After clearing the mutants from the lower decks, the players were left with daily tasks like moving corpses and cleaning chambers.
Learning that Old Bird and the others were going to restart the reactor and get the Imperial Glory operational, they all gathered to watch the spectacle.
Worried that someone might cause trouble, Qin Yun ordered players like Brother Ballsy, Little Chubby, Ten-times, Twisty, and Baldy to maintain order.
They were not allowed to interfere with Old Bird's work.
If any player attempted to maliciously sabotage this task, they would not only face attack but also penalties like account suspension and permanent blacklisting.
The reactor unit lay there like a slumbering steel behemoth.
Only a few key nodes flashed with faint indicator lights.
Various complex lines and pipes crisscrossed, resembling a vast, tangled network.
An ordinary person would feel dizzy just looking at it.
Old Bird, Monkey, and the others spent considerable time studying the lines and pipes.
Figuring out the name and purpose of each node of the reactor.
Then, they conducted a comprehensive inspection of the entire reactor unit.
Repairing lines, replacing damaged components.
After confirming everything was fine, they injected a small amount of fuel and attempted ignition.
As the ignition command was given, machinery roared to life.
The energy circuits on the surface of the metal matrix glowed.
Bright arcs of electricity materialized in the air, twisting and winding.
But soon, the roaring sound gradually subsided, and the arcs dissipated into nothingness.
Unsurprisingly, ignition failed.
"Still not working?" Brother Ballsy looked at the extinguished metal matrix and sighed.
Little Chubby also showed a regretful expression. "The game being too realistic isn't all good."
Baldy complained: "Even with a Ph.D. on the job, it's this difficult. If we didn't have Old Bird, wouldn't we be stuck on the starter map?"
"True," Ten-times nodded, agreeing with Baldy.
Qin Yun, standing to the side, also showed a thoughtful expression.
It seemed he needed to find a way to bring in more professional talent.
Seeing the ignition fail, Old Bird wasn't discouraged.
If it succeeded on the first try, he'd suspect a Tzeentchian blessing.
He carefully pored over the manual, comparing it to the red codes appearing on the console.
After a long time, he showed an expression of relief.
"The situation isn't bad. The reactor's reliability isn't the issue."
"It's just that the logic circuit of the flow controller is damaged."
"The power regulation device of the energy distribution module and the coupling matrix have failed."
"These can be fixed by replacing components."
Old Bird directed Monkey, Dovahkiin, and other players to replace components according to the code prompts.
He himself adjusted the phase parameters of the matrix units at the console.
Recalibrated the energy parameter coupling.
Set up new self-check and simulated ignition programs.
After replacing the components, Old Bird ran the newly set programs several times for self-checks and simulated ignition.
During this process, many more problems were detected.
Old Bird patiently resolved them one by one.
Until the identifiers for all the reactor's subsystems on the console screen turned from red to green.
He had people check all subsystems again, confirming they were truly fine, before preparing for another ignition attempt.
"Omnissiah protect, please protect us."
Old Bird held an aquila pendant, prayed to the Emperor, then picked up the communicator.
"All units, attention. Ten-second countdown to ignition preparation."
"Ten, nine, eight..."
Watching the countdown, the players' moods tensed up again.
"Three, two, one! Ignition!"
Old Bird decisively pressed the ignition button.
The roar of machinery sounded again.
Hydraulic piston groups began moving rhythmically back and forth, faster and faster.
The reactor's core flow director glowed, illuminating the metal matrix.
Energy arcs meandered and writhed like living tentacles, exciting the fusion reaction of the internal fuel.
A low, low-frequency rumble came from inside the reactor.
Massive energy gradually gathered.
Plasma formed an incandescent white sphere within the gravity field.
Then, the energy fluctuation stabilized and rose under the regulation of the flow director.
Indicator lights at various key nodes lit up, showing rising energy indices.
In the control room, the values on the display screens climbed at an astonishing rate, finally stabilizing in the green zone.
