Li Qingyu's dagger froze at the sergeant's throat, not entering flesh.
Unlock a new exit point and contact? This was an opportunity!
Until now, he had only one evacuation route – through a giant ventilation shaft, so wide that two Leman Russ tanks could fit inside. It led from the surface to the Sanctuary beneath the Lower Hive.
His only contact was the Black Merchant, who bought and sold junk. That was it.
Now – a new route and a new contact. He couldn't refuse.
He yanked the sergeant up and tried to assess his wounds, but the man thrashed and yelled:
"Traitor! Die!"
Li Qingyu cursed and gave him a couple of resounding slaps.
"Listen, that's enough! I'm not a rebel, I'm a Marauder! From the Lower Hive, just collecting trophies! I swear by the Emperor, if I were a traitor – your throat would already be slit!"
After these words, Rudolf calmed down and fell silent, looking at him with disbelief.
"Okay, don't fidget. I'll bandage you now, and we'll get out of here. You don't want to end up as meat for the rebels, do you?"
Rudolf remained silent. Li Qingyu examined the wounds – his right hand was mangled, there was a bullet hole in his shin, and blood was gushing out.
He tore a strip of fabric from the uniform, bandaged his hand, then twisted an improvised tampon and pressed it directly into the bullet hole in his leg.
Rudolf almost howled, but endured. A few more turns of the bandage – and the bleeding was stopped.
He would live. But how to carry him?
He weighed about seventy kilograms, and he couldn't carry him on his own. And what to sacrifice – his weapons?
He glanced around the trench and noticed a steel cart left over from the construction of the fortification.
He rolled it over, loaded the assault rifles, ammunition, and tools onto it, and then sat Rudolf on top.
"Just don't move. I'll take you to your people and leave immediately."
"Wait..." he croaked. "My dog tags... take them."
Now he had no doubt – this man was not a rebel. Just a scavenger. And there were rumors that the inhabitants of the Lower Hive sometimes went to the surface to steal supplies.
Li Qingyu shrugged, returned to the trench, tore the dog tags from the bodies, and threw them to the sergeant.
"Now we're even. Remember that."
The journey promised to be long. He pulled the cart with the seventy-kilogram carcass and five assault rifles, almost straining himself.
And around them – green fields and a clear blue sky. A rare luxury for the inhabitants of Warhammer 40k.
He made his way through the plowed field, taking breaks, regenerating his strength – and watched his stats increase: Strength +1, Endurance +2.
Once he stopped in a hollow, ate some dry rations, and drank some water, checking the map in the System interface.
Two kilometers remained to the PDF line – and a full twenty to the extraction point. The thought alone made him groan.
After eating a couple more packs of biscuits and filling his satiety and water balance to one hundred percent, he moved on.
By nightfall, the sky had frozen into a starry dome. Shadows drifted among the stars – orbital stations and battlecruisers.
Soon, searchlights and the outlines of heavy machine guns glittered ahead – the PDF defense. Mines, barbed wire, watchtowers. Patrols walked back and forth.
Li Qingyu pushed the cart closer, splashed some water in Rudolf's face.
"Wake up, handsome. Home sweet home."
The man woke up, blinked, recognized the searchlights, and realizing where he was, rejoiced and opened his mouth to call for help – but Li Qingyu instantly pressed his palm to his lips.
"Shh! Be quiet. I'll leave first – then you can yell all you want."
Rudolf nodded. He understood: if the marauder was caught, his fate was sealed – arrest or a bullet.
The sergeant stared at him and quietly asked, "Who are you?"
"Remember my face. Li Qingyu, Marauder. You owe me your life now. You'll repay it someday. And now count to a hundred and scream."
He turned and disappeared into the darkness, the cart rattling over the stones.
Rudolf watched him go and muttered, "Marauder Li Qingyu... Remembered. ...Hey, damn it, where's my lasgun?!"
Meanwhile, Li Qingyu was rushing towards extraction. He ran until ten endurance bars were depleted, then lost heart for a second – and pushed forward again.
Four assault rifles and the coveted lasgun jingled in the cart. His heart sang.
"A song about a treat! I'm the best!"
He whistled a melody under his breath, speeding towards the ventilation shaft in the light of dawn.
Ahead yawned a giant tunnel of rusted metal and ceramite – part of the Hive, forgotten, rusted, leaving a breach to the Lower Hive itself.
When Li Qingyu crossed the border, a green ten-second timer flashed before his eyes. After the countdown, his silhouette dissolved; he woke up in the dark room of the Sanctuary.
Lines flashed on the System screen:
Evacuation complete. Excellent work. Total loot value: 36,300 fertilizer coupons. Mission accomplished. Rudolf's Contact unlocked.