After buying empty bottles and yeast from Reyno, Li Qingyu prepared to haul the distiller home. The load was awkward, so Reyno generously provided a cart.
On the way, Li Qingyu stopped by a general store, picked up about a dozen sets of work boots, ten bottles of vegetable oil, and a ten-gram packet of sugar. After spending 1200 coins, he headed towards his shelter.
The cart, loaded with goods, naturally attracted attention.
Li Qingyu thought it would be good to have a couple of lackeys to carry heavy things. Walking alone under the gaze of hundreds of hungry eyes was less than pleasant. And carrying purchases himself seemed undignified.
Musing on this, he left the safe zone and delved into a technical tunnel.
The hundred rats that had followed lost their patience. Knives and rebar glinted in their hands; some of the more "elite" vagrants even had makeshift guns.
As soon as the figure with the cart disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel, the crowd roared and charged.
But as soon as they started their run, a gas grenade rolled under their feet, spewing clouds of poison.
The rats panicked. A stampede began, coughing, someone pushed someone else, a fight broke out. In the end, they seemed to have forgotten why they were running and started cutting each other up in the smoke.
Li Qingyu, ignoring the commotion behind him, strapped a flashlight to the cart and calmly rolled it home.
He opened the door, closed it, and took a deep breath of the familiar smell of mold. Home, sweet home!
He unpacked his purchases and began the upgrade. He ran a cable from the generator (Energy Lv. 1) to the water purification system, connected the filtration-fermentation apparatus, and joined the pipes. The system notified him: Water Purifier upgraded to Level 2, brewing function added.
Mash recipe: Potatoes or other grain (5 kg) + Sugar (10 g) + Yeast (1 pc). Time: 12 hours. Yield: Moonshine (approx. 500 ml).
Li Qingyu washed a few potatoes from his old stock, threw them into the tank with the sugar and yeast, and started the process. Then he approached the Emperor's altar, lit a candle, poured a bottle of oil – production had begun.
There was still time for training.
Following the old routine: shuttle runs with weights. Three hours of grueling work until sweat poured like rain.
He felt so tired he could have eaten a bull, but the system was merciless: not a single point added to his stats.
Logical. In reality, you don't become a bodybuilder in a day; it's long-term work.
But in "Escape from Tarkov," you could build a gym in your hideout where PMC operators lifted weights and increased strength. Perhaps when he leveled up his base, he could boost his stats faster.
After finishing, Li Qingyu cleaned himself up, ate, and went to sleep.
He slept like the dead. When he woke up, 12 hours had passed. The smell of alcohol hung in the air – the apparatus had produced a bottle of moonshine.
Li Qingyu twirled the bottle in his hands, thinking of taking a sip, but his gaze fell on the altar. The candle had burned out, the oil had been consecrated.
Wait... could the moonshine be "consecrated"?
He took the finished Holy Oil, lit a new candle, and placed the bottle of moonshine in the niche. The system beeped: production had begun, time – 24 hours.
"It works!" he exclaimed.
He was terribly curious what the result would be. Take a sip of such "Holy Sam" – and talk to the Emperor immediately?
Having set up production, Li Qingyu thought about an excursion.
Water Intake Lake. It worked out conveniently: Reyno needed to go there (for the panel), and Lieutenant Rudolsen (for reconnaissance). Two birds with one stone.
But there was a nuance. Rumors circulated that a fierce Chaos Sorcerer had settled there. A creature that had allegedly wiped out two battalions of the Public Safety Service single-handedly. Its psychic power was immense.
Psionics – that was, roughly speaking, magic. Very dangerous magic.
Psykers drew their power from the Warp – the home of demons. To cast spells was like stealing water from a well guarded by devils.
If you got careless, they'd notice, catch you, and love you in all the wrong places until you became possessed.
Psykers could be divided into "ours" and "bad guys." Those who served the Imperium and kept themselves in check were conditionally good. Those who succumbed to corruption were Chaos Sorcerers, pure evil.
Li Qingyu hadn't encountered any psykers yet, and here he was facing a Chaos Sorcerer right away. He was scared.
But quests wouldn't complete themselves. He had to go. The question was equipment.
As is well known, Old Man Li's life wasn't worth a broken penny; any rusty gun was more valuable. So, the tactic was simple: a "naked run." Go scouting with a knife, die if he had to – at least they'd know what was what!
He put on his old rags, took a dagger, grabbed three holy flatbreads and four cans of energy drink.
And in this state, whistling cheerfully, he set off on a raid.