"Energy output stable! All parameters normal!" Dovahkiin shouted excitedly. "We succeeded!"
"Continue fueling, increase reactor power."
Old Bird didn't relax but kept watching the screen.
Only when the newborn star within the containment field stabilized and continuously output energy did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Qin Yun watched the entire process.
Confirming the reactor restart was successful, he was the first to applaud Old Bird.
"Congratulations, Chief Technical Officer. You have accomplished a remarkable feat."
The other players also cheered.
"The Ph.D. is just awesome."
"Holy crap, this game even lets you fix a fusion reactor. Building Warlord Titans, building Dyson Spheres isn't a dream!"
"The Imperial Glory is operational again. The new map is about to open."
"I'm so looking forward to it!"
"I want to launch an Exterminatus from the Imperial Glory."
"..."
Old Bird wiped the sweat from his forehead, his face full of satisfaction.
Although the task was mentally draining, the sense of accomplishment upon completion was more intoxicating than any physical pleasure.
Suddenly, he had greater ambitions.
Fixing the reactor of a Luna-class battleship was nothing.
Just like those guys were shouting, he wanted to build Colossus, build Halos, build Death Stars in this universe.
The megastructure dreams unrealizable in reality, he would realize them all in this game.
With the energy reactor restarted and power restored,
The various subsystems of the Imperial Glory were also awakened.
Silent machinery hummed, operating according to their original programming.
The lumen lights throughout the battleship lit up.
Temperatures in various areas rose accordingly, eventually stabilizing at a range most comfortable for humans.
A continuous tremor was felt; the players sensed the ship shaking violently.
This was the Imperial Glory activating its conventional propulsion engines according to preset correction protocols.
To adjust the ship's attitude for maintaining position in the void.
The Auspex activated.
Data broad-spectrum scanning activated.
A flood of detection data poured in, making the logic engines in the main data control room shudder constantly, clicks rising and falling.
The projections in the tactical hall refreshed and jumped continuously.
Displaying the void environment where the ship was located.
"Here it is! Astroma Prime is here!"
"It's only sixty million kilometers away from us!"
Baldy pointed at a light point on the projection map and shouted.
The players, hearing this news, became excited instantly.
"The new map is about to open!"
"For the Emperor!"
"I wonder if there are pretty NPC girls on Astroma Prime."
"Forgot the beginning, forgot the middle, I just remember I want to go on a rampage. Let me get to the new map quickly!"
"Astroma Prime, we're coming!"
"Let me see how loyal the locals are. If not, let them taste an Exterminatus."
Command Hall.
As soon as the communication system came online, Qin Yun sent messages to Astroma Prime.
But he never received any response.
Left with no choice, Qin Yun had to lead the players in learning how to operate the warship.
After some effort, they successfully made the Imperial Glory adjust its course and fly towards Astroma Prime.
And according to the preset program, entered Astroma Prime's near-orbit.
During this time, Qin Yun continuously sent messages.
But he received no response whatsoever.
Accompanied by the ship's vibrations, the Imperial Glory successfully entered orbit as planned.
Qin Yun gathered the players at the embarkation deck and announced something.
"The messages we sent out received no response."
"We need to go to Astroma Prime's void port to see what's going on!"
"Does anyone among you know how to pilot a Valkyrie?"
The players widened their eyes, looking at each other.
They were all Warhammer fans, so they naturally knew what a Valkyrie assault carrier was.
The Valkyrie assault craft, also known as the Valkyrie Sky Talon or Valkyrie assault carrier,
Is a twin-engine Imperial aircraft equipped with various weapons, durable armor, and multi-purpose payload capacity.
Its powerful engine and stable operating system make it a battlefield all-rounder.
Besides engaging enemy forces for air superiority, it's commonly used to deploy infantry units.
"Guide, let me give it a try."
Everyone looked back and instinctively made way.
A player named Blood Pigeon Holy Blood Pigeon raised his hand.
"I'm a freshman at flight school. Although I just started this year, I've had a strong interest in aircraft since I was a child."