimed.
Qin Yun, who was checking messages in the strategic planning room, suddenly received the golden light screen for task completion.
[Task: Clear the enemies of the Imperial Glory (Completed)
Reward: 5000 Faith Points
Other rewards have been issued and can be collected at the Prayer Chapel.]
Qin Yun got up and went to the Prayer Chapel, performing the sign of the aquila and praying before the Emperor's statue.
A light aperture materialized, and the Cherub he had seen twice before flew out, carrying a large package.
At that moment, two players logged in.
It was Ten-times and Twisty, who had died fighting the Chaos Beast.
"Holy crap, this little thing is quite unique. Could it be a Cherub?"
The newly resurrected Ten-times looked at the Cherub with curiosity.
"I find this thing rather creepy."
Twisty looked at the Cherub, frowning, feeling uncomfortable all over.
'No wonder Guilliman disliked this thing.'
'What normally aesthetically inclined human could accept this!!'
The Cherub flew to Qin Yun and placed the package down.
Then, it flapped its wings and flew back into the light aperture, disappearing.
"Bringing stuff for the Guide?"
"What is it?"
Ten-times and Twisty leaned in curiously.
Qin Yun ignored the two clowns and checked the reward himself.
After opening the package, there was a cold metal case inside.
The silver-white case surface had dark silver electromagnetic patterns.
Qin Yun placed his hand on it; light flowed through the dark silver patterns, fleeting.
Then, the lock made a clicking sound, and the case opened automatically.
Dense white mist flowed out, spreading across the metal floor.
A power greatsword appeared before Qin Yun.
The hilt was wrapped with cloth strips to prevent slipping, and the pommel decorated with a double-headed eagle emblem.
Cold, dormant energy circuits spread along the broad blade, forming complex geometric patterns.
"Is it a two-handed sword?"
"Such a handsome sword!"
Ten-times and Twisty looked at the power sword in the case with perverted-like expressions.
Under their gaze, Qin Yun reached out and picked up the power greatsword.
A golden light screen, visible only to him, appeared.
[Name: Blade of Sanctification (Epic Grade)
Type: Power Greatsword
Description: Forged a thousand years ago by a Mechanicus Magos using ancient technology, it has been used by different heroes over time.
Their faith have been smelted and cast into this sword's Machine Spirit, giving it unique damage bonuses against Warp daemons.
"Unexpected surprises await when using this to chop daemons."]
A two-handed sword was much heavier than a one-handed sword.
If Qin Yun hadn't reached Level 7 and enhanced his physical stats, he probably couldn't wield this sword.
[Congratulations, you have learned the skill: Two-handed Sword (Novice)]
"Looks like I need to find time to practice swordsmanship."
In the Warhammer universe, anyone with a reputation has maxed out their martial skills.
Even the famous straight-man Commissar Cain has the feat of banishing a Greater Daemon with a sword.
If you don't hone your martial skills, you'll definitely get beaten up when facing others.
Qin Yun practiced a few moves with the Blade of Sanctification, then secured it to the weapon rack on his power backpack.
The adamantium-made latch locked automatically.
This was a standard design of power armor, convenient for the user to switch weapons in combat.
One one-handed sword, one two-handed sword, complementing each other perfectly.
"Damn, that's dope. When will I get equipment like this?"
Twisty's eyes were practically sparkling with little stars.
Ten-times beside him was the same, looking eagerly at Qin Yun.
Just then, light flashed again by the shrine.
Old Bird had logged in.
"Guide."
Old Bird walked over to greet him.
"Welcome back," Qin Yun nodded. "How is the task I assigned you yesterday progressing?"
"I discussed it with a colleague today and have some ideas on how to complete the task."
"But it still needs testing, and there are certain risks."
Qin Yun nodded. "Go ahead and do it. The situation can't get much worse anyway. State whatever you need; I'll have all players cooperate with you."
"As long as you can restart the reactor, you will be the Imperial Glory's Chief Technical Officer."
Ten-times and Twisty beside them widened their eyes.
'Another hidden gameplay feature unlocked!!'
'Merit?'
'Position?'
'Now it's Chief Technical Officer; later, after coming into contact with the Mechanicus, couldn't one change career to a Tech-Priest, and become a Magos?'
'Then control a few forge worlds, build warships, build the Colosuss, build Dyson Spheres.'
'That's definitely taking off.'
"Honorable Guide, I will spare no effort, do everything in my power, to ensure the reactor is restarted."
Old Bird was excited, his face glowing.
"Can you tell me what you plan to do next?" Qin Yun asked.
Old Bird straightened his back, performed the sign of the aquila, and began his report.
According to him, after talking with his colleague yesterday, he went to learn about the processes and steps of real-world reactors.
The Imperial Glory uses a plasma reactor.
In terms of setting, the technological level is higher, but the basic principles haven't changed.
It just uses gravity fields instead of magnetic confinement, allowing the reactor to achieve fusion without such high temperatures and pressures.
"The first step is to inject a small amount of fuel, try to see if we can achieve ignition, identify where the problem lies, then solve it bit by bit."
"After successful ignition, increase fuel injection, adjust the output and input power to form a positive cycle."
Qin Yun fully supported Old Bird. "As a servant of the Emperor, you are outstanding. Proceed according to your plan, act boldly."
Ten-times and Twisty watched enviously.
The Guide's tone of voice was different.
Was his favorability maxed out!!
With Qin Yun's support, Old Bird became even more motivated.
He went back to the reactor chamber and went through the manual again, finding the section related to restarting.
After reading it carefully, he had Dovahkiin, Mashao Monkey, and other players prepare to assist him in restarting the reactor.
Dovahkiin, Monkey, and the other players were visibly nervous.
Because this game was too realistic.
If an accident happened, who knew what the consequences would be?
Worried they might make mistakes due to nervousness, Old Bird comforted them.
"You don't need to be too afraid. Even if it blows up, it's no big deal; it's just a game."
Qin Yun standing to the side: "..."
'You shouldn't say that!!'
'If it blows up, the hard-won Luna-class battleship would be gone.'