Alex Emry's knife was pressed against the PDF squad leader's throat—but it did not advance even a millimetre.
Unlock an extraction point. Unlock a contact.
Holy shit—this is insane.
Right now, Alex only had one extraction route: a massive ventilation conduit leading into the depths beneath the hive city. The tunnel was so enormous that two Leman Russ battle tanks could drive through it side by side.
Nearby was a stretch of forest. Passing through it allowed access to the underhive, eventually reaching a specific hideout zone.
He also had only one contact—a black-market dealer from an underhive gang. The man bought everything (mostly junk) and sold everything (also mostly junk).
Now, the chance to unlock another extraction route and another contact—
Alex had no way to refuse.
He quickly helped the PDF squad leader—Sergeant Rudason—up from the ground, trying to assess his injuries.
But Rudason struggled violently, shouting:
"Traitor! Die!"
Alex finally lost patience and slapped him twice, hard.
"Damn it! I'm NOT a traitor!I'm just an underhive scavenger—here to pick up battlefield trash!
By the God-Emperor! If I were a rebel, this knife would already be in your throat!"
That shout stopped Rudason cold.
He stared at Alex in shock.
"Now stop fucking moving. Let me stop the bleeding, then we run.You don't want to get captured by the rebels and raped to death, do you?"
Rudason went silent.
Alex examined his wounds. A bullet had shattered Rudason's right hand. Another round had hit his lower leg, which was bleeding heavily.
Alex tore a strip of cloth from a corpse and wrapped the ruined hand. Then he rolled another strip into a crude tampon and stuffed it straight into the bullet wound in Rudason's calf.
Rudason nearly jumped from the pain, grinding his teeth—but he didn't move.
Alex wrapped several more layers of cloth around the leg, crudely stopping the bleeding.
The man wouldn't die yet.
But then came the problem.
How were they supposed to extract?
Rudason weighed at least seventy kilograms. Alex couldn't carry him. And there were so many weapons here—leaving them behind would be criminal.
Alex looked around—and spotted a small metal handcart in the corner of the trench, probably used to move soil during construction.
Perfect.
He hauled the cart up, grabbed the remaining four PDF autoguns, removed their magazines, cleared the chambers, and tossed the loose rounds into the cart.
Then he helped Rudason into it.
"Don't try anything. I'll get you to the PDF line, then I'm gone."
Alex started dragging the cart.
"Wait…"
Rudason suddenly spoke.
Alex looked back.
"My comrades' tags. Take them."
Alex paused.
His earlier actions had convinced Rudason—if Alex were a rebel, he'd already be dead.
Maybe he really was just an underhive scavenger. There had always been rumours of hive rats slipping out through damaged sections to steal surface goods.
Alex thought for a moment, then returned to the trench, tore the dog tags (identity tags) from a fallen PDF soldier's chest, and tossed them back to Rudason.
"You owe me a favour."
Then came the long haul.
Dragging a seventy-kilo man plus five weapons, Alex felt like he was about to cough blood.
Still—
Agri-World 496-B was beautiful.
Blue skies. Endless green crops. Vast forests.
Scenes like this were common in the Third Millennium—but in the 41st Millennium, they were a luxury. The people of this agri-world lived with such sights every day.
Alex ran through the fields, draining his stamina bar completely, stopping to recover, then running again.
During the process:
Strength +1 (10 → 11)
Endurance +2 (10 → 12)
At one point, he rested in a shallow depression. Rudason passed out from blood loss.
Alex ate and drank from his pack, then opened the map in his mind.
The system map—similar to pressing M in a loot-extraction game—was highly detailed, marking extraction routes and mission objectives.
The mission destination was only 2 kilometres away.
Beyond that lay the PDF defensive line—and behind it, the hive city towers piercing the atmosphere.
The extraction route, however, was 20 kilometres away.
Alex groaned.
My legs are going to snap today.
After eating two packs of biscuits and half a canteen—bringing hunger and hydration to 100%—Alex continued.
Night had fallen.
The sky above Agri-World 496-B was filled with stars. Occasionally, colossal shapes crossed the heavens—orbital stations and voidships in low orbit.
When Alex reached about 300 metres from the PDF defensive line, the terrain became dense with mines and razor wire. Watchtowers and searchlights loomed ahead, with PDF patrols moving in the distance.
Alex pushed Rudason out of the cart and slapped him awake.
"Sleeping beauty! We're home!"
Rudason groggily opened his eyes. Alex dumped half a canteen of water onto his face.
That did it.
Rudason immediately spotted the searchlights and realised where he was. His face lit up, and he opened his mouth to shout—
Alex clamped a hand over it.
"Shh! Don't yell! Not yet!I'm still here—shout after I'm gone!"
He had no intention of being detained by the Governor's dogs. Who knew what the PDF would do to a lowborn who'd slipped out of the hive illegally?
Rudason swallowed and nodded.
Alex released him.
Rudason looked at him, emotions swirling in his eyes.
"You saved my life. What's your name?"
Alex pointed at his face.
"That's right—you owe me a life.Remember this face. Remember my name.
Alex Emry.Underhive scavenger.
Remember it—and find a way to repay me someday.
I'm leaving now. Count to one hundred. Call for help after I'm gone."
With that, Alex grabbed the cart and sprinted away at full speed.
Rudason watched his retreating figure and muttered:
"Alex Emry… I'll remember you—
Wait.
Where the hell is my lasgun?!"
Alex ran until his stamina bar emptied over ten times, finally stopping to catch his breath.
He stared at the four autoguns and the lasgun in the cart and nearly rolled on the ground laughing.
"Huge profit! Absolutely massive profit!"
Humming his "loot acquired" tune, Alex headed toward the extraction route, his mood so good it felt like his stamina recovered faster.
Before sunrise, he reached the underground ventilation conduit hidden beneath a forest.
A massive structure of rusted metal and construction-grade ceramite—part of the hive itself.
Perhaps the hive was simply too vast. The designers had forgotten the conduit entirely. Long neglected, it had deteriorated badly—yet one passage still led directly into the underhive.
As Alex entered the tunnel, a green ten-second countdown appeared in his vision.
When it hit zero—
His figure vanished.
Moments later, he reappeared in a dark room somewhere deep within the underhive.
System messages filled his vision:
Extraction SuccessfulOperation Rating: OutstandingLoot Value Extracted: 36,300 Fertiliser Tokens
Mission CompleteContact Unlocked: Sergeant Rudason